Post Game Review: Auburn 43, No. 15 Texas A&M 41 (4OT)

Heartbreak.

On Saturday night, No. 15 Texas A&M fell to the upset-minded Auburn Tigers in four overtimes, 43-41.

Early on, Auburn stayed on the ground early as Jarquez Hunter saw his fair share of initial carries. A deep ball to Cam Coleman propelled the Tigers 31 yards downfield before the SEC’s second-leading rusher took it in the score, 7-0.

Looking to respond, a quick grab from Terry Bussey and a touch out of the backfield allowed the Aggies to move the chains twice. The Aggies found another first down courtesy of a Marcel Reed scramble and an Amari Daniels rush, but that would be all they could muster up. The Maroon & White sent out Randy Bond to attempt a 53-yard field goal, who missed wide left.

Struggling to defend the big play all year, Auburn exploited A&M’s weakness early on. Payton Thorne aired it out to hit Coleman for a 63-yard touchdown to go up 14-0.

The less-than-ideal start continued. After what appeared to be a promising drive as Jahdae Walker stepped in to convert back-to-back third downs, Marcel Reed threw an interception right into the hands of Jerrin Thompson. Auburn’s offense took over on its 12-yard line as the first quarter expired.

Resuming play, the Aggies' miscues piled on. Thorne hit KeAndre Lambert-Smith, gaining significant yards after the catch due to several missed tackles from the A&M secondary. The 60-yard completion set up the Tigers on A&M’s 15-yard line, where Coleman caught his second touchdown of the night to follow as the Ags trailed 21-0.

John Reed-Imagn Images

Marcel Reed finished 22-of-35 for 297 yards and three touchdowns. He threw one interception.

Needing an answer, A&M leaned heavily on the wideouts and Reed’s legs to show some life. Two 10-plus yard grabs from Noah Thomas helped A&M advance downhill before Reed displayed the wheels to gain 13. An 11-yard pass to Tre Watson kept the sticks moving as A&M found the redzone. Bussey scored the second touchdown of his young career by reaching across the goal line to cap the 15-play, nine-minute drive.

The linebacker duo of Scooby Williams and Taurean York combined to bring down Hunter for the night's first tackle for loss, and the second wasn’t long after. Cashius Howell brought down the star running back the following play, and an incompletion sent out Auburn’s punt team. Oscar Chapman shanked a punt for just 18 yards, giving the Aggies positive momentum and great field position on the 50 with 2:03 remaining in the half.

Yet, the Aggies failed to capitalize after an initial first down. Two straight incompletions and a sack doomed the march as the half ended.

Back with the ball to start the second half, A&M put together a much-needed touchdown drive. Early rushing yards allowed A&M to pass midfield and finish it through the air. Reed hit Bussey and Walker for chain-moving grabs before Noah Thomas made a one-handed grab over a defender to score and trim the deficit to seven.

A&M’s defense stepped in to do their job, forcing Auburn’s first three-and-out of the day.

Then, the offense provided some fireworks. Reed squeaked a pass into a tight window, and Thomas sped away for a 73-yard touchdown to tie the game.

As back-to-back-to-back chunk plays burned the A&M secondary quickly after, Jay Bateman’s squad settled down. Stalled at A&M’s 22, kicker Ian Vachon missed a 40-yard field goal to keep the contest knotted at 21.

A lackluster offensive march for the Aggies gave the ball right back to Thorne & Co. Lambert-Smith made another huge grab to pick up 44. Hunter fought his way into the endzone from a yard out to take back the lead, 28-21.

A&M pieced together another unsuccessful drive as the clock winded down in the third.

However, the defense picked them right up. A Scooby Williams pass deflection was caught by BJ Mayes on Auburn’s 15. Not able to punch it in the end zone, Bond nailed a 32-yard field goal to put the Ags within four.

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After being sacked five times in last year’s meeting at Kyle Field, Auburn QB Payton Thorne was dropped just twice on Saturday night.

A&M’s defense continued to badger the Tigers as Dalton Brooks sacked Thorne, and Auburn went three-and-out. However, the Maroon & White failed to take advantage of another botched Chapman punt. Theo Melin Öhrström dropped a crucial third down and elected to go for it on fourth down, and Reed threw incomplete.

Yet, Reed & Co. trotted back out shortly after once A&M’s defense got a stop. An intentional grounding penalty set the Ags back, but gains of nine and 36 made up significant ground. Inside the red zone, Amari Daniels toted the rock right into the endzone for an eight-yard score to take the first lead of the game with 4:01 remaining.

Back with the ball, Auburn kept this one interesting. On fourth down, Thorne scrambled for 23 yards and easily picked up a first down. Rushes from Hunter allowed the Tigers to get in field goal range, but a pair of false starts killed their momentum. The home squad settled for a 29-yard field goal to send the meeting into overtime.

