Auburn’s defense wasn’t just great Saturday.

It was historically great.

In a 41-7 victory over Georgia Southern at Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn’s defense imposed its will for the duration. Once the clock struck zero, the destruction it wrought was evident in the numbers.

The Tigers held the Eagles to 78 yards of total offense, the fewest of any Auburn opponent since Ole Miss had only 9 yards in 1985. The 78 yards tied for the fewest Auburn permitted in a season opener since Tennessee-Chattanooga had the same showing in 1967.

"Just looking at the stat sheet, 0-15 on third down is really something." — AU coach Gus Malzahn

And the list of astonishing statistics goes on:

  • 8 passing yards, the fewest against Auburn since Vanderbilt had 7 in 1993.
  • First time an Auburn foe managed less than 100 yards since Ball State had 92 yards in 2001.
  • The Eagles went 0-for-15 on third-down conversions, the first time the Tigers had pitched a shutout on third down since LSU went 0-for-13 in 2014.

So it comes as no surprise that despite all the headlines surrounding Jarrett Stidham before the game, the defense was the talk of the town afterward.

“Overall, I thought it was a really good win,” Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said. “What stands out to me right now, though, is our defense. Our defense was unbelievable, they were outstanding. (Georgia Southern’s triple-option) scares you to death. They know how to coach it, they know how to run it … and just looking at the stat sheet, 0-15 on third down is really something.”

Malzahn’s counterpart, second-year Georgia Southern coach Tyson Summers, was equally impressed.

“They played really well defensively. You have to give them and Coach Steele credit for that,” said Summers, referring to Auburn defensive coordinator Kevin Steele. “Their front four was great. They played like a top-five defense tonight. I certainly think that this is going to be a learning opportunity for our offense, and our backfield in particular.”

All credit for the performance, Malzahn said, should go to Steele, his staff and the players. Malzahn said the defense believes it has a chance to be “outstanding” this fall, discussing it prior to Saturday’s kickoff.

“They answered the bell because there is a lot of stress that went into that,” Malzahn said. “There (are) so many ways that they can present the triple-option to you, and they know how to coach it and teach it. So there was some stress involved in that, but our guys went out there and executed the plan.”

Tray Matthews, a fifth-year senior safety and one of the Tigers’ vocal leaders, praised the coaching staff for helping them prepare for the Eagles’ tricky triple-option.

“We have really great coaching,” Matthews said. “Ever since the first day of camp, they drilled that into us. ‘Nobody is going to run the ball, no one is going to pass the ball on us.’ That was the mindset we had.”

Summers saw that from his vantage point on the opposing sideline. The way he sees it, the Tigers have the potential to be “as good of a defense as probably anywhere in the country.” Up front, Summers said, Auburn is exceptionally gifted.

“Their defensive line is very talented and certainly showed that,” Summers said. “(Auburn defensive line) Coach (Rodney) Garner and Coach Steele did a good job with that group. We have to do a better job getting some push, though. We have to run the ball inside. That is what we do, and we have to continue to get better at it. My hat is off to them, though. They played really well in the front seven. I thought they tackled well in space.”

The superlative defensive effort comes at an opportune time, as Auburn prepares to face a high-powered Clemson attack this week. Despite the loss of all-time great quarterback Deshaun Watson, the Tigers of the ACC showed no ill effects in their own opener Saturday, clobbering Kent State 56-3.

Though Clemson’s offense will give Auburn a far different look than the triple-option Georgia Southern uses, Malzahn hopes the defense can find a way to perform at a similarly high level this week.

“They were really physical, and playing assignment football you’ve got to take the dive, you’ve got to take the quarterback,” Malzahn said. “I thought we took all of that, put them in some passing situations, made them uncomfortable. We had some big-time sacks, and just seeing that was really impressive from our defensive side.”