When the Auburn offense looked flat against San Jose State, the Tigers turned to their run game to lead them to a 24-16 victory Saturday night.
“Never say a win’s a win, but it's always good to win,” said Auburn head coach Bryan Harsin. “All right, and it's hard to win. Good football teams can take a punch in the face, and they can just find a way to go out there and get a win somehow, some way.”
Auburn opened the game with two three-and-outs and two drives ending with interceptions - one from T.J. Finley and the other from Robby Ashford.
By halftime, Auburn mustered only 70 yards through the air, and neither quarterback could find rhythm. Only one reception was made by an Auburn wide receiver in the first half -- an 11-yard completion to LSU transfer Koy Moore. To make matters worse, Auburn trailed 10-7.
The only life Auburn showed offensively was through true freshman Damari Alston. The Georgia native popped a run 35 yards to put Auburn in SJSU territory. The Tigers scored their lone touchdown of the half after the Alston run when Jarquez Hunter capped off the drive with a seven-yard touchdown.
“We needed that. That was amazing,” said senior offensive lineman Brandon Council. “Damari, he runs so hard, and we are going to need that coming into our next game. He’s gonna have a great season. He’s gonna have a great career.”
Once Auburn found a recipe to move the offense, it committed to it. The Tigers opened the second half by scoring on three consecutive possessions.
Tank Bigsby, who totaled 25 yards in the first half, recorded 47 yards on the first drive of the new half - including a one-yard TD run to hand Auburn the lead.
“Let’s get up there and run the rock,” Harsin said. “Let’s run the ball. Let’s get Tank going, and let’s be physical. We wanted to be physical, and we were able to do that.”
Leading 17-13 early in the fourth, Auburn returned to its two-QB system to throw off the Spartans.
Ashford broke a 30-yard run to get across midfield. A few plays later, Finley used his legs to hurt the Spartans with a four-yard TD run to increase the Tigers’ lead.
Ashford tallied 61 yards on the ground as opposed to 68 versus Mercer, but the Oregon transfer did not match last week's production through the air. He went just 1-for-3 passing for a yard with an interception, his first turnover of the season. He threw for 100 yards last week.
Though Auburn did not score again after the Finley touchdown that put the Tigers up 24-13, it did use the run game and tough redzone defense to bleed the clock and hold Spartans to a field goal. With the Spartans out of timeouts, Ashford converted a third down with his legs as Auburn escaped with a win.
“We came out slow. We weren't on the same page,” said senior right tackle Austin Troxell. “But when we were on the same page and playing fast and physical, they couldn’t hang with us.”
When Auburn found that rhythm, it also opened opportunities in the pass game.
Finley started the game 1-for-5 with an interception, but as the running backs found their legs, he played more efficiently. Finley completed 12 of his next 15 passes and finished the game with 167 yards in addition to the rushing TD.
Harsin praised Finley and the team’s composure despite the slow start.
“That’s one of the things that we’ve emphasized too, body language,” Harsin said. “Guys get in the tank, it doesn’t go our way, and you can’t just restart the game. You got to go out there. You got to compete. I think our team showed some resiliency in that situation.”
Though Auburn survived the slow start on Saturday, it cannot afford another slow start next Saturday as Penn State comes to the Plains for a highly-anticipated rematch from last season. The game will kickoff at 2:30 p.m. CST as Auburn eyes its first 3-0 start since 2019.
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Jacob is a sophomore from Leeds, Alabama. This is his second year with The Auburn Plainsman.
Twitter: @JacobWaters_
