After an entire month of dramatic home games, Auburn finished its season-opening five-game home stand with its most complete and relaxed performance yet.
The Auburn Tigers offense went over, through and around the UL-Monroe defense all afternoon, rolling up 688 total yards in a 58-7 victory over the Warhawks. It was Auburn's highest-scoring performance since a 59-13 win over San Jose State in September 2014 and the fourth-best yardage total in school history.
"I thought we played well in all three phases," said head coach Gus Malzahn. "Our goal going into this game was to improve from last week on offense, defense and special teams, and just kind of looking at it, I think we have a chance to do that."
Quarterback Sean White had his most efficient performance in an Auburn uniform to date, going 14-for-17 for 239 yards and a pair of long touchdowns. However, it was White's legs that gave Auburn the lead for good on its first drive, as his three-yard run put the Tigers in front 7-0.
That red zone score was one of many for the Tigers on Saturday. Auburn (3-2, 1-1) got to the red zone five times, scoring touchdowns on the first four trips and getting stopped at the one-yard line with mere seconds remaining on the fifth. The sensation of scoring touchdowns in the red zone was more therapeutic than thrilling for Auburn's offense, which saw a number of failed red zone opportunities during its first four outings.
"It felt good to just get down there and finish the drives and score touchdowns," White said. "We've got to keep going."
White added more points to the board later in the first quarter, finding true freshman Kyle Davis wide open downfield for a 48-yard score. It was the first touchdown of Davis' career.
In the second quarter, running back Kerryon Johnson punctuated two long drives with two short scoring runs that made the score 28-0 and erased all worries that the Tigers would play down to the Warhawks (1-3, 0-1).
Overall, Johnson earned 24 carries and gained 146 of Auburn's 410 rushing yards. The sophomore speedster sang the praises of his offensive line after a second consecutive performance without a negative carry.
"When you don't give up penetration, my job's easy," Johnson said. "For me, I'm just running the ball. They're the guys getting me to where I'm supposed to go. I guess it's 25 percent me and 75 percent them, so that's just props to them for doing their job play in and play out."
While Auburn's offense broke big plays and put together long drives like clockwork, for the defense, it was business as usual. The Tigers held UL-Monroe to 251 yards, the fewest they've allowed this season. The Warhawks' lone score came on a two-yard touchdown pass from Garrett Smith to Marcus Green on the last play of the first half.
"We needed that game because we needed something to keep the momentum going from the LSU game," said junior safety Tray Matthews. "We want to continue to keep the momentum going, and keep getting better and better each week."
After halftime, the rest of the game belonged entirely to Auburn. After gaining 309 yards in the first half, the Tigers rolled up another 309 yards in the third quarter alone.
White's second 48-yard touchdown pass of the game went to senior Tony Stevens, who hauled in four catches for 109 yards on the day. That made it 35-7 Auburn, and plenty more scores were on the way.
The remainder of the quarter saw several career firsts for some of the newer Tigers. Freshman running back Malik Miller and junior college transfer quarterback John Franklin III both scored their first career rushing touchdowns, from 4 and 80 yards out, respectively. Late in the quarter, Franklin found freshman Nate Craig-Myers for a 39-yard touchdown, giving Franklin his first touchdown pass and Craig-Myers his first touchdown catch.
"It felt good to just play," Franklin said. "I love playing this game. I feel like I have the abilities to go a long way in this game. It felt good to just go out there and showcase it."
While Franklin displayed his speed on that long scoring run, White would like people to remember that he's a mobile quarterback as well.
"You know, obviously, I'm not as fast as John is; I mean, that was pretty sick," White said. "But I can run a little bit when it's needed and open it up for our running backs."
After scoring 56 points through three quarters, the Auburn offense shut down the hurry-up approach in the final frame. The only points for Auburn came on a safety by redshirt freshman defensive lineman Gary Walker with 31 seconds left. It was Auburn's first safety since 2012 against Alabama A&M.
With five consecutive home games to open the season down, the Tigers will face their first road test of the season at Mississippi State next Saturday. After a month of great defensive play and a sweep of Louisiana schools, Auburn feels more than ready to hit the road.
"We have a lot of momentum," said junior offensive lineman Austin Golson. "I just feel like this team has something good in store and I can't wait to see what happens next."
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