Texas A&M def. Auburn, 20-3
Two of these games have had Max Johnson at quarterback, and two of them have had Zach Calzada. That doesn’t really mean much, but it’s a strange note.
Before Auburn sunk to 6-6 at the end of the 2021 regular season, they were riding high at 6-2 and ranked 12th in the nation. Such was their lot when they entered Kyle Field for a ranked, early November matchup that year.
Junior QB Bo Nix and sophomore RB Tank Bigsby led a pro-style offense, coordinated by Mike Bobo, into College Station. As with every time Elko faced off against Bobo, the result was not favorable for the offense. I think in two matchups as the OC for South Carolina and for Auburn, his offense only managed six points total against Elko’s defenses.
The Aggie offense had their own troubles, however. The two teams traded field goals on their first drives, but a long drought was to follow. The only touchdown scored in the game was a memorable fumble recovery and return by Micheal Clemons in the second half; the two-point conversion put the Aggies up 14.
The season would kind of sputter out for both teams after this, but this did feel like a huge moment for the Aggies. It seemed extremely feasible that Alabama could drop another game, so there was an outside possibility for the Ags that they could reach Atlanta had they finished strong.
Of course, trips to Oxford and Baton Rouge stamped out that possibility. All the better, though, as Auburn lost a heartbreaker in multiple overtimes to the Tide on rivalry weekend. Imagine the heartache had the Aggies finished off the Rebels and Tigers, only to see the Iron Bowl end that way!
This was probably the final glorious moment of the Fisher era, depending on how you think of the LSU game in 2022. It felt like the Aggies had figured it out and had everything in front of them.