AUBURN, Ala. (EETV)- Coming off of a devastating 21-14 home loss to the Cal Golden Bears where the offense struggled, the Auburn offense shined in their next matchup against the New Mexico Lobos. On Friday afternoon, it was announced that freshman quarterback Hank Brown would get the starting nod from head coach Hugh Freeze, after quarterback Payton Thorne was benched for his poor performance against Cal. It was homecoming for Auburn, and they were looking to defend their home turf. However, mother nature had plans for the game's matchup, with a downpour of rain coming down midway through the second quarter, making it an old school style football game.
Even with the weather forecast not looking great, the Auburn family still showed up and packed out the stadium. The environment of Jordan-Hare Stadium created yet another great home field advantage for the Tigers. The New Mexico Lobos were coming off of a 61-39 loss to No. 20 Ranked Arizona Wildcats. In that matchup, the Lobos were able to compete, until the Wildcats were able to pull away in the second half. The Lobos came into this matchup hungry, looking to avenge that loss. Auburn looked to right the ship, and get their season back on track.
New Mexico came out swinging, drawing first blood with a quick drive down the field in which the drive stalled at the end, where they had to settle for a field goal. To open for the Auburn special teams, Jeremiah Cobb was able to take the kick return 66-yards to get the ball rolling for the Auburn offense. Jeremiah Cobb’s 66-yard kickoff return was a career long and the longest by an Auburn player since a 72-yard return by Nehemiah Pritchett in 2021 vs. Georgia State. On the first offensive drive for Auburn, Hank Brown threw a dime to wide receiver Camden Brown for his first career regular season touchdown pass. Both offenses continued to go back and forth, until the rain started pouring down midway through the second quarter. Throughout the game, the Auburn offense appeared to flow more smoothly with Hank Brown under center. Brown looked very comfortable in the pocket and was able to get the ball out smoothly. Hank Brown is the first Auburn QB with 4 touchdown passes in his first start since Jeremy Johnson (4 TD) vs. Western Carolina in 2013. He ended the night with 17-25 for 235 yards.
The offensive line was able to stand firm and give quarterback Hank Brown a clean pocket to make his reads. Due to an injury to Izavion Miller, there had to be some shifting up front on the offensive line for Auburn. This new lineup appeared to work well for Auburn, with the offensive line not giving up a single sack. However, the story of the game is quarterback Hank Brown. Brown made the offense look smooth compared to the week prior, nearly matching the total offensive yards from last weeks matchup against Cal in one half. Despite the weather, Auburn wide receivers looked great when it came to pass catching. The three headed monster backfield in Jarquez Hunter, Damari Alston and Jeremiah Cobb totaled for 268 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Jarquez Hunter is now 13th among Auburn career rushers with 2,445 yards, passing Michael Dyer (2,335 from 2010-11 and Stacy Danley (2,427 from 1987-90); next is Kerryon Johnson (2,494 from 2015-17). The balanced attack from the Tigers kept the New Mexico defense guessing.
The defense for Auburn struggled to get settled in. However, the Tigers defense was able to force two interceptions from the New Mexico offense. The defensive unit did however give up a total of 448 yards, and just did not look completely in sync as a unit. The first interception, by Jerrin Thompson, was the first interception for the Auburn defense this season. And the other interception, by Antonio Kite, was the first of his career. The Auburn defense will have to go back to the drawing board, and find a groove before their next matchup.
New Mexico sophomore quarterback Devon Dampier was also able to complete half of his passes, completing 22-44 passes for 291 passing yards. The New Mexico offensive game plan was to keep the Tiger defense on their heels, in which they did just that. The Lobos were able to move the ball seemingly at will, with penalties killing the momentum of some of their drives. Quarterback Devon Dampier was able to scramble around the pocket and make some really big plays for the Lobos, with the Auburn defense missing many sacks that should have been made.
The officials were not afraid to leave their laundry on the field tonight, with a total 24 penalties of between both teams. Most of the penalties occurred after the second quarter downpour. The total penalty yardage between the teams was 200 yards, with some taking away some really big plays. Because of the weather, Auburn running back Jarquez Hunter coughed up the ball late in the second quarter, being one of two Auburn turnovers. The second being a muffed punt by Keionte Scott.
Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze stated, “We always celebrate wins. It’s good to see some joy in the locker room. As a coach, you have to look at everything in a critical view, but we should never forget to celebrate those. I’m happy for our kids, our staff and our fans, that they leave Jordan-Hare (Stadium) tonight with a win. But, there’s a lot to improve on for sure and we’ll have to get cleaned up. It feels better to leave here with a win all the time and we’ll take it.” Auburn will look to take this momentum into next week, as they begin SEC play against the Arkansas Razorbacks for Auburn's third straight home game. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 central time. The Auburn defense now needs to find their groove and step it up , as Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green is as mobile as they come. As for the offense, build off of this great outing, and execute next week's game plan. Head coach Hugh Freeze wants his offense look to build off of this momentum, as the schedule does not look any brighter anytime soon.
