AUBURN, Ala. — The Auburn football team opened its home schedule with dominance Saturday night, defeating Southern Miss 43-8 at Jordan-Hare Stadium. The Tigers improved to 2-0 on the season with a win, while Southern Miss dropped to 1-1. Lightning delayed the game by 55 minutes, officially kicking off at 7:50 p.m. CT.
First-year head coach Alex Golesh earned his first victory at Jordan-Hare Stadium as Auburn quickly took control of the game. Cornerback Andre Jordan Jr. intercepted Southern Miss quarterback Ethan Hampton on the opening play and took the interception 20 yards for a touchdown, giving Auburn a 7-0 lead just after 10 seconds. The pick-six marked the fastest touchdown in modern Auburn history. Jordan later recorded his second interception of the night in the first quarter.
“It’s crazy because I get my first ever pick, and I made history on it,” Jordan said.
Auburn's offense extended its lead when quarterback Byrum Brown connected with tight end Jonathan Echols on a 22-yard touchdown pass with 3:45 remaining in the first quarter. Alex McPherson then drilled a 47-yard field goal, putting the Tigers ahead 17-0 after the opening quarter.
The Tigers continued their offensive success in the second quarter. Brown found freshman wide receiver DeShawn Spencer for an 8-yard touchdown, giving Spencer his first career touchdown and Auburn a 24-0 advantage. Southern Miss responded with a 75-yard touchdown drive late in the half, but Auburn answered immediately. Brown completed three passes for 33 yards before McPherson knocked through a career-long 55-yard field goal as time expired, sending Auburn into halftime with a 27-8 lead.
Despite the lopsided score, Golesh said Auburn’s offense still left plays on the field.
“There’s so many points offensively left out there it makes me sick,” Golesh said. “We’ll get it right, we’ll get it cleaned up.”
Brown continued to make an impact in the third quarter, but this time as a receiver. He caught a 5-yard touchdown pass from Christian Neptune with 9:56 remaining in the quarter, giving Auburn a 34-8 lead. The touchdown catch was Brown’s second career receiving touchdown and the first by an Auburn quarterback since Kiehl Frazier in 2012.
The Auburn defense continued to apply pressure, forcing a safety when defensive lineman Cody Sigler pressured Hampton into an intentional grounding penalty in the end zone. Running back Omar Mabson II then capped the scoring with a 2-yard touchdown late in the third quarter. Mabson finished with a career-high 108 rushing yards on 15 carries, while Brown accounted for 319 yards of total offense, including 226 passing yards and 88 rushing yards.
Mabson credited the offensive line and the Tigers’ execution in the run game for his breakout performance.
“Just trusting the O-line, being a really big part of it. Trusting the calls, just trusting everyone, putting me in a good position,” Mabson said.
With the 43-8 victory, Auburn has now won 10 consecutive home openers and improves to 20-1 in its last 21 home opening games. The Tigers also opened the season with back-to-back games of more than 300 rushing yards for the first time since 2021. Auburn will remain at Jordan-Hare Stadium next Saturday when the Tigers open SEC play against Florida at 6 p.m. CT.
