9.17.23 Football Articles

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Edited September 17, 2023 by aubiefifty

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auburnwire.usatoday.com

 

Instant Analysis: Slow start leads to homecoming win for Tigers

Taylor Jones

4–5 minutes

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It is not always about how you begin, but it is always about how you finish.

The Auburn Tigers and Samford Bulldogs failed to post any points in the first quarter, but it would be the Tigers who would find momentum and cruise with it to a 45-13 victory.

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Auburn (3-0) would outgain Samford (1-2) 444-159 in the yardage department through the final three quarters in the win.

The first half began very slowly for Auburn, as the game remained scoreless through one quarter. Quarterback Payton Thorne completed 10-of-14 passes for 93 yards, but could not find the end zone. He had one opportunity to do that in the quarter but threw an interception in the end zone to kill a 3rd-and-goal situation.

The action began to pick up in the 2nd quarter as Auburn delivered the first blow with 9:31 remaining in the half. Thorne connected with Shane Hooks for a 32-yard score to push Auburn ahead, 7-0.

Thorne found the end zone one other time in the half, this time with his legs. Thorne rushed for five yards with 3:04 to go in the 2nd quarter to extend Auburn’s lead to 14-0. Thorne tossed another end-zone interception in the quarter that stopped what could have been another scoring play.

Alex McPherson kicked a 22-yard field goal within the final minute of the half to push Auburn’s lead to 17-0 at halftime.

Thorne nearly matched his 2023 season total during the first half. He entered Saturday’s game with 235 yards passing. Through one half against Samford, he passed for 232 yards on 18 completions. jay fair and Rivaldo Fairweather each had over 50 yards of receptions, while Jarquez Hunter rushed for 31 yards in the first half.

After not taking a snap in the first half, quarterback Robby Ashford finally played a role in an Auburn score. On the 13th play of Auburn’s first drive of the second half, Ashford scampered across the goal line to increase Auburn’s lead to 24-0 with 8:30 to go in the quarter.

It would not take long for Samford to respond, as the Bulldogs found the scoreboard for the first time on the ensuing drive. Samford used a five-play, 75-yard drive in less than two minutes to strike when Michael Hiers connected with Chandler Smith from 36 yards away to cut the Tigers’ lead to 24-7 with 6:35 to go in the 3rd quarter.

Like the first two possessions of the 3rd quarter, the next two would also result in scores by both teams. Hunter would find the end zone for the first time this season with 4:29 remaining on a one-yard rush. The next drive for Samford would see Hiers rush from three yards out to end the quarter with Auburn ahead, 31-13.

The Tigers would score the final two scores of the game to put the game to rest. Thorne would showcase his wheels again with 9:44 remaining in the game to move Auburn ahead, 38-13, and the final blow came with 5:32 left when Ashford connected with Micah Riley on a 32-yard pass.

Thorne ended the game with 405 total yards (282 passing, 123 rushing) and three total touchdowns. His leading receiver, Fair, hauled in seven passes for 93 yards. Defensively, Caleb Wooden led the team in tackles with six, while Jaylin Simpson recorded an interception for the third-straight game.

Auburn returns to the road next weekend to open SEC play at Texas A&M. Kickoff from Kyle Field in College Station, Texas is set for 11 a.m. CT next Saturday.

Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on  X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Taylor on Twitter @TaylorJones__

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Auburn safety Jaylin Simpson did it again on Saturday against Samford.

AUBURN, Alabama—Throughout the preseason, safety Jaylin Simpson was the guy that his coaches and teammates singled out for making plays on defense. Creating turnovers just about every day as Auburn prepared for the season, the senior has continued that trend in the regular season by picking up his third interception in as many games in Auburn’s 45-13 win over the Samford Bulldogs on homecoming Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

“I think that my confidence is very high,” Simpson said. “Before I step on the field, I just make sure I am the most confident person. I think that's the most dangerous player… a confident player is really dangerous. I mean, my confidence is just there. I go out there and just play the call… do my job.”

Someone that has been around Simpson and played on the same defense with him for the last four years, linebacker Wesley Steiner isn’t surprised to see the former cornerback stepping up in his role as one of the leaders on Auburn’s defense this season.

“I have never not seen him prepared,” Simpson said. “He’s really good at communicating. I think it was a seamless transition for him. Obviously you’re changing how you do things, but the nature of a defensive back is you’re either pressed up or you’re making sure everyone else is lined up. He knows his stuff. It’s not too hard for him to make these adjustments and make sure everyone else is on the same page. I’m glad he’s at safety. It goes to show that when you know your scheme it’s easy to move around to different spots.”

Simpson has been one of the keys in Ron Roberts’ system at Auburn that wants the Tigers to be aggressive and take the ball away from the opposition. After creating just 13 turnovers in 12 games a season ago, Auburn’s defense has already intercepted five passes and recovered a pair of fumbles. Simpson said that’s a priority for this defense and something they focus on every day.

“We just make the ball a priority,” Simpson said. “The game can’t be played without a ball. We try to get our hands on the ball the most. The D-Line and us, we got a little competition. Who can get the most sacks and picks in a game. And I feel like, most people wouldn’t agree, but I think sacks are easier to get.

