The Auburn football senior class was sent out in style Saturday as the Tigers cruised to a resounding victory over Alabama A&M.
While it is not the last football game of the season, it is the last time that the seniors will play a game in Jordan-Hare Stadium in front of the home fans.
"Our goal was to send our seniors off on a good note," said head coach Gene Chizik. "It was good to be able to do that. Certainly it was important for our seniors to go out right ... My hat is off to the seniors. They've accomplished a lot here."
Auburn won 51-7, and while doing so the team put together possibly their only complete football game this season.
Everything was clicking.
The offense gained 512 total yards, and the defense held the Bulldog offense to a meager 208 yards and seven points.
"It was nice to see us go out and score, get on top," said offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler, "to finally get to a half where we felt comfortable."
The Tigers scored three first quarter touchdowns and added two more in the second quarter to go into the locker room at halftime with a 35 point lead.
In the second half, Auburn was on cruise control, and capped the scoring with an offensive touchdown, a safety and a 60-yard interception return for a touchdown by safety Trent Fisher.
"It was great to see him do that," Chizik said. "He's one of those guys that deserves that opportunity."
Auburn clawed away at the Bulldog defense with the run game all day, amassing 341 yards and five touchdowns on the ground.
Running back duo Tre Mason and Onterio McCalebb accumulated the bulk of those yards with 181 and 104, respectively. Both backs ran for two touchdowns.
Mason's day was highlighted by a 86-yard touchdown, the longest Auburn run play since 1986.
"He's gotten better as the season has progressed, I don't think there's any question about that," Chizik said. "He runs the ball hard, he runs for tough yards."
Early in the game, Mason received the bulk of the carries, but as the game wore on, the senior, McCalebb, took on a heavy work load.
"I give all my credit to the offensive line, receivers and the quarterback," McCalebb said. "They go out there and do their job, and they leave holes for me."
The offense did just that, but it was admittedly against a team that was outmatched.
The same will not be true next week in Tuscaloosa for the Iron Bowl, but coaches and players alike are looking forward to the game.
"It's going to be exciting," Loeffler said. "It's a great rivalry. Two good programs battling in the trenches - it's going to be fun."
Though next week's match up is on the team's minds, they will savor Saturday's blowout victory in a season that has had precious few games to be pleased with.
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