To kick off the start of the 2024 season, Auburn blows out Alabama A&M 73-3. This is a game where the Tigers were expected to win because of the big talent gap. The key for Auburn was to play mostly a clean game, and the offense to look efficient. Head coach Hugh Freeze and staff are sure to be pleased because that is exactly what the Tigers did. Quarterback Payton Thorne played a good game throwing for 322 yards and four touchdowns. He also rushed for 49 yards and another score. The team as a whole had a total of 628 yards with 451 total passing and 177 rushing. The defense held the Bulldogs to 242 total yards. Jalen McLeod led the way with five tackles and one sack with two tackles for loss.
Auburn Blows Out Alabama A&M 73-3
Auburn Fast Start
Auburn got off to a fast start against the Bulldogs. The Tigers started the opening drive airing it out with Thorne. He connected with four-star freshman Malcolm Simmons and Penn State transfer KeAndre Lambert-Smith. Then, running back Jarquez Hunter took a handoff for 34 yards to give Auburn their first score of the season. In less than a minute, the Tigers were up 7-0. Following a three-and-out by the defense, the offense scored again. On the first play of the second drive, Thorne connected with Smith for a 67-yard touchdown to go up 14-0 with 12:47 in the first quarter.
Next up was a repeat but with one difference. After another three-and-out, Thorne connected with five-star freshman Cam Coleman for a 44-yard touchdown. The Tigers were up 21-0 with 11:39 in the first quarter. On the next drive, Alabama A&M got down to the Tigers’ one-yard line when quarterback Cornelius Brown IV connected with Keenan Hambrick for 56 yards. Defensive back JC Hart missed an interception attempt before it was hauled in. The Tigers’ defense held the Bulldogs off the scoreboard with a missed kick by Christian Silverstein. McLeod had a key sack to keep the Bulldogs out of the endzone.
After both teams exchanged punts, the Tigers added another touchdown on the scoreboard. Thorne closed a six-play, 65-yard drive by connecting with Smith again. This time for four yards to go up 28-0 with two minutes left in the opening quarter. Hunter had a big run on the drive of 15 yards, and Simmons caught a pass for 22 yards.
Second Quarter
The special teams made their impact to open the second quarter when Keionte Scott took a punt 39 yards to the Bulldogs 21. The play was originally a touchdown, but Scott was found to step out of bounds after a replay. The offense was unable to get a first down, so Towns McGough added three points with a 32-yard field goal. That score put the Tigers up 31-0 with 13:48 in the second quarter.
The other five-star recruit at wide receiver would now make his impact on the game. Perry Thompson caught two passes on the next Auburn possession. He would first catch a pass for 12 yards, and then another for 70 yards that resulted in another touchdown. Those were the only plays of the drive that gave the Tigers a 38-0 lead with 10:10 until halftime. Alabama A&M would finally put points on the board on their next possession. Kicker Austin McCready would connect on a 43-yard field goal with 6:00 left in the half.
One of the returning receivers Caleb Burton got in on the fun on the next drive for the Tigers. Burton had two catches for 49 yards. He had one of 41 yards that set the Tigers up at the Bulldogs’ five-yard line. Two plays later, Thorne would run in a four-yard touchdown to give Auburn a 45-3 lead with 3:22 in the second quarter. Thorne was not done running. On the following drive, he gained 31 yards to get the Tigers to the red zone. Four plays later Damari Alston would rush for a two-yard touchdown. That gave Auburn a 52-3 lead with 51 seconds until halftime.
Second Half
The second half began with the teams playing ten-minute quarters. The Tigers special teams would add to the score with the defense forcing another punt. Micah Riley would get a block on the punt and Simmons picked it up in the endzone for the score to give the Tigers a 59-3 lead with 8:25 in the third. After Auburn held Alabama A&M out of the endzone, backup quarterback Hank Brown entered the game. After two runs by Jeremiah Cobb for 21 yards, Brown hit Simmons for a 57-yard touchdown on third and one. With 1:40 remaining in the third, the Tigers were up 66-3.
Now in the fourth quarter, the Tigers had a chance to add more to the scoreboard. After another handoff to Cobb for five yards, Brown found Sam Jackson V for a 37-yard touchdown to make it 73-3. Jackson last year was playing quarterback for the Cal Bears. That would be the final score of the game. The Tigers could not add any more points due to two fumbles. One was by running back Justin Jones and the other by wide receiver Bryce Cain.
