KeAndre Lambert-Smith Etches Name into Auburn Legend

KeAndre Lambert-Smith's game winning catch against Texas A&M was much bigger than just taking Auburn to five wins on the season.

Auburn Tigers wide receiver Keandre Lambert-Smith catches the go-ahead score in overtime against Texas A&M. / Photo by Zach Bland, Auburn Tigers

When Auburn Tigers wide receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith looks back on his brief tenure on the Plains, the dramatic win over Texas A&M will be forever etched on his memory.

GAME WINNER BIG PLAY DRE

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— Auburn Football (@AuburnFootball) November 24, 2024

One of the truly unique joys of the college game is seeing jubilant fans acting on the spur of the moment and invading the field of play without malice.

Lambert-Smith should undoubtedly be extremely proud of the season he's put together under trying circumstances. He's tied for the SEC lead with eight touchdowns and third in yards with 865. And now he holds a golden moment in time which will forever be close to his heart.

Indeed, the former Nittany Lion got the film ending he was hoping he might get when he took to social media prior to the game.

"I don't know, it felt different. I put on my story, 'last one in Jordan-hare, let's make it memorable,' and that is definitely something I will never forget," Lambert-Smith said post game. "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."

The play helped lead to a celebration among the Auburn Family that displayed an atmosphere that belied the Tigers' 5-6 record.

"I’m just so thankful," head coach Hugh Freeze said after the game. "Thankful to be at Auburn, and thankful to give our fans a win like that. Hopefully it’s a sign of many to come. Lots of recruits in that locker room. They need to come join us and help us to continue to build our roster so we can have more nights like this.”

It's not hyperbole to suggest if/when Freeze signs a top-five recruiting class next week and brings the Auburn Tigers back to national prominence, history will point to Lambert-Smith's catch as a key moment in Auburn's resurgence.

Hollywood endings have been few and far between during Freeze's often chaotic second year in command - all-too-often things simply haven't gone to plan when they've hit the field.

Ironically the play in the fourth overtime, which decided the game in the Tigers favor, was one they'd tried to iron out previously, but without success until Saturday night when it mattered the most.

"We have run that play since I've been here, since the summer," Lambert-Smith revealed. "We hit it every day in practice against the defense. I was low key pitching for them to call it. We tried it on one of the previous overtimes, I think it was the one where Payton scrambled and threw it out of bounds, and then we came back to it, and I'm like, 'P, just throw it, it's just like practice, just throw it and I'm ready to catch.' He threw it, and I had to win, and I won. We won."

Whereas at times before, quarterback Payton Thorne was tentative, when push came to shove he slung it with authority in the belief that his Lambert-Smith could win a duel for the ball.

"First off, it was a heck of a catch," Thorne enthused. "The ball was a little behind him, and I had to throw it a little earlier than usual. We dressed up the boundary side more than we usually do on that play, and I was a tad late getting back but not too late. I put it up there and Dre had a few contested catches tonight, so obviously a great play by him." 

It could be suggested that Lambert-Smith can translate his skill set over the NFL when the time comes, but for Thorne, he will very likely be searching for a different career path when his time is up at Auburn.

This season has perhaps been the hardest for Thorne out of all the players on the Tigers roster, so even the quarterback's harshest critics must have felt he deserved a positive outcome on Saturday at long last.

Thorne prolonging his playing time now depends on showing the same kind of fight and levels of execution when they face Alabama in the Iron Bowl on Saturday, but the positive juices are flowing at long last.