Auburn 45, Samford 13
By JOHN ZENOR
Associated Press
AUBURN, Ala. - Payton Thorne passed for 282 yards and a touchdown and ran for 123 yards and two more scores to lead Auburn to a 45-13 victory over Samford.
Thorne had easily his biggest game with the Tigers (3-0) despite throwing a pair of interceptions in the end zone against the Bulldogs (1-2), an FCS team.
The graduate transfer from Michigan State completed 24 of 32 passes and did his rushing damage on 11 carries, producing four passes and a rush of 30-plus yards. He came into the game with 235 passing yards and 17 rushing yards through two games, splitting time with last year’s starter Robby Ashford. Ashford also ran and passed for TDs.
Thorne is the first Auburn quarterback since Nick Marshall in 2014 against Mississippi State to rush for 100 yards and pass for 200 yards in a game.
Held to 94 passing yards against California, Thorne had a 32-yard touchdown pass to Shane Hooks to go with scoring runs of 5 and 18 yards. It was the first Auburn touchdown catch for Hooks, a Jackson State transfer, and the Tigers' longest scoring pass of the season.
First-year coach Hugh Freeze has led Auburn to its first 3-0 start since 2019, albeit against less than impressive competition.
This one was scoreless until the Tigers scored 17 in the second quarter.
Auburn, which had just 230 yards against Cal, outgained the Bulldogs 562-218.
Michael Hiers passed for 141 yards and a touchdown for Samford but was also intercepted twice.
Auburn's Jay Fair gained 93 yards on seven catches.
THE TAKEAWAY
Samford: The defending Southern Conference champions fought the Tigers to a scoreless tie through the first quarter. That’s a win for an FCS team against one from the Southeastern Conference. Fell to 0-29-1 against Auburn but avoided the 20th shutout in the series.
Auburn: An offense that sputtered badly in a 14-10 win over California still had issues, particularly with the two red zone turnovers. Improved to 3-0 for the first time since 2019. Also had a muffed punt set up a second Samford touchdown.
SIMPSON’S STREAK
Auburn’s Jaylin Simpson got his third interception of the season. He’s the first Auburn player with picks in three consecutive games since Jerraud Powers in 2007.
September 16, 2023
| Scoring Summary |
| Second Quarter |
Sam | Auburn |
| Auburn |
TD |
9:31 |
Shane Hooks 32 yd pass from Payton Thorne (Alex McPherson kick) |
0 |
7 |
| Auburn |
TD |
3:04 |
Payton Thorne 5 yd run (Alex McPherson kick) |
0 |
14 |
| Auburn |
FG |
0:41 |
Alex McPherson 22 yd FG |
0 |
17 |
| Third Quarter |
Sam | Auburn |
| Auburn |
TD |
8:30 |
Robby Ashford 1 yd run (Alex McPherson kick) |
0 |
24 |
| Sam |
TD |
6:35 |
Chandler Smith 36 yd pass from Michael Hiers (Wilson Beaverstock kick) |
7 |
24 |
| Auburn |
TD |
4:29 |
Jarquez Hunter 1 yd run (Alex McPherson kick) |
7 |
31 |
| Sam |
TD |
0:57 |
Michael Hiers 3 yd run (missed kick) |
13 |
31 |
| Fourth Quarter |
Sam | Auburn |
| Auburn |
TD |
9:44 |
Payton Thorne 18 yd run (Alex McPherson kick) |
13 |
38 |
