[SLIDESHOW] Triple threat: Newton, Fidler, Cobb each run in for upset win

AUBURN, Ala. — UK head coach Rich Brooks stepped down from the podium after his team’s 21-14 upset of Auburn on Saturday to find a small group of people waiting for him.

He embraced UK Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart, who offered his congratulations. He shook hands with a representative from the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, who told him to savor the win. And he kissed his wife before wrapping his arm around her and leaving the room.

Good things came in threes for the Cats on Saturday.

After a week of quarterback controversy, three different players lined up under center scored and rushed touchdowns to give UK (3-3, 1-3 Southeastern Conference) its first win over Auburn (5-2, 2-2 SEC) since 1966, a span of 15 consecutive losses. Freshman Morgan Newton started the game before being replaced at halftime by junior Will Fidler.

“We had kind of made an earlier decision to go with the young guy,” Brooks said. “It’s really one of the few times I haven’t been honest with the media. When I said it was a competition, it really wasn’t.”

Newton scored his touchdown on a scamper outside to tie the game after Auburn had taken an early lead off a 69-yard blocked field goal return. Fidler stretched his arm across the goal line as he was being tackled to tie the game again in the fourth.

But sophomore wide receiver Randall Cobb turned Fidler’s goal line déjà vu into an outright miracle after leading UK down the field on a 68-yard drive to take the lead in the fourth quarter. It was the second consecutive week Cobb took over on a fourth-quarter drive to give UK a chance to take the lead or tie the game.

“In the fourth quarter I just get more hungry,” Cobb said. “I want to do something, whatever I can do to give us the lead. I love playing the game. The fourth quarter is when I really dig deep.”

Aside from the blocked field goal in the first, UK played an error-free game. The Cats did not receive any penalties, didn’t turn the ball over and gave up only one sack. Auburn was penalized 10 times and senior quarterback Chris Todd struggled, completing just 10 of 24 passes for 80 yards and an interception.

UK’s defense gave up only one touchdown as Auburn’s offense stalled on a frigid night at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Auburn entered the game as the highest-scoring offense in the SEC.

With the Cats playing musical quarterbacks, junior tailback Derrick Locke paced the offense. He became the first UK player with a 100-yard rushing game since 2007 by piling up 126 yards on 19 carries.

“The thing is, if we can learn how to finish, we can play with anybody in the country,” Locke said. “We can turn this thing around and continue to win.”

Cobb finished with 109 rushing yards, including a winding, tackle-breaking 61-yard run up the middle on the game-winning drive. Time and time again, he tucked the ball and couldn’t — wouldn’t — be stopped.

“(Cobb) is the ultimate competitor,” Brooks said. “He’s got a heart as big as this stadium.”

In a season that seemed to be spiraling out of control, the Cats regained their footing after the botched field goal. Earlier in the season, the Cats had wilted when things went wrong in contests against Florida, Alabama and South Carolina.

“I think this was close to a 60-minute game,” Brooks said. “This was ultimately a team win. There really wasn’t one thing that stood out above the others.”

The Cats will enter a three-game home stand with the chance to become bowl-eligible before going on the road again. After entering the game as a two-touchdown underdog, the win stopped the backward momentum the Cats had built with three straight losses.

“I think this breathes a little life back into our fan base, back into our locker room, and I think it’s a huge win for us,” Brooks said