COLLEGE STATION, Texas — The No. 9 Texas A&M football team opened SEC play with a 16-10 victory over Auburn on Saturday afternoon, relying on a dominant defensive performance after three weeks of high-scoring offensive displays.
The Aggie defense held Auburn to just 176 total yards, a stark contrast to Texas A&M's previous three games where the offense averaged over 40 points per game. The defensive unit sacked Auburn quarterback Jackson Arnold five times and prevented the Tigers from converting a single third down attempt.
"Today, we didn't do anything on offense to help us in the second half, and that will happen at times in this league," Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko said. "You're going to play at times where you play teams that are really good on defense. And yet, defensively, we didn't flinch at all."
"We love football, man. We really don't care who gets the credit, and that's a universal thing with our team," junior linebacker Taurean York said. "It doesn't matter if the offense put up 40 points, or they put up 13 or 16 points today. We won the game."
Despite finding the end zone just once, the Aggies established a strong ground game, rushing for 207 yards against an Auburn defensive line that had allowed only 233 total rushing yards through the first four weeks of the season.
"It was really good to see. We really haven't had that from them yet, just because we've been doing so well in the passing attack," sophomore quarterback Marcel Reed said. "But this is a game where we kind of had to use our legs a little bit more, because they decided they wanted to bracket our receivers, double a little bit, and that was just kind of hard to get it to them."
The Aggie secondary limited Auburn's receiving corps to 125 yards, while the front seven consistently pressured Arnold throughout the game.
"Defense did amazing. We couldn't get the ball in the box as much as we needed to, but they made great stops all game," senior running back Le'Veon Moss said.
"It's really good to see our training came through when we needed it the most. Worked a plethora of times, all offseason. Just to see our training pay off in the right way, it's always a good feeling, man," York said.
The victory improves Texas A&M to 4-0 for the first time since 2016, showcasing the team's ability to win games in different ways.
"One game you throw the ball, one game you run the ball, one game you win on offense, one game you win on defense, it gives you an opportunity to go out and win and sustain success over long periods of time," Elko said.
The No. 9 Aggies return to Kyle Field next Saturday night to host Mississippi State. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m.
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