Auburn football absolutely blew the doors off Southern Miss on Saturday, Sept. 12, routing them 43-8 in their home opener at Jordan-Hare Stadium. This wasn’t the nail-biter from the season opener where they narrowly survived; Coach Alex Golesh’s squad showed up to dominate. They scored on the very first play of the contest and ran up the score with relative ease, completely taking control against their Group of 5 foe to remain undefeated at 2-0. Southern Miss, by contrast, dropped to 1-1, left wondering what just hit them.
Andre Jordan Jr. Is Balling Out and the Defense Is Dominant
If you want to talk about a game-changer, you have to shout out Andre Jordan Jr. The dude was the undisputed Game MVP, having a monster two-interception day that was just plain notable. Think about it: he doubled his career picks after 31 games in a single afternoon! Jordan Jr. totally set the tone, and the entire defense followed suit, earning a straight A grade. It’s tough to find anything to complain about when they’re forcing multiple turnovers, stuffing the backfield with crucial stops, and holding their opponent to pedestrian rates all game long. That’s the kind of suffocating defense that wins games, plain and simple.
Offense Unlocks Its Playbook, Penalties Still a Head-Scratcher
The offense definitely got out of its shell, showing a lot more firepower than we saw in the opener and earning a solid A- grade. They imposed their will on Southern Miss, no doubt. Coach Golesh really put more of his playbook on display, and the execution was there. Going 4 for 5 on fourth downs? That’s a huge high point and shows their aggressive confidence. But let’s be real, there are still some things to clean up. They coughed up one turnover, and a whopping seven of their ten total penalties plagued the offense. That’s a big chunk of those 10 overall game penalties, which is far from ideal. Plus, they weren’t stellar on third downs, so there’s still room for improvement there. The coaching got a B+ overall; they clearly got the offense humming, but those whistles gotta stop.
Special Teams Delivers, Tigers Look Like the Real Deal
Special teams were also on point, rocking an A grade for their performance. Alex McPherson drilled a career-long field goal right before the half, which was an awesome moment. They also found some serious success in the return game, giving the offense great field position. And hey, shoutout to punter Hudson Kaak, who only had to use his leg twice all day. That tells you everything you need to know about how dominant the offense was. Look, it wasn’t a perfect game, but after that shaky season opener, this 43-8 beatdown shows Auburn is making huge strides. They’re 2-0, playing confident, and with Andre Jordan Jr. leading that defense, things are looking up for Coach Golesh and the Tigers. You gotta wonder what they’ll pull out of the playbook next as they continue this undefeated run.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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