The Auburn Tigers pulled off a massive upset this weekend, beating the No. 15 Texas A&M Aggies 43-41 in a four-overtime thriller to put a hit into the Aggies’ chances of earning an at-large bid for the College Football Playoff.
Auburn shot out to a quick 21-7 start, but the game went back-and-forth from there after Texas A&M scored consecutive touchdowns within a two-minute stretch, leading to an overtime result.
It’s been an up-and-down season for the Tigers, who were competitive for a number of games early in the season. However, they lost four games within 10 points, dropping to a 2-5 record.
But, since then, Auburn has shown signs of hope, winning three of their past four games, including this weekend’s 43-41 thriller over a top-15 team, giving the team some momentum heading into the season finale against the Alabama Crimson Tide.
A big part of the team’s recent success has been the emergence of five-star freshman wide receiver Cam Coleman, who has put together back-to-back 100-yard, two-touchdown games up for the Tigers, developing a rapport with quarterback Payton Thorne.
Coleman, seen as the No. 3 player in the Class of 2025 by On3, has turned into Auburn’s second-leading receiver as a freshman, totaling 30 catches for 720 yards and seven touchdowns. He trails only Penn State transfer KeAndre Lambert-Smith atop the team’s leaders in both receiving yards and touchdowns, establishing himself as a consistent downfield threat, despite Auburn’s shaky quarterback play this year.
Coleman’s ascension has come at the right time for Auburn, as they’re chasing a bowl game following their 43-41 win over Texas A&M, with the Alabama Crimson Tide standing in their way of a postseason bid.
“[It’s] really a revenge tour,” Coleman said about the rivalry game. “We’re going in their place and we’re really just going to go into their crib and just take over and have fun while we’re doing it. This is going to be some of the last memories we make with each other so let’s go make it a memorable game.”
While running back Jarquez Hunter has been a staple of the program over the past four years, Auburn had suffered from inconsistent quarterback play to begin the year, as quarterback Payton Thorne was briefly benched following a four-interception outing back in Week 2.
That led to backup Hank Brown earning a start, where he tossed for four touchdowns in Week 3, but was benched in favor of Thorne again after multiple early interceptions against Arkansas the following week.
From there on, Thorne had his moments, but was inconsistent, going for over 250 passing yards just once and passing for more than a touchdown only once as well until the last two weeks.
With Coleman and Lambert-Smith leading the way, Thorne had a five-touchdown effort against UL-Monroe, which was followed up with a 300-yard performance against Texas A&M where the quarterback found his five-star freshman twice in the endzone for touchdowns.
Coleman has five touchdowns in the last two games, catching passes of 63, 15, 20, 3 and 22 yards that all went for scores, while also adding two other catches of over 20 yards over the stretch.
His elite performances have earned him some recognition, as he was named the SEC Freshman of the Week after his 100-yard and two-touchdown game against Texas A&M. But, that hasn’t fazed him, especially with the Alabama game coming up.
“That’s in the past,” Coleman said about the honor. “I’m trying to look forward. I can’t really keep looking in the past. Just gotta keep moving forward each week, getting better from my mistakes from last week. It’s a great accomplishment, but gotta keep working.”
Alabama has pulled off the rivalry victory in each of the last four years. If Auburn is to flip the switch, Coleman would be a major part of that effort, as he’ll go up against some talented freshmen defensive backs this week, looking to spark the upset effort.
