The Texas A&M Aggies beat the Auburn Tigers at Kyle Field in a classic defensive battle. Now, the Aggies are 7-2, and their hopes of winning the SEC West and SEC Championship are still very much alive. While Texas A&M’s offense had some slip-ups today, the Aggies’ defense played its best outing against a competent Auburn offense. Here’s a quarter-by-quarter recap of the Aggies’ win over the Tigers.
First Quarter: Offenses Settle
Offense
Zach Calzada started with a quick first down pass to Jalen Wydermyer to get the Aggies out of their end zone. Ainias Smith got another first down, but a drop by Wydermyer led Texas A&M to a third down. Isaiah Spiller failed to convert on third down, but he got the needed yardage on fourth down. Calzada had a nice deep pass to Wydermyer to get the Aggies into the Tigers’ territory. Demond Demas caught the ball on a slant pass to get Texas A&M in the red zone. Spiller got the Aggies down to the five-yard line, but an incompletion by Calzada on third down led the Aggies to take a field goal. The Auburn defense held up in the red zone.
Defense
Auburn’s first drive started with a Bo Nix rollout pass to get the Tigers a first down. Texas A&M’s defense was able to get Auburn into a third down situation, and Tyree Johnson sacked Nix to end the drive.
Kobe Hudson dropped a pass on the first play of Auburn’s second drive. Not much improvement on the part of Auburn’s receivers. The Tigers were able to get a first down on a screen pass in a third down situation. Tank Bigsby was mostly shut down in the first quarter, but Shaun Shivers seemed to be everywhere for Auburn. Another rollout pass by Nix got the Tigers into the Aggies’ territory, and the offense really got rolling after a quarterback run by Nix. Auburn failed to convert on third down in the red zone, forcing the Tigers to settle for a field goal.
Texas A&M went into the second quarter tied 3-3 with Auburn.
Second Quarter: Defenses Dominate
Offense
Texas A&M started their second drive backed up near its end zone due to a short kickoff return by Devon Achane. After a short run by Spiller, Calzada threw two incomplete deep passes leading to a fourth down; this forced the Aggies to punt.
Auburn’s secondary locked down Texas A&M’s receivers for most of the first half. Calzada often had nowhere to go with the football; the Aggies still had an opportunity to convert on third down during their third drive. However, Smith dropped a good throw from Calzada to end the drive.
Spiller had a big run for 20 yards to start Texas A&M’s fourth drive. This was followed up by two drops by Wydermyer, leading to another fourth down. Careless mistakes really held back the Aggies’ offense in the first half.
Texas A&M’s offense finally looked in rhythm during its fifth drive. Achane finally got involved in the running game, and he led the Aggies past midfield. Calzada failed to convert on third down near the red zone, making Texas A&M zero-for-six on third down in the first half. Seth Small missed the field goal on fourth down, keeping the score at 3-3.
After the Aggies’ offensive line committed a penalty on their sixth drive, Texas A&M chose to run out the clock to end the half.
Defense
Auburn had good field position to start its third drive. Bigsby carried the ball on second down to get the Tigers past midfield. On third down, Texas A&M’s defensive front forced a fumble by Nix, but Nix was able to recover the ball. Auburn ended up punting just out of field goal range.
Texas A&M’s defense held down Auburn’s running game during the first half. Nix was again forced out of the pocket on third down, and he retreated 20 yards to then throw an incomplete pass to Shivers. This resulted in a three-and-out for Auburn on its fourth drive. Overall, Texas A&M’s defensive line controlled the line of scrimmage.
Auburn was backed up on its fifth drive, and the Tigers committed the first penalty of the game, which put them in a third-and-long situation. Shivers nearly got the first down on a curl route, but Auburn ended up punting on fourth-and-three.
Bigsby tried to get to the outside on first down for Auburn’s sixth drive, but Texas A&M’s defense was all over it. Nix completed a pass to tight end John Samuel Shenker for a first down. Miscommunication by the Tigers on offense led to a third down. Nix underthrew Shivers to give the ball back to the Aggies.
