The Auburn Tigers still have hope after defeating Texas A&M 43-41 in a four-overtime thriller. The Tigers now at 5-6 on the season can still make it to bowl season with an Iron Bowl victory over Alabama in the regular season finale. Auburn raced out to a 21-0 lead at Jordan-Hare Stadium before Texas A&M raced back to take the lead late in the game. KeAndre Lambert-Smith caught the game-winning pass in the fourth overtime to win the game. The Aggies could not tie the game for a fifth overtime due to a drop in the endzone. This was the Tigers’ first win over a top-15 team since 2021 when they defeated Ole Miss. This is by far the biggest win of the Hugh Freeze tenure on the plains.
Auburn Tigers Still Have Hope
21-0 Start
The Auburn Tigers offense came out clicking on all cylinders to start the game. The Tigers raced out to a 21-0 lead, and it appeared they would not be stopped on this Saturday night. Auburn opened the game with a 10-play, 65-yard drive to go up 7-0. Quarterback Payton Thorne found Cam Coleman for a 31-yard pass play to the Aggies two-yard line. That play led to a two-yard touchdown run by Jarquez Hunter. The Tigers running back had a big game with 130 yards and three touchdowns.
After a missed field goal by Texas A&M kicker Randy Bond the Tigers found the endzone quickly. Following a short run by Hunter, Thorne and Coleman connected for a 63-yard touchdown to give Auburn a 14-0 lead with 6:05 in the first quarter. Coleman ended the game with seven catches for 128 yards and two touchdowns. The Aggies did move the ball on the following drive but were turned back when Marcel Reed was intercepted by Jerrin Thompson. Four plays later, Thorne found Lambert-Smith for 60 yards to the Aggies 15-yard line. Coleman then caught his second touchdown pass with 13:09 in the second quarter to give the Tigers a 21-0 lead. Thorne was 19 of 31 for 301 yards and two touchdowns.
Aggies Comeback
After finding themselves in a 21-0 hole, the Aggies found a way to dig out of it. They responded to the second Coleman touchdown by going on a 15-play, 75-yard drive that resulted in a touchdown. The drive was capped off by a one-yard touchdown run by Terry Bussey to make it 21-7 with 4:13 remaining until halftime. The running of Reed was an issue on the drive as it was for the entire game. He rushed for 66 yards and passed for 297 yards. Reed also threw three touchdown passes in the game.
In the second half Texas A&M outscored Auburn 24-10. The Aggies opened the second half with a 10-play touchdown drive to get them within 21-14 with 9:25 in the third quarter. Reed connected with Noah Thomas for his first touchdown for a 14-yard scoring play. After an Auburn punt, Thomas scored on a 73-yard touchdown that tied the game at 21 with 7:57 left in the third quarter. Thomas caught five passes for 124 yards.
Back and Forth Battle
The Tigers responded to adversity like they had not all season. This has been a team that has folded whenever something goes wrong, but not on this Saturday night. With 4:01 in the third quarter, Thorne found Lambert-Smith for another chunk play. This time for 44 yards that advanced the Tigers to the Aggies 11-yard line. The Tigers eventually regained the lead with a one-yard touchdown run by Hunter. The Aggies later would capitalize on a Thorne interception with a 32-yard field goal with 12:47 remaining in regulation to make it 28-24. After alternating possessions, the Aggies took their first lead of the game with an eight-yard touchdown by Amari Daniels. With 4:01 remaining the Aggies were leading 31-28.
The Tigers would punt the ball away with 2:58 left, and the defense forced the three and out to get the ball back. This had typically been a struggle with Thorne. He had not delivered on potential game-winning drives. Thorne led the offense down the field for the tying field goal by Ian Vachon for 29 yards. Thorne used his running ability on a fourth and three from the Tigers 37 to pick up 23 yards. Following that run, Hunter had three big runs to get the Tigers in field goal range.
Overtime
The Tigers won the coin toss to start overtime and decided to go on defense first. It took a total of five plays for the Aggies to reach the endzone. Reed found Jahdae Walker for 12 yards to give the Aggies a 38-31 lead. The Tigers responded with a two-yard touchdown run by Hunter to tie it up at 38. The key play was a pass interference call on Jayvon Thomas when Thorne was attempting to pass to Coleman.
In the second overtime, both teams traded field goals with Bond and Vachon connecting on kicks. Starting with the third overtime both teams would alternate with two-point conversion attempts. Both teams failed in the third overtime, and the stage was set for the fourth extra period. Thorne would find Lambert-Smith for a tough catch with defenders close by to give the Tigers a 43-41 that would be the game-winning score. The Auburn Tigers still have hope with the win, and with the Crimson Tide coming off a 24-3 loss to Oklahoma a bowl trip is not out of the question.
