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No Way San Jose! Auburn Blows Out Spartans

By Nicholas Ian Allen

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The Auburn Tigers (2-0, 1-0 SEC) have taken to the tag #AuburnFast on Twitter, and for good reason. In the first half Saturday night at Jordan-Hare Stadium, the Tigers were off to yet another fast start. When the Tigers and San Jose State Spartans (1-1, 0-0 Mountain West) headed into the locker room at halftime, Auburn held a 38-10 lead. Auburn went on to win 59-13.

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The Tigers’ offense was nearly unstoppable in the first half of the game. Senior running back Cameron Artis-Payne gained 102 yards and three touchdowns on only 14 carries in the first two quarters and would finish with 112 yards on 16 carries. CAP’s two senior running mates, Nick Marshall and Corey Grant, added 103 and 89 rushing yards, respectively. True freshman Roc Thomas entered the fray in the fourth quarter and scored on his first collegiate carry. Thomas had 51 yards on nine tries.

In all, the Tigers racked up 493 total yards, including 358 yards on the ground. Auburn had 26 first downs, converted ten times on third down, and averaged 7.2 yards per carry across 50 attempts.

Marshall completed 10-of-19 passes for 101 yards and a touchdown before giving way to Jeremy Johnson in the fourth quarter. Johnson was 3-for-4 for 34 yards and scored on a one-yard touchdown run.

It could have been worse for the Spartans because the first big play of the game was actually an Auburn turnover. Marshall sprinted 49 yards to the end zone, but just before he could score, the ball was knocked loose and rolled through the back of the end zone for a touchback.

Despite the fumble, Marshall would direct the offense into the end zone on the next drive when the senior QB found Ricardo Louis for a short four-yard touchdown pass and a 7-0 lead.

San Jose State fought back, however, and on the ensuing drive the Spartans had a big play of their own. Senior quarterback Blake Jurich found Tyler Ervin on a wheel route for a 75-yard touchdown pass that tied the game 7-7. It would be as close as San Jose State would get because Artis-Payne capped off an eight play drive on the Tigers’ following possession to give Auburn a lead the Tigers would not relinquish.

As the first half rolled on, so did the Auburn offense. Artis-Payne found the end zone again, then Quan Bray scored on an electric 55-yard punt return in which he danced around potential tacklers. A third CAP touchdown pushed the lead to 35-7. The two teams then traded field goals before the second quarter came to a close. After the Spartans kicked another field goal in the third quarter, Nick Marshall found the end zone for the seventh consecutive game.

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    • On defense, Montravius Adams had a big first half. He partially blocked a punt, and added five tackles and a sack in the game’s first two quarters, but added a tackle and more quarterback pressure in the second half. Linebackers Cassanova McKinzy and Kris Frost were very active. McKinzy led the team with ten tackles and Frost added six.

    The defensive backs were even more dynamic. Jonathon Mincy had seven tackles and a sack and Rudy Ford accumulated eight stops, and the Tigers forced three turnovers in the game – all of which were interceptions. Jermaine Whitehead and Ford each had a pick for Auburn in the first half, and Trovon Reed intercepted backup Spartan QB Joe Gray in the fourth quarter to seal the final score.

    San Jose State had 319 yards of total offense, but Auburn held the Spartans to 65 rushing yards on 45 attempts – a 1.4 yards per carry average. Jurich completed 16-of-27 passes for 218 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. Gray was 3-for-5 for 36 yards and a pick.

    The Auburn Tigers will be off next Saturday to prepare for a date with the Kansas State Wildcats (2-0, 1-0 Big 12) on Thursday September 18. KSU narrowly escaped Ames, Iowa today with a 32-28 victory.

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