Tigers win with ground game as air attack sputters

After Saturday’s season opener against Louisiana-Monroe, Auburn’s quarterback competition will remain a hot topic of conversation.

The main question, though, might be, “Who hands off the best?”

Auburn’s much-hyped spread offense sputtered and stumbled in the first half of Saturday’s 34-0 win. With the passing game practically non-existent, the Tigers turned to a familiar formula: Defense, special teams and the run game.

That approach — a staple of previous Tommy Tuberville teams — was more than enough to beat Louisiana-Monroe. But every Tiger, from Tuberville on down, agreed it wouldn’t be enough once AU heads into Southeastern Conference play.

“We leaned on defense,” Tuberville said. “You can win games on defense and special teams, if you play hard.

“We’ve just got to get the offense to keep going and keep getting better — that’s the name of the game.”

At halftime, Auburn had just six first downs, hadn’t scored an offensive touchdown — and still enjoyed a 17-0 lead.

That was thanks to the defense and special teams, which put the Tigers on the board early.

On ULM’s first play from scrimmage, Auburn defensive end Antonio Coleman sacked quarterback Kinsmon Lancaster, forcing a fumble. Defensive end Michael Goggans scooped up the loose ball and raced 9 yards to the end zone, giving AU a 7-0 lead.

That was part of a big night for the defense, which recorded its first shutout since Nov. 4, 2006.

It was a satisfying debut for defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads, whose arrival at AU had been overshadowed by the attention surrounding offensive coordinator Tony Franklin’s spread offense.

Rhoads wasn’t worried about attention Saturday; he was just pleased with the results.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re playing or coaching junior football or high school, college, whatever level: If you’ve shut somebody out as a defense, you’ve played pretty good,” Rhoads said.

Auburn’s second touchdown came a few minutes after Goggans’ score, courtesy of senior Robert Dunn. Dunn returned a ULM punt 66 yards for a touchdown and a 14-0 lead.

The offense dodged a personal shutout with a Wes Byrum field goal just before the half.

At halftime, Franklin reconsidered his options. When it’s firing on all cylinders, Franklin’s spread offense relies on a quick pace, a steady passing game and a consistent run game to keep defenses off their toes. Saturday, only one of those elements was working: The run game.

So the Tigers made a commitment to the run.

Tailbacks Ben Tate, Brad Lester and true freshman Eric Smith were the offense’s saving grace. Tate ran for 115 yards, Lester added 52 yards and a touchdown, and Smith had 66 yards in his college football debut.

“It’s just a shame it took so long for us to get to that point, and that our passing was so horrible,” Franklin said.

“We’ll figure it out.”

The running backs didn’t get much help from quarterbacks Chris Todd and Kodi Burns, who threw for a combined 85 yards. For most of the game, the numbers were far worse than that: Auburn (1-0) finished the third quarter with 28 yards passing, and Todd threw for 57 yards in the fourth quarter against ULM’s second-team defense.

Neither Tuberville or Franklin would reveal their plans for the quarterback rotation next week, when AU hosts Southern Miss at 11:30 a.m.

“We’ll have to wait and see,” Tuberville said. “We’ve got to tell what they did.”

Franklin told reporters the offense had several days of poor practices leading up to Saturday’s game. He blamed himself.

“I really did a poor job of coaching, that was quite evident tonight when you saw the product,” Franklin said.

But wideout Chris Slaughter said Franklin wasn’t the problem, and his offensive teammates agreed.

“We just didn’t start how we were supposed to do,” said Slaughter, who dropped a potential long pass in the third quarter. “We were wanting to score every time we touched the ball.

“Everybody was anxious. When one person messes up from being too anxious, the whole team is messed up.”

cmickle@oanow.com | 737-2561