AUBURN – Although the Auburn Tigers have not had their first game away from the confines of Pat Dye Field in Jordan-Hare Stadium yet this season, it was homecoming week at Auburn and the Tigers made sure it ended on a sweet note. The Tigers put up a staggering 688 yards of total offense with 410 coming on the ground and 278 through the air while holding Louisiana-Monroe to just 251 yards of offense on their way to a 58-7 homecoming victory.
All eyes have been on the Auburn offense this week after the Tigers did not score a single touchdown in their trilling 18-13 victory over LSU last week, but it didn’t take long for Auburn to remedy that. After a three and out by Louisiana-Monroe, Sean White got the Tiger offense going in the right direction with a 7-yard strike to Ryan Davis. Kerryon Johnson carried the ball on the next four Auburn plays to pick up 21 total yards. Stanton Truitt followed suit with a pair of carries including a 21-yard blast. Johnson took the next handoff from White for 10 yards down to the ULM 8 for a first-and-goal. Two plays later, White rolled to his right on a bootleg, and having no luck finding a receiver, he pulled the ball down and crossed the goal line himself form 3 yards out. Daniel Carlson split the uprights with the PAT to give Auburn an early 7-0 advantage.
Auburn’s defense, outstanding this season, forced another Warhawk three and out. White started the drive with an 11-yard throw to Davis in the flat but his next three passes fell incomplete and the Tigers called on Carlson for a 50-yard field goal try. Carlson had hit 13 consecutive field goals coming into the game, but ULM was able to stop his streak with a block. However, Louisiana-Monroe was unable to do anything with the ball and they were forced to punt.
From their own 9, Johnson carried the ball on back-to-back-to-back plays for 25 yards out to the Tiger 34, but just two plays later White lost the handle and ULM’s Tyler Johnson pounced on the loose ball at the Auburn 21 to give his team their best starting field position of the game. Garrett Smith started the drive on the short field with a 4-yard strike to Xavier Brown who was immediately stripped by Tre’ Williams with Jonathan Ford falling on the loose ball to give possession right back to Auburn.
The Tigers wasted no time capitalizing on the ULM mistake. Johnson started the drive with a blistering rush up the middle for a gain of 22 yards. He followed that with a 12-yard scamper to the Warhawk 49. After Johnson picked up another yard down to the 48, White connected with a wide open Davis down the middle of the field for a 48-yard touchdown pass. Carlson nailed the PAT and the Tigers went ahead by a 14-0 margin. ULM then ran just five plays before they were forced to punt the ball back to the Auburn offense.
Eli Stove started the second quarter with a bang for the Tigers, carrying the ball for 19 yards around the left end. White then hit him on an eight hard out route. Johnson added two carries for 15 yards before White connected with Stove again, this time for 12 yards down to the Louisiana-Monroe 11. Johnson did the rest, carrying the ball four straight times with the fourth carry ending with a 1-yard touchdown. The PAT from Carlson was perfect, pushing the score to 21-0.
On the next ULM drive, the Tiger defense came up huge again when Montravious Adams busted through the line and blocked the 42-yard field goal attempt by Craig Ford. Auburn turned the stop into more points when Johnson scored his second touchdown of the half on a 2-yard plunge to make the score 28-0 after the Carlson PAT.
Louisiana-Monroe got their one and only score of the game when Smith found Marcus Green in the left corner of the end zone for a 2-yard touchdown. Ford added the PAT to make the score 28-7 at the half.
Auburn continued their offensive domination in the second half, scoring 28 points in the third quarter to put the game out of reach. White got the scoring onslaught started with a seven-play, 88-yard drive that ended with his pass finding the waiting hands of Tony Stevens for a 48-yard touchdown pass. Following a ULM punt, Malik Miller got his chance to showcase his talents. Miller carried the ball three times on the drive and eventually found his way into the end zone for a 4-yard score. The third Auburn drive of the quarter started with John Franklin III at the helm. Two plays into the drive, Franklin III showed why he is a threat any time he touches the football as he broke containment and made the left end where he raced 80 yards up the hash for the score. The fourth and final score again came from Franklin III, but this time he showed off his arm, hitting Nate Craig-Myers in stride as he crossed the goal line for the 39-yard TD to make the score 56-7 after three full quarters of play.
Fittingly, it was the Auburn defense who scored the final points of the game. On first-and-10 from their own 1-yard line, Smith mishandled the snap and was leveled by Gary Walker as soon as he picked it up for the safety. The 2-point play made the score 58-7 and capped the scoring for the game as Auburn improved to 3-2 on the year. They now turn their focus to next week as they hit the road for the first time this season when they head to Starkville to take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs.
Sean White finished the game 14 of 17 for 239 yards and two touchdowns. John Franklin III completed the only pass he attempted for 39 yards.
Kerryon Johnson led all backs with 24 carries for 146 yards and a pair of TDs. Franklin III carried the ball twice for 82 yards and a touchdown.
Tony Stevens had four receptions for 109 yards and a touchdown. Kyle Davis had two catches for 58 yards and a score. Ryan Davis contributed five snags for 58 yards.
Carl Lawson had another big day on the Plains with a two tackles for losses that included a sack. Montravious Adams recorded a sack of his own. Tre Williams added nine tackles while Montavious Atkinson and Deshaun Davis added five each. Javaris Davis snagged the only interception in the game.
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