COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Auburn's perfect record in Kyle Field remains intact after the 8th-ranked Tigers went on the road Saturday and knocked off No. 17 Texas A&M, 28-20, in the team's SEC opener. With the win, Auburn is now 4-0 all-time in College Station.
"I'm proud of our team," Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn said. "They showed a lot of guts. They showed a lot of heart. They played Auburn football. I felt like we won both lines of scrimmage, and I really felt like that was the key to the game."
The Tigers struck early and often in Saturday's contest. On their opening drive, sophomore wide receiver Anthony Schwartz took a reverse and went 57 yards to the house to make it 7-0. It was Auburn's longest rush of the season and the longest rush in Schwartz's career. It was also the longest rush by any Auburn in the series against Texas A&M.
"Another thing we talked about was getting off to a fast start," Malzahn said. "We were able to get off to a fast start. We kind of took the crowd out early."
Two drives later, Auburn found the end zone again. This time, it was backup quarterback Joey Gatewood who connected with John Samuel Shenker on a six-yard touchdown pass. For Gatewood, it was his first career touchdown pass.
The Tigers took a 14-3 lead into the locker room at halftime.
In the second half, it was the Auburn defense that served as the catalyst. After allowing just 12 yards rushing to Texas A&M in the first half, the Tigers caused a turnover on the first play of the second half when safety Daniel Thomas forced a fumble and recovered it himself.
The turnover led to another Auburn score as starting quarterback Bo Nix marched the offense down the field and found Seth Williams for a 9-yard touchdown reception to make it 21-3.
Nix, a true freshman who was playing in his first true road game, finished 12 of 20 through the air for 100 yards and the touchdown. He also rushed 12 times for 38 yards, including a 7-yard run on third-and-five late in the fourth quarter to put the game away.
"Our quarterback, he's growing up before our eyes," Malzahn said. "First road start in this environment against that team, he did a really good job for us. He protected the football, and then of course the very last play was a huge zone read and he had enough (awareness) to him to get the first down and slide. You see him growing up before your eyes."
As a team, the Tigers outgained Texas A&M on the ground, 193-56.
The Aggies didn't score their first touchdown until early in the fourth quarter, but Auburn responded with a 12-play, 69-yard drive that took over six minutes and was capped off by an 8-yard touchdown run from JaTarvious Whitlow. The sophomore running back led the Tigers with 67 yards on 18 carries.
Senior Derrick Brown was dominant for the Auburn defense with four tackles, three tackles for loss, two sacks, two pass break-ups and a forced fumble. The two sacks and three tackles for loss were single-game career highs for the preseason All-American.
Fellow defensive lineman Tyrone Truesdell also added a sack, and the Tigers won the battle up front as they recorded seven tackles for loss, seven quarterback hurries and held Texas A&M to just 56 yards rushing, the fewest by the Aggies all-time in the series.
Auburn, who is now 49-32-5 all-time in SEC openers, moves to 4-0 on the season and will return home to host Mississippi State next Saturday. The game is set to kick off from Jordan-Hare Stadium at 6 p.m. CT and will be televised on ESPN.
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— Auburn Football (@AuburnFootball) September 21, 2019
Game Notes
- Captains: Derrick Brown, Marlon Davidson, Jeremiah Dinson, Daniel Thomas
- Coin Toss: Texas A&M wins the toss and defers. Auburn will receive.
- Attendance: 101,681
TEAM NOTES
- First-time starters for Auburn: James Owens Moss
- Auburn has scored in 84 consecutive games, the second-longest streak in school history
- Auburn now holds a 49-32-5 all-time record in SEC openers
- Auburn held Texas A&M to the fewest points in the first half in the series since 2015, when Auburn led 14-3 at the half
- Texas A&M was held to just 56 yards rushing, the fewest by the Aggies in the series with Auburn; the previous low was 133 rushing yards in 2013
- Auburn is now 3-1 in one-score games vs. Texas A&M
INDIVIDUAL NOTES/OFFENSE
- Anthony Schwartz' 57-yard touchdown run in the first quarter was his first score of the season and his sixth career rushing TD. It was a career long rush for the sophomore and Auburn's longest rush of the season. It's also the longest rush by an Auburn player in the series vs. Texas A&M; the previous long was 53 yards by Tre Mason in 2013
- Joey Gatewood's 6-yard touchdown pass to John Samuel Shenker in the first quarter was Gatewood's first career touchdown pass. It was Shenker's first score of the season and second career TD catch
- Seth Williams' 9-yard touchdown catch from Bo Nix in the third quarter was Williams' second score of the season and seventh of his career. It was Nix' fifth touchdown pass of the season
- JaTarvious Whitlow has 1,195 career rushing yards, moving him to 40th on the Auburn career rushing list, passing Tom Bryan (1,144 from 1964-66)
- Whitlow scored his fourth rushing touchdown of the season on an 8-yard run in the fourth quarter. He has 10 career rushing touchdowns and 12 overall scores.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES/DEFENSE
- Daniel Thomas recorded his third career forced fumble and third career fumble recovery
- Derrick Brown recorded his fourth career forced fumble. Two sacks and three TFL were career game highs for Brown.
- Noah Igbinoghene (8), Jamien Sherwood (5) and Roger McCreary (6) had career bests in tackles, while K.J. Britt (7) and Zakoby McClain (4) tied career highs
INDIVIDUAL NOTES/SPECIAL TEAMS
- Auburn holds the SEC record for consecutive PAT with 291, an SEC record and the longest current streak in the nation. With four PAT today, Anders Carlson is now 59-59 on PAT for his career