Fifth-year senior Payton Thorne has been reported as the starting quarterback ahead of the Auburn Tigers matchup with the No. 21 Oklahoma Sooners. It was first reported by 247 Sports.
After starting at quarterback early in the season against Alabama A&M and California, Thorne had his spot taken by redshirt freshman Hank Brown. Thorne had 165 yards with four interceptions against the California Golden Bears which ultimately led to his benching.
After having a solid debut against the New Mexico Lobos, passing 17-for-25 to go along with four touchdowns, Brown struggled to maintain that success in his first SEC matchup with the Arkansas Razorbacks.
Brown went seven-for-13 passing versus Arkansas and tallied three interceptions in the first half. Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze decided to go with Thorne for the second half, and he compiled 213 yards along with two touchdowns and an interception.
Freeze has opted to go with experience instead of youth this week and will trust Thorne to command the offense against a strong Oklahoma defense.
The Sooners defense is ranked 28th in the NCAA in yards allowed per game and gives up an average of 188.8 yards through the air.
The Tigers offense has struggled immensely with turnovers so far this season ranking 132nd in turnover margin. The key for Thorne and the rest of the Auburn offense to find success will be taking care of the football against a Sooners defense that has four interceptions at this point in the year.
The Tigers and Sooners will each look for their first SEC win of the season this Saturday, Sept. 28 at 2:30p.m. CST on ABC.
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Marshall is a junior majoring in Journalism. He joined the Plainsman in the fall of 2024.
You can follow him on X (Twitter) at @marshalldow02
