Kyle Allen made his second start - his first SEC action/first ranked opponent/first road start - and he had a solid game. Good enough to be the SEC Offensive Player of the Week - 277 yards with 4 TDs on 19-of-29 passing.
As a head coach at A&M, Sumlin has now won 3 games against top 10 opponents on the road - with three different freshman QBs. That is, frankly, pretty unbelievable.
[note: he also did it with Reggie McNeal in 2002 against OU when he was our OC]
Things started quick - on our fourth snap, Allen hit Malcome Kennedy on a slant (something I've been yelling for week after week) and Malcome took it to the house - 60 yards. Then on Auburn's first snap Howard Matthews popped C. Artis-Payne and Floyd Raven came up with the fumble recovery. 3 plays later Allen hit Josh Reynolds on a great play down the right sideline for a 36 yard TD. There was still 12:53 remaining in the first quarter and we were up 14-0.
We needed those points because Auburn tied the game up with 2:32 remaining in the 1Q on a 30+ yard Artist-Payne TD run.
Our third possession started with a great 45 yard KOR from Trey Williams that was brought back to the 6 yard line for a ticky-tack/questionable block in the back. Allen marched it down the field with a nice mix of running, scrambling, and a few first downs before hitting RSJ for a 23 yard TD (on another slant).
Our fourth possession was another TD pass to Josh Reynolds (on a slant) to put him 2 TDs shy of tying Mike Evans single season TD record.
Fortunately we built up that lead because the offense didn't score another TD after the 10 min mark of the 2Q.
No worries - we have Myles Garrett. Myles has flipped the switch at this point in the season and completely manhandled Auburn's tackles. The holding calls that were missed were egregious - to the point that they were literally tackling MG. I didn't realize it until the press conference afterwards, but Sumlin mentioned that Myles had to leave the game for part of the second half with an injury as a result of one of those holds.
Even with the holds, MG was a game changer - if he wasn't making the sack or tackle himself, he was funneling Auburn's offense to a place where the rest of the defense could make a play.
The second half was all Josh Lambo vs. Auburn's offense. Artis-Payne finished with a career high 221 yards and 2 TDs. We got up 38-24 before Auburn's comeback started again. They scored 1 minute into the 4th quarter and we answered with a FG.
They scored again and we went 3-and-out. It's 41-38 with 5:40 remaining in the game and Auburn is starting on their own 20. They marched down the field after a couple of pretty great plays by their WRs and the next thing we know it's 1st & G at our 7 yard line.
It doesn't end there - there is 2:37 left in the game and we're at our own 3 yard line. Brandon Williams runs for 5 yards and then we line up in a shotgun formation and try some handoff to Trey Williams way back in the endzone and he *JUST* got the ball across the line to save a safety. We end up going 3-and-out and have to punt to the Tigers.
So Auburn starts with 1:28 and the ball at our 42 ayrd line. They need about 15-20 yards to set up a game tying FG. The first snap is a 6 yard completion putting them at our 34 yard line. Cold, sweaty palms can be found all across Texas at this point. Somehow, on the next play, the center snaps the ball without Marshall being ready for it and Alonzo Williams jumps on it!
Victory formation to run out the remaining 0:54 in the game.
Auburn's crazy streak of luck, dating back to last season, has finally come to an end and we are the beneficiaries. What a crazy ballgame.
Suddenly, all is right with the world. I love this conference.
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