Beating Auburn at Kyle on to-do list
Texas A&M has done a decent job of tackling its to-do list this season.
Give Alabama coach Nick Saban his first loss to a former assistant in 25 tries? Check. Win at typically middlin’ Missouri for the first time since 1999? Check.
Beat Auburn for the first time at Kyle Field? Well, that one is now No. 1 on the always-updated list, and the No. 13 Aggies have another chance to check it off at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, when they host the surprising Tigers.
Auburn (6-2, 3-1 SEC) under first-year coach Bryan Harsin moved up to No. 12 from 18th in the latest Associated Press poll after beating then-no. 10 Mississippi 31-20 last Saturday at Auburn. At the same time the Aggies (6-2, 3-2) were enjoying their lone weekend off this season.
A&M tight end Jalen Wydermyer said the Aggies have learned not to make assumptions when it comes to Auburn, no matter the Tigers’ coach.
“We haven’t beaten them at home, and you never know what’s going to happen,” Wydermyer said. “You don’t want … to get too big-headed.”
In other words, don’t count any victories before they’re hatched, especially when it comes to this quirky series. A&M and Auburn began playing as SEC West foes in 2012, and of the nine meetings since the visitors have prevailed in all but one contest.
“Each year is a different year, and each thing is a different thing,” said A&M coach Jimbo Fisher, in declining to buy into any weirdness about the series, considering home teams typically
have an advantage when programs are fairly evenly matched.
The one aberration on the oddity occurred three years ago in Fisher’s first season at A&M, when the Aggies lost 28-24 at Auburn. In perhaps the most surprising outcome of the Fisher tenure to date at A&M, the Tigers then rolled into Kyle Field two years ago and won 28-20.
Fisher is 32-12 in his fourth season with the Aggies, but 1-2 against Auburn and then-coach
Gus Malzahn, who was fired at the end of last season. Fisher beat Auburn for the first time last season, 31-20 at Jordan-hare Stadium in early December to wrap up the pandemic-addled schedule.
On Oct. 9, Fisher became the first of Saban’s former assistants to beat the iconic coach when the Aggies upset Alabama 41-38 at Kyle Field. That also means Auburn is the lone SEC West foe the Aggies have yet to beat at Kyle.
A&M, as it has done for the most part under Fisher, has strengthened as the season has pressed on. The Aggies have won three consecutive games against Alabama, Missouri and South Carolina to climb their way back into relevance in the AP poll and more importantly in the SEC West race.
A&M has yet to win a division title since joining the SEC, primarily courtesy of Alabama but also thanks to uprisings along the way by Auburn and LSU. Based on A&M’S upset of the Crimson Tide and their wins since, the Aggies still have an outside shot at a division title.
“We know this is a big game,” A&M safety Demani Richardson said of hosting the Tigers. “But we still have to (treat) it like it’s a normal week.”
The Aggies would need to run the table against Auburn, Mississippi and LSU and cross their fingers Alabama slips up along the way, which doesn’t seem likely. The Crimson Tide host LSU and Arkansas and close out the regular season at rival Auburn, with that finale likely their biggest test in trying to win another division title.
Two big items the Aggies failed to check off their early list are now coming into play more than ever: startling losses to Arkansas and Mississippi State to start SEC play, before they rebounded with the three straight wins.
“… After those two losses, I was even doubting myself,” said Wydermyer, one of the top tight ends in the country. “But I feel like we regained that (confidence), and we know we can still do amazing things. We see how good of a team we can be.”