AUBURN, Ala. -- Offense has been Texas A&M's calling card in the Kevin Sumlin era.

Times appear to be changing.

Behind a suffocating defense and five field goals from kicker Daniel LaCamera, the No. 17 Aggies grinded out a 29-16 SEC-opening victory over Auburn on Saturday night at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Texas A&M senior quarterback Trevor Knight threw for 247 yards and a score, and freshman running back Trayveon Williams iced the win by racing 89 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

The Aggies racked up four sacks, with All-American end Miles Garrett logging two, and forced nine punts. A&M has given up only 40 points in three games.

"Your identity is told every game," Garrett said. "Story is written game-by-game. We can play the run and pass, but have to keep doing what we do."

Texas A&M (3-0, 1-0) was able to overcome not cashing in completely in the red zone by shutting down the Tigers. Auburn (1-2, 0-1) couldn't get much going after first quarter until it was too late.

"The inconsistency on offense, as far as negative plays, that was really probably the key to the game," Tigers coach Gus Malzahn said. "I thought our defense played well."

The Aggies, 3-0 at Auburn since joining the SEC, head into another West Division showdown next week against No. 24 Arkansas (3-0, 0-0) in Arlington, Texas.

Texas A&M is 3-0 for the third straight season, with the last two ending with disappointing 8-5 records. The Aggies opened this year with a win over No. 16 UCLA, and have steadily moved up the rankings.

They are looking to avoid another late-season collapse.

"Maybe 3-0 might be different because of who we've played," Sumlin said, "but we have a lot of football to play."

The Tigers hope to regroup after another high-profile home loss. Auburn hasn't won an SEC home game since Oct. 25, 2014, against South Carolina, and has lost seven in a row at Jordan-Hare against Power 5 opponents.

Defenses were on center stage for much of the night, but the Aggies mounted three scoring drives in the second quarter to take control.

Knight completed 20 of 40 passes and rushed for 42 yards in his first SEC game. Josh Reynolds caught eight passes for 98 yards and a touchdown. Williams had 127 yards on just eight carries.

Texas A&M had 478 yards of offense didn't turn the ball over.

Auburn finished with 399 yards, with 114 coming in the first quarter.

"The ball didn't really get over our heads," Sumlin said "Auburn is good at getting guys free down field wide open. We eliminated explosive plays."

The Tigers went from starter Sean White (18-of-27 for 126 yards) to John Franklin III in the fourth quarter, and the move appeared to immediately pay dividends. Auburn enjoyed its best drive since the first quarter until the Aggies made a fourth-down stop on their 10.

The Aggies went up 29-10 two plays later after Williams went the distance.

Franklin did engineer a touchdown drive to close out the scoring.

The Tigers felt like they settled on a quarterback after last week's rout of Arkansas State. The job could be open with No. 20 LSU (2-1, 1-0) coming to town next week.

"We felt like there were some opportunities for Sean," Malzahn said. "We felt like we just needed a shot in the arm, so we gave John Franklin a shot and he did a good job moving the football. We got the chains moving.

"We'll talk about things next week."

Kamryn Pettway led the Tigers with 123 yards on 20 attempts and a touchdown.

The Aggies bounced back from a 7-0 deficit to take a 16-10 lead into halftime. Texas A&M outgained Auburn 253-200 in the half.

The Tigers went up-tempo on their second drive with quick passes from White and runs up the middle by Pettway netting sizable chunks of yardage. Pettway waltzed in from the 1-yard-line for the game's first touchdown midway through the first quarter.

The Aggies answered on their next two drives to take their first lead at 10-7.

LaCamera's 46-yard field goal got Texas A&M on the board before a 92-yard drive early in the second quarter put the visitors in front.

Knight went 4-for-4 on the long march, including a 51-yard bomb to Reynolds to set up the Aggies inside the Auburn 10. Knight and Reynolds hooked up again two plays later from 5 yards out for the score.

The Aggies turned the game's first turnover -- receiver Ryan Davis' lost fumble on the Auburn 40 -- into a short field goal and a 13-7 advantage.

LaCamera drilled another short field goal with 1:52 left in the second quarter.

Auburn finished the half with a 37-yard field goal by Daniel Carlson.

NOTES: Texas A&M has started 3-0 for the three consecutive years for the first time since 1939-41. ... The Aggies lead the series with Auburn 3-2 as SEC opponents, which the road team winning each time. ... Auburn was 20-3 over its last 23 SEC opening games. ... Texas A&M QB Trevor Knight was sacked for the first time this season on the Aggies' first drive. ... Auburn sophomore RB Kamryn Pettway scored his first career touchdown in the first quarter.