Texas A&M Holds On for Sloppy Win vs. Auburn Tigers

The Texas A&M Aggies were riding an emotional high after a big-time win over Notre Dame in South Bend, a win that propelled them to No. 9 in the AP Poll.

After a bye week, Texas A&M returned home for the SEC opener against the Auburn Tigers at Kyle Field on Saturday, and though the matchup hardly had the fireworks that the win over Notre Dame had, the Aggies showed they are capable of winning in multiple ways.

The Aggies fought through a slew of mistakes and sloppy offensive play to hold on for a 16-10 win over Auburn to move to 4-0 for the first time since 2016. Texas A&M's defense held the Tigers to just 155 total yards of offense, which included Auburn going 0 of 12 on third down.

Mike Elko: "We Made a Lot of Mistakes"

Auburn Tigers wide receiver Eric Singleton Jr. (1) runs the ball during the third quarter as Texas A&M Aggies cornerback Dezz Ricks (2) defends at Kyle Field. | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

"We made a lot of mistakes today," Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko said, per TexAgs. "Offensively, we didn't do the things we needed to do. Defensively, we played lights out. We made an awful lot of plays, and that won us a football game."

The Aggies defense stifled Auburn quarterback Jackson Arnold, who was sacked five times, including on the final fourth down of the game that sealed the win over Texas A&M. He finished the afternoon 17 of 31 passing for 124 yards, no touchdowns and no picks while adding a rushing score.

The Aggies built a 13-3 lead at halftime thanks to a rushing touchdown from Le'Veon Moss and a pair of field goals from Randy Bond, but Texas A&M certainly left some scoring opportunities on the table against a tough Auburn defense.

Texas A&M had a chance to go for the kill shot ahead of the 10-minute mark of the fourth quarter, but a 72-yard interception return from Auburn linebacker Xavier Atkins gave the Tigers a chance.

On the very next play, Arnold rushed in for a two-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 13-10. The Tigers appeared to have all of the momentum.

But the Texas A&M defense didn't flinch. Auburn got three more chances at potentially taking the late lead, but were unable to cross midfield on each of the final three drives.

The Aggies showed against Notre Dame that they can win a shootout before turning around and displaying toughness in a defensive affair as well. Championship contenders have to be able to win in multiple ways, and Texas A&M certainly looks like it deserves to be in that conversation.