Auburn's defense did all it could for the first half, but then the fatigue kicked in.

In the first half, Auburn's defense held Texas A&M to just six points and 121 yards and gave the offense great field position throughout the second quarter as Auburn's average starting position in the quarter was its own 41 yard-line.

"We play hard," said linebacker Larry Nixon. "That's what we expect every game. There's just a few things we could clean up to make it complete(ly) dominant. We came in the game (and) stopped them. They ain't score nothing but two field goals and everything."

The Tiger offense couldn't take advantage of this and that eventually wore on the defense as it gave up three touchdowns and 281 total yards in the second half.

"They fought and fought," said head coach Hugh Freeze. "Obviously they gave up a few explosive plays in the third quarter, but we didn't help them. I don't know the timing -- it's not broken down by quarter -- it couldn't have been good. I think that took the gas out of our defense."

With Keionte Scott and Austin Keys out indefinitely, the injury bug has been a thorn in Auburn's side, and it continued to be on Saturday.

Auburn constantly had guys going down and was forced to use a bigger rotation than usual.

Eugene Asante and Auburn's defense aren't making excuses.

"It's a struggle," Asante said. "That's kind of part of the game, just being in situations where players are getting banged up and you have to rely on people that might have gotten less snaps and just being in uncomfortable situations. As players, it's on us to adapt. It's on us to fine tune our work and detail our work so when we're put in those situations, we're good. It's a hard thing seeing guys go down left and right in those conditions, but we have to be more prepared."

Despite the bad second half, Auburn's defense fought as much as it could and plans to continue doing that throughout the season.

"We're some fighters," Nixon said. "Honestly, like we fight hard. We play hard. We have a good bond with each other. I can tell that we play for each other every time we get on the field and everything. First 11, second 11, we all play for each other, and we all care about each other. We care about the game. We love the game of football."