AUBURN | On Tuesday, KeAndre Lambert-Smith was asked about Texas A&M, how he felt about the Aggies, and if he had any extra incentive due to being recruited by them this offseason.

"Other than knowing Dezz Ricks, there's not really no extra motivation," the wide receiver said.

Ironically enough, it was Ricks guarding Lambert-Smith on the crucial two-point play in the fourth overtime as Auburn tried to pull off the upset against the No. 15 Aggies.

There was no doubt who was coming down with the ball.

"I think it was a double move," Lambert-Smith said. "I got my guy Ricks; he's from Virginia. So we were talking a little bit out there. I got him on his toes, stuttered him, ran by him, and Payton threw me a 50-50 ball. There was no way I wasn't catching it. So yeah, I went over him a little bit, kind of bobbled it and came down with it."

Less than three minutes later, that catch turned into the game-winner as Amari Daniels dropped a pass from Marcel Reed on the Aggies' two-point attempt, and the Tigers had pulled it off.

But Lambert-Smith didn't just play a significant role on that one play. As has been the case all season, the Penn State transfer was a vital part of what Auburn was able to do offensively.

At the beginning of the second quarter, Payton Thorne rolled out to his left and found Lambert-Smith down the field at the 50-yard line. The receiver then broke a few tackles and got loose, making it all the way down to the A&M 15-yard line for a 60-yard gain. One play later, a wide-open Cam Coleman caught his second touchdown of the game to give Auburn a 21-0 lead.

While that catch and run was crucial, an even more important one came late in the third quarter after Auburn had given up the 21-point lead, and all of the momentum was with A&M. On a first-and-10 from Auburn's 45, Thorne threw a jump ball to Lambert-Smith, who somehow went over his defender and brought the pass down. It was a much-needed reception and went for 44 yards. Jarquez Hunter punched it in four plays later to give the Tigers back the lead.

"Dre has been as solid as can be all year long and is a heck of a player," Hugh Freeze said.

The stat line might say that Lambert-Smith caught just two passes, but those two went for a whopping 104 yards (stats aren't included for overtime). But it will be the one that helped seal the game for Auburn that will be remembered the most.

"We've run that play since I've been here, in the summer," Lambert-Smith said. "And then we hit it every day in practice against the defense. I was pushing for it: 'swig, swig.' We tried it on one of the previous overtimes. I think it was the one where Payton scrambled and threw it out of bounds. I was like P, just throw it. It's just like practice. Just throw it, and I'll make the catch. He threw it, got the win. We won."