AUBURN, Ala. -- Payton Thorne and company led Auburn to a spectacular 73-3 win over Alabama A&M. Hugh Freeze was proud of his squad tonight but mentioned there are “plenty of areas to improve upon.” While this game has to be taken with a grain of salt since it was an FCS victory, there are several reasons to believe this team is a vast improvement from last year’s squad.
The biggest one is Payton Thorne, who broke his career passing yard record in the first half with 322 yards. His deep ball accuracy was pinpoint, completing four passes over 30+ air yards. He finished the game with five total touchdowns (four passing, one rushing) and 371 total yards (322 passing and 49 rushing).
Auburn also showcased the depth of the new receiving room. Nine different receivers caught a pass tonight, and four of them had at least 50 receiving yards. Newcomers Cam Coleman and KeAndre Lambert-Smith thrived in their first game with the Tigers, each recording big-play touchdowns of 44 yards and 67 yards, respectively.
The second half started on an interesting note when the officials announced that the 3rd and 4th quarters would be reduced to 10 minutes instead of the regular 15. The second half saw Hugh Freeze rest the starters and give some backups a chance to play. Both quarterbacks Hank Brown and Holden Geriner saw some action tonight, as well as several other backups on both sides of the ball.
Coach Freeze also praised freshman kicker Towns McGough, who filled in for the injured starter Alex McPherson. McGough was perfect tonight, going 10/10 on PATs, 1/1 on field goals, and had several touchbacks. After the game, McGough said that “Coach Burns called [him] a gamer,” and that he definitely thrives in the bright lights.
On the defensive end, the Tigers completely shut down the running game, allowing only 38 rushing yards on 36 rushes. They lived in the Alabama A&M backfield, racking up 3 sacks and 11 tackles for loss.
Alabama A&M simply looked outmatched and rattled tonight. They could not compete at the line of scrimmage or in the secondary. They missed two field goals within 40 yards. It was just a tough night for the Bulldogs.
Next week, Auburn will face their first Power 5 opponent of the season when Cal travels to Jordan-Hare on Saturday, September 7th, at 2:30 CT.
