Auburn weathered a second-quarter comeback from the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers to pick up their second-straight win Saturday in Jordan-Hare Stadium.
After entering halftime tied at 17, Auburn (5-6, 2-5) scored 24 second-half points to win 41-17 over the Hilltoppers.
Western Kentucky missed a field goal on their opening drive and Auburn responded with a 13-play, 68-yard touchdown drive to take the early lead. They added a field goal on their next drive to take a 10-0 lead with 37 seconds left in the first quarter.
Auburn took a 17-3 lead two possessions later when [autotag]Robby Ashford[/autotag] pitched the ball to [autotag]Jarquz Hunter[/autotag] who rolled out and found [autotag]Koy Moore[/autotag] in the endzone for the 20-yard touchdown pass.
The Hilltopper’s offense came alive on their next drive, they marched down the field to score their first touchdown, and after a quick four-and-out by Auburn, they got the ball back with 3:43 to play in the half.
They did not waste the opportunity, scoring a touchdown on a well-called screen pass with 6 seconds left in the half to tie it up at 17 before the half.
After the Hilltoppers scored on their final three drives of the first half Auburn’s defense played a perfect third quarter. They picked off Austin Reed on their first drive of the second half and forced punts on their three other drives.
In total, the Hilltoppers managed just 51 yards and three first downs. Auburn’s offense took advantage of their opportunities as they finally found success on the ground.
The Tigers averaged just 3.4 yards per carry in the first half but came out of half looking more like themselves. They ran for 115 yards on 17 carries in the third quarter alone. It was capped off by [autotag]Tank Bigsby[/autotag]’s 35-yard touchdown run that gave Auburn a 27-17 lead with a minute to play in the quarter.
They averaged 6.8 yards per carry in the quarter and their ability to run it allowed them to attempt fewer passes and to keep the Hilltopper’s defense on the sideline where they couldn’t hurt Auburn.
The Tigers third-quarter success bled into the fourth quarter, Auburn forced a turnover on downs to start the quarter and the offense pulled off a 4-play, 62-yard touchdown drive to take a 34-17 lead and put the game away. Hunter capped it off with a 40-yard touchdown run.
Auburn outscored the Hilltoppers 24-0 in the second half and allowed just 2.6 yards per play after allowing 6.2 in the first half.
Bigbsy and Hunter once again each rushed for over 100 yards. Bigby finished with 110 yards and two touchdowns while Hunter had 109 yards and two total touchdowns.
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