Texas A&M entered halftime still tied at 3-3 with Auburn.
Third Quarter: Texas A&M Takes Over
Offense
Texas A&M started off with the ball in the second half, and the Aggies’ first play on the seventh drive was a five-yard loss. Spiller then caught a flat pass, but Auburn’s defense was all over it again. Another incompletion on third down by Calzada led Texas A&M to a three-and-out.
Jimbo Fisher finally went for an explosive play, and Calzada completed a deep throw to Caleb Chapman to get the Aggies inside Auburn’s 30-yard line. Calzada followed it up by throwing another pass to Chapman for a first down, and Smith got Texas A&M back in the red zone. Two false start penalties and miscommunication pushed the Aggies back, and Jimbo Fisher had to use another timeout to avoid delay of game. Calzada suffered a shoulder injury after a quarterback design run, which led walk-on freshman Blake Bost to enter the game. After Spiller failed to gain any yardage on a third-down run, Small kicked another field to put the Aggies up by 3.
Spiller began Texas A&M’s ninth drive with a big run for 25 yards. Calzada came back on the field after one play, and he threw a rather inaccurate pass on second down. However, he made up for it with a slant pass to Smith for another first down.
Defense
Auburn’s seventh drive began with a 10-yard run by Bigsby for a first down. The Tigers faced a third down near midfield, and tight end Luke Deal caught the ball on a fade route off of play-action to continue the drive. Bigsby got Auburn another first down, and his rush got the Tigers in the red zone. Auburn faced yet another third-and-long, but Nix was inaccurate on a back-shoulder throw; this forced the Tigers to take a field goal, which Anders Carlson missed.
Bigsby caught a flat pass on the Tigers’ first play of their eighth drive, but that play went for no yards. A false start penalty by Auburn put them in third-and-long, and an incomplete deep pass by Nix forced the Tigers to punt again.
Texas A&M entered the fourth quarter leading 6-3 over Auburn.
Fourth Quarter: Texas A&M Finishes Auburn
Offense
The Aggies continued their ninth drive in the fourth quarter. Auburn’s zone defense continued to shut down everything on the outside. Another drop by Wydermyer led Texas A&M to take a field goal, and Small knocked it in from 49 yards out.
Calzada completed a two-yard pass to Smith for the two-point conversion after the defensive touchdown.
Achane broke out for a big run to start the 10th drive, but he fumbled the ball and Auburn’s defense recovered.
Texas A&M started its 11th drive of the game near midfield. Calzada completed another pass to Chapman for nearly 20 yards. The Aggies ended the drive with a field goal.
The Aggies grinded out the clock by running the ball with Spiller to end the game.
Defense
Auburn started their ninth drive in need of a touchdown to take the lead. Bigsby managed to get the Tigers a first down, but a fumble by Nix led the Aggies’ defense to recover and return the ball for a touchdown.
The Tigers began the 10th drive down by two scores. Hudson caught a slant pass for a first down to get Auburn near midfield. Another false start penalty put the Tigers in third-and-long, and Nix was unable to complete a pass on third down. Auburn’s offense never got anything going.
Bigsby started Auburn’s 11th drive with a run for a first down. Nix had his first positive-yardage scramble to get Auburn’s offense into a third-and-short situation. Bigsby helped to convert on fourth down to extend the drive for the Tigers. A sack on first down pushed Auburn back, and the Tigers’ offense turned the ball over on downs to end the drive.
Auburn again turned the ball over on its 12th drive, with Jaylon Jones intercepting a pass from Nix.
Texas A&M beat Auburn 20-3, and the Aggies have now won two straight games against the Tigers.
Concluding Thoughts
The Texas A&M Aggies defeated the Auburn Tigers by two scores at Kyle Field, and the Aggies extend their winning streak to four games. Now, Texas A&M will travel to Ole Miss to take on the Rebels next Saturday. The Aggies must come out with a victory in that game to keep their hopes for the SEC title alive. It’s only early November; there’s a long way to go for Texas A&M.
