The Auburn Tigers football team cruised to a 45-10 victory against Florida Atlantic on a chilly Saturday night in Jordan-Hare Stadium.
"We were very happy to get win number seven, and I really felt like our guys were ready to play," said head coach Gus Malzahn. "There was a lot of questions about how we would respond after a big win, but I think our guys took care of that by jumping on them early and taking care of business."
Auburn jumped ahead 14-0 within the first five minutes of the game, as running backs Tre Mason and Corey Grant both reached the end zone on the ground.
Junior quarterback Nick Marshall attempted only one pass in the first quarter, but the Tigers rushed 18 times for 186 yards to finish the quarter with a 21-0 lead.
"Every week our offensive line is getting better, and that's something the running backs definitely appreciate," said running back Cameron Artis-Payne. "It's just something that's becoming normal, but we've got to keep it going."
Marshall rushed for 63 yards and a touchdown before injuring his shoulder in the second quarter.
Replacing Marshall, freshman Jeremy Johnson was 10-of-16 for 192 yards and two touchdowns, including a 67 yarder to Sammie Coates late in the second quarter.
"Coach Malzahn always tells me to prepare like I'm the starter and stay focused like I'm the starter, so really that's all I did once I came in the game," Johnson said. "I just went out there and executed."
Johnson could tell Marshall was hurting, and said that the quarterback initially injured his shoulder on another play earlier in the game.
"Actually he hurt his shoulder on the play way before that," Johnson said. "I just kept asking is he was alright, and then the coaches started telling me to warm up."
Coates and Johnson hooked up three times on the night, tallying 113 yards and two touchdowns.
"Sammie is a guy with speed, so coach Malzahn put him in one on one coverage and I just gave him a chance to get catches and he kept coming up with them," Johnson said.
The SEC's leading rushing attack continued to chew up yards on the ground, accumulating 422 yards of rushing offense in the rout.
Auburn's trio of Artis-Payne, Grant and Mason accounted for 228 of those yards.
The defense held Florida Atlantic to 247 yards of total offense, marking the second time this season the Tigers have held an opponent under 250 yards.
"Coach had the objective of coming out and physical and dominating," sophomore defensive back Jonathan Jones said. "We wanted to make as few mental mistakes as we could and I feel like we did that."
Malzahn did not release much information on the injury to quarterback Nick Marshall, but Marshall returned to the field in street clothes.
Marshall reportedly injured his shoulder, but is expected to be at practice on Sunday.
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