At long last, the final two college football games have arrived, and the mad dash to make it into the new 12-team College Football Playoff had contenders adding late blemishes to their records. No. 9 Ole Miss, No. 5 Indiana, No. 14 BYU and No. 16 Colorado’s playoff chances all took a massive hit after losses on Saturday.
Four hours and four overtimes later, add No. 15 Texas A&M to the list. Despite coming back from a 21-point deficit, Auburn dealt a blow to the Aggies’ playoff hopes with a heartbreaking 43-41 loss. From defensive breakdowns to self-inflicted wounds, here are some key takeaways.
Defense needs to be locked in from the get-go
When teams defer possession at the opening coin flip, the trust in the defense is high, and the tone is set from the get-go. However, the Maroon and White began a step slow and paid dearly for their mistakes. Auburn’s early 21-point lead was spurred by A&M’s missed tackles and miscommunication in the secondary, especially when trying to cover freshman wide receiver Cam Coleman.
The Phenix City, Alabama native had a career-best 128 yards, with the biggest chunk coming from a routine post route that he took 63 yards to the house in the first quarter. A&M safety help never came over the top, leaving redshirt freshman Alabama transfer cornerback Dezz Ricks on an island that Coleman sailed by.
“[Auburn] motioned and we were very loose on the motion,” coach Mike Elko said. “We let [Coleman] run right down the field and get behind us.”
To add insult to injury, senior quarterback Payton Thorne kept carving up the A&M defense, throwing for 103 yards in the first quarter alone and 87 in the second. For an Aggie team whose identity is rooted in defense, giving up 21 points on easy yards is unacceptable.
“Ball went over our head,” Elko said. “It just went over our head. You can’t let the ball go over your head.”
Though the defense locked in in the second half — especially in the fourth quarter, limiting Thorne to just 33 yards — A&M still left Auburn, Alabama with a loss. If stops were made early on with grit and pride, the outcome likely would’ve been different.
Marcel Reed’s pocket poise and “feeding the studs”
Redshirt freshman QB Marcel Reed has already shown off his dangerous prowess on the ground. On Saturday, he showcased his intangibles. His pocket poise was the best it’s been all season while he didn’t force the same passes he had made in past games.
Though his lone interception came from leading senior tight end Tre Watson a bit too much, his accuracy and IQ came through and were vital for A&M’s second-half comeback. Reed’s legacy was a catch short of having another chapter written, but he came away with a season-high 297 yards and a career-high three passing touchdowns.
While former offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino is long gone from Aggie graces, his “feed the studs” ideology came into full effect Saturday. Freshman athlete Terry Bussey’s skills blossomed as offensive coordinator Collin Klein incorporated the talented athlete again, collecting three receptions for 29 yards and three carries for eight yards.
“Terry’s a great athlete,” Reed said. “When you get the ball in his hands, he can do some special things. We try to do that and I think he did a great job when he had [the ball] in his hands. ”
However, the would-be heroes for the Aggies are junior WR Noah Thomas and senior WR Jahdae Walker. Walker made life easier for Reed, sitting in exposed gaps in Auburn’s zone, and was a comfortable target for the QB to hit — and would’ve had even more production than his 69 yards if he caught some balls that slipped right between his hands.
For Thomas, the 6-foot-6 target was an easy read for Reed to throw to, with no play showcasing his talent more than his first touchdown of the game. One-on-one on the outside with safety help closing in, Reed threw a jump ball for his lengthy receiver to make a play on, and Thomas capitalized on it, hauling in the ball early and finishing through contact.
Minutes later, on the first play of A&M’s following drive, Reed found a slanting Thomas, who took advantage of freshman cornerback Jay Crawford gambling for the pick and found 73 yards of green grass in front of him for the game-tying touchdown.
For Klein and Co., a chance of beating Texas will not come easy, but starting with feeding A&M’s playmakers will boost it.
The loss stings, but a chance for the SEC Championship and the playoff still looms
The heartbreak is still there: The hard comeback effort was all for naught as the Aggies came up short. However, Elko needs to rally his team for one last regular season game — and it’s the biggest one of the season. The Lone Star Showdown rivalry is officially revived, and the winner of the A&M and Texas matchup earns a spot in the SEC Championship game against No. 10 Georgia.
“Coach Elko talked to us about that in the locker room right after the game,” Reed said. “We still know that there’s business to take care of and just because we lost today doesn’t mean we’re not going to get back to work this week and try to prepare to go get a win this weekend against Texas. Maybe that can boost us into the [SEC] Championship and we can play on, get into the playoffs. It’s really just one game at a time and now we’re focused on Texas.”
For Elko and the Aggies, their passion needs to be reignited as soon as possible for a chance to see the Maroon and White in the SEC Championship and, just maybe, the College Football Playoff.
