The final decision will be announced by this coming Sunday. Auburn , SEC is ranked No. However, the Aggies will likely be favored by more than a touchdown in this year's contest. The Tigers were not in the preseason Top 25 rankings as expectations were not incredibly high this year. The team scored over 60 points in each of its first two games and, even though they were against Akron and Alabama State, it was no small feat.
The third week of the season saw Auburn lose at a top Penn State team. The Tigers went on the road a week ago to knock off Arkansas by two touchdowns before having a bye this past weekend. The Auburn offense is averaging The Tigers have a balanced offense as they are putting up passing yards and rushing yards per game.
Junior quarterback Bo Nix has seen a bit of a resurgence this year as the 6-foot-3, pound third-year starter has thrown for 1, yards with eight touchdowns and two interceptions while completing He can also be a dangerous runner and is third on the team with yards and two scores.
On the ground, Tank Bigsby is the leading rusher as the 6-foot, pound sophomore has run for yards and six touchdowns while averaging 5. True freshman Jarquez Hunter has been very good as well. The 5-foot, pounder has added yards and three touchdowns and is averaging 8. Coach [Nick] Saban, they coached them well over there. And we knew coming into this game that we was going to have to really dig deep and fight, and that's what we did.
As a kid from St. Through my whole recruitment, Coach [Mike] Elko and Coach [Jimbo] Fisher, they both told me coming here that we were going to be in big games like this. As a kid, this is a game you dream of playing in. I'm at a loss for words right now. So it sounds like it lived up to the expectations of the 12th Man and everything like that.
What was the atmosphere like? I mean, the 12th Man sounded like it was on fire tonight. They played a big roll on third downs. Just being loud, having -- you know, just bringing the atmosphere for us, and we needed them tonight. And they came and pulled their weight tonight. Antonio, you talked about a once-in-a-lifetime deal. What was it like seeing the kids come out of the stands and celebrate with you guys after the big win on the field at Kyle [Field]?
I've never been a part of a crowd storm. It was a lot of people out there. They showed love to us. Just telling us that they was behind us. We know that we have the 12th Man. We know they behind us. And just for them to be there and bring the energy tonight, it showed a lot.
What was the preparation like leading into this game, knowing that the last two weeks you guys didn't really play the way that you're capable of playing and a lot of people were down on you guys? Did you feel that, and did you want to come out and show out because of that?
We knew the last two weeks that we didn't play to our best ability. We took this week as an opportunity. That was the word of the week. We kept saying, "This is an opportunity game. You can either attack them or you can just let them go. And tonight, we attacked them. Hi, Antonio. As a defensive guy, I wonder how much time did you start watching Zach [Calzada] play, and what was your -- did you have the feeling like a lot of us did?
Like, you know, where is this all coming from? You know, your reaction when you got a chance to sit back on the sideline and watch Zach doing the things he did today. We had no doubt in Zach. We never had doubt in Zach. Being in the position he was, he was a little nervous, but tonight he showed his true potential.
He showed everyone what he can do. We all knew what Zach was capable of. He just showed it tonight. You guys won the turnover battle tonight. How big were those two in the first half? Especially Demani's [Richardson] interception in the end zone? But we've been, like, behind the 8-ball on turnovers this year.
And we've been really preaching about getting turnovers. And tonight I think we got two turnovers. In order to win big games like this, you have to create turnovers. And that's what we did tonight. Antonio, Jimbo [Fisher] was kind of talking about how you've got to prepare starting next week for Missouri starting on Monday. But how do you keep this momentum? How do you keep this anguish -- more importantly, how do you keep this confidence going into the remainder of the season?
We knew that they were going to be a hard team, and the preparation for practice and going into the game we would need to be highly prepared.
We had a mentality, and that's what we went with. So like Coach [Jimbo Fisher] said, enjoy the win tonight, but tomorrow, Monday it's on to the next week. We have another test in front of us. Seth, for the second year in a row, you kicked the game winner on Jimbo's [Fisher] birthday. So is this going to be a recurring theme as he continues here? We're trying to get him a good happy birthday present.
I didn't know what to get him, so we thought as a team that we'd like to get him a win over Alabama. And it was probably the third best moment of my life right after I accepted Jesus into my heart as my true Lord and Savior, and then after getting married to my wife this summer. I rank this three.
Seth, you hit the game winner, and then all of a sudden, sorry to say, but then all hell breaks loose, man, I mean, and people are coming from -- it seemed like , were on the field with you.
It felt like , were on the field with us the whole night. I mean, the 12th Man stands all game long. Those students, they don't sit down. It was packed the whole entire game. Nobody left or anything like that. We have the best fans in the nation. And that's what makes it so special to play at Kyle Field. And you say that I hit it, but it was not just me. It was the defense getting a stop, the offense moving the ball down the field, and then Connor Choate snapping the ball, Nik Constantinou, my holder, and then all of the guys blocking on the line.
