No. 24 Auburn may not have waltzed away oozing with confidence, but it still took care of business with a 31–15 win over South Alabama on Homecoming Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
With the win, Auburn improves to 3-0 for the 52nd time in program history and the second time in three seasons under head coach Hugh Freeze.
Here are the biggest takeaways from the game:
Poor defensive effort for Auburn
Three weeks into the season, and a glaring issue for this Auburn squad continues to reside in the secondary.
South Alabama quarterback Bishop Davenport entered this contest ranked 10th in the nation in both completion percentage and passing efficiency, and he certainly showed why on Saturday. Bishop left the field completing 69% of his passes on 26 attempts to the tune of 170 yards and two touchdowns. This obviously comes after the Week 1 fiasco, in which Baylor threw for 419 yards.
The Jaguars converted on four plays that gained at least 15 yards through the air, with those four accounting for 82 yards through the air.
The big plays, especially over the middle, must come to a halt for Auburn before it takes the field against one of the nation’s most potent quarterbacks in Oklahoma’s John Mateer next week.
Additionally, coming as a result of self-inflicted wounds and an array of missed tackles, South Alabama converted on seven third-down attempts, 3-of-4 fourth-down attempts, and totaled 310 yards of offense. Boasting the best rush defense in the SEC coming into this one, Auburn allowed 140 yards on the ground just a week after holding Ball State to -3 rushing yards.
Cobb carries the load
Auburn entered this contest with a few key injuries to its running back room, ultimately playing without Damari Alston and Durrell Robinson.
It gave Jeremiah Cobb an opportunity to receive the bulk of the snaps out of the backfield, and yet again, he didn’t disappoint. After rushing for a team-high 121 yards last week, Cobb picked up where he left off and ran to the tune of 119 yards on 19 carries and a touchdown, leading the charge for Auburn’s 195-yard rushing performance.
Cobb accounted for all four of the Tigers’ rushes that gained at least 10 yards, with 54 of his total yards coming on big plays.
Singleton breaks out
Eric Singleton, Jr. showed why he can be a difference-maker for this Auburn offense, regardless of whether he even touches the ball.
Singleton has now recorded a reception in 27-straight games – every game of his collegiate career – after hauling in six catches for a team-high 65 yards. Additionally, the speedy wideout carried it three times for 15 yards.
Going into a sweeping motion on a handful of Auburn’s plays – the same sequence he scored his first touchdown of the season on last week against Ball State – Singleton continues to make the Tigers’ offense a difficult one to defend. With the option of handing it off to Singleton in motion, throwing it to him on a wheel route or keeping it himself, the addition of Singleton continues to make life easier on Jackson Arnold.
Pair Singleton with the likes of Auburn’s star-studded Cam Coleman, who made his mark with a 32-yard touchdown reception on the first drive of the day for Auburn, which was one for the highlight reels, and the Tigers have a plethora of receivers to throw at on any given play.
Efficient day for Arnold
The stats won’t truly back up Arnold’s performance, but it was another week of him operating Auburn’s offense efficiently, nonetheless.
Arnold completed 54% of his 24 pass attempts, and that comes with two drops that reflect on his individual stats. Again, Auburn made use of his legs as he recorded a pair of short touchdown runs and ended his day with 50 yards on the ground.
His two rushing touchdowns today gave him four on the young season, which is more than he had all of last season (3).
Auburn will travel to Norman next week to take on No. 13 Oklahoma in its SEC opener. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. on ABC.
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