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al.com

 

Who does Auburn football play next and what to know

Published: Sep. 01, 2024, 2:00 p.m.

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Hugh Freeze addresses the media following Auburn's season-opening 73-3 win over Alabama A&M

Hugh Freeze and the Auburn Tigers couldn’t have asked for a better way to open their season after Saturday’s very, very lopsided win over the Alabama A&M Bulldogs.

After jutting out to a quick, seven-touchdown lead by halftime, the Tigers, Bulldogs and game officials all agreed to shorten the second half down to two, 10-minute quarters.

Despite the shortened game, Auburn’s domination continued as the Tigers topped the Bulldogs 73-3 to collect the program’s 800th win in convincing fashion.

Payton Thorne became the first Auburn quarterback since Cam Newton to throw for three touchdowns in a single quarter, while three of Auburn’s four freshman wide receivers all scored the first touchdowns of their career.

Meanwhile, the Auburn defense held Alabama A&M to less than 40 rushing yards and kept the Bulldogs from finding the endzone.

What’s next for Auburn?

Freeze and the Tigers will return home to Jordan-Hare Stadium for the second game of their five-game homestand on Saturday and play host to the Cal Golden Bears — a recent addition to the ACC — for a 2:30 p.m. kickoff.

Cal’s visit to Auburn is the Golden Bears returning the favor to Auburn after the Tigers traveled out to Berkeley, California last September.

Auburn went on to secure the win in last year’s weird and late-night contest in the fourth quarter as the Tigers pulled away late for a 14-10 win over the Golden Bears thanks to a touchdown connection between quarterback Payton Thorne and tight end Rivaldo Fairweather.

Cal opened its season with a 31-13 win in a west-coast matchup against UC-Davis, though Cal struggled to separate itself from UC-Davis until the second half.

Jaydn Ott, Cal’s starting running back who had rushed for 49 yards and a pair of touchdowns against UC-Davis, left the game late in the third quarter with an apparent injury.

In his post game press conference, Cal head coach Justin Wilcox had no updates on Ott’s injury.

Last year, Ott rushed for 78 yards and a touchdown against Auburn.

TV, radio, broadcast info

Auburn’s matchup with Cal will be televised on ESPN2 at 2:30 p.m. The radio broadcast will be featured on the Auburn Sports Network.

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Auburn just john wicked A&M....................grins

 

i get up early and nothing much to report  so far.

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https://www.yahoo.com/news/payton-thorne-throws-4-td-133911575.html?

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https://sports.yahoo.com/social-media-reacts-auburns-emphatic-032000582.html?

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Post

Conversation

"𝐀" 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍

@AlHenderson_1

MARK MY WORD AUBURN FAMILY something special is about to happen “AURECRUITING on TOP”

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4* RB Ousmane Kromah receiving predictions to commit to Auburn

 

Recruiting

Another one. This time our top RB target to pair with Henderson. It's been a competition between Auburn and Florida State, but Kromah visited Auburn yesterday for the game and now this morning predictions are coming in for him to commit to the good guys:

On3 Predictions

247 Predictions

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YES!

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247sports.com

Auburn offense with a chance to prove itself against Cal

Jason Caldwell

6–8 minutes

Hugh Freeze talks about the offense getting ready to face the Cal Bears.

AUBURN, Alabama–Last season, the Auburn Tigers opened the year with a 59-14 win over UMass that saw Hugh Freeze's team pile up 27 first downs on the way to an easy win. One week later, the offense managed just 230 yards of total offense and only 94 yards passing in a 14-10 win at Cal.

Following a really strong offensive showing against an overmatched Alabama A&M team in Saturday's season opener, week two is another opportunity for this team. Facing a Cal defense that should once again be a solid group under coach Justin Wilcox and coordinator Peter Sirmon, Freeze said it's time for the offense to back up what they did in week one against a much better opponent.

"They're really confident right now, I'm sure," Freeze said of the offense. "After Saturday, we'll see. We don't run from that. Here's your chance -- our chance, not just them, but us, too, as coaches. Here's our chance to prove we can be a fundamentally efficient scoring machine against a team I think plays really efficient defensive football. It'll be a really good test for us."

It will be a challenge for an Auburn offense that will look much different than the one Cal faced a season ago. With a group of wide receivers that struggled to get separation, the Tigers became almost one-dimensional in the first game away from Jordan-Hare Stadium. Completing just 10-17 passes, Auburn had just three receptions from wide receivers for a total of 32 yards. If not for some heroics from tight end Rivaldo Fairweather, the Tigers probably come up short.

That should not be an issue with this team with transfers Robert Lewis, Sam Jackson and KeAndre Lambert-Smith along with newcomers Cam Coleman, Bryce Cain, Malcolm Simmons and Perry Thompson joining returners Camden Brown and Caleb Burton to give the Tigers a whole lot more weapons than the team Cal defended last season.

"Will they play us the same exact way they did last year," Freeze asked. "I don't know. But last year, they were basically saying we're going to make you have to throw the football and win some 1 on 1s, and we struggled to do that some. But we turned it over. We had some good runs in that game, but we turned it over way too many times in it. So we will see."

With the first game in the books and the competition ramping up, Freeze said while there are plenty of mistakes and things to correct, the Tigers take plenty of positives into the Cal game after a strong showing on Saturday night.

