Auburn Offense: Week 2 Position Grades

Sep 6, 2014; Auburn, AL, USA; Auburn Tigers running back Corey Grant (20) is brought down by San Jose State Spartans cornerback Dasheon Frierson (5) during the first quarter at Jordan Hare Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Shanna Lockwood-USA TODAY Sports

Total Offense

From a statistical standpoint, the Auburn offense gained 493 total yards, which is certainly a nice sign. However, it was a drop of more than 100 yards from the previous week.

More from Auburn Football

• Ex-star Auburn DL confronts ‘slant man’ in MNF post-game video
• Ex-Auburn star laments not getting to face fellow Heisman candidate
• Analyst expects third-year RB to take AU rushing lead from surprising transfer
• Hugh Freeze was the right hire to truly embrace Auburn
• Auburn football Jack LB: ‘We’ve got to earn our respect back’

Is that cause to worry? No, not really. Keep in mind that the Spartans had a terrible time punting and Auburn had several short fields to work with – plus, Quan Bray returned a punt 55 yards for a touchdown.

The biggest takeaway from a yardage standpoint is that Auburn had 225 of its yards in the first quarter. That means the starting eleven truly got off to an #AuburnFast start, and propelled the team towards the 59 point performance, even though Tigers’ quarterback Nick Marshall fumbled the football at the goal line at the tail end of the game’s first drive to give the ball over to SJSU.

Speaking of the point total, the Tigers have scored 104 points through the first two games of the season, which is the most for Auburn in twenty years. Last season, the Tigers had 69 points through the first two weeks of the campaign.

Auburn was efficient against SJSU and converted ten of 14 attempts on third down over the course of the game. One of the third down plays they did not convert resulted in a fourth down touchdown run by Cameron Artis-Payne in the second quarter. Thus far in 2014, the Tigers have been successful 68% of the time on third down, which is the best rate in the SEC and the third best in college football.

Even better, the Tigers have yet to miss an opportunity to score inside the red zone (Marshall’s fumble does not count since it came at the end of a 49-yard run). In eleven trips inside the opponent’s 20-yard line, Auburn has scored ten touchdowns and kicked a field goal. Impressive.

Grade: A