After lots of upsets throughout college football on Saturday, Texas A&M, ranked 15th in the country, had a chance to sneak into the next College Football Playoff bracket projection.
But they fell to unranked Auburn, 43-41, in an instant classic that took four overtimes to complete.
Auburn had taken a 43-35 lead to begin the fourth overtime, as Payton Thorne hit KeAndre Lambert-Smith for a two-point play.
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Tigers quarterback Payton Thorne makes his way off the field after beating the Texas A&M Aggies at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Alabama, on Saturday. (Jake Crandall/Advertiser/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
With the teams both getting one play to score from the 3, Texas A&M turned to trickery on its attempt to send it to a fifth OT. Receiver Terry Bussey took the direct snap and handed off to quarterback Marcel Reed. Reed’s pass to Amari Daniels was dropped in the end zone.
The Aggies (8-3, 5-2), who had rallied from a 21-0 first-half deficit, suffered the fate of two other SEC playoff hopefuls. Florida had already upended No. 9 Mississippi’s playoff and SEC title hopes with a 24-17 upset, and No. 7 Alabama fell 24-3 at Oklahoma.
The Tigers (5-6, 2-5 SEC) became the day’s latest unranked league team to play spoiler. Fans who have endured a disappointing season stormed the field and filled it from end zone to end zone but did leave the goalposts alone.
Fans of the Tigers rush the field after defeating the Texas A&M Aggies at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Nov. 23, 2024 in Auburn. (Michael Chang/Getty Images)
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“This one’s certainly going to hurt, and we’re obviously extremely disappointed,” Texas A&M coach Mike Elko said. “We had ourselves in a really good position. Obviously with who we play and what we’re playing for, there’s still going to be a lot of energy going into that stadium next week.”
Thorne passed for 301 yards and two touchdowns to Cam Coleman. Jarquez Hunter ran 28 times for 130 yards and three scores. Coleman had seven catches for 128 yards, and Lambert-Smith had two for 104.
With five top-15 teams losing on Saturday, three of them being SEC teams, there could be a major shakeup in the rankings this week – the new bracket projection will come out on Tuesday.
Auburn Tigers teammates celebrate their 43-41 win over the Texas A&M Aggies at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. (Jake Crandall/Advertiser/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
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The Aggies can still make the SEC title game – but they do face No. 3 Texas next week.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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