Nov. 22—Judging the Auburn Tigers — on a pass/fail basis — for their 62-17 win over the lower-division Mercer Bears on Saturday:
Offense — P+: Freshman Deuce Knight put on a show, accounting for six touchdowns. He was efficient with his 15-of-20 effort for 239 yards and two touchdowns, but a nine-carry, 162-yard, four-TD ground swell was quite sweet. His touchdown runs covered 75, 51, 9 and 20 yards. His second TD pass was a 91-yarder to Malcolm Simmons. Maybe this wasn't Knight's last start this year. (OK, probably not.) Turn the Deuce loose.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementDefense — P: Merely acceptable considering the Bears racked up 338 yards, but Auburn did have a defensive score. Elijah Melendez took an interception 41 yards for a score early in the third quarter to make it 42-17.
Special teams — P: Alex McPherson, ahem, stretched his legs to the tune of 47- and 49-yard field goals. Auburn normally needs such distances with how the offense has struggled, though Saturday didn't have that problem.
Coaching — P: For D.J. Durkin to pick up his first win at Auburn, here's a guess that the $475,000 paid to Mercer was worth every penny.
Overall — P: FYI, if you haven't heard, the annual apocalypse known as the Iron Bowl is next week.
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