COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Jovon Robinson ran for 159 yards and a touchdown and Auburn intercepted three passes in a 26-10 victory over No. 25 Texas A&M on Saturday night.
Jeremy Johnson wasn’t flashy, but was effective in his first start since Auburn’s third game with Sean White out with an injured left knee. Johnson finished with 132 yards and a touchdown.
Auburn (5-4, 2-4 Southeastern Conference) built a 14-3 lead by halftime, with its second touchdown coming on the drive after the first of Aggies quarterback Kyler Murray‘s three interceptions. The Tigers didn’t score a touchdown in the second half, but got four field goals by Daniel Carlson to secure the victory that snapped a two-game skid.
Murray threw for 105 yards in his second start since Kyle Allen was benched before leaving after a hit to the head late in the third quarter. Jake Hubenak took over for Texas A&M (6-3, 3-3, No. 19 CFP) and threw for 32 yards and a touchdown.
A 35-yard field goal by Auburn made it 17-3 early in the third quarter.
Murray threw his third interception on A&M’s first possession of the second half. The Tigers capitalized on that mistake with a 30-yard field goal that extended the lead to 20-3.
Murray was injured when he was hit in the head at the end of a run with less than 3 minutes left in the third quarter. Murray walked off the field but didn’t return. Auburn cornerback Jeremiah Dinson was injured on the same play on a block by Ricky Seals-Jones and he was carted off the field with a leg injury.
Hubenak took over and found Speedy Noil in the corner of the end zone for a 2-yard touchdown pass on the next play to get A&M within 20-10 late in the third.
A 21-yard field goal by Auburn pushed the lead to 23-10 early in the fourth and Carlson added one from 31 yards with about 6 1/2 minutes remaining.
The game was played on a wet and chilly night that started with a packed house, but soon thinned out as many people began leaving or taking cover in the concourses to avoid the steady rain. Johnny Manziel was among those in attendance as the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner served as honorary captain for the game. Johnny Football had the weekend off after the Cleveland Browns lost to Cincinnati on Thursday night in his fourth career NFL start.
By late in the fourth quarter the only sections that remained full were the ones with the A&M band and another filled with the Auburn band and Tiger fans.
A&M’s Tra Carson had 109 yards rushing and Armani Watts led the Aggies with 13 tackles.
Carlton Davis intercepted Murray’s pass in the end zone and Robinson got things going with a 45-yard run on first down. He capped that drive with a 1-yard dive to make it 14-3 early in the second. It wasn’t initially ruled a touchdown, but a review showed he scored.
Murray directed the Aggies down the field on the next possession only to come up empty again when Justin Garrett jumped in front of his pass and intercepted it at the 1.
The Aggies tried to tack on some points just before halftime, but Murray was sacked on the last play of the half.
The Tigers took a 7-3 lead when Johnson found Marcus Davis on a 9-yard touchdown pass with about 6 minutes left in the first quarter.
A 50-yard field goal by Taylor Bertolet gave A&M a 3-0 lead.
TEAM/GAME NOTES
• Tonight’s crowd was an above-capacity crowd of 104,625. It was the 12th straight crowd at Kyle Field over 100,000, which is a school record.
• Texas A&M did not gain a turnover tonight against Auburn which broke a streak of 13 games with at least one takeaway for the Aggies.
• Tonight’s game marked the 18th straight Texas A&M game that has been nationally-televised, which is easily a school record.
OFFENSIVE NOTES
• Sophomore transfer QB Jake Hubenak came in for the injured Kyler Murray and threw his first TD on his second offensive play. It was his first passing TD of his A&M career. Last year as a redshirt freshman at Blinn, Hubenak threw 47 touchdowns.
• Senior RB Tra Carson eclipsed the 100-yard mark in rushing yards for second straight game with 109 yards on 21 carries. It’s the first time that Carson has ever rushed for 100 yards in back-to-back games in his 33rd career game in the maroon and white.
DEFENSIVE NOTES
• Sophomore Armani Watts led Texas A&M in tackles with 13 tackles including eight solo stops.
• Texas A&M was held without a sack for the first time this season snapping a 12-game streak with at least one QBS, the Aggies entered the game 12th in the NCAA at 3.13 sacks per game. The last time the Aggies did not register a sack was Nov. 15, 2014 against Missouri
• Sophomore Shaan Washington forced a fumble for the A&M defense, the maroon and white entered the game 2nd in the country with 14 forced fumbles.
