AUBURN - It was a thriller in Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday night as the Auburn Tigers spoiled No. 15 Texas A&M's hopes at a playoff bid with a 43-41 win the fourth overtime.
It was the Tigers' first win against a ranked opponent since 2021 against No. 10 Ole Miss.
Here are the biggest takeaways from the game:
Tigers come out ablaze
Auburn could not have asked for a much better start to the game than what it had, punching the ball in the endzone on their first three possessions while holding the Aggies scoreless in the process.
A 31-yard grab by Cam Coleman on a free play set up a two-yard Jarquez Hunter touchdown run on Auburn’s opening drive of the game. It was the first time the Tigers scored on the opening drive against a power-four opponent since their week two matchup against Cal. The Tigers continued their scoring efforts with two touchdown grabs from Coleman on the ensuing drives to jump out to a quick 21-0 lead.
Auburn racked up 214 yards on 18 plays on the first three drives and forced a turnover and a missed field goal defensively.
Defense staggers, A&M catches fire
Auburn came out of the second half with a comfortable 21-7 lead and quickly saw it vanish after the Aggies opened the second half with touchdown drives of 76 and 73 yards, respectively, to knot it up at 21.
The Aggies totaled 172 yards of total offense in the third quarter alone, with Noah Thomas accounting for 87 of those on two touchdown catches. During the cold stretch, Amari Daniels and Marcel Reed ran rampant and ended their nights with 156 of the 167 yards on the ground for the Aggies.
Meanwhile, Auburn’s offense went stagnant and before the last scoring drive in regulation, had -9 yards in the fourth quarter.
Showed up when it mattered
The Tigers had no answer for Texas A&M throughout the second half, especially on third downs (10-of-19), but when the game was on the line, the plays were made.
On numerous accounts the Tigers’ defense was backed up with the Aggies reaching the red zone with a fresh set of downs and held them scoreless, or to just three points. After Auburn converted its two-point conversion in the fourth overtime, the Tigers defense got the stop it needed to seal the deal.
However, Auburn gave up a total of 467 yards – 297 through the air – and had a few critical downs in which plays were not made – due to missed tackles, third and fourth down conversions or penalties.
Dynamic Duo
As if last week’s performances by Auburn’s one-two punch out wide weren’t enough, Coleman and KeAndre Lambert-Smith followed it up with yet another prolific outing this week.
Coleman, who ignited the scoring effort in the first half with two touchdown grabs, surpassed his career-high in receiving yards – which he set last week with 100 – just 16 minutes into the game with 112 on four catches. He finished with 128 yards on seven catches and became the first Auburn player to have back-to-back 100-yard receiving games since Sammie Coates in 2013, and the first freshman to do so since Ronny Daniels in 1999.
Lambert-Smith continued to live up to his playmaking abilities, racking up 104 yards on just two catches, setting the Tigers up with scoring opportunities on numerous occasions. It was Lambert-Smiths’ second-consecutive game of 100 yards receiving
The Tigers are back in action next week with a trip to Tuscaloosa for the Iron Bowl. Kickoff is set for 2:30 and can be seen on ABC.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email logan.fowler@1819News.com.
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