“We’re keeping up with them right now. We make the ball a priority back in fall camp. The vets, well really everybody, we just told everybody we gotta make this ball a priority. The jug machines? They’re not just for receivers. We can use them too. During fall camp after practice every day, we out there catching balls every day. I think just small things like that just give you a knack for that ball. Make sure when it comes your way, you catch it.”

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Auburn running backs struggle to find footing against Samford

The Tigers' four tailbacks totaled just 86 yards

VIDEO: No-Huddle: Tennessee falls to Florida in The Swamp — again

Auburn went into Saturday’s FCS matchup with Samford hoping to iron out the passing-game issues from its win over Cal.

The Tigers likely didn’t expect to adjust to their running backs being stymied.

Auburn eventually handled business for a 45-13 win on homecoming, but its run-blocking left plenty to be desired. Samford routinely made contact near or behind the line of scrimmage, as the Tigers’ four running backs — Damari Alston, Jarquez Hunter, Brian Battle and Jeremiah Cobb — totaled just 86 yards rushing and only 3.2 yards per handoff.

The longest run of the day by an Auburn running back was 9 yards — against a Samford team that gave up 284 rushing yards to Western Carolina last weekend.

“I thought we left some yards out there in the rushing game — particularly in the first half with what they were doing,” Hugh Freeze said postgame. “I think our backs didn’t press it quite long enough to let it develop.”

Auburn’s rushing total was ballooned by quarterback Payton Thorne’s career-high 123 yards on the ground — plus two touchdowns — but the running backs couldn’t gain much traction, and had to do a lot of their work after contact.

Hunter led with 37 yards on 11 carries but was “dinged up” with an ankle injury in the second half, Freeze said. Alston went for just 4 yards on his first four carries and finished with 25 yards. Battie boasted the best average, at 21 yards on five carries, while the true freshman Cobb had a nice 11-yard reception on a swing pass but had 3 yards on four carries.

The run-blocking issues were best exemplified when Alston was stuffed on fourth-and-inches, ending an Auburn drive in the second quarter at Samford’s 19-yard line.

“I’d say just being dialed in with making the correct calls,” offensive guard Jeremiah Wright said of the run-blocking issues. "We had calls, but we had some guys going the wrong way or the wrong blocks. Sometimes we didn’t get off a block. Just comes with preparation and being locked in on the field.”

Samford head coach Chris Hatcher said this week that his team would be “a lot more focused on stopping the run and tackling as opposed to who their quarterback is,” and his game plan reflected that. Freeze said the Tigers were given plenty of opportunities in the passing game — where Thorne threw for 282 yards on 8.8 yards per attempt — because Samford was bringing safeties down to the box and making Auburn prove it could open up the passing game.

“They really wanted to stop the run,” Freeze said. “... They were really active in the box — thus we got some explosive passes.”

Freeze said this week that having the deepest running back room of his career, as he called it, is obviously a nice commodity, but it does present a big challenge in terms of sharing carries efficiently and effectively. And heading into next weekend’s SEC opener at Texas A&M, it’s still an area Freeze and his staff know they need to tighten up.

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Edited September 17, 2023 by aubiefifty

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si.com

 

Quick Takeaways: Auburn Tigers improve to 3-0 after win against Samford

Zac Blackerby

3–4 minutes

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The Auburn Tigers are 3-0 after taking down Samford.

In this story:

Auburn Tigers

It took the Auburn offense a little while to get going but it would eventually start clicking thanks to Tigers' quarterback Payton Thorne getting into a groove. 

Auburn won 45-13 despite a slow start.

The Auburn defense gave the offense time to get going and get the offense rolling as the Tigers open SEC play on the road against Texas A&M next weekend. 

Payton Thorne looked better

Eric Starling/Auburn Daily

Two picks are never good to have on your stat line. But as a whole, he was Auburn leader in the passing game as well as on the ground. After inconsistent moments against Cal last week, Thorne operated within the offense the best during his short time with the Auburn Tigers.

His 123 yards and two touchdowns on the ground were dynamic and will probably impact how Texas A&M decides to defend Auburn next weekend. His 282 yards threw the air gave him over 400 yards of total offense on the evening.

Jay Fair continues to shine as a wide receiver

Eric Starling/Auburn Daily

Jay Fair continues to be a primary read for Thorne in this Auburn offense. The shifty slot receiver led the Tigers in catches (six) and receiving yards (80). He was on the receiving end of several passing decisions from Thorne on RPOs. Fair was even targetted on a corner route in the red zone that was overthrown. 

The main issue from Fair on Saturday night was a muffed punt in the second half that Samford recovered. The Bulldogs would eventually score a few plays later. 

The defense continues to be solid

Eric Starling/Auburn Daily

Auburn's defense gave Samford trouble on offense at every level. Despite a few chunk plays, the defensive pass rush was consistent as well as elite plays made by Auburn's defensive backs. 

The defense had two sacks (One from Lawrence Johnson and another from Cam Riley.) Auburn recorded seven tackles for a loss against Samford. 

J.D. Rhym and Jaylin Simpson both earned interceptions. 

This is a game they should have dominated and they lived up to it. Next week's test on the road against Texas A&M will be one of their most important ones of the season. 

