Auburn, Ala.—The Auburn Tigers defeated the UMass Minutemen 59-14 in their season-opening game on Saturday, September 2.
Both the Auburn and UMass came out of the gate strong, with each offense scoring on their first drive of the game. The first quarter ended with Auburn up 10-7, but the tone of the game shifted once the second quarter began.
Auburn’s offense dominated the second quarter with 2 touchdowns in the first five minutes of the quarter, and three touchdowns by the end of the quarter, the game swiftly switched from being close to being dominated by the Auburn offense.
The star of the second quarter was most definitely Auburn’s quarterback Robby Ashford who rushed for all three of Auburn’s touchdowns in the second quarter. Though it is not the right sport, Ashford most definitely had a hat-trick for rushing touchdowns in the game.
Ashford had a successful first game of the season. “He is vital to us winning football games," Auburn Head Coach Hugh Freeze said. "And I don’t know exactly what that looks like from week to week, but I know that he’s vital to us winning football games.”
The second quarter was dominated by the Auburn offense led by Ashford, and if he keeps playing the way he did in the second quarter and the rest of the game, Ashford will certainly see more game time.
After a dominating performance by the Auburn offense in the 2nd quarter, the defense started the third quarter with a bang scoring a 50-yard interception, returned for a touchdown by Jaylin Simpson. The pick-six by Jaylin Simpson was the only defensive score of the game and certainly showed that domination of the game so far by Auburn was not a one-half deal.
The third quarter continued to be a showing of Auburn football at its best with two more Auburn touchdowns and the Auburn defense forcing the UMass Minutemen to punt or turn the ball over on downs for each of their drives in the quarter.
After two quarters dominated by Auburn scoring, the scoring slowed down in the fourth quarter with both Auburn and UMass scoring one touchdown each. The game ended with an Auburn Tigers victory, winning the game 59-14 in showing of great offense and defense.
Overall, the game was similar at the start and end, with the Auburn Tigers dominating the middle. The first and fourth quarters saw touchdowns by both teams, while the middle of the game was dominated by the Auburn Tigers.
Auburn has started the season off with a win, and I think all of Auburn agrees with Freeze when he said, “I think we all fail to celebrate victories…and I’m going to enjoy it at least a few hours.” The entire Auburn community is certainly going to enjoy this victory, especially after last season.
A win to start the season is great for the Auburn Tigers, but they have a difficult game next weekend against Cal who also had a strong first game of the season. However, that is for next week and let all of Auburn celebrate this weekend after a victory against UMass.
Auburn's game against Cal will kickoff at 9:30 p.m. CT with broadcasting on ESPN.
