Jeremy Johnson, Auburn Defense Show Season-Turning Redemption in Texas A&M Win

Auburn didn't ride into the Lone Star State this weekend with any momentum.

The Tigers, coming off back-to-back close losses in the SEC West, took the nation's No. 108 defense into Kyle Field on Saturday night to matchup with a high-powered Texas A&M offense that found its swagger again last weekend with new starting quarterback Kyler Murray.

On the offensive side of the ball, Auburn quarterback Sean White was ruled out with an injury and replaced by former starter Jeremy Johnson. The news caused the majority of the Auburn fanbase to let out a collective groan.

But then the game kicked off, and Auburn spent the next 60 minutes of regulation turning around that negativity into a dominant 26-10 victory over Texas A&M.

It was a complete team victory for the Tigers, but the postgame emphasis on redemption for a program that looked like it was in danger of missing the postseason were centered on Johnson and defensive coordinator Will Muschamp's unit.

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

The last time Johnson started at quarterback for Auburn—the September road contest against LSU—he completed less than 50 percent of his passes and threw his sixth interception in three games.

He returned in some packages after losing the job to White, but outside of a risky 44-yard completion in a loss to Ole Miss last weekend, the former starter didn't have much success.

However, when thrown into the starting lineup again, Johnson looked like the quarterback who garnered plenty of preseason hype. 

Johnson went 13-of-17 passing for 132 yards, one touchdown and zero turnovers. He was 6-for-6 through the air on the opening drive of the game and hit Marcus Davis for a 9-yard touchdown pass.

The former starting quarterback played with plenty of visible emotion, but he remained precise throughout the night and led his team to victory.

Even when Auburn leaned toward more of a run-heavy game plan in the second half, Johnson continued to make plays, including an outstanding 32-yard, third-down completion to Tony Stevens in the fourth quarter.

His efficient passing opened things up for Auburn to hammer away at the much-improved Texas A&M defense for big plays on the ground.

Running back Jovon Robinson continued his personal resurrection tour with 27 carries for 159 yards and a touchdown, and Auburn finished with 311 rushing yards as a team.

"The running backs did a great job running," Johnson told Maria Taylor of the SEC Network. "Once we get a lot of explosive plays, our offense is pretty much hard to stop."

Johnson's great performance against Texas A&M will undoubtedly give head coach Gus Malzahn a tough decision on who to start if White returns to full health. That was a nearly unthinkable scenario a week ago for these Tigers.

Although some underwhelming plays in the red zone led to four short field goals for an accurate Daniel Carlson, Auburn's offense put together its best yardage performance of the season—443—with a quarterback who seemed to be out of the starting picture.

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But Auburn's offense wasn't alone in the statistical excellence Saturday night. The defense gave up the fewest yards it had all season—303—against an offense that had given Auburn so much trouble over the last three years.

Murray, who put up 379 yards of total offense by himself against South Carolina a week ago, threw three interceptions Saturday night against a stingy pass defense. He finished 13-of-23 through the air and only had 37 yards on the ground before leaving the game with a third-quarter injury.

A running quarterback, the constant enemy of Auburn's defense in the Malzahn era, did not score a touchdown Saturday night thanks to the Tigers' overall execution.

"The main focus was boxing Kyler Murray in, staying in our rush lanes and not letting him get out of the pocket," defensive end Carl Lawson told Taylor. "Just keeping him in the pocket so he couldn't scramble around and make plays, just like you see from him on the film against South Carolina."

Murray's backup, Jake Hubenak, tossed a short scoring pass shortly after his injury, and a field goal on the first drive of the game made up the only points of the night for Texas A&M.

Auburn true freshman cornerback Carlton Davis took away a sure touchdown with his interception in the first quarter.

"Our defense played great," Malzahn told Taylor. "They played their best game against a lot of really good athletes. [Murray] is like a lightning bug. That's tough."

As Brandon Marcello of AL.com noted Saturday night, the resurgence of Muschamp's unit featured a few more redemptive performances from several young defensive backs and the long-awaited return of consistent pressure on the opposing quarterback.

Although Auburn's defense didn't completely control Texas A&M from beginning to end, it made important plays when it needed them the most Saturday night—from the three interceptions to several third-down stops. 

By the end of the game, the Tigers had their best statistical defensive performance in both yards and points since last year's 41-7 home blowout of LSU.

That win over LSU last October, by the way, was Auburn's second-most recent win against an SEC West opponent. 

After going 0-for-4 against division opponents to start the 2015 season, Auburn snapped its frustrating losing streak against the West on Saturday night. 

The Tigers' fifth win of the year also put them in prime position to make a bowl, especially with a home game against 3-6 Idaho coming up in two weeks.

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

But the way Auburn won in College Station carries much more weight than the result itself.

The offense went through a change at quarterback and came out on the other side with a victorious and balanced performance. The defense looked like what fans dreamed of when Muschamp arrived on the Plains this offseason.

Now the Tigers will ride out of Texas A&M with some much-needed momentum ahead of a quite winnable home rivalry game against Georgia.

If Auburn was to pick up a win against the Bulldogs and then another one against Idaho, it would have a chance to match its win total from last season against Alabama and its bowl opponent.

Getting to eight wins would ultimately be a step down from what the Tigers hoped for heading into the 2015 season.

But after several weeks of doom and gloom, reaching that mark would breathe some new life into Malzahn's program.

Game statistics courtesy of StatBroadcast. Unless otherwise noted, other statistics courtesy of CFBstats.com. 

Justin Ferguson is a college football writer at Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @JFergusonBR.