This game was all about Auburn

Eric Starling/Auburn Daily

Throughout the week, the talk about this game was focused on Auburn using these 60 minutes to get better for their showdown with Texas A&M in seven days. 

This game seemed more about the reps than the score. The turnovers were bad but running all over Samford doesn't make Auburn better for SEC play. The plays will be picked apart by the coaching staff and they will use that information to craft a plan to attack Texas A&M on Saturday. 

The Tigers seem much closer to putting it all together than a week ago against Cal. The offense is like a cake baking in the oven.

Maybe the timer will go off before the plane ride to College Station. 

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saturdaydownsouth.com

3 takeaways from Auburn’s Week 3 win over Samford

Ethan Stone | 7 hours ago

2–3 minutes

Auburn downed Samford 45-13 Saturday afternoon to improve to 3-0 on the season.

Briefly put, it was a football game. The Tigers put up almost 350 more yards and didn’t allow a score until the 3rd quarter when the game was already out of hand.

Here are 3 takeaways from Auburn’s win over Samford.

Tigers dominate L.O.S.

Samford was not able to do anything rushing the ball on Saturday. Auburn was.

The Tigers rushed for 224 yards compared to Samford’s 74 yards, not exactly an unexpected result but also a pretty dominant performance from Hugh Freeze’s squad.

Payton Thorne had all day to let go of the rock, too. Thorne was able to do some damage with his legs and threw for 282 yards and a touchdown while adding 123 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Defensively, the Tigers did a good job of forcing turnovers against the Bulldogs, picking off QB Michael Hiers twice and forcing a fumble.

Jarquez Hunter scores first TD of season

Jarquez Hunter scored his first touchdown of the season Saturday after missing Weeks 1 and 2. It wasn’t the sexiest of runs, but it puts 6 points on the board nonetheless.

Offense is finding their rhythm ?@jarquezhunter https://t.co/ovcfK0aJIZ pic.twitter.com/g8eZtNDobL

— Auburn Football (@AuburnFootball) September 17, 2023

Hunter finished Saturday’s game with 11 carries for 37 yards and 1 touchdown, averaging 3.4 yards per carry.

Undefeated heading into Week 4 vs. Texas A&M

Auburn didn’t exactly face a gauntlet to start out this season, but it is 3-0 heading into its first SEC test of the season against Texas A&M. Not many SEC programs can say that.

The Tigers will travel to College Station to take on Fisher’s Aggies, which sit at 2-1 on the season after a pair of wins over a few cupcakes and a bad loss to Miami in Week 2.

Payton Thorne looked good against Samford, but he had some turnovers issues as well by throwing a pair of interceptions. Texas A&M has struggled to take the ball away this season.

Next week’s game starts at Noon ET and will be aired on ESPN.

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theplainsman.com

 

Auburn rides Thorne’s multi-touchdown performance to homecoming win

 

5–7 minutes

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Homecoming week on the Plains was concluded with Auburn’s football game against Samford in which the Tigers used three scores from quarterback Payton Thorne to defeat Samford 45-13.

The win for the Tigers lengthened its winning streak in homecoming games to 32 consecutive wins.

“I thought there were some really good things tonight, and obviously, some things we still got to work on and clean up,” said head coach Hugh Freeze. “But congratulations to our kids and staff for becoming 2-0 at Jordan-Hare and 3-0 on the season.”

While Thorne threw two end zone interceptions, Auburn’s starter still had a big game in yardage through the air and on the ground, tossing for 282 yards and rushing for 123. Thorne also recorded one passing touchdown to wide receiver Shane Hooks and ran for two touchdowns.

While the Tigers got off to a slow start with a scoreless first quarter, the middle quarters is where Auburn found the most success.

Thorne’s 32-yard touchdown pass to a wide open Hooks was preceded by another big play — a 40-yard pass from Thorne to Omari Kelly. Those passes from Thorne were two of a total five passing plays that gained 20 yards or more against Samford. Thorne had five of those plays coming into the homecoming matchup.

“I think it’s the first time since like 2013 that Auburn’s had a quarterback rush for 100 yards and threw for over 200, so I thought he had a solid day,” Freeze said. “We’ve got to get more confidence in us being a balanced offense, and that was the goal.”

A Jaylin Simpson interception later in the second quarter put Auburn inside the Samford 25-yard line where Thorne used his legs for his first rushing score in an Auburn uniform.

Simpson’s interception marked his third through the first three games of the season, making him the first Tiger to record an interception in three consecutive games since Jerraud Powers in 2007.

“I think that my confidence is very high,” Simpson said. “Before I step on the field, I just make sure I am the most confident person. I think a confident player is real dangerous. My confidence is just there. I go out there, I just play the call, do my job.”

Simpson was not the lone Tiger to pick off Samford quarterback Michael Hiers as sophomore cornerback J.D. Rhym also picked off Hiers in the second quarter for his first career interception.

Holding a 17-0 lead through the first two quarters, Auburn got the ball to start the second half and orchestrated a 13-play, 76-yard drive ended by a Robby Ashford 1-yard touchdown run to put the Tigers up 24-7. Ashford’s touchdown was his fourth on the ground this season.

