AUBURN, Ala. — A week after escaping by the narrowest of margins on a goal-line fumble, No. 3 Auburn was on the other side of the heartbreak Saturday.
A lost fumble and a botched snap in the final minutes cost Auburn in a 41-38 loss to Texas A&M that likely ended the Tigers’ national championship hopes.
Auburn fell to 7-2 overall and 4-2 in the SEC. It would take an improbable series of events for the Tigers to play their way back into the playoff picture.
A fumble at the Texas A&M 2-yard line by quarterback Nick Marshall with 2:37 left cost Auburn at least a chip shot field goal attempt that would have tied the score or a possible go-ahead touchdown.
But Auburn held Texas A&M (7-3, 3-3) and took possession at the Aggies’ 42 with 1:28 left in the game. But after getting to the 28 in just two plays, disaster struck again. The Aggies pounced on an errant snap to end Auburn
More Top Picks Best Barbell And Plate Packages
‘s hopes of another miraculous finish.After a wild first half, the teams combined for only 10 points in the third quarter as both defenses made some key third-down stops. Josh Lambo, who missed a 49-yard field goal attempt earlier in the quarter, connected on a 22-yarder to stretch the Aggies’ lead to 38-24 with 47 seconds left in the quarter.
Auburn responded with a 30-yard run by Marshall to the Aggies’ 35. Then, on the first play of the fourth quarter, the Tigers pulled to within a touchdown when Marshall hit wide receiver Quan Bray on a 31-yard pass down the left sideline, making it 38-31.
It was a strange first half with three huge plays — two in the first 2:07 and the third on the final play of the half — that propelled the Aggies to a stunning 35-17 lead despite the fact that Auburn had the ball more than twice longer than Texas A&M.
Kyle Allen, who replaced Kenny Hill as the Aggies’ starting quarterback a week earlier, found wide receiver Malcome Kennedy wide open over the middle for a 60-yard touchdown strike on their fourth offensive play of the game.
Auburn running back Cameron Artis-Payne lost a fumble on the Tigers’ first play from scrimmage. Three plays later, Allen hit wide receiver Josh Reynolds for a 36-yard touchdown pass to put Texas A&M up 14-0 with 12:53 left in the first quarter. That came two plays after Auburn defensive back Jonathan Jonesdropped an interception that would have been a certain touchdown.
Auburn answered with two Artis-Payne touchdowns to tie it — a 2-yard run and a 34-yard run down the right sideline.
Allen threw two more touchdown passes, one to wide receiver Ricky Seal-Jones and another to Reynolds. Auburn‘s Daniel Carlson kicked a 30-yard field goal and attempted another on the last play of the half that would have made it 28-20, but Myles Garrett blocked the kick and Deshazor Everett returned it 65 yards for a touchdown to make it 35-17.
NOTES: Auburn lost WR D’haquille Williams to what appeared to be a major knee injury. … Auburn RBCameron Artis-Payne
More Top Picks Best Designer Wallets To Use For Everyday
‘s 34-yard touchdown run in the first quarter put him above 1,000 yards for the season. The Tigers have had a 1,000-yard rusher for six consecutive seasons. Artis-Payne lost 5 yards Thursday when the Ole Miss stat crew made a correction to the official game stats from the previous week. … Texas A&M S Howard Matthews was ejected for a targeting hit on Melvin Ray, but the ruling was reversed.