Instant analysis: loss to Texas A&M

[aubiefifty 18,231]

Instant analysis: Auburn's loss to Texas A&M

By Giana Han

8-10 minutes

A 75-yard touchdown drive. A nine-yard three-and-out.

One team came out looking like a top-five team, and that team was not Auburn. Instead, Auburn looked like the worst version of itself as Texas A&M gashed its defense for a quick score while its offense stalled after three plays.

It took the offense one more drive to warm up before it really started moving. However, the defense never heated up. It had a few big plays here and there but was otherwise helpless to stop the Aggies. It gave up tons of yardage on the ground and couldn’t lock down the receivers either.

The game wasn’t a blow out because the offense started to click and made some big plays to help Auburn push ahead going into the fourth quarter. But the defense continued to be a weak spot. The Tigers gave up a touchdown to open the quarter and gave up another after the offense had to punt.

With eight minutes left, the Tigers found themselves looking for a fourth-quarter comeback as the Aggies went up 28-20. However, when the Tigers gave up a 14-yard run to quarterback Kellen Mond after rushing four, the Aggies were able to extend a clock-eating drive. They ran them down to the 1:09 mark and scored three on the drive.

The unranked Tigers were just seven-point underdogs heading into the game against No. 5 Texas A&M, and they finished below those expectations with the 31-20 loss. Here are some takeaways from the game:

Aggies offensive line as advertised

After the Aggies center snapped the ball, a solid line of white moved forward, unbroken by any blue jerseys. The Texas A&M line was unyielding and helped its team to steadily push up and down the field. Even a couple of big penalties didn’t stop them.

With the threat of the Auburn defensive line nullified, quarterback Kellen Mond had plenty of time to find his receivers and to develop plays. If he wanted to run, there was space for that as well.

The running backs also had plenty of open lanes to work their magic. They hit every gap hard and averaged 6.7 yards per carry. While their blockers contributed to a lot of their success, the running backs also made some impressive cuts, evading tackles. Running back Isaiah Spiller also showed he can kick into another gear quickly and outrun the Auburn defenders.

Auburn had no answer. The defensive line could not get around the offensive line to pressure Mond or to get to the backs. The linebackers made some wrong reads and had to make up ground and often found an Aggie in their way.

For some reason, the Aggies decided to move away from their run game. On their second drive, they started throwing the ball as they neared the end zone. On third-and-1, that proved fatal. Linebacker Zakoby McClain saw an opening and burst through to sack Mond. It was the fourth sack of the entire season that the Aggies had given up. They ended up kicking a field goal.

After that, they returned to what worked. They rushed six times on eight plays for 48 yards on the 75-yard touchdown drive to go up 14-10 heading into halftime.

Nothing changed after halftime. The Aggies continued to run the Tigers into the ground. In fact, in the third quarter, all 70 of their yards were picked up on the ground. As the Tigers desperately tried to stop them, the Aggies were then able to open up their passing game. In the fourth, they picked up 99 yards through the air. At one point, the Tigers almost got to the quarterback, but they rushed so many that the field opened up in front of Mond, who easily picked up a first down.

By the end of the game, the Aggies had 511 yards, with 315 on the ground and 196 through the air. The line was an essential part of that with its protection of the quarterback and its ability to block for the rushers. Auburn had just the one sack and three tackles for loss.

Everything’s better with a run game

Auburn’s offense was stifled on its first drive. The second ended because of its own mistakes, primarily a misfire by Nix to a wide-open Eli Stove headed for the end zone, and the Tigers had to settle for a field goal. Running back Shaun Shivers was the only one with significant offensive production.

But then something flipped, especially in Nix. The Tigers came out and picked up five plays or more on six of seven plays. Nix seemed to be making up for that bad throw by completing three passes for 42 yards and rushing for 25 yards on two tries before completing a 5-yard touchdown run.

With that new fire, Auburn was able to take the lead. However, its defense counteracted the progress by giving up 75 yards on eight plays for another Aggies touchdown. The Tigers went into the half down four.

Despite the lack of protection, Nix picked up exactly where he left off after coming out of halftime. Two Aggies pushed past Auburn’s linemen and missed Nix by inches. Nix then swerved down the field for a 22-yard gain. Anthony Schwartz, Tank Bigsby and Shivers showed those same evasion tactics as they moved the Tigers into position for a 3-yard touchdown rush by Nix.

Two big things sparked the change. First, Auburn established its run game. After starting the game with screen passes and a few rushes up the middle, Auburn turned to its running backs and started to mix it up. Shivers and Bigsby both carried the ball, forcing the Aggies to adjust to their different styles of running.

Next, Nix also got involved with the run game. Malzahn has said in the past that that’s an important factor for this Auburn offense. It forces the defense to pay more attention to Nix instead of just selling hard to stop the running backs.

However, the wide receivers still struggled to get open deep, so the Tigers were mostly only able to intersperse short and medium passes in with the runs. Nix also had trouble connecting with his receivers when they did attempt a deep ball. With that struggle, the run game became even more imperative. It wasn’t enough to carry the Tigers to a win, but it helped the game from becoming a blowout.

Miscues and execution

While the Aggies did plenty of good on their own to threaten the Tigers, the Tigers also hurt themselves a significant amount.

There was the misfire to Stove. Considering Stove has caught basically every catchable target in the past several games, it’s safe to assume he would have caught it and carried it into the end zone for seven points rather than the three they settled for.

Then there was the miscommunication and misfire to Brandon Frazier. Frazier hasn’t proven his dependability this season because he’s been injured, but coaches say he has really good hands. He was covered, but he’s large and athletic, so there’s a chance he could have come down with the ball if it had been catchable. That would have been another seven points instead of three.

Then Zakoby McClain went up for an interception in the end zone. It went through his hands. If he had made it, that would have saved Auburn another seven points.

Texas A&M earned points by its own merit, but just two of those plays, if executed properly, would have secured the win.

Play of the game

Auburn had just entered the red zone again for the second time of the game. Its previous trip ended in a short field goal after Nix overthrew Stove on what would have easily been a touchdown. This time, Nix didn’t let the Aggies down so easily.

On second-and-goal, Nix dropped back to pass when several Aggies broke through the line and descended on him. He ducked and appeared to go down. But suddenly, he emerged and went rushing towards the end zone, extending his arm for the final yard.

The five-yard rushing touchdown was the first Auburn touchdown of the game. It sparked something in the offense, which went from trailing the Aggies by 100 yards through the first half to trailing by just 22 yards going into the fourth.

Player of the game: QB Kellen Mond

To start the game, Mond completed eight straight passes for 48 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 17 yards before Nehemiah Pritchett broke up one of his passes. He continued unfazed after that. He attacked Auburn’s weaknesses, running the ball hard and throwing to his receivers when the Tigers crept up. Mond was responsible for three of the Aggies four touchdowns, throwing two and rushing for one. He finished the game with 60 rushing yards, and he completed 18 of 232 passes for 196 yards.