Auburn had been without a win against a ranked opponent since October 30, 2021 in a home win against No. 11 Ole Miss. The Tigers’ led No. 21 Oklahoma 21-10 with 14:14 remaining in the fourth quarter and were on top of No. 19 Missouri 17-3 in Columbia, MO with eight minutes left in the third quarter. Both ended in losses.
Tonight, the Tigers had a 21-0 lead over No. 15 Texas A&M quickly into the second quarter. It seemed as though Auburn would once again suffer a similar fate with the Aggies taking a late fourth quarter lead.
But, Freeze and the Tigers finally got over the hump in a four-overtime thriller defeating No. 15 Texas A&M 43-41 on a magical night inside of Jordan-Hare Stadium that ended in a field storming – marking Auburn’s first win over a power-four team with a winning record during Freeze’s tenure.
“It’s been that kind of year where you just battle through and fight through, and you keep climbing those cliffs. One thing I am so proud of is our locker room and continuing to fight,” Freeze said following the win. “No matter what people say, they have chosen to say that we are going to fight to the finish.”
The Tigers had a 300-yard passer, 100-yard rusher and two 100-yard receivers in a 469 yard, 43 point offensive performance to secure the four overtime win over the Aggies.
It started with true-freshman Cam Coleman, who had two of Auburn’s three-straight touchdowns to start the game, finished the day with 128 receiving yards on seven receptions. Coleman had receptions of 31, 63 and 15 – the latter two went for touchdowns – in the Tigers’ first three drives.
“Payton told me if the corner bites, he’s launching it. I got on the corner’s toes and I see the ball in the air, felt like the ball was in the air for like 15 seconds and I’m like ‘gah lee’ but it was a good feeling man,” Coleman said of the 63-yard touchdown reception. “When I caught the ball and scored I looked to the crowd and it was like white and blue flashing lights. It was an electric atmosphere. It was amazing.”
Along with Coleman, Jarquez Hunter, on his senior night, rushed for 130 yards on a career-high 28 attempts and had three touchdowns. Hunter had five carries of 10-or-more yards – all of which came in the second half.
"I was hoping we would win so I could get my first experience of rushing the field, it was such an exciting experience with all the fans out there just cheering us on."
Thorne, like teammate Hunter, had a physical night on the ground with 38 rushing yards of his own including a shoulder lowering 11-yard carry in overtime that had the senior quarterback spinning around to the ground.
“I turned back and nobody was there so I just took off,” Thorne said of the rush attempt. “It’s overtime, don’t need to protect my body now. I try my best no to slide most of the time…I like feeling like I play football.”
Through the air, Thorne threw for 301 yards completing 19-of-31 attempts with two touchdowns. In his final game inside of Jordan-Hare Stadium, the senior completed four passes of 30-or-more yards and eight of 10-or-more yards.
“I felt like we played more of a complete game as an offense. We were hitting. Just let confident and you win big games when you do that,” KeAndre Lambert-Smith said of the entire unit’s performance on Saturday night.
Lambert-Smith was brought in from Penn State to be a go-to receiver in the biggest moments for Auburn – a struggle of the last few seasons for the Tigers. He did just that with the two-point conversion grab in the fourth overtime to seal the deal for Auburn.
“Man, we ran that play since I been here in the summer,” Lambert-Smith said of the final conversion attempt. “We tried it in one of the previous overtimes and then we came back to it and I was like ‘Payton just throw it. It just like practice. I’ll make the catch,” and he threw it and I had to win and I won.”
When the Tigers’ defense made the stop on the other end, it was pandemonium on the plains.
“It was definitely something I’ll never forget. I was in the crowd and I was surfing. It felt like a movie,” Lambert-Smith said of the aftermath on the field.
Saturday night was more than just a fifth win in a still disappointing season. It was a spark. A spark for a coach that hadn’t gotten a proof of concept win – despite coming close on several attempts. A spark for a fan base that has sat through heartbreak after heartbreak the last four seasons. A spark for a likely top-five recruiting class just a week and a half away from signing day.
Auburn’s win over No. 15 Texas A&M was just what the program needed in its pursuit back to the top of the sport. It’s not there yet – but it’s certainly a start.
“I’m just so thankful. 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,” Freeze said. “They need to come join us and help us to continue to build our roster so we can have more nights like this.”
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Patrick is a junior from Auburn, Alabama, double majoring in journalism and marketing. He started with The Plainsman in the fall of 2022.
You can follow him on X (Twitter) at @patrickabingham
