AUBURN, AL - May 30, 2023 - Auburn Quarterback Payton Thorne headshot taken at the Woltosz Football Performance Center in Auburn, AL. Photo by Austin Perryman
Auburn kicks off Freeze era with 60-14 win over
AUBURN, Ala. – Robby Ashford scored three second-quarter touchdowns, Jaylin Simpson capitalized on two turnovers and Auburn kicked off the Hugh Freeze era with a 59-14 win over Massachusetts Saturday before 88,043, the largest crowd in Jordan-Hare
“I can’t say enough about their support and what that means to our players, to our staff, to our administration. It speaks to the love and passion of the Auburn family,” Freeze said. “Thank you so much for showing up and celebrating our first win in our tenure. We’re so thankful for our crowd. Tiger Walk was incredible. It was a great day.”
Auburn scored touchdowns on four of its first five possessions, including the opening drive on Damari Alston’s 1-yard run.
Atter UMass answered with an 89-yard touchdown drive, the Tigers took a 10-7 lead on Alex McPherson’s 37-yard field goal.
Elijah McCallister’s sack led to a UMass punt that Keionte Scott returned for 56 yards to set up Ashford’s first TD, a 10-yarder on the opening play of the second quarter.
Ashford gave Auburn a 24-7 lead with a 1-yard touchdown to cap a 60-yard drive with 10:11 remaining in the first half.
Simpson recovered Donovan Kaufman’s strip sack and returned it 13 yards to the UMass 35. Payton Thorne’s 33-yard pass to Koy Moore set up Ashford’s third TD that gave Auburn a 31-7 halftime lead.
“Robby Ashford is vital to us winning football games,” Freeze said. “We need him.”
On the second play of the second half, Simpson returned an interception 50 yards for a touchdown, Auburn’s longest pick-six since Zakoby McClain’s 100-yard return in the 2019 Iron Bowl.
Auburn struck again on its first offensive play of the half when Payton Thorne hit Jay Fair down the middle for a 29-yard touchdown that put Auburn ahead 45-7 at the 12:52 mark of the third quarter.
After the Tigers stopped UMass on fourth down, Auburn scored on the next play when freshman Jeremiah Cobb raced 42 yards up the middle for a touchdown in his debut.
“I think Jeremiah Cobb is a really special talent who’s going to have an incredible career at Auburn,” Freeze said.
After Massachusetts scored on a one-play drive on a 58-yard pass in the middle of the fourth quarter, Sean Jackson motored 45 yards for a touchdown to account for the game’s final score.
