Five Takeaways From Texas A&M's Four-Overtime Loss To Auburn

After overcoming a 14-point halftime deficit, the Aggies' comeback bid fell short, losing 43-41 in a quadruple-overtime showdown with the Auburn Tigers.

Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Marcel Reed (10) runs the ball as Auburn Tigers take on Texas A&M Aggies at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala., on Saturday, November 23, 2024. Auburn Tigers lead Texas A&M Aggies 21-7 at halftime. / Jake Crandall / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

If you were to open a dictionary and turn to the word "roller coaster," the definition might read "2024 football game between the Texas A&M Aggies and Auburn Tigers."

Right off the bat, the Aggie defense allowed three consecutive scoring drives from Auburn and quickly found themselves in a 21-0 hole early in the game.

Thankfully, the Aggies were able to show signs of life late in the second quarter, with Terry Bussey running in a score to put Texas A&M on the board and cut Auburn's lead to two scores.

Coming out of halftime, it's as if the script was completely flipped.

The Aggies struck with a pair of touchdowns to Noah Thomas, including a 73-yard score midway through the third quarter to tie up the ball game at 21 apiece.

Auburn running back Jarquez Hunter would score to give the Tigers a lead again, before a Randy Bond field goal and an Amari Daniels eight-yard touchdown run gave the Aggies a 31-28 lead.

Kicker Ian Vachon would play hero for the Tigers, however, sinking a 29-yard field goal with five seconds remaining to send the game into overtime.

After the two teams traded a touchdown and a field goal each, Payton Thorne found wide receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith for a two-point conversion, putting the pressure on Marcel Reed and the Aggies.

Unfortunately, it seems the pressure got to the Maroon and White. After a direct snap to Terry Bussey and a pitch back to Marcel Reed, Reed hurled the ball to Amari Daniels, who had the ball in his hands, and then he didn't, giving Auburn their biggest win of the 2024 season.

After the hectic contest, here are five takeaways from the game:

A Costly Slow Start

Auburn scores a touchdown, Randy Bond misses a field goal, Auburn scores another touchdown, Marcel Reed is intercepted, and Auburn scores yet another touchdown. That is how the night started for Mike Elko's crew. Too many opportunities were squandered for the Aggies, especially early in the game. Had the Aggies had a hot start out of the gate like their opposition did, the result may have been flipped tonight, and definitely would not have involved four overtimes.

All Hope Lost For Playoffs?

The short answer? Not entirely.

The Georgia Bulldogs locked themselves into the SEC Championship earlier today with their 59-21 win against the UMass Minutemen, and they will play the winner between the Aggies and Longhorns next week in the championship game. And if the Aggies can knock off their long-standing foes, they are sure to get some looks in the CFP rankings.

As if there wasn't enough emotion riding on that game already.

Strong Performance From Reed

Loss and the one interception he threw aside, Marcel Reed did not do bad at all at Jordan-Hare Stadium, completing 22 of 35 passes for 297 yards and three touchdowns. Reed also contributed strongly on the ground, which is typical from him, rushing 21 times for 66 yards. Mike Elko will surely look for that kind of performance again next week in the season finale, as well as two strong halves of football from his men.

Next Week Too Distracting?

The Aggies are facing off against the Longhorns in the first Lone Star Showdown since 2011, and even though Texas A&M had enough to worry about in the first half of the game tonight, you can't help but wonder if the pressure and the stipulations of next week's rivalry game got into the head of the Aggie players tonight.

Thankfully, the team now has a full week to prepare for this must-win situation that takes place at Kyle Field next week.

Less Love For The Tight Ends

One week removed from Tre Watson and Theo Melin Ohrstrom leading the Aggies in receiving yards, the two combined for three receptions for 24 yards, including a costly drop by Ohrstrom late in the game. The Aggies were very productive with the tight ends last week, and the offense bloomed with the on-field leadership of the two big men, but maybe they simply weren't a big part of the game plan this week.

The Aggies will look to keep their playoff hopes alive as they welcome the Texas Longhorns to Kyle Field coming up next week.

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