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Quick thoughts from Texas A&M’s 41-38 Auburn.
What it means: Texas A&M’s offense is not dead. Kyle Allen looked every bit the five-star recruit he came in as, throwing for 277 yards and 4 touchdowns. They were quick-hitting and potent for much of the game, making the Auburn defense look inept for much of the game. While A&M isn’t going to be making any postseason noise, they spoiled Auburn’s season by knocking the No. 3 Tigers out of the playoff pictures.
What I liked: The offensive balance. Thanks to jumping out to a 14-0 lead, Texas A&M was able to use its running game early and often to keep Auburn on its toes. The Aggies actually ran the ball more than they threw it (32-29) and averaged 5.8 yards per carry against an Auburn defense that suddenly can’t stop anyone. The running game allowed Allen to look comfortable for most of the game, zipping balls around the field without getting much pressure on him.
What I didn’t like: Defense, as usual. The Aggies allowed Auburn to get within 41-38 late in the fourth quarter thanks to some terribly sloppy tackling when the Tigers went up-tempo. On many occasions during Auburn’s comeback, ball carriers weren’t touched until they were several yards downfield. A&M also committed two costly downfield pass interference calls, although one was waved off thanks to a ridiculous catch by Sammie Coates in traffic.
Key play: The late fumble recoveries. With Auburn driving to take the lead, the Tigers got inside the Texas A&M 5-yard line with less than three minutes to go. Nick Marshall tried to pull the ball from Cameron Artis-Payne’s gut on a read-option play, but the ball hit the turf. It appeared Artis-Payne fell on the ball, but Julien Obioha came out of the pile holding the rock to give Texas A&M possession, allowing them to cling to a 41-38 lead. After the Aggies went three-and-out from near the goal line, they recovered yet another fumble when Auburn botched a snap on its second chance, with Alonzo Williams emerging with the ball.
Who’s the man: Allen. There’s no doubt the freshman will hold down the starting position next week when Texas A&M takes on Missouri. He went 19-for-29 for 277 yards and 4 touchdowns, although he did make one mistake when he left a jump ball a little short. Allen showed fantastic chemistry with Josh Reynolds, connecting with him for two scores. Allen showed off the ridiculous arm strength that helped make him a five-star recruit, throwing some passes even a little too hard. Still, he showed pretty good poise in his first road start, racking up enough points to hold off the Tigers.
What’s next: The Aggies return to Kyle Field to take on the Missouri Tigers, who still have a shot at winning the SEC East. The Tigers (7-2, 4-1) had a bye this week.
A former freelance journalist from Philadelphia, Brett has made the trek down to SEC country to cover the greatest conference in college football.
