Column: Auburn fumbles away chances to stay atop College Football Playoff race

Auburn’s amazing streak of having everything goes its way during a championship run might have ended in Saturday’s 41-38 loss to Texas A&M.

It seemed impossible third-ranked Auburn would lose at home, even after trailing by 10 points with 7:54 left.

You assumed Auburn would find a way to win ... because it usually does.

The Tigers’ memorable run to the 2010 Bowl Championship Series title, led by quarterback Cam Newton, was one cliffhanger after another.

That year started with a three-point win over Mississippi State followed by an overtime victory over Clemson in which a Clemson receiver dropped the game-winning touchdown pass.

Auburn also defeated Kentucky by a field goal that year and, most dramatically, rallied from a 24-0 deficit to beat Alabama.

The Tigers completed a 14-0 season with a last-second win over Oregon in the BCS title game.

Last year, en route to the BCS title game run to the Rose Bowl, Auburn defeated Georgia on a deflected pass for touchdown (The Prayer at Jordan-Hare) before stunning Alabama on Chris Davis’ 109-yard return of a missed field goal attempt.

Auburn might have exhausted all its pixie dust Saturday, though, inexplicably fumbling twice in the final 180 seconds against a floundering Texas A&M team coming off a 21-16 win over Louisiana Monroe.

Auburn was outplayed most of the game, and trailed 35-17 at halftime, but was positioned to win anyway until quarterback Nick Marshall, with his team trailing by three, fumbled a handoff exchange inside the five with 2:37 left.

Auburn forced a punt, though, and appeared poised to win on its second try until the Tigers fumbled again. The second fumble was even more bizarre, as it occurred when center Reese Dismukes snapped the ball before Marshall was ready.

Texas A&M ran out the final seconds to record one of the season’s most unexpected upsets.

Oops for Stoops

The Stoopses are a proud football family from Youngstown, Ohio, with a proven track record built on toughness and defense.

They’ve enjoyed many great college football Saturdays, but this Saturday wasn’t one of them.

Brothers Bob, Mike and Mark watched their teams give up 111 points and 1,103 yards in two wipeout losses.

Oklahoma suffered its first home loss ever to Baylor, a 48-14 decision that set Sooners football back at least a few years.

It marked the first time Oklahoma Coach Bob Stoops has lost consecutive regular-season games since 1999, his first in Norman. Stoops is a former defensive coordinator who tutored under Kansas State Coach Bill Snyder.

Mike Stoops, the former head coach at Arizona, is now brother Bob’s defensive coordinator.

“Poor job by all of us,” Bob said of the Sooners’ effort.

A third brother, Mark, is in his third year as Kentucky’s head coach. He came to Lexington after serving as defensive coordinator at Florida State.

The Wildcats lost at home to Georgia, 63-31.

“Very embarrassing effort by our team, our coaching staff, starting with myself,” Mark Stoops said. “Not acceptable.”

Rest stop

While other ranked schools played dramatic games against major college opponents, No. 11 Mississippi took the weekend off with a glorified scrimmage against lower-level Presbyterian.

The final score was predictable: 48-0. Ole Miss used the game to rest eight starters in advance of a bye week, followed by closing Southeastern Conference games against Arkansas and Mississippi State.

Presbyterian, in defeat, never advanced past Ole Miss’ 38-yard line.

“Unfortunately, we did not play as well as I would have hoped,” Blue Hose Coach Harold Nichols said. “Some of it had to do with us, but a lot had to do with them.”

Brady’s bunch

There’s no way Michigan Coach Brady Hoke can save his job … can he?

Most assume Hoke will be fired at the end of a season in which Michigan has allowed Michigan State to become Ohio State’s biggest game in November.

The first move in advance of Hoke’s firing was supposed to be the recent resignation of Athletic Director Dave Brandon.

Just to complicate things a little, though, Michigan eked out a 10-9 win at Northwestern to improve to 5-5 overall.

Michigan pulled it out when Northwestern failed on a late two-point conversion try.

Northwestern Coach Pat Fitzgerald said he decided to go for two with six minutes left in the game.

“I thought it was the right call,” Northwestern quarterback Trevor Siemian said. “Everybody was pumped up about it. We thought we were going to win this thing.”

Michigan needs a home win against Maryland on Nov. 22 to become postseason eligible. That could set up a season-ending game against Ohio State that could become, for Michigan’s future, the Brady Bowl.

chris.dufresne@latimes.com