AUBURN | T.J. Finley kept his cool after a poor start and helped engineer an important comeback at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Finley completed 12 of his final 15 pass attempts for 158 yards and also ran for a touchdown to lead Auburn to a 24-16 win over San Jose State Saturday night.

It came after a horror-show start in which he was just 1 of 5 for nine yards and an interception.

“He just focused on the next play,” said offensive tackle Austin Troxell. “In the middle of the game, you can’t dwell on it. You’ve got to flush it and move on. And he did a good job tonight.”

Following his third interception in two games, Finley completed his next five passes including a 10-yarder to John Samuel Shenker on 4th and 4 to set up AU’s first touchdown.

With Auburn trailing 10-7 at halftime, Finley stood up and addressed the entire team.

“I grabbed the defense and the offense together and was like, 'Guys, I've got y'all. No more mistakes. No more nothing like that. We're gonna win this game.' And I meant that from the bottom of my heart,” said Finley. “It says a lot about the character of this team to where they rallied together, and we got the job done.”

His speech helped inspire AU’s defense and got the offense rolling in the second half.

“Nothing but respect for him,” said linebacker Owen Pappoe. “That doesn’t surprise me at all, because that’s just the kind of guy he is. You know, he took it on the head. He even came into the locker room and said, ‘I got y’all; I’m going to be better coming out.’ He came out and proved it.”

Finley completed a fourth-down pass on AU’s opening drive of the third quarter, which led to Tank Bigsby’s 1-yard touchdown run. He capped the Tigers’ scoring with a 4-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter.

Finley finished the night 13 of 20 for 167 yards, He also rushed for 18 yards and a touchdown on five carries.

“I think the good thing about starting like that, this early off in the season, is that I can put it behind me so fast,” said Finley. “My guys on the sideline, they do not allow me to put my head down or even think about what just happened.

“You know, they're big on if it happened, it happened. Get over it. It's over with. Let's go to the next series. Those guys are really amazing, and I wouldn't be as poised as I am without those guys.”

Auburn hosts Penn State next Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT on CBS.