Like any opening game, Auburn went into their matchup with Alabama A&M with many questions. They weren’t majorly pressing questions. They were just… questions.
We wanted to see how Payton Thorne would look with a full, real offseason of studying the playbook. We wanted to see what these shiny new freshman and transfer wide receivers would do. We wanted to see if a mixture of old and new defensive players led by DJ Durkin would be a major improvement from 2023.
Based on the 52-3 halftime score, and the 73-3 final score, the answer is yes. I don’t care what the question was. The answer was yes. All of it. Yes.
Yes, all of the questions and answers could stop at the opponent. To a simple, negative mind, you could say that anything positive from the win on Saturday was attributed to the level of play that Alabama A&M provided. To that I say “no.”
It doesn’t matter who Auburn played on Saturday. Their level of execution, the play-calling, the desire to score and keep scoring and scoring and scoring, the excitement from the fans and players deep into a 70 point win just felt different.
Right or wrong, past Auburn teams would’ve gotten up 35 points in the first half and coasted to a small blowout. It would’ve been fine. Maybe a little underwhelming and boring, but it would’ve been fine.
But not this time.
Hugh Freeze needed to see Payton Thorne sling it for multiple quarters. Hugh Freeze needed to see these new receivers go get a few. And he did.
Coach Freeze knew the game was won before it started, so why not just air it out and knock off the newness? It was very obvious and apparent that he planned on getting all of the new guys a touchdown for the game. It was almost like he was fulfilling recruiting promises. You get a touchdown, and you get a touchdown, and you got a touchdown.
And to be more perfect, he knew everybody was thinking about Cam Coleman. So who got the first two passes? Not Cam Coleman. Cam didn’t make a catch until two touchdowns had been scored. It was a great plan, despite who Auburn was playing.
The Auburn defense was the only facet of the game that didn’t score for Auburn. In fact, they didn’t record a single turnover, but they did stuff the run, they kept the quarterback on the run, and the only big pass plays were defended well. The biggest pass play of the night should’ve been a pick, but bounced right into the receiver’s hands before he ran it to the 1-yard line.
But no worries, because for the 1st of 2 times over the course of the night, the Bulldogs got inside the 2-yard line and ended up coming away with 0 points. I don’t care who you’re playing. That’s nearly impossible to do. But the Auburn defense did it.
At the end of the night, Auburn scored 73 points, with the last two quarters shortened to 10 minutes a piece, and with two fumbles by backups on their last 2 drives of the night. 100 points was literally possible. You’re welcome, Alabama A&M.
Aside from the aforementioned turnovers in garbage time, there was almost nothing wrong with Auburn’s performance. Again, you can attribute the performance to Alabama A&M, but I’d argue that what Auburn was able to do all night would’ve been impressive against air. If you have a problem with it, look inward.
The warm-up is over. Next we have a visit from the team that Auburn narrowly defeated after midnight last season. I think we know how it will go this time. But the only thing to do is try to one up what they just did.
But one may ask, “how do you improve on near perfection?” You just do.
