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Handing out grades from Texas A&M’s 41-38 upset over No. 3 Auburn.
OFFENSE: B+
The Aggies bounced back in a big way against Auburn, putting up 453 total yards and scoring 34 points on the offensive end. Kyle Allen looked sharp and poised for much of the game, throwing laser beam passes all over the field. He looked especially good on quick-hitting wide receiver screens and slants, getting the Aggies offense going with tempo early. Josh Reynolds and Malcome Kennedy both looked like stars, making big plays and breaking tackles. The running game was strong as well, putting up its best performance in several weeks led by the Williamses, Brandon and Trey. Although the Auburn defense has fallen apart the last few weeks, the Aggies still picked them apart for 5.8 yards per carry and 176 yards on the ground, their highest total since a win over Southern Methodist in September. However, in the second half, the Aggies struggled to execute in the red zone as the Tigers mounted a comeback, failing to turn two possessions inside the 10-yard line into touchdowns and settling for field goals. The best development of the day: the offensive line was very solid in keeping the heat off of Allen all afternoon, giving him time to throw in the pocket.
DEFENSE: C
Texas A&M flustered the Auburn offense in the first half, and nearly let the Tigers come storming back in the second half. After a frustrating first half, Nick Marshall sliced and diced the generally porous Texas A&M defense for the whole of the second half. Auburn put up 582 yards of total offense, including 363 on the ground. The Aggies forced one fumble that they recovered on Auburn’s first play of the game, and were fortunate to come out of the pile with two more fumbles late in the fourth quarter. The three turnovers were just enough to allow the Aggies to sneak out with a win. Julien Obioha in particular deserves a helmet sticker for somehow coming out of the pile at the A&M goal line with a fumble recovery.
SPECIAL TEAMS: A
Myles Garrett made one of the biggest plays of the game on special teams, getting his hand up to knock down an Auburn field goal attempt at the end of the second half that was scooped up by Deshazor Everett and taken the distance for a touchdown. Drew Kaser, the Heisman-candidate punter, was instrumental in flipping field position one his three punts; he averaged 54.7 yards per punt and had a long of 60 yards. That kind of excellent play was more than enough to make up for Josh Lambo pushing a field goal left in the first half.
COACHING: B
Kevin Sumlin made a few questionable play calls in the second half. On the second of two drives that sputtered out in the end zone, he called for a speed-option run to the short side of the field that was blown up by the Tigers. After recovering Texas A&M’s second fumble of the game down by their own goal line, Sumlin called for a short-side toss to Tra Carson that nearly resulted in a costly safety. Other than that, Sumlin called a good game. Mark Snyder, after a fit of competence from his defense in the first half, lost his touch in the second.
OVERALL: A-
The Aggies came into Auburn as 21-point underdogs and escaped with a 41-38 win. It took an explosion from the offense in the first half and a few timely turnovers for them to be able to hang on, but they were able to get their biggest win of the season and one of the best of Kevin Sumlin’s tenure.
A former freelance journalist from Philadelphia, Brett has made the trek down to SEC country to cover the greatest conference in college football.
