Nov. 6, 2017
By Greg Ostendorf
AuburnTigers.com
AUBURN, Ala. -- Coming off the bye week, Auburn continued its winning ways with a 42-27 win at Texas A&M, and as a result, both Braden Smith and Aidan Marshall were recognized by the SEC on Monday.
Smith, the senior right guard who has now started 36 consecutive games for Auburn, was named the SEC offensive lineman of the week. Smith played a major role in keeping quarterback Jarrett Stidham upright -- Stidham was only sacked twice -- and he helped pave the way for Kerryon Johnson, who finished with 145 yards on 29 carries.
As a team, the Tigers accounted for 496 total yards -- 268 passing and 228 rushing.
Congrats to @SEC OL of the week Braden Smith.
87% Grade
8 Knockdown blocks
5 Intimidation Blocks
8 1st Down/Touchdown Blocks#WarEagle pic.twitter.com/duDBgua230- Herb Hand (@CoachHand) November 6, 2017
Marshall, Auburn's punter, earned SEC co-freshman of the week honors for his efforts against the Aggies. The walk-on averaged 47.4 yards on his five punts with a long of 70 yards, and more importantly, he held Texas A&M's dangerous return man Christian Kirk in check throughout the game. Kirk finished without a single return yard Saturday.
"How about our punter?" Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said after the game. "There was a lot of stress that goes into dealing with Christian Kirk back there, and he had a great day. Not a good day, but a great day -- for a walk-on freshman. I'm real proud of him."
Greg Ostendorf is a Senior Writer for AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @greg_ostendorf