"Offensively, we started fast and played physical up front," Freeze said. "I thought the effort was good there. Sixteen explosive plays, 9.8 yards a carry. Only that one penalty on offense. And our red zone scoring was really good. So a lot of positives to take from there."

Kickoff for Saturday's game against the Cal Bears is set for 2:30 p.m. on ESPN2.

Quick Quotes: Hugh Freeze turns the page to Auburn vs. Cal

After cruising to a 70-point win over an FCS opponent, it's time for Auburn to jump into a Power Four matchup

After cruising to a 70-point win over an FCS opponent, it's time for Auburn to jump into a Power Four matchup. The Tigers (1-0) host Cal (1-0) this Saturday, as the Golden Bears now must make the same 2,500-mile trip across the country that Auburn had to make last year. Cal struggled through a Week 1 win over UC Davis, 31-13, and running back Jaydn Ott left with an injury in the third quarter. Auburn had six passing touchdowns in an explosive victory over Alabama A&M 73-3.

Follow along here for live updates from Freeze, as Auburn turns the page from a breezy Week 1 win to a nonconference rematch in Jordan-Hare Stadium.

* Freeze: "Lots of things to be pleased with from Saturday." Freeze again touches on the student section and the fans in general for creating a big atmosphere.

* "The effort was really, really good" on defense. Freeze notes Auburn forced a three-and-out on nine of 14 Alabama A&M possessions.

* Special teams also graded well, with Towns McGough getting seven touchbacks, plus Keionte Scott's punt return and Malcolm Simmons' punt-block touchdown.

* Freeze notes only one penalty for Auburn's offense in Saturday's game.

* Defensively, Cal will be very comparable to last season because Justin Wilcox runs that unit. The Bears have a new OC, though.

* Freeze notes Cal has a lot of returning production on defense, particularly in the front seven.

* Auburn's running game was solid in last season's matchup with Cal, Freeze says, but the turnovers made the game close throughout.

* Auburn defensive back Champ Anthony has a calf strain. Defensive tackle Isaiah Raikes is expected to play Saturday.

* Freeze was pleased with the offensive line on tape. On the D-line, he expects to continue to see six or seven players rotate consistently.

* Freeze notes cornerback JC Hart, after giving up a big play, turned around and made the touchdown-saving tackle. Alabama A&M missed a field goal on that drive.

* In terms of correct routes and assignments, Auburn's freshman receivers were "really good" against Alabama A&M, Freeze says. Freeze had been eager to see how well they'd execute after some missed assignments in late-preseason practices. 

* "There's no substitute for confidence" from Auburn's season opener, and Freeze certainly thinks that can impact the game plan moving forward, thought it will, of course, "be more challenging" against other opponents.

* Freeze backup QB Hank Brown: "I'm confident in him. The guy's a gamer." Says the film review showed Brown graded out at 100% in terms of executing the correct play in the RPO scheme.

* Freeze says "there's no doubt" his team is confident after a 70-point win. But he knows a Power Four matchup is completely different. His message to the Tigers this week: "Here's your chance."

* Freeze on who's a "starter" on the first play of the game: "I don't care."

* Freeze says he "may" talk to Cal transfer Sam Jackson V at some point this week about the Golden Bears' defense, but he says he and the coaching staff have a good idea of what Cal will do defensively. "Our defensive guys may talk to him more than I will."

* Freeze says, even with Keionte Scott's workload on defense, he'll continue to return punts throughout the season: "We need him. He's dynamic and can change field position for us."

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auburnwire.usatoday.com

What did we learn from Auburn's victory over Alabama A&M?

Tyler Raley

~3 minutes

Auburn football had a lot of questions to answer heading into the 2024 season, but many fans got an early feeling of how they would be answered on Saturday night.

The Tigers posted a dominant week one 73-3 victory over the Alabama A&M Bulldogs, tying the most points Auburn has scored since 2003.

There were many loud moments in this game, many of which came in the first half from the new receiving corps.

After all the action was said and done in Jordan-Hare Stadium, here is what we learned about this Tigers squad after the victory.

For starters, the group of new wideouts that head coach Hugh Freeze brought in will put opposing defenses in a lot of trouble if they are not defended correctly.

All six of Auburn’s receiving touchdowns last night were from players not on the roster last season. Transfer KeAndre Lambert-Smith led the crew with two of his own, including a 67-yard bomb early in the first quarter.

Connected to that, quarterback Payton Thorne was composed throughout the entire game.

While this game was against an FCS opponent, what fans hardly ever saw last year was Thorne throw the ball up with ease and have the confidence to hit a receiver in stride. He finished 13-for-21 with 322 yards and four touchdowns on the night.

Tying the offense together, having the depth from the skill positions helped everyone to stay fresh. Freeze constantly pushed a different rotation of receivers and running backs on the field in order to get players rested and not have fatigue in the heat and humidity of the early season.

As for the defense, the tackling has easily improved from 2023 and Jalen McLeod is going to lead the front four both vocally and physically.

McLeod posted five tackles on the night, with two being tackles-for-loss and one was a sack. He was one of four players to post four or more tackles on the night.

While no turnovers were forced, the physicality is there. The defensive front constantly forced Bulldogs quarterback Cornelious Brown IV into bad decisions due to the pressure it brought.

All of these things will need to be in full motion next week when the Tigers welcome the California Golden Bears to town after beating them last year in Berkeley, 14-10.

From the look of things though, fans have a lot to be optimistic about after an impressive showing on the Plains.

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 Tyler on Twitter @traley34[