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Auburn downed Samford 45-13 Saturday afternoon to improve to 3-0 on the season.
Briefly put, it was a football game. The Tigers put up almost 350 more yards and didn’t allow a score until the 3rd quarter when the game was already out of hand.
Here are 3 takeaways from Auburn’s win over Samford.
Tigers dominate L.O.S.
Samford was not able to do anything rushing the ball on Saturday. Auburn was.
The Tigers rushed for 224 yards compared to Samford’s 74 yards, not exactly an unexpected result but also a pretty dominant performance from Hugh Freeze’s squad.
Payton Thorne had all day to let go of the rock, too. Thorne was able to do some damage with his legs and threw for 282 yards and a touchdown while adding 123 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Defensively, the Tigers did a good job of forcing turnovers against the Bulldogs, picking off QB Michael Hiers twice and forcing a fumble.
Jarquez Hunter scores first TD of season
Jarquez Hunter scored his first touchdown of the season Saturday after missing Weeks 1 and 2. It wasn’t the sexiest of runs, but it puts 6 points on the board nonetheless.
Offense is finding their rhythm ?@jarquezhunter https://t.co/ovcfK0aJIZ pic.twitter.com/g8eZtNDobL
— Auburn Football (@AuburnFootball) September 17, 2023
Hunter finished Saturday’s game with 11 carries for 37 yards and 1 touchdown, averaging 3.4 yards per carry.
Undefeated heading into Week 4 vs. Texas A&M
Auburn didn’t exactly face a gauntlet to start out this season, but it is 3-0 heading into its first SEC test of the season against Texas A&M. Not many SEC programs can say that.
The Tigers will travel to College Station to take on Fisher’s Aggies, which sit at 2-1 on the season after a pair of wins over a few cupcakes and a bad loss to Miami in Week 2.
Payton Thorne looked good against Samford, but he had some turnovers issues as well by throwing a pair of interceptions. Texas A&M has struggled to take the ball away this season.
Next week’s game starts at Noon ET and will be aired on ESPN.
Ethan Stone is a Tennessee graduate and loves all things college football and college basketball. Firm believer in fouling while up 3.
