Auburn football notebook: 'A fun night'

AUBURN, Ala. – Calling a play that Hugh Freeze says works 80 percent of the time in Thursday’s situational practices, Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne passed to KeAndre Lambert-Smith in the back of the end zone for the winning points in Auburn’s 43-41 four-overtime victory Saturday over Texas A&M.

“That route, he’s very good at,” Freeze said. “Payton threw a great ball that gave him a chance to make a play.”

“It was a heck of a catch,” Thorne said. “The ball was a little behind him, and I had to throw it a little earlier than usual. I put it up there and Dre had a few contested catches tonight. A great play by him.”

There’s a reason they call him Big Play Dre.

"We have run that play since I've been here, since the summer,” Lambert-Smith said. “We hit it every day in practice against the defense. I was lowkey pitching for them to call it. I'm like, 'P, just throw it, it's just like practice, just throw it and I'm ready to catch.' He threw it, and I had to win, and I won. We won."

THE DRIVE

With the game on the line, Auburn’s offense delivered.

Trailing 31-28 with 2:33 to play in regulation at their own 15-yard line, Auburn drove 74 yards in 15 plays, tying the score at 31-31 with 5 seconds remaining in regulation on Ian Vachon’s 29-yard field goal.

On fourth-and-3, Payton Thorne rushed up the middle for 23 yards to Texas A&M’s 40-yard line.

“That was a huge scramble,” Freeze said. “I thought Payton laid it on the line for our team tonight,” as did the other seniors.”

Jarquez Hunter gained 22 yards on back-to-back runs to set up Vachon’s game-tying, 29-yard field goal with 5 seconds left in regulation.

“Our defense did their job, got a stop and they punted the ball back to us. Credit to our defense for balling throughout the night,” Thorne said, “and our offense for making plays. It was a fun night."

CAM, KLS AND JARQUEZ

With his fourth 100-yard rushing game of the season and 12^th of his career, Jarquez Hunter needs only 6 yards next week to pass Ben Tate and enter the top five in program history. Hunter’s 3,316 career rushing yards are 52 fewer than Joe Cribbs, who ranks fourth.

"We executed,” said Hunter who gained 130 yards on 28 carries with three touchdowns. “Coach emphasized playing for the seniors’ last game in Jordan-Hare, and I think we all did a great job finishing out the seniors in the stadium."

Cam Coleman and KeAndre Lambert-Smith both posted 100-yard receiving games for the second straight week, a feat that hasn’t been accomplished at Auburn since at least 1949.

Coleman made seven receptions for 128 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including a 63-yarder in the first quarter to give Auburn a 14-0 lead.

“Payton told me if the corner bites he's launching it, and I got on the corner's toes and saw the ball in the air, I thought the ball was in the air for like 15 seconds,” Coleman said. “It was just a good feeling when I caught the ball and scored. White and blue flashing lights, it was an electric atmosphere."

Lambert-Smith caught two passes for 104 yards to bring his season total to 865 yards on 42 receptions, an average of 20.6 yards per catch. Coleman needs 135 more yards to become Auburn’s first thousand-yard receiver in 25 years.

DEFENSE DELIVERS

Despite being on the field for 87 plays and 36 and a half minutes, Auburn’s defense still had enough energy for one more victory-sealing stop.

With Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed lined up at receiver, the Aggies attempted a game-tying reverse pass, but it fell incomplete, setting off a raucous celebration among the 88,043 who sold out Jordan-Hare Stadium for the 15^th consecutive game.

“They tried to do a little trick play,” said Auburn safety Jerrin Thompson, who led the Tigers with 11 tackles and made a red zone interception in the first half. “Great play call by Coach Durkin. We had leverage on the formation, and we just got after them. It was a long-fought game and we ended up being victorious at the end of the night.”

Auburn’s defense stopped Texas A&M on fourth down early in the fourth quarter, then made a critical three-and-out to give the offense a chance to drive for a game-tying field goal.

“For them to have that wherewithal to finish, and the effort they continued to play with, it was just incredible,” Auburn defensive coordinator DJ Durkin said. “They kept fighting and playing together. They never flinched. They just kept battling and kept going. They were fighting for each other. We’ve had some things not go our way this year, but I’m so proud of those guys, how they kept fighting.”

Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer