After weeks of spring camp, the Auburn football team finally took Pat Dye Field at Jordan-Hare Stadium Saturday afternoon for its A-Day spring game.
In unconventional fashion, Auburn’s defense was spotted a 27-point lead to start the game.
If the Tigers’ offense wanted to come out on the winning side of Saturday’s showcase, it would have to catch up to the defense and would have four 10-minute quarters to try to do it.
And while it would end up needing the full amount of time, Auburn’s offense did come through with a 28-27 win.
Here are the takeaways:
Freshman kicker Towns McGough goes perfect, wins the game for the offense
Former Auburn High kicker Towns McGough used to leave social media buzzing on Friday nights with deep, jaw-dropping field goals.
And on Saturday, McGough nailed his first of that kind in an Auburn uniform as he spent the day kicking in place of Alex McPherson, who didn’t appear in the spring game as he continues to nurse a hamstring injury.
The highlight of McGough’s day came as time expired, splitting the uprights from 58 yards out to give the Auburn offense the win.
Before that, McGough went a perfect 6-for-6 with makes from 26, 33, 34, 36, 43 and 49 yards out.
Cam Coleman is very good. So is Robert Lewis.
The crown jewel of Auburn’s 2024 recruiting class, freshman wide receiver Cam Coleman, heard his name called early in Saturday’s spring game.
After being a part of the first offensive group to take Pat Dye Field, the second pass of the day went in the direction of Coleman, who hauled in a 1-yard pass from Payton Thorne.
Five plays later, Coleman got his second opportunity — this one much bigger than his first.
On first-and-10 from the opposing 35-yard line, redshirt freshman quarterback Hank Brown tossed a 49-yard pass to Coleman, who got a step on true freshman cornerback Jay Crawford and laid out to complete the catch.
Later in the game, Coleman helped Auburn’s offense end its touchdown drought as he made an impressive catch that required him to see through tight coverage from Crawford and snag a Thorne pass up from near the grass. The catch was good for Auburn’s first touchdown of the day — a 34 yarder.
Coleman finished the day with four receptions for 92 yards and a touchdown.
Also turning heads in his unofficial Auburn debut was Georgia State transfer receiver Robert Lewis, whose biggest play of the afternoon came via a 40-yard connection with Thorne in the third quarter.
Lewis finished his day with five catches for 73 yards.
The red zone was the dead zone for Auburn’s offense
To preface, Saturday’s game was a bit all over the place as different offensive groups took the field at different, predetermined locations on the field, making it hard for Auburn’s offense to get in any kind of rhythm.
However, it doesn’t change the fact that Auburn’s offense struggled to find any kind of success inside the red zone.
In the second quarter of Saturday’s game, the Auburn offense was primed with a first down inside the 11-yard line on the positive side of the field.
However, after a trio of carries from Damari Alston, the Tigers faced a 4th-and-1 from the 2-yard line.
Freeze opted to keep the offense on the field and drew up a slip pass to senior tight end Rivaldo Fairweather, who couldn’t get the lone yard needed to keep the drive alive as freshman safety Kensley Louidor-Faustin immediately dropped Fairweather.
Auburn’s offense saw five drives stall inside the red zone on Saturday, which forced the Auburn offense to settle for field goals.
Now, whether that’s to the credit of poor offense or a strong showing from the Auburn defense is the age-old spring game dilemma.