Setback puts Aggies’ losing streak at 6
AUBURN, Ala. — Texas A&M under coach Jimbo Fisher has lost six straight games for the first time in 50 years, and the latest embarrassing setback came against an interim coach at Auburn.
The Tigers edged the Aggies 13-10 on Saturday night in a packed JordanHare Stadium, and A&M dropped its sixth consecutive game for the first time since 1972 under then-first year coach Emory Bellard. The Aggies needed three straight wins to close the regular season to become eligible for a bowl.
A&M freshman quarterback Conner Weigman returned to action after missing the Aggies’ 41-24 loss to Florida the week prior because of the flu, and the former five-star prospect was wildly ineffective in his first road start in SEC play. He also was under consistent duress because of an offensive line that’s been bad all season for the Aggies (3-7, 1-6 SEC).
Weigman, who at one point tossed 13 consecutive incompletions, finished 14of-36 for 121 yards and a touchdown that came with the game essentially out of reach. Auburn (4-6, 2-5) snapped its own five-game losing streak.
The Aggies’ final realistic shot at pulling out an improbable win ended when Auburn defensive end Colby Wooden beat A&M left tackle Trey Zuhn to knock the ball loose from behind an unsuspecting Weigman. The Tigers recovered Weigman’s fumble and started a final scoring drive on the A&M 32yard line with 5:34 left that resulted in a 26-yard field goal by Alex McPherson.
The Aggies marched downfield for the first time on their final drive, capped by a 17-yard touchdown pass from Weigman to Jalen Preston with 1:33 remaining, and the Tigers recovered the ensuing onside kick.
A&M had finally cracked the scoreboard with a little less than 11 minutes remaining in the game on a 48-yard Randy Bond field goal. That score resulted from an interception by A&M linebacker Edgerrin Cooper off Auburn quarterback Robby Ashford s tipped pass at the line.
What a difference a decade makes for A&M football. Ten years prior when the Aggies visited JordanHare, quarterback Johnny Manziel engineered a 63-21 A&M victory over the backpedaling Tigers that had then-Auburn defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder shaking his head afterward.
“… It’s embarrassing for the Auburn people,” he said at the time. “I can’t ever remember being a part of something like that.”
That sentiment held true for A&M fans under 50 years of age late Saturday night, considering the stunning losing streak under a coach with nine years remaining on a contract paying more than $9 million annually.
The Aggies played without dynamic running back Devon Achane, the team’s best player who hurt his foot a week prior in the Aggies’ home loss to Florida. Achane entered Saturday’s action third in the SEC with 887 yards.
Fisher primarily turned to Amari Daniels in Achane’s place, and he finished with 83 yards on 11 carries.
Auburn played its first home game under interim coach Carnell “Cadillac” Williams, who took over the fired Bryan Harsin and whose Tigers pushed Mississippi State to overtime a week prior in Starkville, Miss., before losing his head coaching debut.
Meantime an inane play by A&M defensive lineman Shemar Turner, in a season full of them by the Aggies, prolonged an Auburn drive that closed out the first half. Turner inexplicably knocked over Ashford, who was on his knees following a sack, and the Tigers received an automatic first down on what would have been a fourth down. Auburn held on to the ball the rest of the half, and A&M did not get a chance to score to close out the first two quarters.
A&M safety Antonio Johnson, the defense’s top NFL prospect, returned to the lineup after missing the three previous games because of injury. In addition, A&M tight end Max Wright was put on a stretcher and taken to a local hospital in the first half as an apparent precaution. Wright had walked off the field on his own following what appeared to be a minor injury but was soon after placed on the stretcher. He returned to the stadium later in the night.
In 1972 Bellard lost six straight games to Nebraska, LSU, Army, Texas Tech, TCU and Baylor before finally rebounding with a 10-7 victory over No. 20 Arkansas.
The Aggies, who started the season ranked No. 6 in the Associated Press poll, close out their adrift season with home games against Massachusetts (their final nonconference contest) and No. 7 LSU, which won the SEC West on Saturday under firstyear coach Brian Kelly with a victory at Arkansas combined with Alabama’s win at Mississippi.
“We’re in a different realm now — we’re being hunted,” Kelly said Saturday. “We’re going to get everybody’s best shot.”
That is now A&M’s best shot at any tiny amount of redemption heading into the offseason — beating LSU to close out the regular season. The Aggies will be favored over Massachusetts at 11 a.m. Saturday, but even that’s no guarantee considering they lost 17-14 at home to Appalachian State in Week 2.