In the SEC Conference Western Classic, Texas A&M Aggies, ranked No. 14 with seven wins and two losses, hosted College Football’s No. 13 Auburn Tigers at Kyle Field in College Station, Texas, for week 11. The match was completely bland, with both attacks producing absolutely nothing. Texas ended up winning by 20 to 3, but with great difficulty. The first half ended with the score at 3-3 and the game’s only touchdown came from a big six in the last quarter.
Zach Calzada passed for just 192 yards and missed the end zone. The Aggies’ top offensive player was running back Isaiah Spiller, who had good runs, 21 carries for 112 yards. However, he also did not enter the end zone.
Bo Nix had just 153 yards, with an awful average of 3.7 yards per pass attempt. He failed to lead his troops through virtually any good campaign the entire game. Auburn’s quarterback still caught an interception late in the game. Running back Tank Bigsby had a total of 15 carries for 69 yards in the game.
The game
The Aggies had a big opening drive. Zach Calzada did a good job triggering his tight end, Jalen Wydermyer, with a 25-yard reception to Auburn’s 36-yard line for the first down. Then Demond Demas was fired for 16 yards to the Tigers’ red zone at the 18-yard line. The situation improved further for the home team with a 13-yard run from Isaiah Spiller. However, the visiting defense appeared well to thwart the good campaign and force Seth Small’s field goal to 21 yards: 3-0.
A similar situation happened for the Tigers. The 60-yard campaign, focused on runs by Shaun Shivers and Tank Bigsby, made it all the way to the red zone at the 15-yard line. But Bo Nix didn’t complete a pass to Shivers. Kicker Anders Carlson came on to tie the SEC classic at 3-3 with a 32-yard shot.
The match took a huge toll during the second quarter, since Auburn’s last score in the final 20 seconds of the first quarter. The two attacks produced nothing and only one Tigers campaign reached midfield. There were six straight punts and when Texas A&M had the chance to regain the lead, Seth Small missed a shot for 42 yards that passed the right of the Y. The visitors even returned the ball once more before ending the first half of complete defensive dominance. .
Neither team came back well from the break. With the first possession of the second half, the Aggies went to their fourth punt in the match, with a negative record. Auburn had the chance to finally break the game’s point drought, making it all the way to the 16-yard line. Carlson was once again for the kick, and now it was the Tigers kicker’s turn to miss a 33-yard kick. The tie continued at Kyle Field in Texas.
Habemus points at Kyle Fields
After practically a first half of the game with attacks completely nullified, the Aggies finally reached the red zone since their first campaign. Calzada finally made a big play, tossing a 49-yard torpedo to Caleb Chapman in the 32nd of attack and then to the 22nd with a 10-yard reception. At the four-line, the offense committed two false starts in a row, forcing Texas A&M 10 yards back to the fourteen-yard line. The home team’s situation worsened. His quarterback managed a 10-yard rush for the first down. However, at the end of the play, he had a strong contact in the shoulder region and went to the medical tent. The drive finally ended with some punctuation. Seth Small hit a shot for 29 yards: 6-3.
New three and out for Auburn and Texas A&M took advantage of the few chances he had. Isaiah Spiller made a good 23-yard run on the first play of the drive. Before the end of the third quarter, Calzada hit an 18-yard pass to Ainias Smith and yet Spiller ran for 15 yards to the 30-yard line of offense. At the start of the last quarter, the offense failed to advance the ball on three downs and Small hit the longest shot of the game: 47 yards and 9-3 on the scoreboard.
Finally, a touchdown
At 13:04 of the last quarter, one of the teams finally crossed the goal plan. Bo Nix was sacked by Jayden Peevy for 11 yards. Tigers quarterback fumbled, Micheal Clemons returned 24 yards into the end zone: touchdown! Texas risked the two-point conversion to extend: 17 to 3 on the scoreboard.
The Aggies’ defense forced a turnover on downs from the visitors in a campaign marred by Demani Richardson’s 15-yard sack on Bo Nix. Next, Zach Calzada moved his offense to the 18-yard line. The quarterback himself attempted a short run for first down on third down, to no avail, and Small came in once more to land a quieter 37-yard shot: 20-3.
The SEC western division classic ended with an interception by Bo Nix, who on fourth down forced a risky pass that went straight into the hands of Jaylon Jones. The Aggies ran with the ball until the clock hit zero and the match ended.
