Auburn Daily

Stock Report Following Auburn's Win over Texas A&M

Auburn Tigers stock is on the rise after a thrilling four-overtime victory over the Texas A&M Aggies have rekindled bowl po

Stephen Atkinson

Auburn Tigers freshman linebacker Demarcus Riddick continued his upward trajectory in a win against the Texas A&M Aggies.
Auburn Tigers freshman linebacker Demarcus Riddick continued his upward trajectory in a win against the Texas A&M Aggies. / Austin Perryman, Auburn Tigers
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The Auburn Tigers changed things up on Saturday night and won a game they tried to lose (or have taken from them) numerous times. Several players came up clutch, but there's still some thing that need to get better.

Let's take a look at the stock report following Auburn's 43-41 win over Texas A&M.

Up – True Freshmen

Auburn’s true freshmen contributors had an incredible night from start to finish. It was receiver Cam Coleman early on with big plays leading to scores, but safety Kaleb Harris made game-saving plays at the end.

Harris, who has turned into a sure tackler if there ever is one from the safety spot, had a key open field tackle late in the fourth quarter. On a 3rd and 13 play for the Aggies with 2:40 remaining Amari Daniels carried around left end. For a moment it appeared he may have a chance to pick up the first down before Harris was able to get him to the turf.

Auburn was able to get the ball back and send the game into overtime. In the third overtime coordinator Collin Klein schemed up a play targeting Harris and fellow true freshman Jay Crawford on the left side of the formation.

Tight end Tre Watson motioned right across the formation then back out left. Harris and Crawford stayed true to their assignments, and Harris’s tight coverage forced the ball low and outside, giving the Tigers the stop.

Harris and Crawford accounted for 12 tackles, nine being solos.

End Malik Blocton had a pair of stops in the Aggie backfield. Linebacker Demarcus Riddick, who in recent weeks has proven to be a demon in the open field, had several clutch plays as a third-down spy on Aggies quarterback Marcel Reed. He had a sack, a tackle for loss and a pass breakup.

Malcolm Simmons handled punt returns flawlessly after taking over responsibilities midseason. His lone return went for 13 yards. He also had an eight-yard catch on Auburn’s game-tying field goal drive.

Coleman’s big day resulted in seven catches for 128 yards and two touchdowns.

UP – Field Goals

It goes without saying, a key part of the debacle that has been the 2024 Auburn football team – a 5-6 team that isn’t that far off from being 10-1 – has been the inability to make field goals.

Ian Vachon, Auburn’s third kicker this season, missed a 40-yard field goal in the third quarter that came out more like a knuckleball. Hugh Freeze said after that game that he normally doesn’t approach kickers after misses, but he joked with Vachon that he’s never seen Vachon take such a bad swing. Vachon responded back to Freeze that he was fine moving forward, and that proved to be true.

Vachon, formerly from Birmingham-Southern, made from 29 with five seconds remaining to force overtime. In overtime, after a series of wildly awful officiating calls, the zebras set up Auburn with a 3rd and 25. Payton Thorne made a crucial play at a key time giving Auburn a chance at points.

He could have been sacked on the play but was able to escape and shorten Vachon’s field goal attempt by about 10 or 12 yards from where he could have been sacked. Vachon delivered again, this time from 41 yards. Those three points were critical in getting Auburn to a third overtime period.

Down – Officiating in Overtime

Officiating played a quiet part of the game for all of regulation. In Auburn’s second overtime possession things got weird.

After an 11-yard run by Thorne on the first play of the series, Thorne lofted a fade down the right sideline into the end zone for Lambert-Smith. A&M corner Jayvon Thomas got beat, and just as he did a few possessions earlier on Cam Coleman, he reached out and held Lambert-Smith rather than giving up the score. Lambert-Smith couldn’t find the ball, and so the officials ignored the fact that Thomas was holding on to Lambert-Smith’s name plate.

The next play was an even more atrocious call. Auburn ran a mesh-like concept with Lambert-Smith dragging across the middle, right to left. Robert Lewis and Rivaldo Fairweather, who were lined up to the left of the formation, made their way to the middle of the field about 10 yards deep to occupy the Aggie defenders while Lambert-Smith made his way underneath. Thorne found him and Lambert-Smith who made his way to the Aggies’ two-yard line.

Rub/pick plays in crucial times and the officiating surrounding them have been at the center of controversy in college football in the last decade -- see Notre Dame at Florida State or Clemson versus Alabama. But that was not the case in this instance. While it was likely a designed clear-out, there was no contact. The line judge threw a flag based on what he thought might have happened.

Freeze joked after the game that he’s never been more ready to fight in his life. And he was in the right. The officials wiped out what was looking like an eventual touchdown drive, and it took Thorne’s escape from a sack on third down for Auburn to have a chance at a field goal.

Down – Play-calling and Execution in the 4th Quarter

If we’re being honest about it, Auburn’s first four offensive possessions of the quarter were  predictably bad possessions. There’s no “Stock Down” about it. They were in line with how the Tigers offense performed late in games in losses versus California, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Vanderbilt.

Unfortunately, it's what we've come to expect. Auburn's play calling and execution in the fourth quarter of games have been a penny stock, nowhere to go but up.

Thorne, who otherwise played one of the better games of his Auburn career, rolled right on the second play of the quarter and threw into coverage. Any number of Aggies could have intercepted it, and after it ricocheted into the air B.J. Mayes came down with it.

The next three series were three-and-outs. Jarquez Hunter had 130 yards for the game and has been reliable down the stretch of the season. However, he got his touches on these series when the Tigers were behind the chains. The Auburn play callers sided with the Tigers’ ever-inconsistent air attack. Auburn’s line had difficulty picking up the blitz. Thorne's rarely recognizes a blitz, and the Tigers went Interception, Punt, Punt, Punt.

Four possessions, 11 plays, -14 yards, and an interception.

Fortunately for the team, the defense was able to come up enough stops to keep the game close at 31-28. The Auburn offense recovered on its final possession of regulation going 74 yards in 15 plays to tie the game.

Up – Auburn Family

Auburn was a 4-6 team coming into the game, and Jordan-Hare Stadium was electric. There's no doubt the Auburn fans and the atmosphere played a part in disrupting the Aggies freshman quarterback and provided a boost to the home team. Recruits in attendance notice those things too.

Well done Auburn Family.

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Stephen Atkinson
STEPHEN ATKINSON