Texas A&M overcame long odds on the Plains, upsetting No. 3 Auburn 41-38 and handing the Tigers their first home loss since 2012, a 14-game streak. What did we learn about the Aggies in the big win? Here are the five biggest takeaways from Saturday night.
- Kyle Allen will be starting the rest of the season. There should be much of a question about this after the poise the freshman showed in a hostile environment at Jordan-Hare Satdium. He finished the game 19-for-29 for 277 yards, 4 touchdowns and an interception. Allen showed a zip on his passes and touch on most of his deep balls that former starter Kenny Hill didn’t exhibit over his last month in the lineup.
- The offense has a ways to go. All four of Allen’s touchdowns came in a big first half, and the Aggies got their other score off of a blocked field goal returned for a touchdown. In the second half, A&M could only muster 6 points as Auburn clamped down and mounted a comeback. The Aggies failed to execute deep in the red zone on their only two scoring drives, with questionable play calling shutting down the first and a drop in the end zone the second. Saturday was a good step toward rebuilding a unit that has crumbled over the last month, but there is still work to be done to be more consistent.
- The Aggies were very fortunate. Texas A&M came into the game last in the SEC in turnover margin, yet won the turnover battle 3-1 thanks to recovering three Auburn fumbles. Recoveries are often a matter of luck, and the Aggies had it in their favor on Saturday. It takes some good fortune to win as 21-point underdogs on the road.
- Texas A&M’s defense has some toughness. It takes a lot to come out of a scrum after a fumble with the ball. Go ahead and search for what some former players say goes in on the pile; it’s not pretty. When Cameron Artis-Payne dove on the loose ball down at the goal line with about two and a half minutes to go, it looked like he had the ball securely in his grasp. When the officials cleared the dust, though, A&M defensive lineman Julien Obioha came out with the ball. He declined to tell reporters what happened in the pile for him to get his hands on it, but he clearly was willing to do the dirty work to get his team possession.
- Kevin Sumlin can still call a hell of a game. It might have faded out in the second half, but the offense was razor sharp to start the game. Sumlin finally got his boys humming again with the quick-hitting throws that have come to define the high-powered Aggies. Now that he has Allen zipping those passes around, it looks like Texas A&M might be able to get back on track and tack on a couple of wins to salvage the season.
A former freelance journalist from Philadelphia, Brett has made the trek down to SEC country to cover the greatest conference in college football.
