Click HERE to view Texas A&M’s postgame press conference.
Game #4: No. 9 Texas A&M 16, Auburn 10
Records: Texas A&M (4-0, 1-0), Auburn (3-2, 0-2)
Box Score
Maybe Aggies can have good things, after all.
Battered Aggie Syndrome patients, who faithfully — and sometimes painfully — follow Texas A&M football, often wonder why they’re denied the spoils of college football success.
Those questions surely were whispered among the 108,449 assembled at Kyle Field on Saturday.
A frustrating plague of penalties, missed opportunities and an enormous turnover prevented No. 9 A&M from posting a decisive victory over Auburn on Saturday.
Instead, the Aggies held a fragile 16-10 lead when Auburn’s offense took the field with fewer than two minutes remaining to play. The Tigers, who’d upset A&M last season, were 78 yards away from dealing A&M another crushing disappointment.
Nails were gnawed. Breaths were held. Stomachs churned. Flashbacks of previous near-misses surely crept into nervous minds.
But on the A&M sideline, players were calm, cool, collected and confident.
“I wasn’t really nervous,” star running back Le’Veon Moss said. “I’ve got faith in my defense. When they step on the field, I believe they can make stops.”
Faith was rewarded. Two passes by Auburn quarterback Jackson Arnold fell incomplete. Another netted just four yards.
On fourth down, defensive end Dayon Hayes fought through Auburn’s flimsy pass protection to sack Arnold and ensure A&M (4-0, 1-0) remained undefeated.
“They’d been doing it the whole game,” A&M quarterback Marcel Reed said in praise of his defensive teammates. “You see (linebacker) Taurean York making plays… getting back to Jackson Arnold and making him try to get the ball out or taking him down.
“You see Dayon Hayes back there. Cashius Howell back there. TO (Tyler Onyedim) back there. They were all making plays. They were really saving our butts tonight.”
And saving buts…
The Aggies could have dominated, but they committed 13 penalties for 119 yards in losses.
A&M could’ve won easily, but two field goals were missed, four sacks were surrendered and a penalty nullified a potential clinching touchdown pass to Mario Craver.
A&M could have limited Auburn to three points or less, but a massive interception returned 73 yards set up the Tigers’ 2-yard touchdown run.
The offense barely resembled the explosive unit that vanquished Notre Dame, 41-40, two weeks ago. Reed passed for 360 yards vs. the Irish. This time, he passed for 207. Craver had 207 receiving yards against Notre Dame. He had 34 vs. Auburn.
This time, whatever offensive success A&M had was built mainly around Moss, who rushed for 139 yards and a touchdown against the SEC’s No. 1 run defense.
Fortunately, A&M’s defense didn’t look the same as it did in South Bend, either.
Rather, this defensive performance would impress John Roper, Aaron Wallace, Aaron Glenn, Sam Adams, Dat Nguyen, Von Miller and other stars of Wrecking Crew lore.
This was a wrecking crucial performance.
Auburn was held to 177 yards of total offense — its lowest total since managing just 159 in a loss to Alabama in 2021.
The Tigers failed to convert on all 13 third downs and twice on fourth down.
Arnold, well known as an effective runner, rushed for 43 yards. His longest run gained nine. He was sacked five times.
“We knew we had to cage him, and I think we did a good job of that tonight,” York said.
Auburn receiver Cam Coleman, one of the SEC’s most feared big-play threats, had four catches for 18 yards. His longest reception gained five.
Only one Auburn play covered more than 20 yards. That one — a 37-yard reception by Eric Singleton Jr. — was dual possession with A&M cornerback Will Lee III.
“Today, we weren’t really in sync on offense, but on defense, we just kept going out and kept making all the plays,” A&M coach Mike Elko said. “We needed to make plays out there and win a football game. That’s the credit of a good football team.”
Just how good, though? A&M has proven it has an explosive offense, but 40-point outbursts cannot be taken for granted in the rugged SEC.
The Aggies’ defense has been questioned. Yet, there is now no question A&M can win with a stingy defense, too.
The prevailing questions: What if the Aggies put it all together? What if the offense and defense play at a high level at the same time? How good could this team be?
“I think if we could figure out how to put together a full four quarters and play at the level that we’re capable of… I think we have a high ceiling,” Elko said. “I think we have the opportunity to put something together this year.”