The Tigers had an 18-point lead heading into the fourth and added the finishing touches thanks to the legs of Thorne again and the arm of Ashford. 

Thorne found the end zone for the second time midway through the final quarter, keeping a read option for himself and scampering in from 18 yards out. With the lead at 25, Ashford took over in relief of Thorne and used his arm to find tight end Micah Riley for the final touchdown of the game. The touchdown marked Ashford’s first passing touchdown of the 2023 season and Riley’s first touchdown catch at Auburn.

Thorne accounted for 405 total yards while Ashford had 75. Thorne’s 123 yards on the ground led the team while wide receiver Jay Fair led the team in yards receiving with 93 on seven catches.

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“I thought we got into a good rhythm early on,” Thorne said. “I thought the receivers did a great job out there, and I was on the same page as them and they did a good job corralling the ball and making plays. I felt like we got in a good rhythm today, and we just tried to continue that throughout the game.”

Defensively, Caleb Wooden led the team in tackles with six and also had 1.5 tackles for loss. As a team, the Tigers recorded seven tackles for loss, six pass breakups and two sacks, one from Cam Riley and one from Lawrence Johnson.

Next on the schedule, Auburn travels to College Station, Texas, to face the Texas A&M Aggies in both team’s first conference game of the season. The game will kick off at 11 a.m. CST and be televised on ESPN.

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Jacob Waters | Sports Editor

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247sports.com

 

Payton Thorne shows off wheels with big rushing performance against Samford

Nathan King

8–11 minutes

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Thorne ran for a career-high 123 yards in Auburn's win over Samford

Payton Thorne knows it’s been a few years, but he was evaluated as a dual-threat quarterback coming out of high school.

He hasn’t always had the chance to show it in his college career, but Auburn’s starting QB has some wheels. And that aspect his game, he believes, will be crucial moving forward as he continues to grow more comfortable as the leader of the Tigers’ offense.

Thorne had a neck-crack game throwing the ball, pushing through a couple early interceptions to complete 24-of-32 passes for 282 yards and a touchdown. But perhaps more impressive was what Thorne did with his legs in Auburn’s 45-13 win over Samford on homecoming.

The Michigan State transfer had 123 yards on the ground, plus two touchdowns, becoming the first Auburn quarterback to run for 100 yards and pass for at least 200 since Nick Marshall in 2013.

“I've never really had an offense like this where the quarterback was involved in the run game,” Thorne said. “It was simple zone read stuff, so I never had anything blocked for me. I was never really out there running schemes like that, so like I said, it was fun tonight to get that done tonight.”

It was by far Thorne’s career-best rushing performance, as he wasn’t asked to do much with this legs at Michigan State. But even apart from quarterback runs, being mobile in and outside the pocket has always been a key to Thorne’s success, he said, and it’s something that held him back last year.

In Week 1 last season at Michigan State, Thorne suffered a foot injury, and said in the spring that attempting to take off from the pocket was “like having a flat tire.” Sacks included, he ran for just 42 yards all season, and said he never really recovered until the offseason began.

“It was both feet,” Thorne said. “I couldn't bend my toe in order to accelerate. Obviously when you're sprinting, your toe is bent and that's kind of where you're getting your force from.”

All preseason, Thorne said he couldn’t wait to shed Auburn’s non-contact practice jerseys so he could extend plays and take off in the run game without being tagged down immediately by defenders. There’s been some glimpse of it in Auburn’s first couple games, but Saturday’s win was a look at how quickly the QB can take advantage of openings within a defense.

Auburn’s leading rusher in the game, Thorne blended designed quarterback runs with keepers on read plays, plus scrambles on dropbacks. He had runs of 38, 18, 16, 14 and 12 yards — and all but one of those were in the second half. Samford’s defensive front was keying in nicely on the Tigers’ read plays, and Hugh Freeze and his offensive staff worked to adjust at halftime.

“At halftime, we changed a couple things that I think helped him with that,” Freeze said. “... It was a little harder for him to read it, but we got some 12 personnel stuff, and I think it made it easier for him to have to declare which gap he was going to play.”

Auburn had trouble finishing drives in the first half, with a Thorne interception on third-and-goal bouncing off the hands of Shane Hooks, and a deep ball to Koy Moore being picked off in triple coverage.

Freeze didn’t go to backup quarterback Robby Ashford — utilized early in the season as a more athletic option near the goal line — in the red zone until the third quarter, and Auburn failed to pass the ball effectively when the field was condensed. Thorne threw five incompletions inside Samford’s 5-yard line.

“I don’t think that was — we’re saying we’re throwing it no matter what,” Thorne said. “I just think it worked out like that.”

Thorne settled in nicely for the rest of the game, though, and spread around big chunks of yardage to a few different targets. Thorne had completions of 32, 36 and 41 yards, with Jay Fair (nine catches for 93 yards) continuing his early season lead as Auburn’s top receiver. Rivaldo Fairweather and Hooks added 57 and 47 yards, respectively, with Hooks hauling in his first Auburn touchdown over the shoulder from Thorne for 32 yards.

The Tigers were looking for a bit of cathartic performance in the passing game after Thorne only threw the ball 14 times against Cal and finished with 94 yards. While Samford’s defense certainly represents somewhat of a warmup before the talent level skyrockets in the next three games against Texas A&M, Georgia and LSU, a little confidence never hurt — especially for a quarterback who’s only a few games in with his new team and offense.

