Hugh Freeze got his first win on the plains as the Auburn Tigers blow out UMass 59-14 on Saturday. The Tigers’ offense was unstoppable the entire game scoring on six of their first seven possessions. Auburn totaled 495 total yards with 203 in the air and 292 on the ground. It was not just the Auburn debut for Freeze, but it was also the first start for new quarterback Payton Thorne. He had a solid performance against the Minutemen. Thorne was 10 of 17 for 141 yards and one touchdown. He did share time with Robby Ashford, who came in for a change of pace. Ashford was used more in the run game, and totaled 51 yards and three touchdowns. The defense allowed 301 total yards and the Minutemen were just one for nine on third downs. The defense also forced two turnovers that resulted in two touchdowns.
Auburn Tigers Blow Out UMass 59-14
Close First Quarter
Auburn presumed starting running back Jarquez Hunter did not play on Saturday. That was okay on the opening drive with Damari Alston and South Florida transfer Brian Battie leading the way. Battie touched the ball first on the opening kickoff and gave the Tigers good field position with a 38-yard return. Alston carried the ball five times for 25 yards including a two-yard touchdown to close out the drive. While Auburn had success on the ground, so did UMass on their first drive. The Minutemen went on an eight-play, 89-yard play to tie the game with 7:20 left in the first quarter. Quarterback Taisun Phommachanh rushed for 50 yards on the drive, and the game-tying score. Freeze has said he was not sure if they were a team that could stop the run during fall camp.
When Auburn got the ball back, it was more of an air show with new quarterback Payton Thorne. A lot of the early passing saw Thorne getting the ball out quickly to the receivers. Thorne connected with Jay Fair and Ja’Varrius Johnson to get to the UMass 34. He was then taken out of the game for Robby Ashford. It was not unexpected that there would be a package of plays for Ashford. The offense would then stall and settle for a 37-yard field goal by Alex McPherson. That gave the Tigers a 10-7 lead with 2:11 left in the first quarter. The Auburn defense had more success on their next time on the field and forced a three-and-out. Vanderbilt transfer Elijah McCallister sacked Phommachanh on second down for a three-yard loss. Keionte Scott returned the punt 56 yards to set the Tigers up inside the UMass 20 at the 16.
Auburn Pulls Away
After the quarter break, Auburn went with a run play to the outside with Ashford. He took the ball for a 10-yard touchdown run to put them up 17-7 to open the second. The Minutemen were then forced to a three-and-out, but a big play was missed by the Tigers. Quarterback pressure caused a bad pass by Phommachanh, and D.J. James missed the opportunity at a sure interception. Good news for Auburn the pass landed on the ground. The next Tigers offensive possession was a repeat of the previous one. Thorne connected with Shane Hooks for passes of 20 and 21 yards before Alston broke through for 13 yards to get Auburn to the Minutemen 14. Ashford came back in for three straight runs and scored on a one-yard run to put Auburn up 24-7 with 10:11 in the second.
Then UMass began to move down the field and made it to midfield. Donovan Kaufman had other plans for the visitors. He blitzed quarterback Phommachanh and forced a fumble that was picked up by Jaylin Simpson. The ball was returned to the UMass 35. After a run of no gain by Battie, Thorne connected Johnson to the UMass two-yard line. It was then time for Ashford again. On third and goal he went to the right for the first time and reached the endzone again. That score put Auburn up 31-7 with 4:42 until halftime. The Minutemen would move into Auburn territory but were unable to cut into the Auburn lead before halftime.
Cruising in the Second Half
The Auburn defense got into the endzone to start the second half when Simpson stepped in front of a Phommachanh pass for a 49-yard touchdown. The pass was rushed due to a blitz from Keionte Scott. Auburn held a 38-17 lead 17 seconds into the third quarter. After Auburn forced another three and out, they had great field position at the UMass 30 due to a bad punt. With 12:52 in the third, Thorne connected with Fair for a 30-yard touchdown to go up 45-7. That pass was the first one for Thorne as an Auburn Tiger. Both teams would exchange punts before the Minutemen would end a drive by turning it over on downs.
The Tigers started the next drive on the Massachusetts 42 and it would last just one play. Freshman running back Jeremiah Cobb would take a run up the middle for a 42-yard touchdown to put Auburn up 52-7 with 5:24 in the quarter. Ashford would get the snaps at quarterback for much of the second half until around eight minutes left in the game. At that time Holden Geriner would take over. Before that, the Minutemen would get on the board with an Anthony Simpson 58-yard touchdown reception. On the next Auburn drive, Geriner would hit Malcolm Johnson for 30 yards to get them to the UMass 48. Two plays later running back Sean Jackson would take the ball 45 yards to give the Tigers a 59-14 advantage with 7:02 left. That would be the final scoring of the game as the Auburn Tigers blow out UMass 59-14.
Photo courtesy: Mickey Welsh / Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK
