COLLEGE STATION, Texas --
Texas A&M's Mike Evans had a school-record 287 yards receiving with
four touchdowns, but No. 24 Auburn got past the seventh-ranked Aggies
45-41 on Saturday.
Evans became the first player in school
history to have two, 200-yard receiving games in a career. He scored on
receptions of 26, 64, 42 and 33 yards.
Tre Mason's 5-yard score with less than 2 minutes to play was first placed at the 1, but it was reviewed and ruled a touchdown.
A&M
(5-2, 2-2 SEC) had a last chance, but Johnny Manziel, the Heisman
Trophy winner, was sacked by Dee Ford on fourth down to secure the win.
Manziel
threw for 454 yards and four touchdowns and ran for a fifth score, but
was intercepted twice. He missed a series in the fourth quarter with an
apparent injury to his right arm or shoulder. He returned but was
constantly moving his right arm.
Nick Marshall threw for 236 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 100 yards and two more scores for Auburn (6-1, 3-1).
Auburn
entered the game leading the SEC with 287 yards rushing a game and
piled up 379 yards rushing against the Aggies. Mason led the way with
178 yards and Corey Grantadded 45.
Manziel connected with Evans
for his fourth TD on a 33-yard pass -- that Auburn was called for pass
interference on -- giving A&M a 31-24 lead late in the third
quarter.
Manziel was injured when he was tackled on an 8-yard run early in the fourth quarter.
He
got up after the tackle and then went to the ground before he reached
the A&M sideline. A&M officials looked at him for a couple of
minutes on the turf before he got up and walked off on his own power.
He
was replaced by Matt Joeckel, who threw an incomplete pass on third
down and A&M settled for a 20-yard field goal to push the lead to
34-24.
Marshall cut A&M's lead to 3 when he ran 13 yards for a touchdown with about 12 minutes left.
Cameron
Artis-Payne put Auburn ahead 38-34 with a 2-yard run with about 9
minutes remaining. Tre Mason slashed through the line and ran 53 yards
to set up the score.
Manziel returned and orchestrated a 75-yard
drive capped by his 1-yard touchdown run to give A&M a 41-38 lead
with about 5 minutes left.
A&M had forced Auburn to punt on
four straight possessions before Marshall found Sammie Coates on a
screen pass and he coasted into the end zone untouched for a 43-yard
touchdown to tie it at 24-24.
Evans took a short pass from
Manziel and darted through traffic for a 26-yard touchdown that gave
A&M a 7-0 lead in the first quarter. It was the sixth straight game
the Aggies scored a touchdown on their opening drive.
The Tigers
answered when Marshall ran 14 yards for a touchdown on Auburn's first
drive. Grant had a 32-yard run two plays before the touchdown.
Manziel's
first interception came when Ryan Smith grabbed a pass that was
deflected byNehemiah Hicks just before it hit the ground in the first
quarter. Auburn took a 10-7 lead on a 27-yard field goal by Cody Parkey
after the interception.
Texas A&M's next drive was a quick
one. Evans grabbed an 11-yard pass before taking a short throw, getting
free on a block by Malcome Kennedy and dashing 64 yards down the
sideline for a touchdown that put A&M back on top 14-10.
The
Tigers coughed the ball up on their next possession when Howard
Matthews forced a fumble by Marshall which was recovered by Steven
Jenkins.
But the Aggies weren't able to take advantage of that
miscue, with Manziel throwing another interception six plays later. He
evaded three defenders before launching the pass into double coverage
which was intercepted just in front of the goal line by Ryan White.
Auburn
had a first-and-goal at the 1 after converting a fourth down after the
interception by Manziel. But the Tigers were flagged for a false start
before Marshall was sacked for a 7-yard loss to bring up third down.
Marshall
escaped the rush and found Quan Bray in the end zone for the 13-yard
touchdown that gave Auburn a 17-14 lead early in the second quarter.
A&M tied it with a 37-yard field goal by Josh Lambo.
The
Aggies regained the lead just before halftime when Evans scored again.
This time he pulled in a short pass, juked a defender and then
stiff-armed another before diving into the pylon for a 42-yard
touchdown to make it 24-17.
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