When Auburn Tigers receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith looks back on his brief stint in the Plains, spectacular victory against Texas A&M will remain forever engraved in his memory.

One of the truly unique joys of college football is watching cheering fans act on the spur of the moment and invade the playing field without malice.

Lambert-Smith should undoubtedly be extremely proud of the season he put together in difficult circumstances. He is tied for the SEC lead with eight touchdowns and third in yards with 865. And now he holds a golden moment that will forever remain close to his heart.

Indeed, the former Nittany Lion got the film ending he was hoping for when he took to social media before the game.

“I don’t know, it was different. I told my story, ‘the last one about the Jordan hare, let’s make it memorable,’ and it’s definitely something I’ll never forget,” said Lambert-Smith after the match. “I was in the crowd, I was surfing, it was like a movie. I felt like it was a great way to send off the seniors, the guys who have been here four or five years. I I’m happy to be the one to do it, I don’t take it lightly.”

The play contributed to a celebration within the Auburn family that displayed an atmosphere that belied the Tigers’ 5-6 record.

“I’m so grateful,” head coach Hugh Freeze said after the game. “I’m grateful to be at Auburn and grateful to give our fans a win like that. I hope it’s a sign of many rookies to come. Lots of rookies in this locker room. They need to come to us join and help us continue to build our team so we can have more nights like this.

It is not hyperbole to suggest if/when Freeze signs a top-five recruiting class next week and brought the Auburn Tigers back to the national spotlight, history will point to Lambert-Smith’s capture as a key moment in Auburn’s resurgence.

Hollywood endings were few and far between during Freeze’s often chaotic second year – too often, things just didn’t go as planned when they hit the field.

Ironically, the play in the fourth overtime, which decided the game in the Tigers’ favor, was one they had tried to iron out before, but failed until Saturday night, when it mattered most.

“We’ve been running this play since I’ve been here, since the summer,” Lambert-Smith revealed. “We hit it every day in practice against the defense. I threw it quietly so they called it. We tried it in one of the previous overtimes, I think it was the one where Payton rushed and threw it out of bounds, and then we came back at it, and I was like, “P, throw it, it’s like practice, throw it and I’m ready to catch” He threw it, and I had to. win, and I won.

While before, quarterback Payton Thorne was hesitant, when push came to shove, he threw it with authority, believing his Lambert-Smith could win a duel for the ball.

“First of all, it was a hell of a catch,” Thorne enthused. “The ball was a little behind him and I had to throw it a little earlier than usual. We dressed the boundary side more than usual on this play, and I was a little late to come back, but not too late I “put it up there and Dre had some contested catches tonight, so obviously a great play from him.”

One might suggest that Lambert-Smith could translate his skills to the NFL when the time comes, but for Thorne, he will most likely seek a different career path when his time at Auburn is up.

This season may have been the toughest for Thorne of any player on the Tigers roster, so even the quarterback’s harshest critics must have thought he finally deserved a positive result on Saturday.

Thorne extending his playing time now depends on showing the same kind of fight and levels of execution when they face Alabama in the Iron Bowl on Saturday, but the positive juices are finally flowing.