The Tigers dominated the first half, then the Aggies tied things up forcing four overtimes. PHOTOS BY ROBERT NOLES
BY BRANDON HUGHES FOR THE OBSERVER
AUBURN — On an unforgettable Senior Day at Jordan-Hare Stadium, the Auburn Tigers (5-6, 2-5) delivered a quadruple overtime thriller, outlasting the Texas A&M Aggies (8-3, 5-2) in a heart-pounding 43-41 victory. In the final home games of their collegiate careers, seniors Jarquez Hunter, Payton Thorne, and KeAndre Lambert-Smith put an exclamation point on their time at Auburn. Along with freshman phenom Cam Coleman, they led the offensive attack in the Tigers’ dramatic triumph, keeping bowl hopes alive and sending fans flooding onto Pat Dye Field in a wild scene of celebratory euphoria. This game had everything: clutch plays, dazzling catches, unrelenting determination, and edge-of-your-seat moments that will be etched into the minds of fans for years to come. With their backs against the wall, the Tigers fought tooth and nail, refusing to back down in a contest that showcased the heart and grit of a team determined to send its seniors out with a win and keep their postseason dreams alive.
From Hunter’s relentless running to Thorne’s poised leadership under pressure, every play seemed to carry the weight of a season of frustrations and disappointments. Coleman’s follow-up performance to his breakout game a week ago added a spark of youthful brilliance, while Lambert-Smith’s improbable catches — including the game-winner — electrified the crowd.
This game looked like it would be deja vu all over again: Auburn storming to an early lead only to see the defense trying to hold on as the offense floundered while the opponent climbed back into the game and lose the lead late. This time, however, Auburn found a way. The defense came up with timely stops, and the offense executed a near-flawless two-minute drive to send the game into overtime with a walk-on kicker. From there, the offense and defense worked in lockstep to secure the victory.
Emotions were high in the postgame interview room.
Hunter talked about being on the field for the rush of the home crowd: “I was hoping we would win so I could get my first experience of rushing the field. It was such an exciting experience with all the fans out there just cheering us on.”
Thorne was asked about his emotions in the wake of the overtime win: “My emotions are kind of tough to put into words right now. I am still kind of riding that high. It was great. I did not know if they were going to storm the field or not, and I turned around, and some fan was smacking me in the head. That is when I was like, ‘Whoa, this is pretty sweet.’ It was awesome.”
Lambert-Smith spoke about the win and the field-storming fans: “I don’t know, it felt different…and that is definitely something I will never forget. I was in the crowd, I was surfing, it felt like a movie. I felt like it was a great way to send the seniors out, the guys who have been here four or five years. I’m happy that I could be the one to do it; I don’t take it lightly.”
During his weekly press conference leading up to the game, Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko was asked about keeping his team focused with their rivalry game with Texas looming the week after Auburn, and he said, “Our focus is single-handedly on Texas.” He then quickly corrected himself and said, “I mean Auburn.”
That comment did not go unnoticed in the Tiger locker room, and Hunter addressed it postgame. “I feel like they were very disrespectful to us. I felt like, as a team, we took that personal. They just looked over us, and…we had to show them what we was about.”
The Auburn offense clicked from the opening kickoff. Taking the field after a 35-yard kickoff return by Jeremiah Cobb, they executed a near-perfect drive punctuated by the first of Hunter’s three rushing touchdowns when he punched it in from the two-yard line, giving the Tigers an early 7-0 lead.
The visiting Aggies missed a 53-yard field goal on their first drive of the game, and Auburn wasted no time feeding off the momentum of the miss. On the second play of their second possession of the game, Thorne found a streaking Coleman down the middle of the field for a 63-yard score.
Once again, the Aggies put together a drive that looked as if it would result in their first points of the game before Auburn senior safety — and Texas native — Jerrin Thompson intercepted an errant pass at the Auburn 12-yard line. The Tigers moved 88 yards in only six plays, aided by a 60-yard catch and run by Lambert-Smith. Thorne would find a wide-open Coleman in the endzone for a 15-yard touchdown catch, stretching the Tiger lead to 21-0. Coleman would eclipse the 100-yard receiving mark in the first half, reaching rarified air at Auburn. The last Auburn player with back-to-back 100-yard receiving games was Sammie Coates in 2013, and the last Auburn freshman to do it was Ronney Daniels in 1999.
Despite the early offensive onslaught, the 15th-ranked Aggies didn’t lay down. By the mid-point of the third quarter, Texas A&M had battled back to tie the game at 21-21. Auburn would retake the lead two drives later on a one-yard rush by Hunter.
Clinging to a seven-point lead, Thorne threw an interception, setting the Aggies up at the Auburn 15-yard line, but the Tiger defense stood fast, didn’t allow a yard, and forced a field goal, shrinking the lead to 28-24.
Texas A&M took its first lead of the game with just over four minutes left to play on an eight-yard run by Amari Daniels. Finding itself down 31-28, the Auburn offense went three-and-out and punted with 2:58 left to play in regulation. The Tiger defense got a stop and forced an Aggie punt, setting the Auburn offense up at their own 15-yard line with 2:33 to go and no timeouts. Up to this point, the Tiger offense had run 11 plays in the fourth quarter for a total of -14 yards. Things looked bleak. However, facing a critical 4th down and three, Thorne kept the drive alive with a 23-yard run — a run that seemed to spark the offense. Tiger kicker Ian Vashon would make a 29-yard kick to tie the game at 31-31 and send the game to overtime.
Both teams would score a touchdown in the first overtime and trade field goals in the second overtime. NCAA rules dictate that beginning with the third overtime, teams will alternate two-point tries from the three-yard line until a winner is determined. Neither team converted in the third overtime, but Auburn converted its play on the first possession when Thorne zipped a high pass across the middle, and Lambert-Smith made his second jaw-dropping catch of the night, giving the Tigers a 43-41 lead. The Aggies failed on their two-point attempt, ending the game and sparking pandemonium.
By the Numbers:
- Cam Coleman and KeAndre Lambert-Smith are the first teammates to record consecutive 100-yard receiving games in Auburn records back through 1949.
- After going 30 years between Auburn producing two 100-yard receivers and a 100-yard rusher in a game, they have now accomplished that feat in back-to-back games.
- Jarquez Hunter became the first Auburn running back to gain at least 125 yards and score 3 TDs in a game since 2017 (Kerryon Johnson).
Up Next:
Away versus Alabama at 2:30 p.m. on ABC.
