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| Auburn quarterback Nick Marshall would account for 336 yards of total offense and four TDs in leading Auburn to an upset over Texas A&M. |
When Auburn Tigers fans think of the 2013 football season, the first thoughts that often come into their minds is the memorable "Prayer at Jordan-Hare" win over Georgia which was followed two weeks later by Chris Davis' "Kick-Six" at the end of the Iron Bowl against Alabama.
While those two games are what is best remembered for the 2013 Auburn Tigers, there is a win that occurred one month prior that should take another look as on October 19th, the Tigers traveled to College Station, Texas to take on the Texas A&M Aggies and 2012 Heisman Trophy Winner Johnny Manziel.
Auburn came into the 2013 season with relatively low expectations as the Tigers were coming off their worst season in nearly 60 years as the team went 3-9 and failed to win a single SEC conference game.
This led to the firing of head coach Gene Chizik, who had just a few years later helped lead the Tigers to the 2010 National Championship with Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Cam Newton.
Chizik was replaced by Arkansas State head coach Gus Mahzaln, who was the offensive coordinator on that national championship winning-team, to help Auburn back to respectability.
With the help of quarterback Nick Marshall and running back Tre Mason, the Tigers jumped out to a 5-1 start with their only blemish being a 35-21 loss to LSU, as Auburn entered the AP and coaches polls as the #24 ranked team in the country as the Tigers prepared for to face the "12th Man" in College Station.
Texas A&M also came into the game with a 5-1 record but were ranked #7 in the country as the Aggies had gotten a good preseason ranking because of their 2012 season, their first in the SEC, where A&M went 11-2, upset #1 Alabama 29-24 in Tuscaloosa, and finished #5 in the country under first-year head coach Kevin Sumlin.
The main reason for the Aggies' success was quarterback Johnny Manziel, who became the 2nd player in Texas A&M history to win the Heisman Trophy Award as "Johnny Football" threw for 3,706 yards and 26 touchdown while running for 1,410 yards and 21 touchdowns to became the first freshman to ever win the Heisman.
Despite being suspended for the first half of the Aggies' regular season opener, Manziel threw for 1,835 yards and threw 14 touchdown passes in the Aggies' first six games of the 2013 season with his primarily target being wide receiver Mike Evans, who had caught 32 passes for 737 yards and five touchdowns.
Manziel added 438 rushing yards and five touchdown runs during that span as the Aggies entered their top 25 showdown with Auburn as two-touchdown favorites.
A&M got the ball to start the game as it took the Aggies only six plays to drive 67 yards and score the game's first touchdown as Manziel connected with Evans for a 26-yard touchdown pass to give A&M a 7-0 lead just 1:41 into the game.
Auburn would get the ball at its 14-yard-line for its opening possession as the Tigers would drive 86 yards on 10 plays, with seven of the ten plays being run plays including the final play which was a 16-yard touchdown run by Marshall to tie the game at 7 with 10:14 left in the first quarter.
A 39-yard pass from Manziel to Evans put the Aggies back in Auburn territory only to have Manziel be picked off by Tigers defensive back Ryan Smith a few plays later to give the Tigers the ball at its 38-yard-line.
From there, the Tigers would drive 53 plays in seven plays with the drive culminating with a 27-yard field goal by Cody Parkey to give Auburn a 10-7 lead with 5:40 to go in the first quarter.
It would only take 26 seconds for the Aggies to retake the lead as Manziel found Evans for a 64-yard touchdown to give A&M a 14-10 lead, which they had a chance to increase after defensive back Howard Matthews forced a fumble that was recovered by linebacker Steven Jenkins to give A&M the ball at the Auburn 49-yard-line.
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| Texas A&M Mike Evans caught 11 passes for a school-record 287 yards and four TDs. |
The Aggies would drive to the Auburn 24-yard-line until Manziel was picked off by Tigers defensive back Ryan White to give the Auburn offense the ball back at their four-yard-line.
After two runs by Mason for eight yards, Marshall hit fullback Jay Prosch for a 56-yard pass that put the Tigers in A&M territory at the Aggies' 32-yard-line which was followed by a 19-yard run by Marshall as the first quarter came to an end.
Three straight running plays would pick up nine yards to set up 4th & 1 at the A&M four-yard-line when Malzahn decided to go for it as Mason ran for three yards to give Auburn a 1st & goal at the one-yard-line when the Tigers started going backwards as a false start penalty and an quarterback sack forced a 3rd & goal from the 13-yard-line.
That is when Marshall found Quin Bray for a 13-yard touchdown to cap off the 12-play, 96-yard drive as Auburn retook the lead at 17-14 with 10:46 left in the second quarter.
After both teams went three-and-out on their next possessions, the Aggies would drive 49 yards in nine plays to set up a 37-yard field goal by Josh Lambo tied the game at 17 with 5:38 to go in the second quarter.
The two teams would trade punts until there were 24 seconds left in the half when Evans caught his third touchdown pass of the first half, a 42-yarder that allowed A&M to take a 24-17 lead as the first half came to a close.