“It's good to get out there and execute our stuff and feel good about it walking away for all the guys,” Thorne said. “It's a good feeling, but we can't get too high or too low. We'll go in and watch the film, I'll grade myself and watch it with the coaches, and then we'll throw it in the trash and we'll move forward.”

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al.com

 

Auburn’s Hugh Freeze talks about Peyton Thorne’s big night in win over Samford

Updated: Sep. 16, 2023, 11:03 p.m.|Published: Sep. 16, 2023, 9:16 p.m.

2–3 minutes

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Follow along for updates from Hugh Freeze’s press conference after Auburn’s 45-13 win over Samford...

Check out three takeaways from Auburn’s win here.

- Freeze on getting Thorne in a rhythm: “I thought the interception in the endzone was not a great decision...the next one was a poor decision...outside of that I thought he played really solid...The plan is to absolutely get more confidence in us being a balanced offense.”

- He thought Thorne’s decision-making generally was good. He said Thorne looked “natural” running the ball.

- Freeze not happy with the number of turnovers. Injuries certainly mattered because Auburn was down to its fourth punt returner

- No immediate update on Keionte Scott. Kam Stutts came out after the first drive, Freeze said and Izavion Miller never came back in after getting hurt in the first half.

- Freeze is happier with the wide receivers, but thought there still needs work on route running and releases.

- Freeze mentioned Brian Battie as giving Auburn some “burst” but thought Auburn’s running backs “left some yards out there.”

- On Rivaldo Fairweather: “That’s hopefully who he’s going to be every Saturday,” Freeze said.

- Freeze said this season so far has been enjoyable, but it’s hard to celebrate for too long even though Auburn is 3-0. That said, he knows he’s going to see things on film from tonight that he didn’t notice during the game which will be things to work on going forward.

- On balancing the two quarterbacks, Freeze said it’s an ongoing back and forth that will change from game to game. Both will be involved in the upcoming Texas A&M game next week.

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wsfa.com

 

Auburn takes care of business against Samford, wins 45-13

James Hayes

4–5 minutes

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AUBURN, Ala. (WSFA) - The Auburn Tigers welcomed in the Samford Bulldogs for their homecoming game on Saturday night. After a slow start plagued by turnovers, the Tigers took over the game and cruised to a 45-13 victory.

The Auburn defense did their job on the game’s opening drive, forcing Samford to punt the ball from midfield. On the ensuing drive, Auburn marched downfield, and it looked like they would get an easy score. However, Payton Thorne went to the air on third and goal, and Jayden Mosley intercepted his pass in the endzone.

Neither team was able to produce very much offense, and the scoreboard still showed double zeros when the first quarter came to an end.

It wasn’t until the second quarter was nearing the midway point that we saw either team reach the promised land, and it was the Tigers that prevailed. Thorne connected with Omari Kelly for a 40-yard gain and followed that up with a 32-yard touchdown pass to Shane Hooks, making it 7-0.

The Auburn defense made short work of Samford on the next drive, and J.D. Rhym intercepted a Michael Hiers pass on second down. Unfortunately for the Tigers, when the Auburn offense took the field, they went on to suffer the same fate when another Thorne pass to the endzone was picked off by Courtland Marsh, giving it right back to Samford. It wasn’t over yet, though. Auburn’s defense was not about to be outplayed by Samford, and Jaylin Simpson intercepted the ball from Hiers, giving the Tiger offense the ball on the Samford 22.

This time, the Tiger offense would not be denied, and Payton Thorne was able to find the endzone, but instead of with his arm, it came in the form of a five-yard run. Auburn went on to add a field goal in the final minutes of the half and went into the locker room at halftime up 17-0.

On the second half’s opening possession, Auburn used a balance of the run and pass game to move 76 yards downfield and add to the lead. Thorne completed a big 20-yard pass to Jay Fair, and the run game took it from there. A few plays later, Robbie Ashford came into the game and took the ball into the endzone from the one-yard line to finish things off.

Samford answered back on the next drive and scored a touchdown of their own, fueled by Heirs and wide receiver Chandler Smith. The two connected for a 39-yard reception and followed that up a few plays later with a 36-yard touchdown, putting the Bulldogs on the scoreboard for the first time of the night.

On the ensuing drive, Thorne showed us that it’s not just Ashford that has wheels and took off for a 39-yard touchdown run of his own, pushing that Auburn lead back out to 24.

Later, the Auburn punt return team made a critical mistake late in the third quarter when Will Thorley turned the ball over to the Bulldogs on the Auburn nine-yard line. Samford capitalized on the turnover and turned it into points when Hiers ran three yards into the endzone a few plays later.

In the fourth quarter, Auburn continued to apply the pressure on both offense and defense, and it paid off in the form of another Payton Thorne rushing touchdown. The Tigers took over on the Samford 33 after a punt, and after a few unsuccessful runs by Jeremiah Cobb, Thorne kept the ball and took it 16 yards for a first down. Thorne followed that up a few plays later with an 18-yard run into the endzone, giving the Tigers a 25-point lead.

