AUBURN — Despite four overtimes and a 21-point comeback, Texas A&M football suffered a heartbreaking loss Saturday at Auburn.
The loss puts the Aggies’ College Football Playoff hopes in grave danger ahead of a huge matchup next week against Texas.
The Aggies fell behind early then roared back for their first lead of the game with four minutes left, 31-28. But Auburn’s offense reignited on its final drive of the fourth quarter to send the game to overtime.
The Tigers had been held to negative yardage in the fourth quarter before their final drive, as the Aggies scored 10 unanswered points. Auburn’s first four fourth-quarter possession ended with an interception and three punts.
A&M quarterback Marcel Reed finished 22-for-35 for 297 yards, three touchdowns and interception. He added 90 yards on the ground and another score. Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne completed 19-of-31 passes for 301 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
Auburn wideout KeAndre Lambert-Smith made the play of the game, snagging a contest pass from Thorne for the deciding two-point try in the fourth overtime. A&M responded with some trickeration, as Reed motioned out wide then cycles back into the backfield post-snap to take a backward pitch from Terry Bussey. As Reed rolled to his right, he found Amari Daniels in the end zone, but the running back dropped the pass as Auburn fans and players descended into celebration.
It erased what was an impressed comeback from Reed and Co., who scored 10 points over 10 minutes in the fourth after struggling for most of the second and third quarters.
Saturday night in Auburn got off to a rocky start as they were down 21-7 at halftime.
The Tigers jumped on the Aggies early, scoring 21 unanswered points to start the game, aided by a missed field goal by Randy Bond and an interception by Reed deep in Auburn’s territory.
A&M struggled to stop the running game while also giving up explosive plays that put them in the early hole.
Auburn finished the first two quarters with 240 total yards, with 190 coming in the air. They were led by freshman wide receiver Cam Coleman who entered the break with four receptions, 112 yards, and two touchdowns.
Despite being down at the half, the Aggies had been able to move the football, tallying 168 yards and dominating the time of possession at 19:27. However, they weren’t able to cash in consistently, and their miscues resulted in a double-digit deficit at the break.
Reed threw for 88 passing yards and led the team in rushing with 45 yards in the first two quarters.
The Aggies won the toss to start the game and deferred to the second half, putting their defense on the field first. The Tigers then marched down the field for a 10-play drive that was capped by a 2-yard touchdown run by running back Jarquez Hunter.
The Aggies’ opening offensive possession ended with a missed 54-yard field goal from kicker Randy Bond and the Tigers quickly capitalized off the mistake. This time with a 65-yard touchdown pass from Thorne to freshman Cam Coleman to take the early double-digit lead, 14-0.
After a Reed interception in Auburn territory, the Tigers capitalized on the mistake and drove down the field for a six-play, 88-yard drive. Coleman caught his second touchdown of the day, 21-0 with 13:09 left in the first half.
A&M didn’t quit, though. Terry Bussey took the snap to end a 15-play drive and, and he punched in from 2 yards out, 21-7 with 4:13 left in the half.
Next for No. 15 Texas A&M is a much anticipated in-state clash with No. 3 Texas at Kyle Field.
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This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas A&M vs Auburn football: Aggies falls in quadruple overtime
