Legendary Auburn Head Coach Breaks Down What It Takes to Beat Texas A&M

The Auburn Tigers and Texas A&M are headed into Saturday’s matchup with very different levels of momentum. The Aggies are coming off a bye week, preceded by their incredible 41-40 win over Notre Dame, while the Tigers are coming off a difficult loss to Oklahoma. 

Analyst and National Champion Auburn coach Gene Chizik sat down on ESPN today to discuss momentum and what the Tigers need to do to beat Texas A&M.

Chizik expressed concern for the Tigers’ inability to establish the run against Oklahoma. He described last week’s Tiger offense as one-dimensional, emphasizing that the Tigers' run game must be established early if they want a win in College Station.

He added the Tigers should keep in mind that Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko and company have had a whole bye week to prepare for their matchup against Auburn.

“Don’t think they didn’t see what all the warts were on the offensive line, and in the running backs and quarterbacks,” he said. “They’re all responsible for 10 sacks in a game.”

On the defensive side of things, though, Chizik was actually quite impressed with the Tigers.

“I don’t think they get enough credit,” he said. “Last week, [Oklahoma] couldn’t run the football, the defensive line had six sacks the week before, and had John Mateer running all over the place.” 

It’s certainly going to be a battle in College Station, as if the Tigers' defense plays like they did against Oklahoma and Ball State, and the offense can limit sacks and establish the running game, as Chizik said, the Tigers could take the fight to Texas A&M, instead of playing on their heels like they did in the fourth quarter of the Oklahoma game.

All the preparation, changes, and studying will come to a head for both teams this Saturday, as the Auburn vs. Texas A&M game will kick off at 2:30 p.m. CDT. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.

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