A big question going into Auburn’s homecoming game against Southern Miss was if things would start connecting for quarterback Jarrett Stidham and his offense after some struggles in the Tigers’ last couple of games.
While there were major struggles along a beaten up offensive line, Stidham completed six passes of 15 or more yards to his receivers as No. 10 Auburn survived Southern Mississippi, 24-13 on Saturday night inside Jordan-Hare Stadium.
“I think the big thing is consistency,” head coach Gus Malzahn said of what he wants to see from his offense. “We did hit a couple big plays. We talked about we needed some more explosive plays. We hit a couple. But it’s just the overall consistency.”
The Tigers’ first touchdown came on a 46-yard pass from Stidham to Seth Williams. Stidham also connected with Darius Slayton on a 53-yard pass to get the Tigers in position for their third touchdown of the game.
“He was close to me, so I knew I could get behind him,” Slayton said. “I had the last drive in the back of my mind so I needed to make a play to make amends. I was able to do that.”
Slayton finished the night with five receptions for a season high 91 yards. Williams, a true freshman, had two receptions for 60 yards.
“I have full confidence in Seth,” Stidham said. “He’s a phenomenal player, and a big target so I just tried to give him a shot.”
Stidham finished the night completing 19-of-33 for 245 yards and two touchdowns, with six completions accounting for 15 yards or more.
“We have been waiting on a couple of those,” Malzahn said of the long throws from Stidham.
Stidham also had a 30-yard screen pass to Malik Miller on a third-and-20 and a 15-yard pass to JaTarvious Whitlow.
“He did some good stuff on third downs,” Malzahn said of Miller. “He made a really good play.”
Whitlow had two receptions for 20 yards but left the game in the second quarter with a shoulder injury.
“He did some good stuff on third downs,” Malzahn said of Miller. “He made a really good play.”
Malzahn expressed how feels the offense has been “up-and-down” and that he thought tonight was another example of that.
“I thought we did some things really well and some things that we've obviously got to fix,” Stidham said. “You have to get better every week, and that's what we continue to do every single week. I have full confidence in our team that we are going to continue to push ourselves every week and get better."
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