With Auburn facing third-and-one at the Georgia 35 in the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs brought the heat last Saturday.
Sophomore tailback Mario Fannin got the ball and ran straight into a fierce Georgia blitz, normally a prescription for a blown up play. But Fannin made one defender miss, dodged another and was gone for a touchdown that gave Auburn a 13-10 lead at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
In the second quarter, Fannin had turned a short pass from Kodi Burns into a 52-yard touchdown. That gave Auburn a 6-0 lead.
By the time it was over, Fannin, from Hampton, Ga., had rushed for 59 yards on just eight carries, caught four passes for 48 yards, scored both Auburn touchdowns in a 17-13 loss to his home-state school. For good measure, he returned a kickoff 19 yards in his first start of the season.
For his efforts, Fannin is AuburnUndercover.com’s choice for the Anders Bookstore Player of the Week.
“Really, it wasn’t just me,” said Fannin, who made his first start of the season. “The line blocked well. The receivers blocked downfield. It really wasn’t anything I did. My teammates made it happen. They opened the holes and I just ran.”
Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville said Fannin was ready when called.
“Mario Fannin had his best day as an Auburn Tiger,” Tuberville said.
For Fannin, Saturday’s performance culminated an arduous journey back from a severe shoulder injury that required surgery last spring. He played wide receiver for the first half of the season before moving to his natural position at tailback.
“From last year to this year is kind of like the same role,” Fannin said. “I just come in and do what I can do when they give me the opportunity. It’s really not hard. You just have to be patient.”
Fannin had heard rumblings, but he said he didn’t know until game time that he would be in the starting lineup.
“I really didn’t find out until the beginning of the game,” Fannin said. “A lot of people were calling me about it. I really didn’t know. My dad was telling me just to stay humble and to go out there and play.”
After Georgia took a 17-13 lead, Fannin didn’t get another chance. Junior Ben Tate was in the game at tailback, and Fannin said he had no problem with that.
“Ben was doing a great job,” Fannin said. “The coaches knew what they were doing. They trusted Ben to know what he was doing. He did a great job picking up some blitzes in order to help us move the ball downfield.”
Fannin is expected to start again when Auburn (5-5, 2-5) plays in the Iron Bowl against No. 1 Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium next Saturday. He said finishing a disappointing season with a big victory is the mission for him and his teammates.
“It’s really important just for our seniors,” Fannin said. “They deserve to finish the season off well, and that’s something we are going to try to do.”