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| Texas A&M wide receiver Mike Evans caught 11 passes for 287 yards and four touchdowns. |
Both teams would trade punts to start the second half until the Tigers drove from their 35-yard-line to the Aggies' 43-yard-line when Marshall hit Sammie Coates for a 43-yard touchdown to tie the game at 24 midway through the third quarter.
Back came the Aggies with a nine-play, 82-yard drive that ended with another Manziel-to-Evans touchdown connection, this one for 33 yards to put A&M back on top 31-24 with 4:06 to go in the third quarter.
The Aggies would force a three-and-out to get the ball back at their 22-yard-line as Manziel led the A&M offense to the Auburn 10-yard-line as the third quarter came to an end with the Aggies on the doorstep of increasing their lead.
As the fourth quarter began, Manziel ran for eight yards to set up 3rd & goal when Manziel fell to the ground in pain, grasping his right arm in pain.
Manziel would go to the sidelines as Matt Joeckel came onto to play quarterback on 3rd down as the junior threw an incomplete pass to bring up 4th down as the Aggies settled for a 20-yard field goal by Lambo to increase the A&M lead to 34-24 with 14:17 left in the fourth quarter.
As Manziel went to the locker room, the Tigers would drive 75 yards in seven plays, culminating with a 13-yard touchdown run by Marshall to bring Auburn back to within a field goal at 34-31 with 11:44 to go in regulation.
When the A&M offense came back onto the field, Joeckel remained at quarterback as the Aggies would go three-and-out to give the back to Auburn who took over at its 31-yard-line with a chance to tie the game or take the lead.
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| Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel threw for 484 yards and four touchdowns while running for 48 yards and another score. |
Two straight running plays picked up nine yards to set up 3rd & 1 when Mason exploded for a 53-yard run to give Auburn a 1st & goal at the A&M seven-yard-line as Marshall kept the ball himself for a five-yard run to set up 2nd down when Cameron Artis-Payne punched it in for a two-yard touchdown to give the Tigers a 38-34 lead with 9:06 left in the game.
Manziel would return to the game when A&M began its next possession at their 25-yard-line as Manziel completed a 26-yard pass to Evans to give the Aggies a 1st down at the Auburn 49-yard-line.
From there, the Aggies would drive the remaining 49 yards in 11 plays as Manziel ran it in for an one-yard touchdown that allowed A&M to retake the lead at 41-38 with 5:05 to go in regulation.
The Tigers would start their ensuing possession at their 25-yard-line as Auburn would drive to the A&M 39-yard-line where they faced a 3rd & 9 with 1:46 to go in regulation.
That is when Marshall completed a 27-yard pass to Marcus Davis to give Auburn a 1st down at the A&M 12-yard-line as Mason would get the ball on the next two plays with the last one being a five-yard touchdown run to give Auburn a 45-41 lead with 79 seconds left in the game.
Following a 35-yard kickoff return by Trey Williams, the Aggies would begin their ensuing possession at their 35-yard-line, needing a touchdown to win the game.
The drive would begin with a 19-yard pass from Manziel to Evans to give A&M a 1st down at the Auburn 46-yard-line.
After a six-yard run by Manziel, the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner found Evans again, this time for 22 yards and another 1st down at the Auburn 18-yard-line with 43 seconds to go.
It looked like Manziel and the Aggies were going to break the Tigers' hearts when the Auburn defense rose up as on 2nd & 10(following an incomplete pass), defensive end Dee Ford sacked Manziel for an eight-yard loss to bring up 3rd & 18.
Manziel got some of the yardage back as he ran for five yards to set up a do-or-die 4th & 13 when the Auburn pass rush forced Manziel to scramble so far back that when he was tackled by Ford, he was 22 yards behind the line of scrimmage.
The sack forced a turnover on downs and allowed Auburn to take a knee to run out the clock as the Tigers came away with the 45-41 win.
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| Auburn running back Tre Mason finished with 178 yards on 27 carries and one touchdown. |
The Aggies would finish the season with a 9-4 record and #18 ranking in the final AP and coaches polls as Manziel would leave A&M after the 2013 season and go to the NFL where he was selected with the #22 overall pick by the Cleveland Browns.
Unfortunately for Manziel, his NFL career would be nowhere near as successful as his college career as he was cut by the Browns after just two seasons.
As for the Tigers, the win in College Station was the turning point in their season as Auburn would win the last five games of their regular season to win the SEC West division title and a spot in the SEC Championship Game where Auburn defeated the University of Missouri 59-42 thanks to a 304-yard rushing performance by Mason.
That win coupled with an Ohio State loss in the Big 10 Championship Game paved the way for Auburn to play Florida State in the National Championship Game where the Tigers lost a heartbreaker 34-31 as the Seminoles won the game on a two-yard touchdown pass from Jameis Winston to Kelvin Benjamin with 13 seconds left.
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