Observations: Auburn 62, Mercer 17
Deuce Knight's nearly record-breaking start set the tone for the Tigers' first three-phase — and fun — home win in quite some time.
AUBURN — On Saturday, it took just 15 seconds for Auburn to score twice as many points as it did in the final 60 minutes under Hugh Freeze.
The touchdown — something Auburn couldn’t get in four quarters against a Kentucky team that had given up eight a week earlier — was a 75-yard touchdown run from Deuce Knight, the 5-star true freshman quarterback that Freeze and his staff had gone to great lengths to sign.
But Freeze never went to Knight at any point in his final season in charge, even though such a move could have been a last-minute act of self-preservation. Knight could have been sold as the future of Auburn football and a quarterback worth giving a head coach a little more of the patience that he openly asked for several times.
Knight was never more than a third-stringer before Freeze’s firing, and it took a unique situation with new starter Ashton Daniels to warrant his first career start Saturday against an FCS team in Mercer. Daniels had to sit out one of Auburn’s final two games to preserve a redshirt with the newer-school four-game limit, and that definitely wasn’t going to be a night Iron Bowl in Jordan-Hare Stadium.
When Knight took off for a scramble on the first snap of his first start, the lefty smoothly navigated his way through traffic and broke down the sideline with a big smile on his face. This would be a tone-setter for the young quarterback, who brought real entertainment value for a home offense that hadn’t had much in that building.
“We prepare like crazy and put the work in all week to go have fun on Saturday,” interim head coach DJ Durkin said after Auburn’s 62-17 win over Mercer. “And Deuce went out there and had fun. It didn’t matter to him it was his first college start and he’s a freshman. It didn’t even matter. He was smiling all morning at the hotel and out there warming up. Sometimes, you’re kinda like, ‘Is he alright? Is he gonna be ready?’
“That’s just him. He was out there playing like he was in the backyard. It was fun to watch.”
What happened on Saturday wasn’t always fun to watch for Auburn. Durkin’s defense, which had gotten beaten thoroughly two weeks earlier in a shootout loss at Vanderbilt, gave up 14 points and 145 yards to Mercer in the first two drives.
The Tigers forced a punt near midfield thanks in large part to a holding penalty and gave up another sustained Bears drive that ended in points in the second quarter. Even though Auburn grabbed an easy interception for a stop right before halftime, the defense knew what was coming next.
“Really none of it I can repeat,” defensive tackle Jay Hardy said.
Those “rough conversations,” as Durkin called them, sparked a change from the Auburn defense. Soon a matchup that had been tied after one quarter had turned into a four-score game by the first drive of the third quarter thanks to a pick-six from freshman linebacker Elijah Melendez.
The next time Auburn touched the ball, Knight launched a touchdown pass to Malcolm Simmons that was tied for the third-longest in program history — one of several historical marks he hit in his first start.
It was a Senior Day party in Jordan-Hare Stadium, which got to see the Tigers put together a total three-phase victory for the first time arguably all season.
Soon, everybody was smiling like the freshman quarterback.
“I just enjoy life,” Knight said. “Life’s fun, right? So, if you’re going to live it, have fun doing everything you do.”
Yes, it was a blowout win over an FCS team. (It should be noted, though, that the FCS team had won nine straight games and was rated higher than Ball State and South Alabama — two teams Auburn beat by smaller margins this season — in SP+.)
But it was a fun Saturday in Jordan-Hare Stadium again. Those haven’t been guaranteed in recent seasons, even against smaller-school opponents.
And when you’re under .500 while in the middle of a coaching search and set to face your playoff-focused rival in a week, you’ll take all the good vibes you can get.
“I think if we just keep doing what we’ve been doing these past few weeks and building on what we’ve been building on, this next game is gonna be a lot of fun,” kicker Alex McPherson said.
Here are four Observations from Auburn’s 62-17 win over Mercer and a very special Quote of the Day.
