With Auburn's title hopes hanging in the balance, the ball deflected into the air and into Ricardo Louis' hands.

The result was a stunningly improbable touchdown that rescued the seventh-ranked Tigers' equally unlikely championship chances.

Louis scored on a deflected 73-yard pass from Nick Marshall on fourth and 18 with 25 seconds left to give Auburn a 43-38 victory over No. 25 Georgia on Saturday night.

''I couldn't believe it,'' Louis said. ''It just landed right into my hands. I saw it once it got over my shoulder. It got tipped, I lost track of it ... but when I looked over my shoulders, it was right there.''

The Tigers (10-1, 6-1 Southeastern Conference) had blown a 27-7 lead but pulled out one more huge play to continue the biggest turnaround in major college football. From 3-9 last year, they can win the SEC West with a victory in two weeks against No. 1 Alabama.

Marshall heaved the ball downfield with two defenders around Louis. It bounced off safety Josh Harvey-Clemons' hand and Louis reached out his left hand to corral it. Marshall said he stiff armed a defender before letting the ball fly.

All he could do then was watch and hope.