TEXAS A&M SHOCKS NO. 3 AUBURN

Nov. 8, 2014

AUBURN, Ala.(AP)--Twice the ball didn't bounce Auburn's way like it has so often.

In a 41-38 upset on Saturday, Texas A&M pulled off some of the late-game magic that the third-ranked Tigers have made their trademark.

Freshman Kyle Allen threw four touchdown passes in the first half and the Aggies recovered two late fumbles in a game that likely ended the Tigers' playoff hopes.

"It hurts. It hurts our team," Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said. "We had goals and dreams and we didn't get it done."

The Aggies (7-3, 3-3 Southeastern Conference), who came in as 23-point underdogs, wound up dancing on the sideline - and on Auburn's postseason hopes.

"These past two weeks, no one really believed in us, but I feel like we always do our best when no one believes in us," Texas A&M offensive lineman Mike Matthews said.

The Tigers (7-2, 4-2, No. 3 CFP) twice appeared to be driving toward a go-ahead touchdown before coughing it up on plays that never really got going. First, Julien Obioha won a scramble for the ball at the 2 after Nick Marshall and Cameron Artis-Payne got tangled up in the backfield.

"It was a poor exchange, it's something that never really happens," said Artis-Payne, who rushed for 221 yards and two touchdowns.

Marshall said Artis-Payne had come up with the ball first. Obioha was more concerned with who had it last.

"A lot of stuff happens at the bottom of a pile. I'm not going to say exactly who had possession of it," he said. "But when it is all said and done I ended up with the ball and we had possession, so yes I did get the fumble."

The Aggies couldn't get away from their goal line before punting, and Trey Williams just managed to push the ball out of the end zone to avoid a safety on third down.

Then, the Tigers drove inside the 30 for one more shot. Marshall appeared to be still checking to a different play when center Reese Dismukes snapped it on first down from the 28.

"It was just a miscommunication," Dismukes said.

Alonzo Williams recovered with 54 seconds left, setting off a celebratory dance for players on the Aggies' sideline and leaving most of the Jordan-Hare Stadium crowd in stunned silence.

Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin said stoppages to review several key plays late - all upheld by replay officials - were nerve-racking.

"That's going to happen in big games and close games," Sumlin said. "The ball bounced our way."

It tied the most points Auburn had scored in a regulation loss, which also happened against Florida in 1995 and Wake Forest in 1979.

Texas A&M had dropped three straight SEC games before toppling a contender.

The defending SEC champion and national runner-up Tigers also had the nation's longest home winning streak (14 games) end. They'd won two straight on games that went down to the final play, and coincidentally the biggest play against No. 12 Mississippi was a goal-line fumble.

Allen was poised and steady in his second career start and first on the road. He completed 19 of 29 passes for 277 yards with an interception, mostly avoiding miscues against a beleaguered Auburn defense.

"He definitely had a little swagger to him," Matthews said. "He came in this game and he didn't seem like a freshman at all, he seemed like he has started four years at this university."

Allen capped Texas A&M's first two drives with long touchdown passes, 60 yards to Malcome Kennedy and 36 to Josh Reynolds for a 14-0 lead. Kennedy had 118 yards receiving and Reynolds also caught a 7-yard TD pass in the second quarter.

It was a turnaround from the highly touted freshman quarterback's first start, a shaky 21-16 win over Louisiana-Monroe. But Allen's play stepped up along with the competition and he outdueled Marshall.

"He was a lot more relaxed tonight than a week ago, believe it or not," Sumlin said. "I think that showed."

It might not have come down to the wire, but Myles Garrett blocked a field goal and Deshazor Everett returned it 65 yards down the Auburn sideline for a touchdown on the final play of the first half, a rapid-fire 10-point turnaround. Auburn spent the rest of the game trying to peck away at that 35-17 deficit. Josh Lambo kicked field goals of 22 and 27 yards in the second half.

Marshall completed 15 of 21 passes for 219 yards and a touchdown while running 18 times for 67 yards. He had only 80 passing yards going into the fourth quarter before finally heating up, with leading receiver D'haquille Williams sidelined for most of the game with a right knee injury.

"We're going to get everyone's best shot," Tigers defensive tackle Angelo Blackson said. "No one's just going to roll over and take a butt whipping."