On the next Auburn offensive possession, Ashford was under center and went to silence the critics of his passing game. He went three for four through the air, with all three completions being 13 yards or more. He closed out the drive with a 32-yard strike to Micah Riley for a touchdown. With five and a half minutes remaining in the game, the Tigers had a commanding 32-point lead.

After a sluggish start plagued by turnovers, Auburn gathered their composure and took over the game in the second quarter en route to their third straight win before they head into a tough conference schedule that includes matchups against Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss, and Alabama.

The Tigers will be back in action next weekend in College Station when they face Jimbo Fisher and the Texas A&M Aggies.

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Copyright 2023 WSFA. All rights reserved.

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al.com

 

3 takeaways from Auburn’s improved offense against Samford

Updated: Sep. 16, 2023, 11:03 p.m.|Published: Sep. 16, 2023, 9:08 p.m.

5–6 minutes

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That looked a lot better. Auburn closed out a 45-13 win over Samford in a game where the offense rolled — and Payton Thorne had easily his best game in an Auburn uniform. Arguably it was the best game of his collegiate career.

This wasn’t a perfect performance, but it was sure better than last week against Cal. Here are three takeaways.

Auburn threw the ball a lot more. Was it better?

It took all about five minutes into the second half of this game for Payton Thorne to surpass his total completions and passing yards for the entire season combined.

He completed 19 of 31 passes for 235 yards total in Auburn’s first two games. By halftime tonight, he had 18 completions for 232 yards. He got his 20th completion and passed 235 yards on Auburn’s first drive of the second half.

Hugh Freeze talked about more consistency for Thorne and that comes with lessening a QB rotation that Freeze called unhealthy.

Though he may have overdone it in some places.

On two different drives in the first half, Auburn had the ball inside the Samford five-yard line and proceeded to throw the ball three straight times. On the first drive, Auburn’s first drive of the game, the third down pass was forced by a false start penalty that pushed Auburn back. But Thorne threw a very interception on a pass intended to Shane Hooks, but Hooks was never open.

The second time, Auburn was forced into a field goal.

Thorne also made another bad decision in the first half on a deep ball into double coverage which was intercepted.

There were mistakes, sure, but as a whole, the passing game did look a lot better from a statistical standpoint. Auburn definitely seemed to force it a bit, but this game likely gave Thorne some much-needed confidence.

Now, that said: What’s the plan with Robby Ashford?

Ashford didn’t play at all in the first half. He came inside the five-yard line twice in the second half before Auburn pulled away convincingly. He was the full-time QB later in the fourth quarter.

Freeze has said he wants less QB rotation, but he also wants to give Robby Ashford a role. Those two things may be mutually exclusive, however, based on Auburn’s play calling. If Freeze has to pick one going forward, what is that choice?

This game may have created more questions about Robby Ashford’s role, if any, than it does about Auburn’s ability to throw the ball. In what was effectively garbage time, Ashford did throw a 32-yard touchdown to a wide-open Micah Riley.

This was a weird game, man. Mostly cause of the next bit:

Auburn also could not run the ball — okay, other than Payton Thorne

Part of Auburn’s pass-happy night could be a product of wanting to get the passing game going.

It also could be because Auburn could not run the ball.

Now let’s take Payton Thorne aside. He had more rushing yards than any Auburn quarterback since 2013. He led Auburn in rushing and scored two rushing touchdowns. Auburn had more than 200 rushing yards and he had more than half of them. Most of his yards came in the second half, though, when the result of the game wasn’t really in question. He finished with 123 yards on 11 carries.

He had more than 400 total yards of offense.

Only one other running back had more than three yards per carry (Brian Battie) and he had only five carries. Auburn had six total rushers.

Auburn had more than five yards per carry as a team purely from skewed Payton Thorne data. And granted, Thorne ran the ball well, but it was another rusty day from Jarquez Hunter who had just 37 yards on 11 attempts.

Auburn had 86 yards on 26 carries from its actual running backs. That’s barely over three yards per attempt.

The offensive line didn’t seem to get much push, either. Auburn actually ran the ball more times than it threw it when all was said and done — though that does include some Thorne scrambles on designed pass plays.

Auburn got stuffed on a fourth-and-one rush near midfield in the first half.

But Samford gave up more than 300 rushing yards a week ago. This wasn’t good enough from Auburn’s deep running back room.

Rivaldo Fairweather is a Capital D Dude

So I think Auburn learned that targeting Fairweather is a good idea based on how he saved Auburn last week.

Fairweather had five catches for 57 yards. And multiple of them were in the middle of ~a lot~ of contact.

This one, easily, was the highlight:

Freeze has talked about how productive Jay Fair and Ja’Varrius Johnson have been this season. But he always joked about how he wishes they had a bigger catch radius than their sub-6-foot frames allow.

Fairweather is the opposite. Want catch radius? He’s got it.

Auburn is still working on finding reliable weapons to throw to, especially on a night when it tried so hard to find its passing game.

Chalk Rivaldo Fairweather up as a tried-and-true choice.

