Against No. 5 Texas A&M, Auburn’s offense improved upon its Iron Bowl performance, and Bo Nix used his legs to scramble for two scores. However, in the last 15 minutes of game time, the offense disappeared.
Texas A&M came into Saturday's contest boasting the 20th ranked defense in the nation and the fifth-ranked rushing defense in yards allowed per game.
With Auburn’s banged-up offensive line and running backs, the Tigers struggled at times to find an offensive groove, but at the end of the third quarter, Auburn was up 20-14.
Things changed in the fourth quarter as Auburn's offense seemingly couldn’t buy a yard.
The Tigers put up a mere 21 yards of total offense in the fourth quarter, including negative nine yards rushing.
“We had two three-and-outs [in the fourth quarter] and that was tough,” said head coach Gus Malzahn. “In a game like that, we gotta be able to execute when the game is on the line.”
While Auburn only had the ball for four minutes in the final quarter, it is what they did with that time that cost them.
On the Tigers' first drive, the offense gained two yards and was forced to punt after taking a mere 90 seconds off the clock. The Aggies scored on the following drive to extend the 28-20.
The second offensive drive started with a two-yard run by Tank Bigsby, but a four-yard loss on a Bo Nix sack killed any momentum and the team was forced to punt two plays later. The Aggies went on to kick a field goal.
“The [Texas A&M defense] did a good job on first and second down, keeping us in third-and-long,” Nix said. "They did a good job in the fourth quarter.”
Auburn will finish the regular season on Saturday on the road against Mississippi State at 6:30 p.m. CST. The game will air on SEC Network.
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