The Auburn Tigers were unable to secure a four-game win streak heading into the Iron Bowl, getting upset by the New Mexico State Aggies 31-10 on Saturday night. Not much, if anything, went right for the Tigers who trailed the entirety of the contest.
“There is nothing positive I can say about tonight,” said Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze. “Complete as we played in our last three games, it was the exact opposite today, and it’s very disappointing.”
Auburn totaled 213 yards of offense compared to New Mexico State’s 414 total yards. The Aggies combined for 201 passing yards and 213 rushing yards while Auburn managed 148 passing yards and only 65 rushing yards.
One of the game's defining statistics was the time of possession. The Aggies finished the night with an average possession time of 4:51, compared to 2:35 for Auburn. New Mexico State held the ball for a total of 38:50 to Auburn's 21:10.
“We could never get in any rhythm whatsoever to establish a run game,” Freeze said. “And then (New Mexico State) ate the clock up and continued to stay on the field.”
New Mexico State found the end zone on its first possession of the game as a 9-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Diego Pavia gave the Aggies an early first-quarter lead over the Tigers – a lead they would hold for the rest of the night.
Auburn responded to the Aggies' scoring drive by going three-and-out, quickly giving New Mexico State the ball back. Quick offensive possessions became a problem for the Tigers for the rest of the night as Auburn struggled to keep its offense on the field and its defense off of it.
At the end of the first quarter, the Tigers had only run five plays, maintaining possession of the ball for only 2:55.
The second quarter brought more plays and more time on the field for the Tiger offense, with Auburn finding the end zone midway through the second quarter when Payton Thorne completed a 32-yard pass to Rivaldo Fairweather to tie the game at seven. Auburn had 81 yards in the drive, 38% of the Tigers' total yardage in the game. Fairweather's score was the only time Auburn reached the end zone in the game.
Just when Auburn seemed to have found its offensive rhythm, the Aggies continued to chew the clock for the rest of the half.
New Mexico State took a 10-7 lead over the Tigers with 26 seconds left in the second quarter after an 11-play, 63-yard drive scoring drive that took 6:02 off the clock and resulted in a field goal. With only 26 seconds to respond before halftime, the Tigers saw the clock run after two plays in their final drive.
Auburn got the ball to start the second half but punted the ball away after a seven-play, 18-yard drive that was hurt by a pair of Auburn penalties. Penalties were a problem for the Tigers, especially for the offensive line which was flagged five times in the game.
New Mexico State responded with a 10-play, 80-yard scoring drive that resulted in a touchdown, taking a further 5:24 off the clock and stretching the lead to two possessions.
Getting the ball back with just under five minutes left in the third quarter, the Tigers went three-and-out, and New Mexico State ended the third quarter with possession of the football and a 17-7 lead over the Tigers.
The Aggies started the fourth quarter with a scoring drive that totaled nearly 10 minutes of possession and ended with a touchdown, helped by a successful fake punt to begin the quarter.
The Tigers responded with a field goal to make the score 24-10 but with the Auburn defense having to quickly take the field again, New Mexico State found the end zone once again, sealing the upset win for the Aggies.
Auburn ended its final offensive drive on its 30-yard line, turning the ball over on downs and securing New Mexico State’s first win over a Power Five team in program history.
The loss was Auburn's largest upset defeat in program history, as the Tigers closed as a 24.5-point favorite. Auburn now looks ahead to the Iron Bowl against No. 8 Alabama to close the regular season. The annual rivalry game will kick off at 2:30 p.m. CST from Jordan-Hare Stadium and will be nationally televised on CBS.
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Grace Heim is a junior from Enterprise, Alabama, majoring in English Literature. She started with The Plainsman in January 2023.