In the first overtime, Walker picked up A&M’s initial first down and, two plays later, bulldozed his way into the endzone to take back the lead. The Tigers struck right back as Hunter scored his third touchdown on the night.

A&M elected to defend to state the second overtime. A detrimental offensive pass interference call pushed back the Tigers, forcing a 41-yard field goal. A&M’s offense stumbled as well, sending out Bond to kick a 42-yarder and force a third overtime.

A&M’s first 2-point conversion attempt failed as Reed threw incomplete to Watson, but so did Auburn’s.

In the fourth overtime, Lambert-Smith reeled in a remarkable catch to give Auburn two points. On A&M’s try, a perfectly drawn-up play allowed Reed to roll out and find Daniels in the end zone. However, the ball was dropped and A&M fell to 8-3.

RUMBLED: Texas A&M wideouts Noah Thomas and Jahdae Walker combined for 193 yards and three touchdowns, massively contributing to A&M’s second-half surge.

STUMBLED: A&M cannot start the way they did. The Aggies gave up three touchdowns in the first 14 minutes of play. All-too-familiar tackling woes reappeared on Saturday night, allowing Auburn to torch the Aggies secondary early on and create a 21-point advantage.

John Reed-Imagn Images

An undeserving goat, Amari Daniels ran for 90 yards and a touchdown on 27 careers, falling just short of setting a new career-high for yardage in a single game.

TURNING POINT: The final play. Amari Daniels could not hang on to a pass in the end zone from Reed, sending Jordan-Hare into a frenzy after more than four hours of football.

UNSUNG HERO: Taurean York’s and Scooby Williams’ numbers are what you want to see from your starting linebackers. York tallied 10 takedowns, six solo and a half a tackle for loss. Williams recorded seven tackles and 1.5 TFLS. Williams went down with what appeared to be a painful knee injury, but later returned in overtime.

KEY STAT: When the dust settled, the stats in this one were truly as close as the final score. A&M put up 464 total yards. Auburn had 469. The Tigers had 168 on the ground. The Aggies had 167. The only difference? A&M’s time of possession was 36:30. Auburn did more with 23:25.

Scoring Summary

First-quarter

AUB: 11:22 - Jarquez Hunter 2-yard rushing touchdown. Drive: 10 plays, 65 yards. TOP: 3:33. Auburn 7, Texas A&M 0

AUB: 6:05 - Payton Thorne 63-yard passing touchdown to Cam Coleman. Drive: 2 plays, 64 yards. TOP: 0:38. Auburn 14, Texas A&M 0

Second-quarter

AUB: 13:09 - Payton Thorne 15-yard passing touchdown to Cam Coleman. Drive: 6 plays, 88 yards. TOP: 2:59. Auburn 21, Texas A&M 0

A&M: 8:56 - Terry Bussey 1-yard rushing touchdown. Drive: 15 plays, 75 yards. TOP: 8:56. Auburn 21, Texas A&M 7

Third-quarter

A&M: 9:25 - Marcel Reed 14-yard passing touchdown to Noah Thomas. Drive: 10 plays, 76 yards. TOP: 5:30. Auburn 21, Texas A&M 14

A&M: 7:57 - Marcel Reed 73-yard passing touchdown to Noah Thomas. Drive: 1 play, 73 yards. TOP: 0:10. Texas A&M 21, Auburn 21

AUB: 2:27 - Jarquez Hunter 1-yard rushing touchdown. Drive: 4 plays, 55 yards. TOP: 1:36. Auburn 28, Texas A&M 21

Fourth-quarter

A&M: 4:01 - Amari Daniels 8-yard rushing touchdown. Drive: 9 plays, 80 yards. TOP: 3:58. Texas A&M 31, Auburn 28

AUB: 0:05 - Ian Vachon 29-yard field goal. Drive: 15 plays, 74 yards. TOP: 2:28. Texas A&M 31, Auburn 31

Overtime

A&M: 0:00 - Marcel Reed 12-yard passing touchdown to Jahdae Walker. Drive: 5 plays, 25 yards. TOP: 0:00. Texas A&M 38, Auburn 31

AUB: 0:00 - Jarquez Hunter 2-yard rushing touchdown. Drive: 4 plays, 25 yards. TOP: 0:00. Texas A&M 38, Auburn 38

Second Overtime

AUB: 0:00 - Ian Vachon 41-yard field goal. Drive: 5 plays, 2 yards. TOP: 0:00. Auburn 41, Texas A&M 38

A&M: 0:00 - Randy Bond 42-yard field goal. Drive: 4 plays, 1 yard. TOP: 0:00. Texas A&M 41, Auburn 41

Fourth Overtime

AUB: 00:00 - Payton Thorne 3-yard passing 2-point conversion to KeAndre Lambert-Smith. Auburn 43, Texas A&M 41