Johnny Manziel racked up four touchdowns and 502 total yards. Mike Evans snagged 11 catches for 287 yards and four touchdowns. Texas A&M had 29 first downs. And they lost.
What a difference a year makes for Auburn. Just a year ago, Charles Barkley’s alma mater was the red-headed stepchild of the SEC going 3-9, including 0-8 in the conference. Fast forward a year later, the Tigers marched directly into the teeth of College Station and pulled out a victory over the No. 7 Texas A&M Aggies. In honor of it being Sunday, let’s have a praise session while we’re all here.
— Praise Auburn’s #1 ranked SEC running game. Tre Mason and Nick Marshall combined for 47 carries, 278 yards (the team had 339) and three touchdowns.
— Praise Auburn’s defensive line and the pressure they put on Manziel, especially in the fourth. With a game that ended 45-41 and A&M toppling over 600 total yards, shouting out a defensive line seems awkward, but they truly were putting pressure on Johnny Football on much of the day. Hearing Verne Lundquist call out a different lineman’s name each time had me believing he was making names up at one point.
— Praise to Ben Bradley for this tweet. He deleted it, presumably after wind of it got back to the coaching staff, but I got a laugh or two out of the deal. Manziel’s as entertaining as they come in all of sports, but he does leave himself open to taunts of this nature when he doesn’t end up on the sunny side of trash talking.
Looking ahead, Auburn could legitimately be 9-1 as they close the regular season with two home games against Georgia and Alabama. The latter of which may directly influence if Nick Saban and ‘Bama achieve immortality status from the moment they dump trucked Notre Dame in Miami last January.
As for Texas A&M, the first order of business is making sure Manziel’s shoulder does not have any long term damage. The Aggies experienced a “piss-on-cotton” moment in the fourth when their all-everything quarterback/cash cow went down, but later came back to give A&M a brief 41-38 lead via an inspiring touchdown drive. At 5-2 and fourth in the SEC West, A&M’s national title hopes are all but toe-tagged. And while their quarterback receives a brunt of the coverage and hoopla, remember the name Mike Evans.
Not only will he be a first team All-American this year, he’ll be earning paychecks on Sunday and one hell of a future pickup in fantasy football. With a wicked combo of speed, agility, power and leaping ability, his audition tape for the pros could be more like a mini-series. As for A&M’s defense? They’re the worst in the SEC and the reason why TAMU isn’t 7-0 with legit national championship aspirations. They literally cannot stop shit, diarrhea. #WeezyBars
Quick Hits
— That top five primetime Clemson/FSU game that was hyped all week? Yeah, Florida State beat the lining out of Clemson 51-14 in one of the most dominating performances in recent memory. Through six games, we’re seeing the best football FSU has played from a physical and mental approach in a decade. Lamarcus Joyner and the defense were possessed all night forcing four turnovers. Meanwhile, Jameis Winston was anything but frazzled in Death Valley, accounting for a career-high 444 yards and four total touchdowns (and one cool ass pre-game pep talk). This one Nick O’Leary truck stuck symbolized the entire game. He took his soul. The ‘Noles have outscored their last two opponents (both ranked) by 100 points.
— Ohio State’s winning streak reached 19 after a thrilling Big 10 bout versus Iowa. I’ve been critical of Ohio State and hated the school ever since I lost the national championship to them on NCAA Football 2002 with Florida State. But ladies and gentlemen, if you haven’t watched Carlos Hyde run the football yet, schedule a time to do so. He’s a grown ass man out there. Buddy put on his hard hat and went to work on Saturday with 24 carries, 149 yards and two scores.
— NO, SERIOUSLY, BAYLOR’S OFFENSE IS LITERALLY UNSTOPPABLE. When a team wins 71-7 and you don’t really bat an eye, we’re saying something. The Bears have scored 69, 70, 70, 73 and now 71 in games this year. Please make Baylor vs. Oregon in the Sugar Bowl happen. Why the Sugar Bowl? Because those two offenses in a dome could perhaps produce the greatest offensive football game in recorded history.
— There were upsets everywhere in the SEC yesterday. No. 6 LSU took a loss to Ole Miss, No. 11 South Carolina fell to Tennessee while No. 15 Georgia lost to Skip Bayless’ old stomping grounds, Vanderbilt. It was all good for UGA a few weeks ago. Injuries are a bitch. The Vols snapped a 19-game losing streak against ranked opponents.
— Grambling has been in the news all week for not only being on their third head coach of the season, but the players protesting what they believe is unfair treatment and subpar facilities. The players took a stand and did not travel to play Jackson State in one of the most storied HBCU rivalries. Nevertheless, by the looks of this weight room, those players have a point.
— Stanford hasn’t lost two games since Andrew Luck was a freshman. The streak continued yesterday with a 24-10 victory over No. 9 UCLA. That’s great and all, but this Kevin Hogan to Kodi Whitfield touchdown probably is the catch of the year.
— He’s still a lottery pick, if not the top overall, but what little chance Teddy Bridgewater had at the Heisman flew out the window with Louisville’s 38-35 loss to Central Florida.
— Alabama won.
— Oregon did, too.
— I’m still not a fan of Devin Gardner’s jersey number (#98). His 584 total yards, however, set a Michigan record as the Wolverines won a shootout against Indiana 63-47.
— Didn’t know Northern Illinois was ranked No. 23? You’re not the only one. But Jordan Lynch had one of the crazier games for a QB we’ll probably ever see. Lynch threw for 155 yards, pedestrian at best, right? Well, he also ran the ball 32 times (three of which went for touchdowns) for 316 yards and set a new FBS record for quarterbacks in the process.
— It’s officially acceptable to refer to the University of Miami as “The U” again. The Canes will find themselves in the BCS championship picture when the polls are released tonight. UNC had the Canes holding their breath, but Miami squeaked by with a 27-23 win.
— Remember when people laughed at Texas A&M and Missouri joining the SEC? Well, turns out the Tigers are getting the last laugh as they improve to 7-0 on the season and sit atop the SEC East. Mizzou ensured Florida will enter next weekend unranked walking the Gators 36-17.
— Yes, if you haven’t put the pieces together yet, five top 10 squads all lost on Saturday (Clemson, LSU, A&M, Louisville and UCLA). Beautiful people of America, welcome to BCS season.
Previously: Your College Football Recap, Week 7: Upsets Are Awesome And No More #LOLTexas
Photo & GIFs: Getty, SBNation