Texas A&M Aggies vs Auburn Tigers Box Score on Sep 17, 2016

The Sports Xchange
Sep 17, 2016

AUBURN, Ala. --- Texas A&M kicker Daniel LaCamera drilled five field goals and the No. 17 Aggies grinded out a 29-16 SEC-opening victory over Auburn on Saturday night at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Texas A&M quarterback Trevor Knight threw for 247 yards and a score, and freshman running back Trayveon William iced the win with an 89-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Texas A&M (3-0, 1-0) was able to overcome not cashing in completely on red-zone by defensively shutting down the Tigers. Auburn (1-2, 0-1) could not get much going after the first quarter until it was too late.

The Aggies, 3-0 at Auburn since joining the SEC, head into another West Division battle next week against No. 24 Arkansas (3-0, 0-0) in Arlington, Texas.

The Tigers are hoping to regroup after another high-profile home loss. Auburn hasn't won an SEC home game since Oct. 25, 2014, against South Carolina, and has lost seven in a row at Jordan-Hare against Power 5 opponents.

Defenses took center stage for much of the night, but the Aggies mounted three scoring drives in the second quarter to take control.

Knight completed 20 of 40 passes and rushed for 42 yards. Josh Reynolds caught eight passes for 98 yards and a touchdown. Williams had 127 on just eight carries.

Texas A&M had 478 yards of offense didn’t turn the ball over.

Auburn, at home against LSU next week, finished with 399 yards, with 114 coming in the first quarter. The Tigers punted nine times.

The Tigers switched from starter Sean White (18 of 27 for 126 yards) to John Franklin III in the fourth quarter, and the move appeared to immediately pay dividends. Auburn enjoyed its best drive since the first quarter until the Aggies made a fourth-down stop on their 10.

The Aggies went up 29-10 two plays later after Williams went the distance.

Franklin engineered a touchdown drive to close out the scoring.

Kamryn Pettway led the Tigers with 123 yards on 20 rushes and a touchdown.

The Aggies bounced back from a 7-0 deficit to take a 16-10 lead into halftime. Texas A&M outgained Auburn 253-200 in the half.

The Tigers went up-tempo on their second drive with quick passes from White and runs up the middle by Pettway netting sizable chunks of yardage. Pettway waltzed in from the 1-yard-line for the game's first touchdown midway through the first quarter.

The Aggies answered on their next two drives to take their first lead at 10-7.

LaCamera's 46-yard field goal got Texas A&M on the board before a 92-yard drive early in the second quarter put the visitors in front.

Knight went 4-for-4 on the long march, including a 51-yard bomb to Reynolds setting up the Aggies inside the Auburn 10. Knight and Reynolds hooked up again two plays later from 5 yards for the score.

The Aggies turned the game's first turnover -- receiver Ryan Davis' lost fumble on the Auburn 40 -- into a short field goal and a 13-7 advantage.

LaCamera drilled another short field goal with 1:52 left in the second quarter.

Auburn finished the half with a 37-yard field goal by Daniel Carlson.

NOTES: The two programs split the first four meetings as SEC opponents, which the road team winning each time. Texas A&M came into the game leading the series 4-2, which the first matchup coming in 1911 in Dallas. ... Auburn was 20-3 over its last 23 SEC opening games. ... Texas A&M QB Trevor Knight was sacked for the first time this season on the Aggies' first drive. ... Auburn sophomore RB Kamryn Pettway scored his first career touchdown in the first quarter.