Auburn finds a quarterback in win over Southern Miss

By Joe McAdory

Published: September 6, 2008

AUBURN — Auburn’s quarterback situation is no longer a mystery.

Chris Todd elevated himself into the starting role for the ninth-ranked Tigers by completing 21 of 31 passes for 248 yards without an interception as Auburn (2-0) turned back Southern Mississippi 27-13 Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium before an announced crowd of 87,451.

Cut left shin or not, sophomore Kodi Burns was wildly ineffective. Burns completed no passes in 3 attempts and threw an interception that set up a Southern Miss touchdown. However, Burns did have a 1-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

“Barring anything happening, (Todd) will be the starter next week,” Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville said regarding next Saturday’s scheduled game at Mississippi State. “Kodi got a little lackadaisical. You can’t come in and do what he did.”

Leading 24-0, Burns’ ill-fated pass, which floated near the left sideline, was picked off by cornerback C.J. Bailey and returned to the Auburn 25. The Tigers had thoroughly dominated the game until that point.

“Every snap in college football is important,” Tuberville said. “(Burns) took it for granted that he could throw the ball down field. It got tipped, and it was a good lesson learned. You don’t play as much when you do that. When you go into a game, you have to have a sense of urgency like everybody else.”

Through two games, Burns is 4-of-12 with one interception for 15 yards. Todd is 30-of-49 for 318 yards.

Todd admitted he was much more relaxed Saturday than in last week’s win over Louisiana-Monroe, where he was notably shaky and Auburn had just 85 passing yards.

“I was trying to treat this like practice,” said Todd, who was 14 of 19 in the first half for 167 yards. “We were just trying to fix things we did wrong last week. We weren’t happy with last week. It helps getting into a rhythm.”

First-year offensive coordinator Tony Franklin confirmed Todd was his No. 1, but said that Burns would play.

“Chris will get more reps, but Kodi will play,” he said. “Kodi will be ready to go. I feel for Kodi right now, and Chris is still not where he needs to be. But he’ll eventually be a really good SEC quarterback, and today was a move in the right direction.”

Fumbles deep in Southern Miss territory thwarted would-be Auburn scoring drives in the first quarter, but the Tigers weren’t denied in the second period as touchdown runs from Ben Tate and Tristan Davis gave Auburn a 14-0 halftime lead in a game that wasn’t as close as the score.

Tate rushed for a game-high 71 yards on 15 carries. He also led the Tigers with three receptions for 51 yards.

Robert Dunn had four punt returns for 103 yards, including a 47-yarder in the third quarter that set up Wes Byrum’s career-best 52-yard field goal for a 17-0 lead.

With Todd establishing himself atop the depth chart, Auburn’s defense held what was supposed to be a potent Southern Miss offense at bay. The Golden Eagles (1-1) racked up 663 yards in a 51-21 win over Louisiana-LaFayette last week. They were held to just 145 through three quarters Saturday.

“I thought starting off that we did a very good job,” said cornerback Jerraud Powers, who made a fourth-quarter interception. “It was similar to our offense in how they threw the ball. Going against our offense this past preseason, we were used to it so it wasn’t a big surprise.”

The Golden Eagles rallied in the fourth quarter with a pair of Austin Davis to Shawn Nelson touchdown passes, pulling to within 24-13 with 11:48 to play. The Golden Eagles gained 155 yards in the fourth quarter alone.

But Auburn’s defense stepped up late. Interceptions by Powers and Zac Etheridge turned back the Golden Eagles, and Byrum booted a 23-yard field goal with 7:06 left for a 27-13 lead.

“I thought we came out flat after halftime,” said Powers. “We have to play for four quarters.”

Auburn held the Golden Eagles to 37 rushing yards, including just 29 from standout Damion Fletcher.

“It takes all 11 to shut down the run game like that,” Auburn defensive tackle Sen’Derrick Marks said. “We hit them right in the middle and that’s what shut them down.”

Second quarter
13:10 Auburn 7, USM 0: Ben Tate 1-yard run. (Wes Byrum kick.) Key play: Chris Todd’s pass to Rod Smith for a 21-yard gain, bringing the ball down to the 2-yard line on third-and-7.

8:26 Auburn 14, USM 0: Tristan Davis 13-yard run. (Wes Byrum kick.) Key play: Chris Todd pass to wideout Terrell Zachery for 17 yards on the third play of the seven-play scoring drive.

Third quarter
12:38 Auburn 17, USM 0: Wes Byrum 52-yard field goal. Key play: Robert Dunn’s 47-yard punt return, which was originally 65 yards and went for a touchdown, but was called back because of an illegal block.

6:49 Auburn 24, USM 0: Kodi Burns 1-yard run. (Wes Byrum kick.) Key play: Third-and-goal from the 7, pass to TE Tommy Trott from quarterback Chris Todd went down to the 1.

2:33 Auburn 24, USM 6: Shawn Nelson 1-yard pass from quarterback Austin Davis. (2-point conversion no good.) Key play: On fourth-and-10 from the 25, Davis hit Deandre Brown with an 11-yard pass to keep the drive alive.

Fourth quarter
11:48 Auburn 24, USM 13: Shawn Nelson 17-yard pass from Austin Davis. (Britt Barefoot kick.) Key play: On fourth-and-16 from the Tigers’ 39, Davis hit Shawn Nelson for a 22-yard gain.

7:06 Auburn 27, USM 13: Wes Byrum 23-yard field goal. Key play: Ben Tate ran for 20 yards around the right end on second-and-6.