From The Trussville Tribune staff reports
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — The No. 14 Auburn Tigers overcame an early Texas A&M lead and pulled away in the second half to secure a 42-27 win over the Aggies Saturday.
Texas A&M opened up the scoring early in the first quarter with a 39-yard field goal by Daniel LaCamera.
The rest of the first quarter went scoreless, but a 2-yard touchdown reception by Kerryon Johnson from Jarrett Stidham put the Tigers ahead 7-3 early in the second quarter.
A 2-yard touchdown run by Keith Ford and a 25-yard field goal by LaCamera gave the Aggies a 13-7 lead with 2:39 left in the first half.
The Tigers regained the lead on their next possession when Stidham hit Darius Slayton in stride for a 53-yard touchdown bomb. The ensuing Daniel Carlson PAT put Auburn back on top 14-13 with 1:36 left in the half.
The Tigers were able to take both momentum and a larger lead into halftime when Nick Ruffin blocked a Texas A&M punt that Malik Miller recovered in the end zone for a touchdown to make it 21-13 Tigers.
A 4-yard touchdown pass from Stidham to Ryan Davis and a 2-yard run for a score by Johnson put Auburn ahead 35-13 midway through the third quarter.
The Aggies narrowed the gap to 35-20 on a 62-yard touchdown pass from Nick Starkel to Damion Ratley.
Eli Stove capped a long fourth-quarter Auburn drive with a 4-yard run and score, and Ratley caught an 8-yard touchdown pass from Starkel to round out the scoring.
Auburn improves to 7-2 overall and 5-1 in SEC play. The Tigers will host No. 1 Georgia next Saturday, Nov. 11, at 2:30 p.m. on CBS.
Texas A&M falls to 5-4 overall and 3-3 in conference play. The Aggies host New Mexico next Saturday.