Sept. 17, 2016
By Jeff Shearer
AuburnTigers.com
AUBURN, Ala. - Tony Stevens took some satisfaction Saturday in his career-high 8 catches, but he would have gladly traded all of them for a W.
"They got the ball in my hands," said Stevens, a senior. "I made plays when my number was called. Unfortunately, all of those catches don't mean anything because we lost the game. That's all that really matters."
Stevens picked up where he left off last week, when he scored two touchdowns against Arkansas State.
In the first half against Texas A&M, he had 6 receptions, adding 2 more in the second half to finish with 86 yards, also a career-high, in Auburn's 29-16 defeat.
"I just do what my coach asks me to do," said Stevens, who accounted for more than half of Auburn's receiving yards.
Stevens credited Auburn's defense for limiting Texas A&M and giving Auburn's offense opportunities.
"We've got to find that spark. Once we get a spark, we'll take it from there. We've got to go out there and score, and play to our best," he said. "When we play to our best, we know we can beat anybody."
Auburn's quarterbacks targeted Stevens a hefty 14 times, but he refused to declare himself the Tigers' primary option.
"I wouldn't call it a 'go-to guy,' but if the ball is thrown my way, I just do my best to make a play," he said. "Marcus (Davis) was out there making plays. Kyle Davis made plays. We all share the load."
Auburn played two quarterbacks against the Aggies, with John Franklin III taking over in the fourth quarter for Sean White.
"John did pretty well," Stevens said. "First time out there in 2-minute drill. If the play wasn't there, he broke down and ran, got the first down. He did some pretty good things. Made some pretty good throws. Sean gave us a spark, too."
It wasn't enough against Texas A&M.
"Everybody's just sad because we lost," Stevens said. 'I'm not a loser. We like to win. Unfortunately, we didn't come up with a W, so we're a little down right now.'
Stevens said, by Sunday, the Tigers would be ready to roll again, with LSU coming to Auburn next week for another SEC West showdown.
"We just have to score. We have to do a better job," Stevens said. "We have to execute. We've got to go out there and fight."
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @jeff_shearer