ABOUT THE GAME...

•The Aggies opened a 35-17 halftime lead and then hold on in the fourth quarter to beat No. 3 Auburn 41-38 at Jordan-Hare Stadium. The Aggies remain undefeated (2-0) on Auburn’s home turf.

•The win over the No. 3-ranked Tigers marked the second-highest ranked road victory by the Aggies in program history behind only 2012’s epic 29-24 win over top-ranked Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

•With the win, Aggies head coach Kevin Sumlin becomes the first A&M coach with more than two road wins over top 10 foes. He was tied with Paul “Bear” Bryant and Emory Bellard. Amazingly, Sumlin’s teams have done it in less than three seasons (36 games).

•The Aggies closed out their road schedule with a 4-2 record in games away from Kyle Field (3-2 in true road games and 1-0 in neutral site contests). For his career at Texas A&M, Sumlin improved to 14-4 in games away from Kyle Field (11-4 on road, 3-0 in neutral site games).

•Already bowl-eligible, Texas A&M moves to 7-3 overall and 3-3 in the Southeastern Conference and moves up the bowl ladder. 

ALLEN MATCHES PASSING TD RECORD

•True freshman QB Kyle Allen matched Texas A&M’s freshman record for passing touchdowns in a game with four TD tosses (all in the first half) against Auburn. The record was originally set by Kevin Murray vs. Arkansas in 1983 and matched by Jeff Granger vs. Tulsa in 1991, Reggie McNeal vs. Oklahoama in 2002 and Johnny Manziel vs. SMU in 2012.

•Allen threw for 277 yards on 19-of-29  passing. His 277 yards rank No. 8 on A&M’s freshman passing list behind six games by Johnny  Manziel and one by Kevin Murray.

TRENDS AND NOTABLES…

•The Aggies recovered a trio of fumbles, including two in the fourth quarter. The three takeaways were a season high for the Aggies. It was the most takeaways by A&M since last year’s UTEP game (4). It was the most fumble recoveries in a game by the Aggies since forcing and recovering three against Texas Tech in 2009.

•The Aggies’ initial offensive series yielded a quick strike 60-yard TD catch and run by senior WR Malcome Kennedy from freshman QB Kyle Allen. It was the seventh time in 10 games that the Aggies have scored on their opening series, with six TDs.

•Kennedy’s 60-yard catch was a career long, eclipsing a 39-yarder vs. Rice earlier this year. It was Kennedy’s first TD catch since returning from an injury that kept him out of the Mississippi State and Ole Miss games.

•Sophomore transfer WR Josh Reynolds reeled in his ninth and 10th TD catches of the season, which leads the SEC (pending Armani Cooper of Alabama’s game later tonight). Reynolds was already Texas A&M’s top receiving TD producer among first-year Aggies in school history.

•Redshirt freshman WR Ricky Seals-Jones grabbed his first TD catch in six games on a 23-yard grab in the second quarter. It was his first TD since game 3 vs. Rice. Seals-Jones had TD catches in each of the first three games but had a six-game dry spell until today. Seals-Jones also halted a two-game streak without any catches with his six catches for 46 yards against Auburn. 

•Senior DB Deshazor Everett’s 65-yard return of a blocked FG at the end of the first half was the 4th TD of his career - 2 by INT return, one by fumble return and today’s touchdown.

•The FG block was by freshman DE Myles Garrett, the first of his career and the second by the Aggies in 2014. Ricky Seals-Jones had a FG block in game 3 vs. Rice.

•Junior DB Devonta Burns led the team in tackles for the first time in his career with nine stops. 

Freshman QB Starters since 1972

Texas A&M has had 13 quarterbacks start games as freshmen since freshmen became eligible in 1972.

12th Man, Game Captains ...

•The Aggies’ 12th Man against the Tigers was Sam Moeller, a junior from San Antonio, Texas. He has served as the Aggies’ 12th Man in every game in 2013 and 2014 (23 straight starts).

•Game captains were seniors Deshazor Everett and Malcome Kennedy and juniors Julien Obioha and Drew Kaser. Auburn won the toss and deferred their choice to the second half. Texas A&M received the opening kickoff.