It's not just me. I just get to do a little fraction of it, and I'm thankful of that. Those are the best guys ever. I love those boys. Seth, you have a locker right next to Zach [Calzada]. You've been through -- you've seen what he's gone through. What did it mean to you to see him celebrate and the love that the 12th Man showed him today?
Zach's [Calzada] first day on campus looks much different than how he looks now. To see how he's matured as a person, as a football player, as a leader on this team had been incredible.
I hope that -- he says that I played a role in that as an older guy trying to influence him a little bit, but that's all Zach. He's worked his tail off. The quarterback race was really close this off-season, and he showed what he was capable of tonight. And I just love Zach. Prayed over him before the game started and last week. And he's just a guy's guy. And I'll just thankful the way that he played.
Sometimes special teams are often forgotten about in the game of football. There's been a couple of games where you've almost had big breakaway runs on the punt returns and kickoff returns. What did it mean for Devon [Achane] to be able to get that running lane to go, just get that yard touchdown?
And every time he would run back, I would tell him, they're soft on kickoff. If you want to break one loose, it's going to happen. And I'm glad he took my advice and returned one.
But that was just like shift in momentum to give us that spark. That whole kickoff return team did their job, and it resulted in six points. Since you were expecting the question, I'll ask one follow-up on it. With everything that he's gone through, with some of the negativity that's come his way, talking about Zach [Calzada], when you're sitting on the sidelines and you hear the student section and the fans start chanting his name, what kind of thought goes through your head at that moment?
And Zach [Calzada] is a guy who's going to get up off the mat and keep fighting. He knows that he didn't play to the best of his ability the past couple of weeks.
But he was determined and each week got better and continued to lead this team the way that he did. Just really impressed with him. And his character showed tonight. I'm thankful that the 12th Man is always behind their team like they were tonight. You talked about being able to get that win or Jimbo [Fisher] on his birthday. But then also this was [Nick] Saban's first time losing to a former assistant coach. What do you think that shows about the leadership that you guys have on this team and the coaching roster as a whole?
Then it just comes down to us choosing during the week to trust the process. That's one thing Coach Fisher told us. Don't worry about the scoreboard. Worry about your play, your job on this play, and the scoreboard will be there. And I think as a team, it finally clicked this week. But Coach Fisher, one thing that has just amazed me about him is how he's able to gauge where his team is at and the message that they need to hear. And every week, he always does a great job of getting that message across.
I think there's a couple of stubborn guys on the team, but it finally got threw to them tonight. It was just a great team win. Just on that final drive, as you're kind of sitting there, realizing more and more, this is probably going to come down to me, are you a guy who wants people coming up to you encouraging you, or are you saying, Give me all the space that I can get? If they come up to me, I tell them love you, Bro. I got you. But I was just repeating Psalms to myself all night, which is: The lord is my shepherd.
I shall not be in want. And that kind of comforted me. That's a moment I live for. I just kind of what to focus on that and then celebrate with them afterwards just so I can deliver on my part, that they've been delivering on their part all night long. After the tough time you guys have had the past couple of weeks, how much does a win like this tonight mean to you? You know, just giving us that confidence again, letting us know that, you know, we can do whatever we want.
It's just, we've got to believe, and it all starts off in practice. Our week of practice this week was great. We just came in with the mentality that we have to win. And we was believing that throughout the whole game. And I believe it showed. I don't know how much you're in tune with it, but with maybe some of the negativity that's come Zach's way [Calzada] the past couple of weeks, when you hear the crowd chanting his name, and when you see him coming back in and everyone goes crazy, what does that mean to y'all?
And what was going through your brain at that moment? Like 12th Man, you know, they're amazing. That game, the noise, everything. It was just -- I appreciate them. So I mean, it was great. It felt like -- it felt amazing. Ainias, you guys were able to break off some big plays tonight.
That's kind of been something that's been hard to come by this so far this season. So what were you guys doing differently as wide receivers to get more open for Zach [Calzada]? We just had to stick to what we've been taught this whole time.
Just plan the next play, don't worry about what happened the last play. I guess you could say we were using our hands if that gives you an answer. We were using our hands to go ahead and get open. Yeah, that's it. Antonio said these are the types of games he always dreamed of playing. Do you feel the same way? And did it kind of live up to the expectations of hey, playing at Kyle Field, night game, number one team in the country?
Can you kind of talk on that? If you know my story, you know it. And if you don't, well, shoot, you don't. But that's definitely a dream.
Dream game, you know what I'm saying?
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