In an uneven game, Auburn got just enough offense to prevail over pesky San Jose State on Saturday, as the Tigers improved to 2-0 on the season.

Auburn ultimately hung on, 24-16, despite some white-knuckle moments down the stretch.

After Auburn got off to a rough start against the Spartans, largely because the Tigers struggled to find a rhythm with either quarterback, Tank Bigsby breathed life into the team early in the second half as he scored on a 1-yard touchdown to cap a 9-play, 69-yard drive.

Auburn held off the Spartans, but it wasn’t without some nervous moments down the stretch as the Spartans kicked a 37-yard field goal with 2:11 remaining to make it a one-score game. But an onside kick attempt went out of bounds, and Auburn ran out the clock from there.

TJ Finley and Robby Ashford again split time, but both threw an interception in the first quarter, as the Spartans initially struggled with the crowd noise on The Plains. After it appeared SJSU would claim momentum, the Spartans burned burned two timeouts and got 2 false start penalties on a single trip near the goal line. That was also after a missed field goal attempt.

Ashford showed some juice with a 30-yard run in the second half, and Finley then put the Tigers up by 11 thanks to a fourth-quarter touchdown. That came on the same drive where he found Ja’Varrius Johnson on a 24-yard pass across the field.

It appeared that Chevan Cordeiro was the best QB on the field in the first half when the Spartans signal caller was 13-for-21 passing in the first half for 121 yards. But the offense cooled in the second half, as the Spartans started with just 97 yards on 15 plays, while Auburn heated up to 20 plays for 180 yards.

Still, Cordeiro passed for 275 yards as he put pressure on the Auburn defense throughout the night. That’s the most passing yards Auburn has allowed to a non-power conference team since the 2015 Jacksonville State game

The Spartans made a questionable coaching decision by punting with a fourth-and-3 with 9:36 remaining, and trailing Auburn 24-13.

Penalties were a problem for Auburn, as the Tigers were flagged 8 times for 76 yards, as the Spartans led 10-7 at halftime. Auburn mustered just 6 first downs in the first half.

In the first half, Finley was 6-for-11 for 69 yards, while Ashford was 1-for-2 passing for a single yard. Ashford rushed for 16 yards, while Finley added 12 yards on the ground.

Finley showed notable improvement in the second half, as he finished 13-for-20 passing for 167 yards.

SJSU controlled the possession by holding the ball about 9 minutes more than Auburn in the first half.

Auburn returns to action next week with a major test against Penn State.