Josh Reynolds shushes the crowd at Jordan Hare Stadium as Boone Niederhofer looks on after Reynolds scored a touchdown in the first half of Texas A&M’s game at Auburn. (Getty)
Final Score
Texas A&M 41
Auburn 38
Texas A&M’s crazy, up-and-down season has added another eye-opening chapter. The Aggies, who stormed into the top 10 after a season-opening rout at South Carolina before fading into obscurity after a handful of embarrassing losses, stunned third-ranked Auburn 41-38 Saturday, surging to a big lead and then holding on by recovering two Auburn fumbles in the last three minutes.
The stunner came with true freshman Kyle Allen under center and making his first career SEC start with Kenny Hill serving a two-game suspension. Allen’s play was impressive enough that coach Kevin Sumlin said on CBS after the game that he’ll keep the starting job over Hill, who burst onto the national scene in September.
Check out the full box score here via ESPN and read on for a recap.
Auburn Fumbled Twice in the Final Minutes With the Game on the Line
Twice, Auburn had a chance to take the lead or at least tie the game in the final three minutes. And twice the Tigers turned the ball over, with A&M recovering a fumble by Nick Marshall and a fumbled snap that bounced off Marshall’s leg, respectively.
Auburn first appeared poised to take the lead when the Tigers had the ball at the A&M 2-yard-line. But Marshall fumbled and, after a handful of players attempted to dive on the ball, the Aggies came away with it, and the turnover was upheld after a video review, giving A&M the ball back with 2:31 left.
A&M went 3-and-out on its ensuing possession, being forced to punt out of its own endzone and giving Auburn the ball in A&M territory with 1:28 left and a chance to mount a trying or winning drive.
But in a stunning lapse by what has typically been a good offense, the Tigers fumbled a snap on their ensuing possession and A&M’s Alonzo Williams recovered, giving the Aggies their second huge turnover in less than 2 minutes and effectively sealing it. (Watch the highlight above.)
A&M got the ball back with 54 seconds left and Allen took two knees to seal it as the crowd at Jordan Hare Stadium watched in stunned disbelief.
Auburn Cut A&M’s Lead to 3 on a Nick Marshall Touchdown
Auburn made it a one-possession game on the first play of the fourth quarter when Nick Marshall hit Quan Bray for a 31-yard touchdown strike that cut A&M’s lead to 38-31 with 14:54 left in the game.
A&M stretched the lead to 41-31 on a 27-yard Josh Lambo field goal with 7:54 left, but the Tigers answered again. Marshall took it in himself from 6 yards out to make it 41-38 with 6:42 left in the game.
The Marshall touchdown was set up by a 52-yard bomb Marshall threw to Sammie Coatess on which Coates made a spectacular catch at the Aggies’ 6-yard-line despite being interfered with.
Kyle Allen Threw 4 Touchdown Passes in the 1st Half
Allen threw four touchdown passes in the first half: Two in the first quarter as A&M took a 14-0 lead and two more in the second, when the Aggies scored 21 unanswered points to go up 35-17 at the half. Not bad for a guy making his first career SEC start.
The highlight above is of Allen’s first TD strike — a 60-yard pass to Malcome Kennedy that gave the Aggies a 7-0 lead less than 90 seconds into the game.
A&M Scored on a 65-Yard Blocked Field Goal Return by Deshazor Everett
One of the wackiest plays of the year came on the final play of the first half. And this time — unlike last year’s iconic Pick Six against Alabama — Auburn ended up on the losing end of a field goal attempt gone wrong.
The Tigers were trailing 28-17 and could have cut the A&M lead to 28-20 with a field goal. But the Aggies blocked the attempt, and Deshazor Everett returned it 65 yards for a touchdown to put the Aggiest up 35-17 at the break.
As you might expect, Allen was pretty happy as he watched the play develop.