Breaking down the Week 5 matchup between Texas A&M and Auburn…
No. 9 Texas A&M vs. Auburn
When: 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Kyle Field in College Station
Records: Texas A&M (3-0 overall, 0-0 SEC); Auburn (3-1, 0-1 SEC)
Last meeting: Auburn defeated Texas A&M 43-41 in Auburn on Nov. 23 2024
Sports Roundup
TV: ESPN
What’s at stake?
After defeating Notre Dame, Texas A&M’s first road win against a ranked opponent in over a decade, the Aggies got some rest during the bye week. The Aggies catapulted to No. 9 in the AP Poll, the highest ranking of Mike Elko’s tenure. A&M has the chance to make even more program history with a win over Auburn, which would give the Aggies their first 4-0 start since 2016. Beating the Tigers would prove that the Aggies mean business in a stacked Southeastern Conference.
Auburn opened its season with a win over Baylor, but is coming off a Week 4 loss to No. 7 Oklahoma. The Tigers are looking to pull off an upset after allowing nine sacks to the Sooners. Defeating the Aggies could launch the Tigers back into the top 25 rankings.
When Texas A&M has the ball
The Aggies have flipped the script on what some expected from their offense in 2025. The Aggies have had a dominant passing attack behind the arm of Marcel Reed, who has thrown for 869 yards and nine touchdowns in three games. Transfer portal addition wide receiver Mario Craver has broken out for the A&M offense, leading all of college football in yards-after-catch, according to Pro Football Focus.
Craver and KC Concepcion will be targeted early and often, mostly running quick routes on run-pass options and sneaking behind Auburn defensive backs. Gashing the Auburn secondary for big plays shouldn’t be too difficult, because the Tigers have allowed the 30th most 20-plus yard passes in college football. Meanwhile, the Aggies have thrived off huge gains through the air with the 18th most 20-plus yard passes in the country.
Despite a loaded running back room, A&M has yet to live up to the hype averaging just 157 rushing yards per game. Le’Veon Moss broke out for the Aggies against Notre Dame, rushing for 81 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries. The sledding won’t get any easier for the Aggie rushing attack, as Auburn has the best run defense in the SEC and fifth in the entire country, allowing just 58.3 rushing yards per game.
The A&M offensive line has dominated opponents this season, allowing just two sacks through three games. Dominating the trenches would allow the A&M offense to flourish. But if the Aggies can’t get it done on offense, watch out for their special teams units to make plays. A&M is top 15 in both kick and punt return yards. The Aggies also have a punt return for a touchdown and nearly returned a kick for a touchdown against Notre Dame.
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When Auburn has the ball
Jackson Arnold looks much improved since transferring from Oklahoma to Auburn. The Denton, Texas native has been an efficient dual threat weapon, with five touchdowns through the air and four on the ground in 2025. All signs were pointing upwards for the former five star recruit, until he was sacked nine time against his former team Oklahoma last week. If Arnold doesn’t get rid of the ball faster, he’ll have Aggie pass rushers breathing down his neck all day at Kyle Field.
Auburn has been efficient with a 100% red zone scoring rate. A&M allows the most points per game of any defense in the SEC. Jeremiah Cobb has the second most rushing yards in the SEC with 375 yards and four touchdowns as the bell cow back for Auburn.
The Aggies have struggled against the run in 2025, allowing five touchdowns and 418 total yards on the ground. If A&M does manage to find an answer for the Auburn ground game, expect to hear from the Tigers’ elite pass catching duo of Eric Singleton Jr. and Cam Coleman. Both have combined for 446 yards and four touchdowns. Elko broke down the matchup between the Auburn weapons and A&M’s secondary.
“I’d way rather be playing guys who weren’t big, athletic, fast, and [run] 10.2 100 meters,” Elko said. “This is a really, really talented wide receiver corps, and so you know, we’ll see how we do on Saturday. But there’s a lot of other teams I would rather try to match up with.”
After exiting the game against Notre Dame, A&M could greatly miss the presence of linebacker Scooby Williams. Stopping the Auburn offense will require good run fits and strong pass coverage, which is easier said than done since the Aggies struggle with both mightily.
Prediction
If Elko wants to continue moving the A&M program forward then Aggies will need fend off Auburn. Expect another productive outing from Reed and the Aggies, as offensive coordinator Collin Klein has picked apart every defensive scheme A&M has seen this season. The Aggies’ ability to score in the blink of an eye will allow them find the end zone multiple time against the Tigers.
The Auburn offensive line will need to rebound for the Tiger’s talented playmakers to keep them in the game. Auburn’s electric running game is going to expose A&M’s lack of speed at linebacker, but it won’t be able to keep pace with the Aggies lethal ariel attack. It’s going to be a back-and-forth affair in the early going, but expect the Aggies to pull away in this SEC shootout.
Score: Texas A&M 42, Auburn 31
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