Matt Cohen covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @Matt_Cohen_ or email him at mcohen@al.com

If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of

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whnt.com

 

Thorne runs, passes Auburn to 45-13 victory over Samford

Associated Press

4–5 minutes

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AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Payton Thorne passed for 282 yards and a touchdown and ran for 123 yards and two more scores to lead Auburn to a 45-13 victory over Samford on Saturday night.

Thorne had easily his biggest game with the Tigers (3-0) despite throwing a pair of interceptions in the end zone against the Bulldogs (1-2), an FCS team.

The graduate transfer from Michigan State completed 24 of 32 passes and did his rushing damage on 11 carries, producing four passes and a rush of 30-plus yards. He came into the game with 235 passing yards and 17 rushing yards through two games, splitting time with last year’s starter Robby Ashford. Ashford also ran and passed for TDs.

Thorne is the first Auburn quarterback since Nick Marshall in 2014 against Mississippi State to rush for 100 yards and pass for 200 yards in a game. He said it was nice to show “I’m not that slow” after his running was limited by nagging injuries in both feet last season at Michigan State.

“I told people all summer that I couldnt’t run last year.” Thorne said. “But I can get some stuff done on the ground.”

One of Thorne’s interceptions came after a first-and-goal from the 1 and the other was on a deep ball where he didn’t spot an open receiver.

“Outside of that, I thought he played really solid,” Freeze said. “I thought he had a solid day but the plan was absolutely we’ve got to get more confidence in us being a balanced offense. And that was the goal.”

Held to 94 passing yards against California, Thorne had a 32-yard touchdown pass to Shane Hooks to go with scoring runs of 5 and 18 yards. It was the first Auburn touchdown catch for Hooks, a Jackson State transfer, and the Tigers’ longest-scoring pass of the season.

Freeze has led Auburn to its first 3-0 start since 2019 in his first season, albeit against less-than-impressive competition. Bigger tests with less margin for error await.

“There’s times that we don’t play great fundamental football and those plays, I know, will haunt us,” Freeze said.

This one was scoreless until the Tigers scored 17 in the second quarter.

Auburn, which had just 230 yards against Cal, outgained the Bulldogs 562-218.

Michael Hiers passed for 141 yards and a touchdown for Samford but was also intercepted twice.

Auburn’s Jay Fair gained 93 yards on seven catches.

“It was going to be an uphill battle to begin with, but for about three quarters it was a lot of fun,” Samford coach Chris Hatcher said. “In the fourth quarter, it became not so much fun.”

THE TAKEAWAY

Samford: The defending Southern Conference champions fought the Tigers to a scoreless tie through the first quarter. That’s a win for an FCS team against one from the Southeastern Conference. Fell to 0-29-1 against Auburn but avoided the 20th shutout in the series.

Auburn: An offense that sputtered badly in a 14-10 win over California still had issues, particularly with the two red zone turnovers. Improved to 3-0 for the first time since 2019. Also had a muffed punt set up a second Samford touchdown.

SIMPSON’S STREAK

Auburn’s Jaylin Simpson got his third interception of the season. He’s the first Auburn player with picks in three consecutive games since Jerraud Powers in 2007.

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auburntigers.com

 

Football vs Samford on 9/16/2023 - Box Score

 

16–20 minutes

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Samford (1-2 , 0-1) -VS- Auburn (3-0 , 0-0)

Box Score Menu

Game Statistics By Team

Team Statistics

Statistic	SAM	AU
First Downs
Total	12	26
Rushing	7	15
Passing	4	11
Penalty	1	0
Rushing
Total (Net)	74	222
Attempts	28	43
Avg. Per Rush	2.6	5.2
Rushing TDs	1	4
Yds. Gained	98	232
Yds. Lost	24	10
Passing
Total (Net)	144	340
Comp.-Att.-Int.	19-33-2	27-36-2
Avg. / Att.	4.4	9.4
Avg. / Comp.	7.6	12.6
TDs	1	2
Total Offense
Yards	218	562
Plays	61	79
Avg. / Play	3.6	7.1
Fumbles - Lost	0-0	2-1
Penalties - Yds.	1-5	5-45
Punting
Punts - Yds.	7-213	1-41
Avg. / Punt	30.4	41
Inside 20	1	1
50+ Yds.	0	0
Touchbacks	0	0
Fair Catch	1	1
Kickoffs
Total - Yds.	3-188	8-490
Avg. Yds. / Kickoff	62.7	61.3
Touchbacks	0	2
Returns
Punt: Total - Yds. - TDs	0-0-0	3--8-0
Punt: Avg. / Return	0	-2.7
Kickoff: Total - Yds. - TDs	1-26-0	3-89-0
Kickoff: Avg. / Return	26.0	29.7
INT: Total - Yds. - TDs	2-0-0	2-12-0
Fumble: Total - Yds. - TDs	0-0-0	0-0-0
Miscellaneous
Misc. Yards	0	0
Poss. Time	26:32	33:28
3rd. Down Conv.	5 of 14	7 of 14
4th. Down Conversions	1 of 2	2 of 3
Red-Zone: Scores - Chances	1-1	5-7
Sacks: Total - Yds.	1-1	2-17
PAT: Total - Made	1-2	6-6
2PT Conversion: Total - Made	0-0	0-0
Field Goals: Total - Made	0-0	1-1

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Auburn football: What to make of first half play-calling, decisions, and a halftime fix

Published: Sep. 17, 2023, 12:35 a.m.

