Game To Watch: #12 Auburn at #13 Texas A&M: November 4, 2021

Auburn will play Texas A&M in College Station on Saturday at 3:30 EST. The Tigers are coming off a big win over Mississippi at home that pushed their record to 6 – 2 and 3 – 1 in the SEC. The Aggies dominated South Carolina last week and are also 6 – 2, though they are 3 – 2 in SEC play. Both teams are still in contention in the SEC West, but need to win on Saturday to strengthen their position.

Recent History

Texas A&M has won 6 of the 11 meetings between the two teams. That includes a 31 – 20 win at Auburn last year. The Tigers had won three straight coming into last year’s match-up. Since the Aggies joined the SEC, Auburn has won five the nine games in the series. This has been a very evenly played series recently.

Top 25 Players

What To Watch For…

Will the Defenses Rule the Day?

Auburn and Texas A&M have two of the best defenses in the SEC. Auburn is third in the conference in scoring defense, allowing 19.8 points per game. The Tigers have also been very good on a yards per play basis, ranking fourth in the conference at 5.2 yards per play against. They just did an excellent job against Mississippi, holding the Rebels to 20 points, 19.1 points below their season average. The Tigers have a talented defense and are playing well as a unit coming into this game. Texas A&M is ranked second in the conference, allowing just 16.1 points per game. The Aggies have been even better than Auburn on a per play basis as well, ranking second in the conference while giving up just 4.8 yards per play. Texas A&M has the defensive front to disrupt the offensive game-plan and the talent in the back seven to make big plays. Both defenses are among the best in the conference and will need to be on their game on Saturday.

Can Bo Nix Continue his Strong Play?

Bo Nix has been playing very well the last couple of weeks and has turned his season around after being briefly benched against Georgia State. Though he was making some big plays, Nix was not efficient from game two to game six this year. He averaged under 6.5 yards per attempt in all five of those games and completed less than 57 percent of his passes. Over the last two weeks, Nix has turned that around. In wins over Arkansas and Mississippi he has completed more than 73 percent of his passes in both games and averaged 11.2 and 9.2 yards per attempt in the two games. The Tigers’ quarterback appears to be comfortable with his offense and has been a play-maker when the play breaks down. Auburn will look for that strong play to continue against a suffocating Texas A&M defense on Saturday.

Does Isaiah Spiller Keep Rolling?

Texas A&M struggled on offense earlier this season, but has been able to rely on Isaiah Spiller just about every week. Spiller has run for 100 yards in five of eight games this year and has averaged over 5.5 yards per carry in six of eight games. The only games Spiller struggled in were against Colorado, when he only had eight carries and against Alabama. He has been the foundation of the offense for the Aggies and his play has allowed the offense to grow around him. With Spiller running well, Texas A&M is able to open up passing lanes for Zach Calzada and wear the defense down for his teammates to take advantage. Auburn’s run defense is the strength of their defense and gives up a mere 3.3 yards per carry this year. Spiller and his offensive line will have to create consistent gains on the ground to keep the offense on schedule and moving the ball on Saturday.

Prediction

The defenses will both be ready to play on Saturday and will control the game early. Spiller and A&M will attempt to wear down Auburn, but the Tigers have the depth to compete up front. Bo Nix and company have the play-making ability to make plays when it looks like there is nothing available. That creativity and offensive spark will be the difference in hard fought win for Auburn. Auburn 26 Texas A&M 21.

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Students At Kyle Field image taken by Stuart Seeger is licensed under CC BY 2.0.