AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — The Auburn Tigers ran the offense nearly flawlessly in the first half, got the starters some rest and generally were able to use the Furman game as a perfect tuneup for rivals Georgia and Alabama.
For a thin team that is playing 11 straight games without a bye week, Saturday’s 63-31 rout of Furman came at a good time, especially since the 42-3 halftime lead allowed the Tigers (7-3) to put in plenty of youngsters.
Quarterback Chris Todd and tailback Ben Tate only had to play one half. Eight players had rushes and nine caught passes, including freshman receivers DeAngelo Benton and Emory Blake.
Freshman Anthony Gulley played running back, receiver and cornerback and had touchdown runs of 50 and 13 yards, gaining 77 on five carries without practicing in the backfield.
“We had some young guys definitely make some progression for the season,” Todd said. “I think it’s really good for them to get in there and get some experience because that’s huge. Doing it in practice and being able to come out here and do it in the game are really two different things.”
Being able to do it against Furman and against the Bulldogs and the third-ranked Crimson Tide are also two different things. Todd and backup Neil Caudle were a combined 27-of-30 passing for 373 yards, and the Tigers racked up 655 yards.
Benton and Blake got their first real production in a season when they were expected to be immediate contributors in the receiving corps. Blake didn’t have a catch in the first nine games, but finished with six for 88 yards against the Paladins.
Blake had five catches for 32 yards after coming in with just one.
“Getting some of those young guys some experience will do nothing but help us for the rest of the year, so I thought that was really good,” offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn said.
The game also allowed tailback Onterio McCalebb to rest a sore ankle, though coach Gene Chizik said Sunday that the freshman was close to being able to play.
Linebacker Adam Herring didn’t play with a nagging heel/ankle injury and wide receiver Travante Stallworth didn’t return to the game after a knee injury.
Chizik didn’t provide details on the injuries.
The defensive reserves didn’t fare quite as well as the offensive guys. Auburn allowed four touchdowns in the second half to the FCS team, but two were set up by fumbles in Tigers territory.
Defensive coordinator Ted Roof said 31 players saw action on defense.
“Our starters have played a lot of snaps this season,” Roof said. “I think it was critical that we were able to get them off the field late in the first half and the entire second half so we can be as fresh as we can be at this point.”
The punt return job appears to be up for grabs again. Philip Pierre-Louis lost a fumble at Auburn’s 6-yard line to set up one of those touchdowns.
He gained 24 yards on five returns. Auburn ranks 114th out of 120 FBS teams in punt returns, and at least four players have given it a shot.
“It was really disappointing,” Chizik said. “We’ve invested a lot of time in it. We’ve got to get somebody back there that we can count on to be able to do that. Obviously we don’t have anybody up to this point that we feel like can. It has to be somebody new this week. That’s what we’ll investigate more as the week goes on.”
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Related Photos
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Furman tail back Jerodis Williams (30) runs for a first down around Auburn linebacker Craig Stevens (46) during an NCAA college football game on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009, in Auburn, Ala. (AP Photo/ Butch Dill) Butch Dill
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Auburn youngsters get playing time in blowout
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