AUBURN — Auburn returned to the friendly confines of Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday night, cruising to a 42-3 victory over Ball State in front of a sold-out crowd.
Auburn has now won 18 of its last 20 home openers (107-16-3 overall) with Hugh Freeze remaining perfect in that department during his tenure. Under Freeze, Auburn has outscored its opponents in home openers 174-20. Additionally, Auburn has outscored Ball State 190-36 in four meetings, all of which resulted in Auburn wins.
Here are the biggest takeaways from Auburn’s win:
Ferocious defense
The Tigers’ defense answered the bell on Saturday night against a much inferior opponent, holding Ball State to just 68 total yards on the night.
Auburn forced a Ball State punt on every drive except two, one of which resulted in a fumble recovery and the other in a field goal after a slew of questionable calls against Auburn’s defense in the red zone.
The Cardinals averaged just 1.4 yards per play and were 1-of-14 on third downs. Before their third-quarter field goal, the Cardinals had five straight drives resulting in negative yardage (-16).
Auburn’s defense lived in the backfield, cashing in on six sacks and 14 tackles for loss, while holding the Cardinals to a whopping -3 rushing yards. Additionally, Auburn forced the aforementioned takeaway – meaning the Tigers improved to 76-41 since 2013 when forcing a turnover. And, after getting torched a week ago, Auburn’s secondary gave up just 71 yards through the air – and even though it came against one of the worst passing offenses in the nation, it’s a confidence boost for Auburn moving forward.
Sylvester Smith was a man to be reckoned with, leading the Tigers with six tackles. Xavier Atkins was a notch behind with five tackles, four tackles for loss and two sacks.
‘So-So’ performance on offense
Auburn entered this game with the intention of airing it out and giving its passing game opportunities to find its stride.
The Tigers attempted 33 passes for a total of 271 yards. Jackson Arnold certainly proved he’s not just a threat with his legs, connecting on 86% of his passes (24-of-28) for 251 yards and three touchdowns.
However, Auburn’s pass protection left much to be desired, especially in the first half. Arnold was sacked four times in the first half, and though it could have been a mix of him holding on to the ball too long and some offensive line issues, it’s still an area of concern for Auburn. Ball State cashed in on just one sack against Purdue last week. Arnold, when he decided to emphasize with his legs, kept the offense rolling a lot smoother.
Auburn’s potent rushing attack continued to thrive with 224 yards on the ground. Jeremiah Cobb led the way with 121 yards on 11 carries and two touchdowns.
The Tigers had 11 big plays (plays resulting in 15+ yards) with three coming through the air and eight on the ground, putting up 495 yards of total offense along the way.
Question at kicker moving forward
Of course, Auburn wanted to get out of Saturday night’s matchup with a clean bill of health. But the injury bug prevailed, and it could certainly hinder Auburn’s success moving forward.
In the first quarter, Towns McGough – who is handling kickoff duties and longer field goal attempts – lined up for a 51-yarder. He missed it badly, but hobbled off after the attempt with an apparent ankle injury.
Depending on the severity of McGough’s injury, Auburn’s kicking game could be something to monitor moving forward. Alex McPherson is handling PATs and shorter field goal attempts, but is still not 100% healthy after dealing with ulcerative colitis since last offseason. The Tigers' kicking woes haunted them last season, and probably even cost them a game or two in the grand scheme of things.
They certainly don’t want that to rear its ugly head again this season.
Auburn will return to action against South Alabama next Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Kickoff is set for 11:45 a.m. on SECN.
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