AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Chris Todd was hoping that he and the Auburn Tigers would get off to a quick start against Furman Saturday afternoon.

That’s exactly what happened as Todd completed his first 14 passes and Auburn jumped out to a 42-3 halftime lead before cruising to a 63-31 win Saturday over the Paladins, a Football Championship Subdivision team.

Todd said it was important to stay on the winning ways after last week’s win over Ole Miss broke a three-game losing streak.

“We wanted to come out and have some players step up and keep the momentum going from last week. We had some guys really come out and play well,” Todd said.

Todd played so well he got to watch the second half from the sidelines — something he didn’t mind.

“I think it was a really good opportunity for a lot of guys to get out there and play,” Todd said. “A lot of them did a really good job in the offense in the second half.”

Todd threw three touchdown passes to Darvin Adams for the Tigers (7-3), who scored on six of their first seven possessions. Todd’s other scoring pass went to Mario Fannin, who finished with 60 yards rushing.

Auburn head coach Gene Chizik said it was good to see Todd have a big game, particularly after the senior quarterback was criticized by fans and the media earlier in the season.

“He was on the run for a lot of his throws, and he was very efficient in what he did,” Chizik said. “Chris did a really nice job. It is hard to complete that many in a row.”

The Paladins (4-5), scored 28 points in the second half against Auburn, which played most of its reserves during the half.

Chizik said he was committed to going with younger players in the second half, even when Furman scored two quick touchdowns after intermission.

“That was really indicative of how football games go. They have to play through those times. You have to keep them out there and let them play,” Chizik said.

One of those younger players was freshman receiver Emory Blake, who caught five passes for 32 yards.

“I played all right, but I think I can play better. I was pretty confident, but I wasn’t confused,” Blake said.

The Tigers, who won their second in a row, started the season 5-0 and then suffered three losses before rebounding with a win over Ole Miss last week.

Adams caught six passes for 115 yards for Auburn. Anthony Gulley rushed for 77 yards and Ben Tate added 75 yards rushing for the Tigers, who also totaled 282 yards on the ground.

Tate has rushed for 1,142 yards this season and is 13th on Auburn’s single-season rushing chart.

Tate said everybody was having fun Saturday, a difference from how the team felt during the three game losing streak.

“It was a lot of fun out there. Everyone was messing around on the team and it was fun actually getting to see guys from scout team and guys that don’t get to play that much,” Tate said. “It was fun to get to see those guys out there getting the opportunity to play.”

Jerry Williams rushed for 35 yards and 2 touchdowns for the Paladins and also caught four passes for 42 yards.

After a 23-yard Matthew Cesari field goal for Furman, Auburn stretched its lead to 14-3 on a 9-yard run by Tate after an 80-yard drive.

On Auburn’s next possession, Todd completed a 24-yard scoring pass to Fannin. Adams caught scoring passes of 23 and 41 yards on Auburn’s first two possessions of the second quarter and Tate had a 5-yard scoring run with 41 seconds to play before halftime.

The Paladins were able to make the game interesting in the second half as Auburn emptied its bench. Furman’s first touchdown came on a 6-yard run by Williams after an Auburn fumble deep in its own territory. Tersoo Uhaa had a 19-yard scoring run for the Paladins on their next possession.

“We obviously could not stop Auburn in the first half, their pace of the offense gave us trouble even though we worked on it all week in practice,” Furman head coach Bobby Lamb said. “They were hitting on all cylinders and they were very difficult to defend.”

Lamb praised Todd’s play at quarterback for Auburn.

“Chris Todd was making so many great decisions, getting the ball spread around and going 17-for-18 with only one incomplete pass,” Lamb said.

Gulley scored his first two career touchdowns for the Tigers in the fourth quarter on runs of 13 and 50 yards. Gulley is normally a wide receiver but saw time at running back and defensive back in the blowout.

The outmatched Paladins did not give up and continued to play hard in the final seconds, scoring on 17-yard pass from Chris Forcier to R.J. Webb with 21 seconds to play.

The win assures Auburn, which became bowl eligible last week, of a winning season.