| Auburn |
TD |
5:32 |
Micah Riley 32 yd pass from Robby Ashford (Marshall Meyers kick) |
13 |
45 |
| Team Stats |
| |
Samford |
Auburn |
| First downs |
12 |
26 |
| Rushing |
7 |
15 |
| Passing |
4 |
11 |
| Penalty |
1 |
0 |
| 3rd Down Efficiency |
5-14, 36% |
7-14, 50% |
| 4th down efficiency |
1-2, 50% |
2-3, 67% |
| Rushes-Yards |
28-74 |
43-222 |
| Passing Yards |
144 |
340 |
| Return Yards |
26 |
93 |
| Completions-Attempts-Int |
19-33-2 |
27-36-2 |
| Sacks-Yards Lost |
2--17 |
1--1 |
| Punts |
7 |
1 |
| Punts-Average |
30.4 |
41 |
| Fumbles Lost |
0-0 |
2-1 |
| Penalties - Yards |
1-5 |
5-45 |
| Time of Possession |
26:32 |
33:28 |
| Samford Passing |
| Player |
Cmp |
Att |
Yds |
TDs |
Int |
| M. Hiers |
18 |
31 |
141 |
1 |
2 |
| Q. Crittendon |
1 |
2 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
| Auburn Passing |
| Player |
Cmp |
Att |
Yds |
TDs |
Int |
| P. Thorne |
24 |
32 |
282 |
1 |
2 |
| R. Ashford |
3 |
4 |
58 |
1 |
0 |
| Samford Rushing |
| Player |
Carries |
Yds |
Avg |
TDs |
| D. Witherspoon |
5 |
30 |
6.0 |
0 |
| M. Hamilton |
8 |
18 |
2.3 |
0 |
| J. Stanton |
7 |
16 |
2.3 |
0 |
| M. Hiers |
4 |
11 |
2.8 |
1 |
| Q. Crittendon |
3 |
1 |
0.3 |
0 |
| I. Cousin |
1 |
-2 |
-2.0 |
0 |
| Auburn Rushing |
| Player |
Carries |
Yds |
Avg |
TDs |
| P. Thorne |
11 |
123 |
11.2 |
2 |
| J. Hunter |
11 |
37 |
3.4 |
1 |
| D. Alston |
8 |
25 |
3.1 |
0 |
| B. Battie |
5 |
21 |
4.2 |
0 |
| R. Ashford |
2 |
17 |
8.5 |
1 |
| J. Cobb |
4 |
3 |
0.8 |
0 |
| Samford Receiving |
| Player |
Rec |
Yds |
Avg |
TDs |
| C. Smith |
3 |
80 |
26.7 |
1 |
| T. King |
5 |
24 |
4.8 |
0 |
| D. Rias |
3 |
16 |
5.3 |
0 |
| C. Simons |
1 |
7 |
7.0 |
0 |
| B. Jenkins |
1 |
6 |
6.0 |
0 |
| M. Hamilton |
2 |
4 |
2.0 |
0 |
| J. Stanton |
2 |
3 |
1.5 |
0 |
| T. D'Armond |
1 |
3 |
3.0 |
0 |
| T. Taylor |
1 |
1 |
1.0 |
0 |
| Auburn Receiving |
| Player |
Rec |
Yds |
Avg |
TDs |
| J. Fair |
7 |
93 |
13.3 |
0 |
| R. Fairweather |
5 |
57 |
11.4 |
0 |
| S. Hooks |
3 |
47 |
15.7 |
1 |
| O. Kelly |
2 |
45 |
22.5 |
0 |
| M. Riley |
1 |
32 |
32.0 |
1 |
| J. Cobb |
3 |
18 |
6.0 |
0 |
| K. Moore |
2 |
18 |
9.0 |
0 |
| D. Alston |
2 |
15 |
7.5 |
0 |
| J. Shorter |
1 |
10 |
10.0 |
0 |
| T. Fromm |
1 |
5 |
5.0 |
0 |
| Samford Interceptions |
| Player |
Int |
Yards |
| J. Mosley |
1 |
0 |
| K. Marsh |
1 |
0 |
| Auburn Interceptions |
| Player |
Int |
Yards |
| J. Simpson |
1 |
12 |
| J. Rhym |
1 |
0 |
| Samford Punting |
| Player |
Punts |
Yards |
Avg |
| W. Thorley |
7 |
213 |
30.4 |
| Auburn Punting |
| Player |
Punts |
Yards |
Avg |
| O. Chapman |
1 |
41 |
41.0 |
| Samford Punt Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| Auburn Punt Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| J. Johnson |
2 |
3 |
1.5 |
| J. Fair |
1 |
-11 |
-11.0 |
| Samford Kick Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| D. Rias |
1 |
26 |
26.0 |
| Auburn Kick Returns |
| Player |
Ret |
Yards |
Average |
| B. Battie |
3 |
89 |
29.7 |
| Samford Missed FG |
| Player |
Length |
| Auburn Missed FG |
| Player |
Length |
