Texas A&M
3-0 , 1-0
Auburn
1-2 , 0-1
No. 17 Aggies Open SEC Play with Win at Auburn
Sep 17, 2016 | Football
''It was a question mark game for our team since we came into the season not being picked very high,'' Knight said. ''There were all kinds of questions about who we were going to be and what our identity would be. We came on the road to a team that I think has one of the better defenses in the country.
''We played very well, and it was a big win for us.''
Knight also ran for 42 yards and several first downs for the Aggies (3-0, 1-0 SEC), who are off to another fast start. Myles Garrett had two sacks and Texas A&M's defense harassed quarterback Sean White enough to minimize big-play chances for Auburn (1-2, 0-1).
Texas A&M kept its hopes of a higher division finish firmly intact with a 478-yard offensive performance. Freshman Trayveon Williams weaved through Auburn defenders for an icing-on-the-cake 89-yard touchdown run with 6:52 left and gained 127 yards on eight carries.
The Aggies are 3-0 for the third straight year, a run they haven't had since 1939-41.
Knight kept the Aggies moving even if though they struggled to find the end zone. He completed 20 of 40 passes but led one 92-yard drive in the first half and another march for three points in the fourth quarter.
Auburn couldn't cash in on defensive stops with any points in the third quarter.
''I really thought the third quarter was probably the key to the game,'' Tigers coach Gus Malzahn said. ''It was a dogfight, and then in the third quarter I thought our defense played very good, gave the offense a lot of opportunities, and the offense just couldn't seize the moment.''
Auburn drove deep into Texas A&M territory with runs by speedy backup quarterback John Franklin III and hard running Kamryn Pettway. Then Daeshon Hall stuffed Franklin behind the line on fourth down from the 12. Williams put it away with his sprint to the end zone, though Franklin did lead an Auburn scoring drive in the final minutes.
''I wasn't happy with how we finished the game,'' Aggies coach Kevin Sumlin said. ''To really kind of let down on defense and give up the score and then not close out things the way we needed to in the final 5-6-7 minutes. We've got to improve there.''
Knight gave Texas A&M a 16-7 first-half lead with the long second-quarter drive. He completed all four attempts for 86 yards, including a dead-on 51-yard strike to Josh Reynolds. That set up Reynold's 5-yard touchdown catch.
LaCamera had kicks of 46, 35, 31, 37 and 26 yards.
ABOUT THAT WIN...
• With the victory, the Aggies move to 3-0 for the third straight year which hadn't been done at Texas A&M since NFF Hall of Famer Homer Norton's Aggies from 1939-41.
• The Aggies remain undefeated against Auburn at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Texas A&M has swept all three road games against the Tigers since joining the SEC.
• Texas A&M continued the odd trend of the road team winning each TAMU-Auburn matchup since the Aggies joined the SEC.
• Under Kevin Sumlin, the Aggies are now 19-7 in games away from Kyle Field, including a 13-6 record in true road games.
ABOUT THAT DAGGER...
Freshman RB Trayveon Williams put the game out of reach with an 89-yard TD burst late in the fourth quarter.
• It was the longest rush by an Aggie since Christine Michael's school-record 97-yarder against Baylor in 2009.
• It was the longest rush by an Aggie since joining the SEC in 2012.
• It ranks No. 7 on Texas A&M's long rush list.
• It was the longest rush allowed by Auburn since Joe Adams of Arkansas had a 92-yarder against the Tigers in 2011.
• It was the Aggies' first 60-yard plus rush since Johnny Manziel's 72-yard TD rush against Louisiana Tech in 2012.
• The 89-yard burst gave Williams his first career 100-yard rushing game with 127 yards on just eight carries.
GARRETT NEARS SEC LIST
Junior DE Myles Garrett was a monster against the Tigers with two QB sacks, 2.5 tackles for loss and a QB hurry.
• With his two QB sacks, Garrett moved within one of the SEC's career sacks list with 27 sacks in the first 28 games of his career.
