What started as a magical night on the Plains nearly ended in disaster.
The home-standing Auburn Tigers jumped out to an early 21-0 in its game with No. 14 Texas A&M on Saturday. However, Texas A&M outscored Auburn, 24-10 over the final 30 minutes to force overtime. The Tigers continued to play with purpose through the overtime period, which led to a 43-41 win on Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Alabama.
Both teams traded touchdowns and field goals in the first two overtime periods before missing their respective “two-point attempts” in the third stanza. The ultimate decider was a pass from Auburn quarterback [autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] to receiver [autotag]KeAndre Lambert-Smith[/autotag] in the fourth overtime period. The pass, along with a failed reverse pass from Texas A&M, led the Tigers to victory.
Texas A&M trailed 21-7 at halftime, but scored two touchdowns in 7:09 of game time to tie the game at 21-21. Auburn regained control of the game briefly thanks to a one-yard touchdown run by [autotag]Jarquez Hunter[/autotag] with 2:27 remaining in the 3rd quarter. Momentum was shortlived as the Aggies scored 10 unanswered points to take a 31-28 lead with less than five minutes remaining in regulation. Auburn kicker [autotag]Ian Vachon[/autotag] sent the game to overtime by connecting on a 29-yard field goal with 0:05 remaining in the 4th quarter.
Auburn held a slight advantage in overall yards, 469-463, and scored in four of its five red zone trips on Saturday. The Tigers achieved those goals despite having the football 13 minutes less than Texas A&M, and running 15 fewer offensive plays. Thorne completed 19 passes to seven different receivers for 301 yards and two touchdowns. Lambert-Smith and [autotag]Cam Coleman[/autotag] each had over 100 yards in receptions while [autotag]Jarquez Hunter[/autotag] rushed for 130 yards and three scores on 28 attempts.
Auburn quickly gained control of the game by scoring on its first three drives. Jarquez Hunter capped the opening drive by scoring on a two-yard rush at the 11:22 mark in the 1st quarter to push Auburn ahead, 7-0.
The next two touchdowns were by-products of a great connection formed between quarterback Payton Thorne and wide receiver Cam Coleman. One week after connecting on eight passes for 100 yards and three touchdowns in Auburn’s win over ULM, the duo paired up again for four passes for 112 yards and two touchdowns. The scores of 63 and 15 yards, respectively, put Auburn ahead 21-0 early in the 2nd quarter.
Texas A&M added one score at the 4:13 mark in the 2nd quarter on a one-yard rush by Terry Bussey to cut Auburn’s lead to 21-7 at halftime.
It did not take long for the Aggies to bounce back, as it took 7:09 of game time to tie the game. Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed and wide receiver Noah Thomas connected twice in the early stages of the second half on passes of 14 and 73 yards to tie the game at 21-21 with 7:51 remaining in the quarter.
Auburn’s regular season concludes next Saturday when it travels to Tuscaloosa to face the No. 15 Alabama for the 89th Iron Bowl. Kickoff from Bryant-Denny Stadium is set for 2:30 p.m. CT and will be broadcasted live on ABC.
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