Michigan State transfer Payton Thorne got the start in Auburn’s season opener against UMass on Saturday, but returner Robby Ashford was the first Tiger quarterback to find the end zone in the team’s 59-14 win over the Minutemen.
Ashford picked up the Tigers second touchdown of the game with a four-yard rush early in the second quarter. Auburn scored two more touchdowns in the half, both of which were the result of Ashford runs into the end zone. For the first time in his career, Ashford scored three rushing touchdowns, leading to Auburn outscoring UMass 21-0 in the second quarter and putting the Tigers ahead 31-7 heading into the second half.
Ashford finished Saturday’s game with 55 rushing yards, nine attempts and three touchdowns while completing two passes for three yards.
“Robby Ashford is vital to us winning football games,” said Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze. “I don’t know exactly what that looks like from week-to-week, but I know that he’s vital to us winning football games and that we need him.”
Ashford, however, was not the only Auburn quarterback to put up an impressive performance in Saturday's season opener.
Starting quarterback Thorne may not have had three rushing touchdowns, but he did shine in the pocket, going 10-for-17 for 141 yards and one touchdown. On Auburn’s first drive of the second half, Thorne completed a 29-yard touchdown pass on first-and-10 to sophomore wide receiver Jay Fair to give the Tigers a 45-7 lead over UMass.
“Jay (Fair) ran the route that I thought he was going to,” Thorne said. “We were on the same page, and because of that, he was able to get into the end zone.”
With a solid season-opening passing performance from Thorne and successful red zone rushing from Ashford, the Tigers seem to have two different quarterbacks with two different skill sets.
“We come out here everyday and just know that we’re out here to make each other better,” Ashford said. “We do whatever we can to help this team win, and whatever my role is, I am going to do it to the best of my ability.”
Thorne, Ashford and the rest of the Auburn Tigers football team travel to Berkeley, California, to take on Cal Berkeley on Saturday, Sept. 9. Kickoff is at 9:30 p.m. CST and will be televised on ESPN.
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Grace Heim is a junior from Enterprise, Alabama, majoring in English Literature. She started with The Plainsman in January 2023.
