AUBURN, Ala. – It would've been easy for Auburn to give up Saturday. The Tigers had fallen behind by 10 points early in the second half, and the deeper it got into the game, the less likely it seemed a comeback was going to happen. The deficit simply seemed insurmountable.
But this team refused to budge. Because that's not what Auburn does.
"It's all about fighting," senior linebacker Deshaun Davis said. "It goes back to that logo. The things that were instilled in that logo before we even got here, back to the days before we were even born probably. Auburn is built on toughness, and it's built on fight. My team showed a lot of fight today. We showed a lot of grit."
It started with Davis and the defense, who made two critical stops early in the fourth quarter that kept it a 10-point game and gave the offense a chance.
First, it was a stop in the red zone where a Texas A&M touchdown could have all but sealed the game. Instead, the Aggies got no points after missing a 36-yard field goal. On their next drive, the Auburn defense came up big yet again when sophomore cornerback Noah Igbinoghene pulled down an interception that brought life back to the crowd and created a spark for the offense.
"We had to make those plays," Auburn defensive lineman Derrick Brown said. "That's something that we pride ourselves on being able to do when our backs are against the wall.
"We're not quitters. We're mentally trained for this. At the end of the day, you can be as physical and as strong as you want to, but if you can't get out there and be able to handle this mentally, then there's no reason to be out there in a game like this."
Meanwhile, quarterback Jarrett Stidham knew the offense's number would be called on again, and eventually, they had to execute. It had been a struggle at times, especially in the second half, but there was still time on the clock and still an opportunity. This was not the time to give in.
So after the interception, the Tigers came out and responded with an eight-play, 71-yard touchdown drive that cut the lead to three. You could see the momentum turning when Darius Slayton made an acrobatic catch down near the goal line. He immediately jumped up and ran over to celebrate with the fans – something you rarely see from the junior wide receiver.
"There are some moments where you just feel it," Slayton said. "I wanted to win, and I knew if we scored right there, we had a real good chance to win. That's just what came out of me in the moment."
On the very next play, Chandler Cox scored from a yard out.
Then, after another stop by the defense, the offense got the ball back with two minutes left and a chance to go win the game. First, it was Ryan Davis, who turned a short pass over the middle into a 47-yard gain. It was part talent and part will and determination. Then, one play later, freshman Seth Williams hauled in a touchdown in the back corner of the end zone to give the Tigers the lead.
Just like that, with the game on the line and when Auburn needed it the most, the offense delivered.
"We just kept believing," Cox said. "We just kept thinking about the spring, the summer, the long nights and the early mornings. Those hard workouts. We didn't do those for no reason. We did it for games like this. We went out there knowing we could do it, and so we did."
There was no quit from Auburn on Saturday. Not from the defense, who came up with stop after stop in the fourth quarter and clinched the victory with a sack on the final play of the game. And not from the offense either, who marched down the field and scored a touchdown twice in the final five minutes.
This group proved once again how resilient it can be.
"We're going to fight until the end," Igbinoghene said. "We're not going to stop no matter what happens."
Greg Ostendorf is a Senior Writer for AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @greg_ostendorf