AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Auburn fans finally had a big win to celebrate. Texas A&M, and perhaps the Southeastern Conference, not so much.
Payton Thorne hit KeAndre Lambert-Smith for a two-point play in the fourth overtime to lift the Tigers to a 43-41 victory over No. 15 Texas A&M on Saturday night, capping a brutal day for SEC playoff contenders.
The Tigers (5-6, 2-5 SEC) became the day’s latest unranked league team to play spoiler. Fans who have endured a disappointing season stormed the field and filled it from end zone to end zone but did leave the goalposts alone.
“It’s been that kind of year where you just battle through and you fight through and you keep climbing cliffs,” said Auburn coach Hugh Freeze, who had taken plenty of heat in his second season. “Our locker room has continued to fight and no matter what people say, they just have chosen to say we’re going to fight to the finish.”
That's certainly what it took this time.
With the teams both getting one play to score from the 3, Texas A&M turned to trickery on its attempt to send it to a fifth OT. Receiver Terry Bussey took the direct snap and handed off to quarterback Marcel Reed. Reed's pass to Amari Daniels was dropped in the end zone.
The Aggies (8-3, 5-2), who had rallied from a 21-0 first-half deficit, suffered the fate of two other SEC playoff hopefuls. Florida had already upended No. 9 Mississippi’s playoff and SEC title hopes with a 24-17 upset, and No. 7 Alabama fell 24-3 at Oklahoma.
The Aggies are still alive in a bid for their first SEC championship but are heading into a game with rival No. 3 Texas.
“This one's certainly going to hurt, and we're obviously extremely disappointed,” Texas A&M coach Mike Elko said. “We had ourselves in a really good position. Obviously with who we play and what we're playing for, there's still going to be a lot of energy going into that stadium next week.”
Thorne passed for 301 yards and two touchdowns to Cam Coleman. Jarquez Hunter ran 28 times for 130 yards and three scores. Coleman had seven catches for 128 yards, and Lambert-Smith had two for 104.
“My emotions are kind of tough to put into words right now," Thorne said. “I am still kind of riding that high. It was great. I did not know if they were going to storm the field or not, and I turned around and some fan was smacking me in the head. That is when I was like, “Whoa, this is pretty sweet.” It was awesome.”
Reed passed for 297 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 66 yards. Daniels rushed 27 times for 90 yards and a score.
Auburn and Texas A&M traded touchdowns in the first overtime and field goals in the second. Both teams had incompletions on two-point conversions from the 3-yard line in OT No. 3.
Then there was the two-point play that proved the difference.
“We have run that play since I’ve been here, since the summer,” said Lambert-Smith, a Penn State transfer. “We hit it every day in practice against the defense. I was lowkey pitching for them to call it."
Auburn forced overtime with Ian Vachon's 29-yard field goal with five seconds left. The 15-play drive was stalled by two false start penalties after first-and-goal. Vachon is a walk-on who got the starting job with Alex McPherson battling an illness and freshman Towns McGough struggling.
He had come to Auburn after spending two years at Birmingham-Southern before the school shut down.
“We get him out of the classroom and here we are with a guy hitting some really critical kicks for us,” Freeze said.
Texas A&M: The Aggies gained 296 yards after halftime.
Auburn: Got the biggest win of coach Freeze's second season. Auburn had blown double-digit leads in the second half against both Oklahoma and Missouri.
Texas A&M hosts No. 3 Texas on Saturday, and Auburn is at No. 7 Alabama that same day.
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Auburn wide receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith (5) catches a pass over Texas A&M defensive back Dezz Ricks (10) during the second half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Auburn, Ala. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) — Israeli airstrikes Saturday in central Beirut killed at least 20 people, officials said, as the once-rare attacks on the heart of Lebanon's capital continued without warning while diplomats scrambled to broker a cease-fire.
Lebanon's Health Ministry said 66 people were wounded in the strikes, which were the fourth in central Beirut in less than a week.
The escalation comes after U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein traveled to the region in pursuit of a deal to end months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah that has erupted into full-on war.
Israeli attacks have killed more than 3,500 people in Lebanon, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry. The fighting has displaced about 1.2 million people, or a quarter of Lebanon’s population. On the Israeli side, about 90 soldiers and nearly 50 civilians have been killed by bombardment in northern Israel and the fighting.
The 4 a.m. strikes destroyed an eight-story building in central Beirut. Hezbollah legislator Amin Shiri said no Hezbollah officials were inside. The attack stripped the facades from some nearby buildings and crumpled cars.
“The area is residential, with closely packed buildings and narrow streets, making the situation challenging,” said Walid Al-Hashash, a first responder with the Lebanese Civil Defense.
Israel’s military did not comment on the casualties.
Also Saturday, a drone strike killed two people and injured three in the southern Lebanese port city of Tyre, according to the Lebanese state-run National News Agency.
Mohammed Bikai, spokesperson for the Fatah Palestinian faction in the Tyre area, said those killed were Palestinian refugees from nearby al-Rashidieh camp who were out fishing.
Despite a warning last month by Israel's army to avoid Lebanon's southern coast, "you can’t tell someone who needs to eat that you can’t fish," Bikai said.
