Jarrett Stidham Superstar took the stage for the first time in Jordan-Hare Stadium to mixed reviews on Saturday night.

Playing the role of young savior starting quarterback for the fourth time at the college level, Stidham passed his first on-stage test at Auburn with an uneven performance in a 41-7 victory over Georgia Southern.

In front of enthusiastic fans who came to see the whole show but specifically the 6-3, 214-pound Texan now in the lead role, Stidham completed 14 of 24 passes for 185 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also ran for a 14-yard score and finished with 19 rushing yards despite taking three sacks.

In the spotlight for the first time in 22 months, Stidham looked tentative at times and out of sync with his new receivers. Whatever was the problem — jitters, rustiness, adjustment period — it mattered little as Auburn’s defense and running game took care of business.

Stidham seemed set up to star immediately, given that tailback Kamryn Pettway and two other offensive players didn’t suit up.

Instead, as it turned out, the victory was vintage Gus Malzahn in style, but probably not exactly what new offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey had in mind.

Tigers fans might not want to imagine how much this offense might struggle next weekend at No. 5 Clemson if Stidham and his receivers don’t find a better rhythm.

Speaking of the receivers:

  • Sophomore Darius Slayton made a nice toe-drag catch along the sideline to end the first quarter. But he failed to haul in the football on a deep shot early on —  a tough chance but one Tigers fans hope he’ll be making as the year moves on. And he fumbled on a nice catch-and-run play, ending a drive in the final minute of the first half.
  • Will “White Lightning” Hastings made two catches on the move in the first half, averaging 17 yards on those plays. The 5-10, 167-pound junior, who arrived at Auburn as a kicker, finished with a team-high four catches for a team-high 68 yards and a touchdown.
  • Eli Stove was the only other receiver with more than one catch by the midway point of the third quarter.

Stidham ran perhaps more than expected, sometimes on read-option plays and sometimes tucking and running when he couldn’t find a receiver. Coming out of high school, he was rated in the top two among dual-threat quarterbacks, so that’s not too surprising.

With Pettway out along with Sean White and WR Kyle Davis (reasons unspecified), Kerryon Johnson saved the day with 136 yards on 16 carries, highlighted by a 60-yard touchdown jaunt. He did all that in the first half, before leaving the game with an apparent hamstring injury. He pulled up and then went down in the middle of what would have been another touchdown run. Malzahn said after the game that Pettway and Davis will return next weekend.

If Lindsey’s intention is to eventually unleash the Baylor version of Stidham — the one who threw for 419 yards and three touchdowns to lead the No. 2 team in the country to victory in his first college start as a 19-year-old true freshman — there is a lot of work to do.

That breakout game came in Stidham’s eighth game at Baylor, so for now it remains easy to believe the best is yet to come at Auburn. The Tigers started smoothing the rough edges of the passing game during second-half garbage time, when Stidham hit Ryan Davis and then Hastings for his first two TD passes as a Tiger.

“It was good for Jarrett to get a game under his belt,” Malzahn said. “I think that he did a solid job. He’ll do nothing but get better.”

Still, it’s a bit troubling that the passing game couldn’t truly get revved up against an Eagles team that couldn’t stop anything else.

Stidham accessed his play as “not so good” in a post-game interview, adding, “we have a lot of things to improve on.”