AUBURN, Ala. – The Auburn Tigers (5-6, 2-5) beat the Texas A&M Aggies (8-3, 5-2) 43-41 in a four-overtime thriller Saturday. The win, Auburn’s first conference win at home this year, came on Senior Night, and in his last game at Jordan-Hare Stadium, Jarquez Hunter led the charge.
Hunter’s 133 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns were key in the Tigers’ upset win. When asked about his performance after the game, he said “It feels good. I think it was one of my best games.” Hunter was an integral part of Auburn’s offense all night, but his most important runs came on the Tigers’ final drive of regulation where he ran for 26 yards and two first downs, both coming in Aggie territory.
Seniors stepped up all of the field for the Tigers. Payton Thorne passed for 301 yards and two touchdowns, and he added 38 yards on the ground including a fourth down conversion on the final drive of regulation to keep the Tigers alive. KeAndre Lambert-Smith had two receptions for 104 yards and had the go-ahead conversion in the fourth overtime.
On defense, the top four leading tacklers for Auburn were all seniors. Jerrin Thompson, Jalen McLeod, Dorian Mausi, and Eugene Asante combined for 37 total tackles. McLeod and Mausi each recorded a sack, and Thompson had an interception to shut down a promising Aggie drive in the first half.
“We kept putting pressure on him,” said McLeod in respect to Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed. “He couldn’t hang with us.”
Reed was a problem for the Tigers all night, passing for 297 yards and three touchdowns and running for 66 yards. Despite the success in the box score, McLeod is right. In crunch time, specifically overtime, Reed only completed three passes, and the Tigers forced an incompletion on the final conversion attempt of the game to secure the win.
Reed got help from receiver Noah Thomas, who had five catches for 124 yards and two touchdowns, and Amari Daniels who ran 90 yards and a score.
Despite trailing 21-0 early in the second quarter, the Aggies fought back and owned the “middle-eight,” tying it at 21 apiece midway through the third quarter. The Tigers and Aggies would trade scores before an Amari Daniels touchdown run put Texas A&M up 31-28 with four minutes to play. It looked like more of the same from Auburn when the Tigers went three and out on the ensuing a drive. A defensive stop and good usage of timeouts left Auburn with one more chance.
“I think our kids have started playing with more of a will to win,” said Coach Hugh Freeze after the win. “I can’t say enough about our seniors.”
Seniors Thorne and Hunter led the Tigers into the red zone on the final drive, and transfer kicker Ian Vachon hit a 29-yard field goal to send it to overtime.
It was not only seniors getting it done for Auburn. Following his breakout performance a week ago, freshman wideout Cam Coleman notched seven catches for 128 yards and two touchdowns.
While some credit tonight's win to Jordan-Hare magic, Coach Freeze looks another direction.
“Thank you, Lord,” Freeze said. “He’s good in wins and he’s good in losses, but it sure feels better when you win.”
The win was Freeze’s first against a ranked opponent at Auburn, and it could not have come at a better time. With bowl eligibility on the line, the Tigers travel to Tuscaloosa next Saturday for the Iron Bowl. A win there extends their season. That game is Nov. 30 at 2:30 p.m. on ABC and the Auburn Sports Network.
