AUBURN, Ala. – Cadillac went crazy and Auburn's defense went nuts.
Tank Bigsby and Jarquez Hunter both rushed for 121 yards, Auburn kept Texas A&M out of the end zone for 58 minutes, and freshman Alex McPherson kicked two field goals to lead the Tigers to a 13-10 victory Saturday at sold out Jordan-Hare Stadium, the first win for interim head coach Carnell Williams.
"If we can pull in the same direction, we can believe in each other, continue to fight, continue to serve, continue to be disciplined, continue to believe, the sky's the limit," said Williams, who received the game ball from Auburn's captains after being doused with ice water before his postgame interview.
Leading 10-3 in the fourth quarter, Morris Joseph Jr. recovered Colby Wooden's strip sack at Texas A&M's 32-yard line, leading to McPherson's 26-yard field goal and a 10-point Auburn lead with 3:02 to play.
"When they called the timeout, I told Coach, 'Watch this, I'm going to go get it," Wooden said. "I timed up the snap and went and got it."
"He [Wooden] won on the edge with a speed move," Joseph said. "It was a great play by him and he got the ball out. He did his job so it was my job to get the ball for our team. We needed it."
"That's a game-decider right there, when Colby strips the ball and Mo picks it up and it allows the offense to get some points on the board," McPherson said. "It was a big game changer."
Texas A&M drove 80 yards in seven plays and scored on a 17-yard touchdown pass to trim Auburn's lead to 13-10 with 1:33 remaining, but John Samuel Shenker recovered the Aggies' onside kick and the Tigers ran out the clock.
Auburn held Texas A&M to 215 yards and limited Aggies quarterback Conner Weigman to 14-of-36 passing, a 39-percent clip, while allowing only 94 rushing yards on 24 carries, fewer than 4 yards per carry.
After a Tiger Walk reminiscent of Iron Bowls, Auburn claimed momentum early.
Owen Pappoe's third-down sack forced a Texas A&M punt, then Auburn drove 62 yards on four plays with Tank Bigsby racing 39 yards on third-and-3 to the Aggies' 16.
"I felt like I had to make a play for my team," Bigsby said. "It set us up for perfect field position to get a quick touchdown."
From there, Robby Ashford passed to Ja'Varrius Johnson for a 16-yard touchdown to give Auburn a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter.
"Tank busted a big run and it was set up perfectly," Ashford said. "They didn't cover 'Var, he was open and I knew I had to get it to him. If it's in the area, No. 6 is going to catch it. I never worry about that."
After shutting out the Aggies in the first half, Auburn's defense forced consecutive three-and-outs on Texas A&M's first five second-half possessions, allowing minus-2 yards in the third quarter.
After a short punt gave Auburn possession on Texas A&M's 27-yard line, Ashford connected with Hunter for 12 yards on third down to set up McPherson's 34-yard field goal that put the Tigers ahead 10-0 with 39 seconds left in the third quarter.
"Coming into this game we were pretty confident in our operation," said McPherson, making his first start after an injury to Anders Carlson. "I think we went out there and executed as well as we could have."
Texas A&M intercepted a deflected pass early in the fourth quarter leading to a 48-yard field goal for the Aggies' first points.
Bigsby rushed for 121 yards on 23 carries while Hunter gained 121 on 13 rushes.
"I'm so lucky to have the opportunity to coach two high-character young men who have let me pour into their lives," Williams said of Auburn's running backs. "To see how Tank Bigsby grew from a freshman to now, that's everything. It's a joy to see those guys contribute."
Auburn (4-6, 2-5) plays its final home game next Saturday vs. Western Kentucky at 3 p.m. CT.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer
Postgame Notes>> Captains: Derick Hall, Owen Pappoe, John Samuel Shenker, Jonathan LeGrand
>> Coin Toss: Auburn wins the toss and defers; Texas A&M will receive
>> Interim head coach: Carnell Williams (1-1)
>> Eagle flight: Independence from Section 46
>> Attendance: 87,451 (capacity)
TEAM NOTES
>> First-time starters for Auburn: Alex McPherson
>> Auburn has scored in 127 consecutive games, the second-longest streak in school history.
>> This was the first time Auburn held the opponent scoreless in the first half since the 2021 Alabama game.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES: OFFENSE
>> John Samuel Shenker has set an Auburn record for most career games played with 60, breaking the previous Auburn record set by T.D. Moultry (59 games from 2017-21).
>> Ja'Varrius Johnson's 16-yard touchdown catch from Robby Ashford was Johnson's second score of the season and third of his career.
>> Ashford has thrown 6 touchdown passes this season, tied for 4th with Jeff Klein (1999) and Jeremy Johnson (2013) for most touchdown passes thrown by an Auburn freshman.
>> Jarquez Hunter posts his 3rd career 100-yard rushing game (121 yards). Hunter is the 50th Auburn player to pass the 1,000-yard career rushing mark; he now has 1,026 career rushing yards.
>> Ashford ranks 3rd among all-time Auburn freshman passers with 1,429 passing yards; 2nd is Stan White (2,242 in 1990).
>> Ashford is 3rd in freshman pass attempts (208), passing Gabe Gross (197 in 1998); next is Stan White (338 in 1990). Ashford is 3rd in pass completions (104); next is Stan White (180 in 1990).
>> Ashford ranks 10th among Auburn freshman rushers with 552 yards, passing Onterio McCalebb (547 in 2009); next is Jarquez Hunter (593 in 2021).
>> Tank Bigsby now has 2,735 career rushing yards, to rank 9th all-time at Auburn, passing Ronnie Brown (2,707 from 2000-04); next is Brent Fullwood (2,789 from 1983-86).
>> Bigsby's 121 rushing yards were the 12th 100-yard rushing game of his career.
>> It was Auburn's first game with two 100-yard rushers since Hunter and Bigsby vs. Alabama State in 2021.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES: DEFENSE
>> Owen Pappoe records his 2nd sack of the season and the 8th of his career.
>> Colby Wooden now has 6.0 sacks and 11.0 TFL for the season and 15.0 sacks and 29.5 TFL in his career; he forced his third fumble of the season and his career.
>> Morris Joseph Jr. recovered his first fumble at Auburn.
>> Nehemiah Pritchett had his first career forced fumble.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES: SPECIAL TEAMS
>> Oscar Chapman has 12 punts of 50 yards or longer this season.
>> Alex McPherson's first made field goal at Auburn was from 34 yards.