Payton Thorne throws 4 TD passes in first half, Auburn routs Alabama A&M 73-3 in opener

AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Payton Thorne threw for 322 yards and four touchdowns in the first half, and Auburn opened its season with a 73-3 victory over in-state FCS opponent Alabama A&M on Saturday night.

Thorne wasted no time in taking advantage of his new wide receivers, tossing two touchdowns to Penn State transfer KeAndre Lambert-Smith and another one to highly touted freshman Cam Coleman in the first quarter. Fellow freshman receiver Perry Thompson added a 70-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter.

Auburn’s big offensive night started with a 34-yard touchdown run from Jarquez Hunter on the fourth play of the game. Thorne scored his rushing touchdown from 4 yards out in the second quarter, and Damari Alston added a 2-yard score just before halftime.

Malcolm Simmons, another Auburn freshman receiver, scored two touchdowns in the third quarter on a blocked punt and a 55-yard reception. California transfer Sam Jackson V added a 42-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter.

“I wish they were all kind of like that,” Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze said. “They won’t be, but it was good to get a lot of kids involved, a lot of faces. We have a lot of things to clean up, but we’re certainly pleased with a lot of aspects.”

As a team, Auburn threw for 451 yards in the victory. That was the most for the Tigers in a single game since Nick Marshall had 456 passing yards against Alabama in 2014.

“You don’t want to get too caught up in stats, but looking at how we played, connecting on those shots downfield was good,” Thorne said. “And getting in that rhythm is something that we want to carry over week to week.”

Alabama A&M quarterback Cornelious Brown IV threw for 182 yards in the loss. The Bulldogs only converted two of their 16 third-down tries and missed two short field goals.

“What we learned about our team was that we don’t quit,” Alabama A&M head coach Connell Maynor said. “We kept fighting, even though the score was lopsided. We never gave up. They had more bullets than we did and kept leaning on us. We were overmatched from the start.”

THE TAKEAWAY

Alabama A&M: The Bulldogs have been on the wrong side of several lopsided losses to SEC teams over the last several years, and Saturday night was no exception. The positive is that this is their only game against an FBS squad this year — which should help in the quest for their first winning season since 2021.

Auburn: The Tigers added seven newcomers to a wide receiver room that has struggled over the last several years, and they made their impact rather quickly in the season opener. Thorne still had some misfires that he’ll want to clean up, but there was a clear difference in Auburn’s ability to both get open and stretch the field Saturday night.

TAKE TO THE SKIES

In an offensive scheme that relied on a heavy use of run-pass options, Auburn threw the ball against favorable matchups from the Alabama A&M defense more often than usual. The Tigers only ran 46 offensive plays and recorded 18 rushing attempts as a team.

“They were stuffing the box,” Coleman said. “We had to throw the ball. When we threw the ball, we made big plays.”

A HISTORIC WIN

The win was the 800th in program history for Auburn, which became the 13th FBS team to hit that milestone. The 70-point margin of victory was also the Tigers’ largest in a single game since a 77-0 win over Erskine College in 1932.

UP NEXT

Alabama A&M: Hosts Kentucky State on Saturday.

Auburn: Hosts California on Saturday.

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Justin Ferguson, The Associated Press