Published Nov 12, 2022
Called shot: Wooden comes up big
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Brian Stultz  •  AuburnSports
Staff Writer
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@brianjstultz

AUBURN | With the game on the line and Auburn holding onto a seven-point lead, the Tigers needed a big play to seal their first victory since September.

Colby Wooden stepped up and told Derick Hall he would do just as much.

"He called it," Hall said. "Right in that TV timeout before, he was like, 'I'm going to hit him with a stab club, and I'm going to knock the ball out."

"Yeah, I basically told a couple of people, a few coaches," Wooden said. "I was like, 'Watch this. I'm gonna go stab-club, and I'm gonna go get it.' And I just went and did it."

The defensive end beat his blocker, reached Texas A&M quarterback Conner Weigman and hit hard while stripping the ball from behind. Morris Joseph Jr. fell on the ball, and Alex McPherson hit a 26-yard field goal to give the Tigers a two-score cushion.

So why was Wooden so confident he could get to Weigman for the biggest play of the game?

"I knew that he was light-setting me," he said. "They kept sending a guard with him to chip me out, to push me out. So I said, 'Alright, I'm just gonna beat him to the point.' I kept trying a two-hand strike, and that wasn't working. He was widening me out. So, I just stabbed and clubbed. I thought it was gonna be offside, because initially, I jumped the snap. I don't know how I jumped it, but I jumped it. And then I got there."

It was the third time the Tigers had sacked the freshman, but he was under pressure more than that as the defensive line made his night difficult with six quarterback hurries. At one point, Weigman threw incompletions on 13 straight passes, with the Tigers continually getting in his face. And, on the first five A&M drives in the second half, Auburn held Jimbo Fisher's team to -15 yards on 15 plays, five straight three-and-outs.

But with the offense struggling to put the Aggies away, the defense found themselves on the field and trying to stop a five-game losing streak. The crowd, loud all game long, knew how important the moment was and took the noise to another crescendo with A&M trying to drive down the field and tie the game. They were rewarded with Wooden's sack and strip. Jordan-Hare Stadium went crazy.

"Big time play by Colby; I mean, wow," Carnell Williams.