SEC Career QB Sacks List
1. Derrick Thomas, Alabama........................ 52
2. Billy Jackson, Mississippi St..................... 49
3. Ben Williams, Ole Miss............................. 37
4. David Pollock, Georgia.............................. 36
5. Alex Brown, Florida................................... 33
6. Reggie White, Tennessee........................ 32
7. Richard Tardits, Georgia.......................... 29
Eric Norwood, South Carolina
9. Jimmy Payne, Tennessee........................ 28
Leonard Little, Tennessee
Jarvis Jones, Georgia
Closing in:
Myles Garrett, Texas A&M....................... 27
REYNOLDS MOVES UP LIST
Senior WR Josh Reynolds took sole possession of third-place on Texas A&M's career receiving touchdowns list with his second-quarter TD catch against Auburn.
• Reynolds had been in a three-way tie with Uzoma Nwachukwu and Bob Long and now trails only Jeff Fuller and Ryan Swope.
TAMU Career Receiving TDs
Jeff Fuller 34 2008-11
Ryan Swope 24 2009-12
Josh Reynolds 20 2014-
Uzoma Nwachukwu 19 2009-12
Bob Long 19 1966-68
DEFENSE SHINES
A year removed from being gashed for 311 rushing yards and 443 total yards by the Auburn offense, the Texas A&M defense was dominant in the Aggies' 29-16 win.
• Texas A&M posted three 3-and-outs and limited Auburn to 31 or fewer total yards on 11-of-15 drives.
• The Aggies sacked Auburn four times and made 13 tackles behind the line of scrimmage. It was the sixth time in 16 games under John Chavis that the Aggies have piled up 10 or more TFLs in a game.
• Texas A&M limited the Tigers to 399 total yards, including just 163 passing yards.
LaCAMERA CLICKS ON KICKS
Freshman PK Daniel LaCamera booted five field goals, which tied for the second-most by an Aggie placekicker in school history and the most-ever by a freshman.
• LaCamera has now connected on nine straight FGs since mis-firing on the first field attempt of his career in the season-opener.
TAMU Single Game FGs List
Taylor Bertolet 6 Vandy, 2015
Alan Smith 6 Ark. St. 1983
Daniel LaCamera 5 Auburn, 2016
Todd Pegram 5 Colorado, 2004
Tony Franklin 5 Rice, 1976
NOTABLES
• Today's game marked the first time during the Kevin Sumlin era at Texas A&M that the Aggies have won the toss and not elected to receive the opening kickoff.
• When starting QB Trevor Knight was sacked to end Texas A&M's initial drive of the game, it was the first time that Knight had been sacked in 2016.
• Game captains for the Aggies were junior DE Myles Garrett, junior WR Ricky Seals-Jones, graduate QB Trevor Knight and senior LB Shaan Washington. Texas A&M won the toss and defered their choice to the second half.
• It marked the first time during the Kevin Sumlin era at Texas A&M that the Aggies have won the toss and not elected to receive the opening kickoff.
• The Aggies' 12th Man representative was sophomore LB Cullen Gillaspia (Katy, Texas) in his third straight start. A former walkon, Gillaspia was awarded a scholarship at the end of fall camp.
Team Stats
TAMU 0, AU 7
AU - Kamryn Pettway 1 yd run (Daniel Carlson kick), 9 plays, 80 yards, TOP 2:26
TAMU 3, AU 7
TAMU - Daniel LaCamera 46 yd field goal 8 plays, 43 yards, TOP 2:12
TAMU 10, AU 7
TAMU - Josh Reynolds 5 yd pass from Trevor Knight (Daniel LaCamera kick) 6 plays, 92 yards, TOP 2:36
TAMU 13, AU 7
TAMU - Daniel LaCamera 35 yd field goal 6 plays, 23 yards, TOP 1:23
TAMU 16, AU 7
TAMU - Daniel LaCamera 31 yd field goal 5 plays, 47 yards, TOP 1:53
TAMU 16, AU 10
AU - Daniel Carlson 37 yd field goal 8 plays, 55 yards, TOP 1:52
TAMU 19, AU 10
TAMU - Daniel LaCamera 25 yd field goal 14 plays, 67 yards, TOP 4:19
TAMU 22, AU 10
TAMU - Daniel LaCamera 26 yd field goal 13 plays, 57 yards, TOP 5:02
TAMU 29, AU 10
TAMU - T. Williams 89 yd run (Daniel LaCamera kick), 2 plays, 87 yards, TOP 0:30
TAMU 29, AU 16
AU - Kerryon Johnson 2 yd run (John Franklin passfailed), 11 plays, 66 yards, TOP 3:41