• With five tackles for loss the Aggies now stand at 80 TFL on the season, surpassing last season’s total of 76 TFL in four fewer games.
SPECIAL TEAM NOTES
• Senior Taylor Bertolet boomed a 50-yard field goal on the Aggies’ opening drive of the game. It was his fourth 50-yard FG of the season and the seventh of his career. With the boot, Bertolet matches the national lead for 50-yard or longer field goals with Auburn’s Daniel Carlson.
MISCELLANEOUS
• Game captains were OC Mike Matthews, RT Germain Ifedi, DE Myles Garrett CB Brandon Williams. The Aggies won the toss and elected to receive the opening kickoff.
• Senior DB Sam Moeller was the Aggies’ 12th Man for the 35th straight game, which is a school record.
Auburn 26, Texas A&M 10
November 7, 2015
Kyle Field
Post-game Quotes
Mike Matthews, Texas A&M Senior Offensive Lineman
On what held the offense back…
“The turnover ratio. That is something we focus on every week. We can’t turn the ball over like we did. That will kill drives like it did for us. We were moving the ball and things were going well and then we wouldn’t put points on the board. That’s something we have to focus on more and not allow to happen.”
On the run game…
“I thought we established the run game early, but when you turn the ball over like we did it’s tough. You get behind on the scoreboard you have to start airing it out more. That’s why we emphasize starting fast, so we can play our style of game.”
On moving on…
“There’s nothing we can do about this loss. We can take what we can and learn from it, but we have to be 1-0 again. That is what we preach every week. We have to win next week. Obviously it didn’t go our way. We just have to move on. We can’t be frustrated with ourselves. It’s in the past. It’s time to move on and win next week’s game.”
Tra Carson, Texas A&M Senior Running Back
On the offensive struggles…
“We didn’t execute the game plan, so we didn’t come out on top.”
On the run game…
“We have to look at the film to see the things that we have to fix as an offense. We have to come out, put our best foot forward, and execute the things we are being coached to do.”
On Kyler Murray…
“He kept his composure throughout the game. He never seemed rattled.”
Auburn 26, Texas A&M 10
November 7, 2015
Kyle Field
Post-game Quotes
AJ Hilliard, Texas A&M Junior Linebacker
On stopping Auburn’s running attack…
“I think we did a little better job later on, but we didn’t do well enough. We had poor eye control. A lot of their motions were getting us out of our defense, what we do pretty well. We just let up too many big plays. Auburn did a great job executing, they made a lot more plays than we did tonight.”
On Jeremy Johnson at quarterback for Auburn…
“It wasn’t a surprise at all. We weren’t really concentrated on who was starting or playing. We have a game plan, we plan to go out there and execute it. We’re not really concerned with personnel that much.”
On stopping Auburn’s momentum…
“Auburn did a great job executing and playing pretty well. We definitely lost the defensive battle; we didn’t get any turnovers or any big stops. That definitely hurt us as far as the game went.”
Brandon Williams, Texas A&M Senior Defensive Back
On the defensive game plan…
“We just didn’t execute what we saw. The same plays they ran we saw on film were the same plays they ran tonight and we just didn’t execute. Nothing that they did was new or different to us, we just didn’t execute.”
On Jeremy Johnson at quarterback for Auburn…
“We were prepared for both quarterbacks. We had some idea that one of the two was going to play. When #6 [Jeremy Johnson] came in we were prepared. He’s more of an athletic quarterback. He has a run threat. #13 [Sean White], the other quarterback, he’s more of a pocket passer but we were prepared for both of them.”
Auburn 26, Texas A&M 10
November 7, 2015
Kyle Field
Post-game Quotes
Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M Head Coach
Opening statement…
“We did some things that were uncharacteristic of us. If we take away one of those interceptions and instead we score it may be different game. We ran the ball fairly effectively, particularly in the third quarter when we drove the ball down the field, but time and the score became a factor in executing that part of the game plan which puts pressure on your quarterback. We’ve got to examine where we are and what we’re doing. Give credit to Auburn, they did a good job.”
On the effectiveness of the offense…
“We moved the ball well early in the game, but turnovers in the end zone hurt us. When you move the ball but you don’t get any points and you also give the other team the football, that’s not good. Through the first half I think we were dead even in most categories but turnovers were the difference.”
On the run defense…
“They got to the perimeter which got us running a little bit, then they hammered it inside. They were very effective, but I thought in the second quarter our defense settled down and played pretty well which gave us an opportunity to get in the game.”