Phew. That one feels good. Fitting for the last game in Jordan-Hare Stadium this season to end in 4 overtime fashion.
This one had a little bit of everything. Some good offence, some bad offence, some bad special teams, some good special teams. A squandered 21-0 first half lead. A 4 overtime thriller.
Hugh Freeze earns his first marquee win versus a ranked opponent as Auburn’s head coach after the Tigers squeak out a 43-41 quadruple overtime victory over the Texas A&M Aggies.
Feels good to finally come out on top of one of these close games this season.
Auburn won the football game… so we start with the good:
1. The Start:
Auburn came out on fire in this one.
They got the ball first after the opening coin toss, and 10 plays later, Jarquez Hunter put the Tigers up 7-0 after finding pay dirt from 2 yards out.
Cam Coleman then hauled in a 63 yard touchdown after an Aggies missed field goal and Auburn was quickly up 14-0.
On their next series, Texas A&M threw an ill timed (for them) interception after driving deep into Auburn territory, and Auburn made them pay in 6 plays, as Coleman scored his second touchdown of the night. 21-0 good guys.
I’ve been critical of Auburn’s slow starts this season, as they’ve seemed lethargic and out of sorts at the start of many games this year, but not in this one.
They came out with an effort and urgency that we’ve seldom seen this season.
Good to see.
2. Cam Coleman:
Cam Coleman continues his stellar final quarter of the season, as he hauled in 7 catches for 128 yards, and another two touchdowns against the Aggies.
Saturday was almost a full calendar year to the day of when Coleman ultimately flipped his commitment from Texas A&M to Auburn, and he was an integral piece in this one, contributing heavily to the Tiger’s win on Saturday night.
Freeze has finally found the correct way to utilize and unlock Coleman’s elite skill set, and conversely it seems things have slowed down for Cam, and he looks very dialled in.
He’s been awesome over the last stretch and Saturday was no different. An SEC night game under the lights with the Aggies fighting for their playoff lives is a tough spot for anyone, but the lights weren’t too bright for him.
Unbelievable freshman season, hopefully he can top it off with a dominant Iron Bowl.
3. KLS:
Have to finish this one off with the 4OT hero. The senior transfer was phenomenal in this one and has really offered a steady presence for the Tigers this season.
KLS topped it off with the would be game winning 2 point conversion touchdown in the fourth overtime on Saturday night (or the wee hours of Sunday morning) essentially ending the game after Texas A&M failed to convert their conversion attempt.
He finished the game with just 2 catches but had a much needed 104 yards and the aforementioned winning 2 point convert.
His catch in overtime for the conversion was a fantastic adjustment to a less that accurate Payton Thorne pass. Strong hands and elite body control allowed KLS to come down with the TD. He wouldn’t be denied.
Fantastic game from him. A true hero that Auburn needed in a big spot.
Now the bad:
1. Defence:
The defence ended up making some plays and ultimately sealed the victory in quadruple overtime, however the Aggies racked up 464 yards on the road in this one.
Third and long defence continued to be a thorne in Auburn’s side, as they allowed the Aggies to convert many third downs, extending drives and leading to points.
The Auburn offence spotted their defence a 21 point lead thanks to an Aggies missed field goal, but this lead was seemingly quickly squandered.
The final score and yardage total are both a little bit misleading as this one went to overtime so the stats are inflated due to that fact, but the defence was gashed on the ground and picked apart through the air for much of this one.
Their lack of a pass rush allowed the Aggies QB to sit comfortably in the pocket and deliver strikes to open receivers all game long.
Their defensive line was less than stout and allowed the Aggies o-line to open up lanes in the running game to the tune of 167 yards on the ground.
The Aggies ended the game 10/19 on third down, and racked up 28 first downs in total.
Given the way the defence has played over the last stretch, they were uncharacteristically sloppy in this one.
2. Special teams:
The special teams actually finished the game well, but the third and usually least consequential phase of the football game (according to most fans) almost single handedly lost this game for Auburn.
The usually very consistent Oscar Chapman unfortunately muffed two punts, the first one travelling a measly 17 yards, and the second travelling less than 30 net yards.
Instead of flipping the field, these miscues on special teams set the Aggies up near midfield on both occasions, giving them a short field against an Auburn defence that was beginning to wear down with the both rugged A&M running game and the slippery scrambling of Aggies QB Marcel Reed.
Throw in a missed 40 yard field goal and unfortunately it turned out to be a sloppy night for the Auburn special teams unit in Jordan Hare.
3. 2nd half offence:
I’m sure everyone saw the graphic that the broadcast posted late in the 4th quarter, which noted that the Auburn offence totalled -9 yards up until that point in the quarter.
A very troubling graphic to read.
In a game you’re playing at home, and after showing signs throughout the game that your offence can effectively move the ball, to just shut down like that is concerning.
The offence turned into a shell of themselves. They mixed in a Payton Thorne interception, a few quarterback sacks, and a plethora of false starts. Sloppy play.
They looked out of sorts and that the lights might be too bright for them as a unit.
They jumped out to a very quick 21 point lead but failed to sustain long, clock chewing drives in the second half, which good teams do when trying to seal a tough SEC victory.
Add in the fact that their defence was starting to get gassed after being on the field for almost 90 plays (again that stat is inflated given the game went to overtime), the lack of second half offensive production was a troubling theme. Could have cost them.
Finally a cheerful Sunday morning wake up. We haven’t had many of those this year. The magic of Jordan-Hare stadium at night is still alive.
Hugh Freeze earns an astronomical win versus a ranked opponent still fighting for their playoff lives in a game that (hopefully) could be program changing and help keep some recruits already committed in the fold, and reel in some new ones.
Hats off to the Aggies, they came into Jordan-Hare and gave Auburn all they could handle on Saturday night with impressive quarterback play and a rugged running game.
Special shoutout to both Jarquez Hunter and OT hero KeAndre Lambert-Smith.
Hunter played his heart out in his last home game of his Auburn career.
He really was a workhorse on the ground in this one, carrying the load for Auburn, finishing with a total of 28 carries for 130 yards and a whopping 3 touchdowns.
A 4 OT thriller. Seems fitting for these Tigers. They don’t make anything easy.
Auburn fans probably woke up with a few more grey hairs after this one and should probably visit their doctor to undergo a heart scan to make sure everything is still operating properly in that regard after all the swings in this one, but they pull it out in the end with an overly stressful, hard fought victory.
On to Tuscaloosa for the last game of the 2024 season for Auburn.
The Iron Bowl. On the road. End of the Payton Thorne and Jarquez Hunter eras in orange and blue.
Won’t mention what happened in the last Iron Bowl, but let’s go get some revenge in their house.
War Eagle!