6–7 minutes

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Hugh Freeze doesn’t have this thing figured out yet here at Auburn. It’s only been three games, only one of them against a Power 5 opponent. Growing pains as he installs his own offense are all part of this process and boy, Freeze has sure made a point to list them.

There have been penalties and poor alignments. Patternless quarterback rotations, players running the wrong way and play calls that haven’t made a whole lot of sense.

This night — Homecoming, a full Jordan-Hare Stadium and a game against Samford — marked Auburn’s final tune-up game before SEC play, and Freeze’s plan was clear. He had questions to answer. Many of them centered around his quarterbacks and a passing game that had failed as a team to pass for a total of 300 yards combined across Auburn’s first two games.

“Just wanted to be balanced, really, and get us some confidence,” Freeze said after the 45-13 win over Samford. “We’re going to have to throw the football some, and they were playing -- the way their safeties were playing, they were getting eight in the box really quick. A lot of those throws in the first half were truly off the run game. But the read for Payton was to throw it based on the numbers.”

So Auburn came out ready to throw. A lot. Probably too much, actually.

Quarterback Payton Thorne dropped back to throw on 12 of Auburn’s first 15 plays. He kept it himself for a scramble on two plays and threw the other 10. Auburn efficiently moved the ball on what at that point was possibly Auburn’s best all-around drive in two weeks.

Then the Tigers got all the way down to the Samford one-yard line. The questions returned.

In previous games, this was the situation where Auburn would look to either backup quarterback Robby Ashford or someone in the running back room that Freeze has been so keen to lean on.

Auburn did neither.

Thorne had an incompletion to Jay Fair on first down, and an incompletion to Shane Hooks on second down. Auburn appeared to line up for what looked like a running play on third down, but then came one of the mistakes that cost Auburn dearly a week ago against Cal: penalties.

Izavion Miller was called for a false start and pushed Auburn back to the six-yard-line. Auburn had to throw, and Thorne tossed an ill-advised pass that ended up as an interception.

“We go to third down then we had a false start or something, I don’t know what it was, moved us back a little bit,” Thorne said. “I’ll have to go look at it a little bit. Maybe I ought to have thrown that away.”

Late in the first half, Auburn drove down inside the Samford 10-yard line again, and yet again threw the ball three straight times. After a loss of yards on a screen to Jeremiah Cobb and two incompletions, Auburn kicked a field goal.

That’s two first-half drives right on the doorstep of the endzone and three total points.

“It kind of worked out that way,” Thorne said of all the passing plays. “We call an RPO, so possibly to hand it off or throw it. I thought I had the look for the throw.”

First-half mistakes also featured a second Thorne interception on a poor decision of a pass thrown into double coverage. When Auburn did try to run the ball on a short-yardage fourth down play near midfield in the first half, Damari Alston was stuffed at the line of scrimmage.

Auburn had five penalties total — four of them in the first half. An improvement from the Cal game, but still costly.

The heavy lean on the pass throughout the first half fulfilled Freeze’s plan to find Thorne some confidence. In the first two games combined, Thorne had 19 completions for 235 yards. In the first half alone against Samford, he had 18 completions for 232 yards.

“I thought Payton was solid outside the one decision on the deep post route,” Freeze said. “That was a poor decision. But outside of that, I thought his decision-making was pretty good. I thought he ran when he needed to. We called some good draws with him, and he looked normal running those.”

The passing numbers don’t indicate the difficulty Auburn had to pull away in the first half. Auburn didn’t score at all in the first quarter.

It also created a situation where while Freeze got what he wanted with Thorne, he wasn’t able to get Robby Ashford in the game the way he’d also discussed. It’s hard to get both players on the field while also keeping rhythm for either. Ashford didn’t play at all in the first half.

It’s another growing pain. Auburn figured out part of the offense against Samford. But how it will get the whole picture involved will be an ongoing change.

“We’ve got to find out if Payton truly is going to function every aspect of the offense, which I thought he did tonight well,” Freeze said. “It’s good to have both of them. How that looks from game to game? I’ve said from Day 1, I don’t know. We’ll have a good plan going into A&M. And I’m sure it will involve both of them.”

After halftime, things changed. Auburn fixed flaws found on the offensive line. Ashford was added back into the game plan. And Thorne became the balanced quarterback Auburn has been looking for.

Auburn pulled away.

Throughout the preseason, Freeze has critiqued Thorne’s decision-making, but nearly always that centered around his choices in Auburn’s run-pass-option offense.

He made many better decisions in the second half of this game, especially with regard to keeping the ball himself. It led to 123 rushing yards — the most of any Auburn quarterback in a decade.

“I guess I’m not that slow,” Thorne said.

Matt Cohen covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @Matt_Cohen_ or email him at mcohen@al.com

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[aubiefifty 18,259]

i love a butthurt turd fan. shall we enjoy this picture? grins

poor bama fans.avif

[aubiefifty 18,259]

i will check back later for updates on the game yesterday. thanx for stopping by.

[SaltyTiger 8,579]

Thanx Fiddy, will come back for of this later today. Big week coming up. Expect you up and going extra early.