The Health Ministry said other airstrikes killed eight people, including four children, in the eastern town of Shmustar, five others in the southern village of Roumin, and another five people in the northeastern village of Budai.
Two Western diplomatic officials on Saturday described disputed points between Israel and Lebanon in cease-fire negotiations. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the talks.
The current proposal calls for a two-month cease-fire during which Israeli forces would withdraw from Lebanon and Hezbollah would end its armed presence along the southern border south of the Litani River. Thousands more Lebanese army troops would patrol the border area with U.N. peacekeepers, and an international committee would monitor the deal's implementation.
The officials said Israel wanted more guarantees that Hezbollah’s weapons are removed from the border area. Israeli officials have said they would not agree to a deal that did not explicitly grant them freedom to strike in Lebanon if they believe Hezbollah is violating it.
Lebanese officials have said the inclusion of such a term would violate their country's sovereignty. And Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem said this week that the militant group would not agree to a deal that does not entail a “complete and comprehensive end to the aggression."
Lebanon and Israel also dispute which countries would sit on the monitoring committee. The officials said Israel refused to allow France, which has been close with Lebanon since its colonial rule there ended. Lebanon refused to have Britain, a close ally of Israel.
In northern Gaza, the Health Ministry said at least 80 people were killed on Thursday and Friday, including near the Kamal Adwan and Al-Ahli hospitals. It said dozens of people were trapped under the rubble.
Israel’s army said it wasn't aware of a strike near Kamal Adwan, and it didn’t respond to questions about the other attacks.
On Saturday, at least six people, including three children and two women, were killed in the southern city of Khan Younis, according to Associated Press reporters and staff at Nasser Hospital.
“Suddenly we woke up to dust, smoke and a fire,” said one grieving father, Ahmad Ghassan. “We found him dead and his brother injured.” Another father wept as he carried his child's body in a bloodstained sheet.
And Al-Awda Hospital said it received six bodies after Israel shelled a house north of the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.
The Palestinian death toll from the 13-month-long war surpassed 44,000 this week, according to the Health Ministry, which doesn't distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count. It has said more than half the dead are women and children. The Israeli military says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting another 250. Around 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third believed to be dead.
The Israeli offensive in Gaza has devastated wide areas, and around 90% of Gaza's 2.3 million people have been displaced, often multiple times. Hundreds of thousands live in tent camps with little food, water or basic services.
At least two women were shot dead Saturday while waiting in line for bread in central Deir al-Balah, relatives and witnesses told the AP. It was unclear who shot them and why.
The United Nations says its attempts to support hard-hit northern Gaza, which has been the focus of a renewed Israeli offensive for weeks, have been denied or impeded, and that less than 20% of the population has remained there since the offensive began.
Authorities in Jordan say they shot and killed a man who opened fire on a police patrol near the Israeli Embassy, an attack that left three police officers hurt.
The shooting happened early Sunday in the Rabiah neighborhood of Amman, the Jordanian capital.
Jordan’s Public Security Directorate said in a statement that a man was shooting in the area, and police pursued the shooter.
“He was chased and surrounded, so he started firing gunshots at the security force, which in turn applied the rules of engagement, which resulted in the killing of the perpetrator,” the statement said.
It did not identify the shooter.
Israel and Jordan reached a peace deal in 1994. Tensions have been high between the two countries amid the Israel-Hamas war, which has decimated the Gaza Strip, and the Israeli ground offensive in Lebanon.
Associated Press writers Fadi Tawil in Tyre, Lebanon, Ibrahim Hazboun in Jerusalem, Wafaa Shurafa in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip and Mohammad Jahjouh in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip contributed to this report.
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Find more of AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
People shout slogans during a protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and call for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas militant group, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. Boards on the left read in Hebrew: "The boss is satisfied, the hostages are dying" and "Instead of consciousness, make a deal". (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
People gather to protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and call for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas militant group, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
A woman shouts slogans during a protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and call for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas militant group, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
Rescue workers search for victims at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit central Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Rescue workers search for victims at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit central Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
People gather to protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and call for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas militant group, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
Two men stand at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit central Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike on Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Rescue workers stand on an excavator as they search for victims at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit central Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
A man carries a suitcase as he leaves the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit central Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Smoke rises after an Israeli airstrike on Dahiyeh, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Lebanese police stand in front of a portrait shows the late Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit central Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
A woman takes part in a protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and call for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas militant group, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
People gather to protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government and call for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip by the Hamas militant group, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
A Syrian woman mourns as rescue workers carry the body of a victim at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit central Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Residents observe the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit central Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
An excavator removes a destroyed car as rescue workers gather at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit central Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Rescue workers and people search for victims at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit central Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Destroyed buildings are seen at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit central Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Rescue workers and people gather at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit central Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Israeli Iron Dome air defense system fires to intercept rockets that were launched from Lebanon, as seen from Haifa, northern Israel, early Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Rescue workers and people gather at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit central Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Rescue workers and people search for victims at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit central Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Rescue workers and people search for victims at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit central Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Rescue workers and people search for victims at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit central Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Rescue workers and people search for victims at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit central Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Rescue workers and people search for victims at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit central Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Rescue workers and people search for victims at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit central Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Rescue workers and people search for victims at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit central Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Rescue workers and people search for victims at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit central Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
