AUBURN, Ala. – Fans of good defense likely left Jordan-Hare Stadium in a lousy mood Saturday. There was very little on display.
What the game lacked in defense, or drama, undefeated Auburn and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga made for with excitement. Or at least offensive output.
The No. 3-ranked Tigers and the Mocs amassed 962 yards of offense and 12 touchdowns in Auburn’s 62-24 win in front of a sellout crowd of 87,451. Ranked No. 2 in both the coaches’ poll and the BCS standings, the Tigers (10-0) can clinch the SEC West title by defeating Georgia this Saturday.
“Whoever we’re going to face after this, they’re not going to be better than Auburn,” Mocs wideout Joel Bradford said.
Auburn amassed 628 yards of offense – 325 passing, 303 rushing – while UTC (5-4) gained 334 yards.
Auburn quarterback Cam Newton, the Heisman Trophy front-runner, played like a man among boys. He played only in the first half and still finished with career highs in passing (317 yards) and touchdown throws (four).
The 6-foot-6, 250-pound junior had been dealing with a recruiting scandal for a couple of days – “I haven’t done anything wrong,” he reiterated Saturday – but he did not play like someone with anything but football on his mind.
His first play was a 32-yard pass. His second was a 30-yard touchdown. And on it went. Newton completed 15 of 21 passes and finished with touchdown strikes of 30, 20, 39 and 80 yards.
“He’s the real deal,” UTC linebacker Ryan Consiglio, who had four tackles and a sack. “He’s a really good football player and it’s fun. Not everybody gets to go out and try to tackle a Heisman Trophy candidate. He ran around today and showed everyone why he’s on that list.”
Mocs coach Russ Huesman said Newton was about as good as he or any other FCS coach is ever going to see. He also said it helps when you’re not facing much of a pass rush.
“He had all day a couple of times, and after he couldn’t find somebody he thought, ‘Well, maybe I’ll help my Heisman chances by making something pretty neat happen here,'” Huesman said. “And sure enough, he just went boom, boom, boom. … I’m sure that’s on ESPN tonight, all night.”
The Mocs missed their share of tackles, but there were times when proper position and technique just weren’t enough.
“We did miss some, but some of them it was just ‘see ya later,'” Huesman said. “That’s what speed does.”
One 35-second span in the second quarter epitomized the game.
On second down at the Auburn 20, Newton dropped back to elude a rare pass rush and dumped a screen off to Terrell Zachery. Eighty yards later, Zachery reached the end zone and the Tigers went up 34-0.
The Mocs’ Brian Sutherland got UTC on the scoreboard by returning the kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown. It was UTC’s first return for a score since 2003.
“Whether it’s against Auburn or any team in our conference, it’s a cool thing to be able to do,” Sutherland said of his score.
Sutherland was penalized for excessive celebration, which led to the Tigers starting their next possession at the UTC 49-yard line. On first down, Onterio McCalebb ran around the left end and zoomed past UTC’s defense for a touchdown.
Mocs quarterback B.J. Coleman sat out the fourth quarter and finished 20-for-39 for 210 yards. He threw one touchdown pass, a 23-yarder to tight end Garrett Hughes late in the first half, and did not throw an interception.
Sutherland was his top target with a career-high 10 catches for 97 yards. Sutherland also finished with a career-high 254 all-purpose yards.
The Mocs’ other points came on a 1-yard run by Keon Williams and a 37-yard Jeff Veres field goal.
UTC returns to Southern Conference play this week against Samford. The Mocs need to win their final two games to have a shot at reaching the FCS playoffs.