AUBURN, Alabama — The Sooners led 24-21 with 58 seconds remaining.

To help seal the win, OU coach Brent Venables sent out a player who hasn't always been the most reliable option — Zach Schmit — for a 39-yard field goal. But Schmit calmly stepped up and delivered the ball through the uprights.

With no timeouts left, the Tigers had to quickly score a touchdown. The Sooners defense held up, securing the 27-21 win on Saturday.

And Schmit, who hadn't attempted a field goal or extra point all season, played a big role in the win.

"Great story of redemption for Zach Schmit," Venables said. "We needed him every step of the way. We were up by three and then up by six, and Auburn has no timeouts. If they just need a field goal, everything changes in their play selection, which who knows?

"Zach was ready and really thankful for his courage that he has shown. Could be easy to just quit... It was a really cool moment to celebrate him and what a great example that is to all of us."

Schmit spent the last two seasons as the starting kicker, making 27 of 39 field-goal attempts. He lost the starting job to Tyler Keltner heading into this season, being relegated to the team's place kicker.

But with Keltner out against Auburn, Schmit resumed his place as the field-goal kicker. He made his first attempt from 24 yards out, marking the only points the Sooners scored in the second or third quarters. He also made both of his extra-point attempts as he accounted for eight points in the Sooners' six-point win.

His performance, particularly in a hostile environment, was notable compared to Auburn kicker Tyler McCough. He missed both of his field-goal attempts from 27 yards and 51 yards out, respectively, and both misses proved critical in helping keeping the Sooners in the game.

Venables called it a redemption story. But for Schmit, it was an opportunity to step up for his team, and to pay off Venables' confidence.

“Coach Venables has been great to me," Schmit said. "Through the ups and downs, he’s been by my side consistently. He always tells us that he’s in the 'A' gap with us. A lot of people in the media can see that and say that’s kind of cliche, but for him it’s what he means. He took a lot of flak because of me, but to continue to have trust in me and faith in me and put me back out this week shows me the type of man he is. Not even head coach, but just the man and the father figure (he is) for this team.”

As improbable as OU's comeback victory was against Auburn, there was another stat that was just as crazy.

Penalties.

The Sooners committed 10 penalties for 78 yards, and several of them were particularly costly. On Schmit's third-quarter field goal, the Sooners appeared to score from two yards out but it was negated after Jovantae Barnes was whistled for illegal motion. In the first quarter, Jake Roberts was called for offensive pass interference that took away a 48-yard reception by Bauer Sharp. Early in the fourth quarter, Kade McIntyre and Roberts were called for back-to-back penalties that played a big role in the Sooners turning the ball over on downs.

The Sooners had the fewest penalties in the SEC coming into the game (21), but penalties nearly cost them against Auburn.

"We did some things you can't do," Venables said. "(Had) a couple false starts. We had a hold, it's at the point of attack. What I saw, I don't know. But we've got to be better. We've got to be better. Got to be more physical. We can't wait for them to decide where they're going to be. We've got to come out and we've got to go strike people."

With the Sooners missing all five of their top receivers, they desperately needed someone to step up. That ended up being JJ Hester.

The redshirt senior had not registered a catch all season and had two bad drops in the season opener against Temple. But he led the Sooners with three receptions and a team-high 86 yards against Auburn, including the pivotal 60-yard reception that helped spark the rally.

"JJ has had great work of preparation in practice," OU offensive coordinator Seth Littrell said. "He works his butt off. He's a great teammate. Just good to see something great like that happen with him, because you see it practice."