COLLEGE STATION, TX— The Auburn Tigers rolled into College Station to take on the Texas A&M Aggies in a battle of CFP hopefuls. With major playoff implications on the line, the Tigers outperformed the Aggies on key drives to gain an impressive win and improve to 4-0 by a score of 28-10, while the Aggies drop to 2-2.
Auburn broke free on the scoreboard first after WR Anthony Schwartz received a sweep and took it 57 yards to the house. On the ensuing drive, Aggies kicker Seth Smith failed to convert a 47-yard field goal with Auburn holding the lead at 7-0. The Tigers scored again with the first quarter coming to a close after backup QB Joey Gatewood found TE John Shenker for a quick 6-yard strike. Aggies QB Kellen Mond answered back with a beautiful 41-yard bomb to WR Jhamon Ausbon as the first quarter ended, but flamed out to start the next period as they were held to a field goal. Auburn went into the locker room with a 14-3 lead over the Aggies at the half after minimal action in the second quarter.
At the start of the second half, Texas A&M RB Isaiah Spiller coughed up the ball on the first play of the drive after Tigers’ safety Daniel Thomas forced the fumble. Auburn would then capitalize on the mishap by Spiller as starting QB Bo Nix found WR Seth Williams for nine yards in the end-zone two minutes later. After kicker Anders Carlson converted the extra point, Auburn led the Aggies 21-3 for the rest of the third quarter. As the fourth quarter began with the Aggies having possession, Mond found WR Quartney Davis for a 27-yard touchdown to cut their deficit to 11. On the ensuing Auburn drive, the Tigers ran the ball for 62 yards and chewed off 6:01 from the clock while capping it off with an eight-yard run by RB Jatarvious Whitlow for the touchdown to go up 28-10 with 8:27 left in the game.
Mond and the Aggies did all they could to mount a comeback. Aggies’ WR Ainias Smith hauled in a 15-yard pass from Mond for a touchdown to put the score at 28-20, and there was a slight chance of them being able to tie it if given the ball back. Bo Nix had other plans, as the Auburn QB used a 6-yard rush on 3rd and 5 to seal the game as the Aggies were all out of timeouts.
“Credit Auburn for playing well early and getting the momentum early in the game,” states Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher. “Our kids battled and competed in the game. We had chances to make plays and were three or four or five plays short. That starts with me as a coach. I’ll fix it.”
The Aggies had a rough night relieving some of the pressure off of QB Kellen Mond in the pocket. Auburn had defensive linemen breaking through all game, totaling seven QB hurries and three sacks while the Aggies also finished with just 56 total rushing yards. That was the lowest rushing total the Aggies have posted since a loss at LSU back in 2017. Texas A&M finished the first half with only 12 rushing yards, with Mond attributing to that after a 17-yard run kept them in positive numbers.
Mond was precise on the majority of his throws, especially up the middle. He would find receivers in tight windows who sometimes weren’t even ready for the catch but were still able to haul it in. He did all that he could with the Tigers breathing down his neck while also playing a great game through the air. Mond finished 31-49 with 335 yards and two touchdowns and led the team in rushing with 26 yards. WR Jhamon Ausbon led all receivers with a fantastic game, grabbing eight catches for 111 yards. Ausbon also caught a tough one-handed catch in traffic late in the second quarter showcasing his effort.
Auburn QB Bo Nix didn’t have much of an exciting output but was efficient enough to lead his team to victory. With backup Joey Gatewood coming in on specific packages that led to one of their touchdowns, Nix didn’t have too much on his plate throughout the game. Nix used his legs on 12 rushes to avoid pressure from the Aggies defense and was keeping them at bait all game long. Nix finished with 38 yards on the ground and was 12-20 for 100 yards and a TD through the air. The Tigers out-rushed the Aggies by 137 yards and scored twice from the ground which proved to be the deciding factor of this game.
“We had multiple guys carry the football,” said Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn. “We didn’t have any turnovers, which is really hard to do.”
Texas A&M will now take on Arkansas at AT&T Stadium on September 28 at 12:00 PM ET, while Auburn travels back home to take on Mississippi State that evening at 7:00 PM ET.
Written by Ernie Casanova
