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It took four overtimes for Auburn to complete a Saturday night upset of No. 15 Texas A&M.
KeAndre Lambert-Smith caught a two-point conversion pass from Payton Thorne in fourth OT to clinch a 43-41 victory over the Aggies.
Auburn led 21-0 early, but Texas A&M stormed back to claim a fourth-quarter lead. The Tigers then tied the game to force overtime, where Auburn stunned college football fans by completing the upset.
Bruce Pearl @coachbrucepearl
We’re a football school and don’t ever forget it! Adversity reveals. Character and our football team, coaching staff and Auburn family have shown it once again! @AuburnTigers @AuburnFootball
The thrilling upset leaves Texas as the only team in the SEC with a single conference loss.
Texas A&M struggled early, allowing three consecutive touchdown drives from the Tigers while the Aggies’ first two possessions ended in a missed field goal and an interception.
But the visitors rallied from the early 21-point deficit, cutting Auburn’s advantage to 14 points by the end of the half before tying the game in the third quarter.
The Aggies gained the team’s first lead of the night in the fourth quarter as quarterback Marcel Reed scrambled for a total of 29 yards to help get Texas A&M within touchdown range.
But the Texas A&M defense was unable to hold off Auburn from getting within field goal range on their final drive of regulation, and Ian Vachon scored three points from 29 yards out to send the game to overtime.
Both teams scored touchdowns in the first overtime. The Aggies had the chance to move ahead after a pass interference call limited Auburn to a field goal in the second OT, but were also held to a field goal on their ensuing drive.
After a scoreless third overtime, Lambert-Smith’s conversion made the difference in the fourth extra frame.
Auburn’s victory continued a day full of college football upsets including No. 7 Alabama losing to Oklahoma, No. 9 Ole Miss conceding to Florida and No. 16 Colorado being defeated by Kansas.
The upsets open the possibility that teams with unprecedented numbers of losses could qualify for a spot in the newly-expanded playoff.
Texas A&M’s loss also set up a critical in-state rivalry game against No. 3 Texas next weekend. The Aggies will need to win the season finale in order to advance to face Georgia in the SEC title game.
The chance to earn the top ranking in the SEC will be on the line next Saturday when Texas at Texas A&M kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET.
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