Auburn and coach Hugh Freeze suffered what might be the worst upset of the Week 12 college football schedule on Saturday, losing their “buy game” to Jerry Kill’s New Mexico State team, 31-10.
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The Tigers (6-5, 3-3 in SEC play) paid $1.85 million for the Aggies to travel to Jordan-Hare Stadium and hand them a demoralizing loss; it was the third-most expensive “buy game” all season in the SEC, trailing only the $1.95 million Auburn paid UMass and $1.9 million Georgia gave UAB.
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The game was meant to be little more than a tune-up for the Iron Bowl in Rivalry Week, something that was reflected in the 23.5-point opening line in favor of the Tigers. So it’s no surprise Freeze said the university “deserved a better effort” following the loss. Likewise, it’s no surprise Aggies players and coach Jerry Kill were celebratory following the massive upset win, which improved them to 9-3 and 6-1 in Conference USA play.
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“We never had any doubt that we could do this,” NMSU cornerback Andre Seldon told reporters after the game. “It was like another game for us, but as far as looking at the scoreboard and feeling the victory, it was different with this game. We came into it as underdogs, and nobody believed in us. We told them to cut that check and we can get out of here. Go Aggies.”
Seldon wasn’t the only Aggie to make note of the fact Auburn paid NMSU to beat them, either:
Kill was more diplomatic while still acknowledging the magnitude of the moment for him personally and for the program as a whole. Kill, who led the Aggies to a 7-6 record in his first year in 2022, has led the team to its first consecutive winning seasons since 1966-67.
“It’s unbelievable what these kids have accomplished and what they continue to do. The credit goes to the kids, the assistant coaches, and our fans. You don’t get many opportunities like this,” Kill said after the game. “We’re playing a Southeastern Conference football team, and we dominated the football game most of the time.
“We killed ourselves in some penalties, but our kids played with relentless effort. Some were hurt. In the last play, (Gabe) Peterson summed it up. He fell down and got back up to sack the quarterback. Relentless effort by them and this has to go down as one of the biggest wins that New Mexico State has had in a long time.”
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Indeed, New Mexico State’s upset vs. Auburn was that in name only: The Tigers trailed NMSU in first downs (23-12), third-down efficiency (6 of 12 vs. 2 of 10), fourth-down efficiency (2 of 2 vs. 1 of 2), total yards (414-213), passing yards (201-149), rushing (213-65) and time of possession (38:50-21:10).
The celebrations also, naturally, extended to Auburn’s visiting locker room. Per Eli Stower, who had 67 yards from scrimmage in the game:
“Our locker room celebrations are pretty crazy, but it was a lot of embracing each other and telling each other that we loved each other because, at the end of the day, it’s one of the huge reasons that we are successful because of the brotherhood that we have. When you have a camaraderie like that, we can win a game like that. There was a lot of loving on each other.
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Source: https://t-tees.com
Category: WHY
