Sept. 3, 2017
By Greg Ostendorf
AuburnTigers.com
AUBURN, Ala. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" If you ask Jarrett Stidham, it wasn't until the second drive of Saturday's 41-7 win over Georgia Southern that he truly felt comfortable. He took off running, and when he slid to try and avoid contact, a defender popped him on the way down.
For the Auburn quarterback, it likely woke him up a little bit, knocked some of the nerves out.
"After that I was good to go," Stidham said.
You can't fault Stidham for being a little nervous. He hadn't played a football game since November 2015 when he was a true freshman at Baylor, and this was only his fourth start at the collegiate level.
There was some justifiable rust, too, especially early in the game. He missed a couple passes, fumbled a snap on third down and threw an interception. He fumbled again later, but to be fair, there wasn't much he could have done on the play. The defender came off the edge untouched and crushed Stidham from the blind side, jarring the ball loose.
Looking back on his performance, though, he knows he could've played better.
"I didn't think I played all that well," Stidham said after the game. "There are a lot of things I've got to clean up, but that's why you play ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" you've got to get better. That's why you practice. [Sunday], I'll look at the film and come up with a plan with Coach [Chip] Lindsey and Coach [Gus] Malzahn, and we'll get better from it.
"It's been a long road for me, but it doesn't make it an excuse. I have to get a lot better."
For some of the shaky moments, there were other moments where Stidham's natural ability took over. On the first drive, he rolled out of the pocket and while on the run, he threw a perfect 19-yard strike to Sal Cannella on the sideline. Later in the first half, he dropped back, saw a crease up the middle, and took off running for a 14-yard touchdown run ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" his first at Auburn.
But it was Stidham's final throw of the night that might have been his best. He dropped in a perfect pass to Will Hastings in the back corner of the end zone from 19 yards out.
The final stats might not have been anything to write home about ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" Stidham went 14 of 24 for 185 yards and two touchdowns through the air and also rushed for 17 yards a score ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" but the most important thing was that he got his first game out of the way. Now he can move forward.
"It was good for Jarrett to get a game under his belt," Malzahn said. "Like I've said before, it's been two years since he's played. It was good for him to get out there with his new teammates and all that.
"He's going to be an outstanding quarterback. I'll tell you that right now. He's played four college games, and that was two years ago. I was pleased with the way that he handled the offense. He'll get nothing but better."
Greg Ostendorf is a Staff Writer for AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter:
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