AUBURN, Ala. – It took more than six hours, but No. 10 Auburn beat Southern Miss 24-13 Saturday on Homecoming at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
A 164-minute weather delay late in the first half made for a long day and night for players and fans alike.
"I want to thank our fans for sticking around," Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said. "That was a long delay and the fans really stuck it out. I really appreciate them."
Christian Tutt's interception in the fourth quarter led to Anders Carlson's field goal, sealing Auburn's victory.
Jarrett Stidham's 53-yard pass to Darius Slayton set up Stidham's 2-yard touchdown pass to Chandler Cox, giving Auburn a 21-6 lead with 5:39 in the third quarter.
Southern Miss made it a one-possession game with a touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter, but Auburn's defense held firm, tallying 12 tackles for loss.
Stidham completed 19 of 33 passes for 245 yards and two touchdowns.
"I definitely wanted to hit a couple long balls, get back into the rhythm of hitting those guys downfield," Stidham said. "We had some guys make some plays and bail me out."
Kam Martin rushed for 90 yards on 24 carries.
"I am very proud of Kam Martin coming in," Malzahn said. "Kam Martin did a super job."
Auburn (4-1) held the Golden Eagles to 45 rushing yards on 21 carries.
Tutt and Jeremiah Dinson mades interceptions. Derrick Brown had a sack while Nick Coe and Marlon Davidson each had a half sack. Deshaun Davis led the Tigers with 10 tackles. Darrell Williams had nine tackles. The senior linebackers combined for 4.5 tackles for loss. Southern Miss was 2-for-13 on third down.
"I think overall we played a pretty good game," Davis said. "We came in wanting a shutout, but they got 13 points for whatever reason. That's not the standard we want to hold, but we got a win. Every time you get a win, you don't want to be too negative."
Auburn came out firing, with Stidham targeting Seth Williams for a deep pass on the Tigers' first offensive play.
That pass fell incomplete, but on Auburn's third possession, Stidham and Williams connected for a 46-yard touchdown pass to give the Tigers a 7-0 lead, Williams' first Auburn score.
In the second quarter, after a Southern Miss field goal, Auburn drove 73 yards on 13 plays, with Stidham twice completing passes to running backs on third-and-long for first downs.
Anthony Schwartz scored on a 6-yard jet sweep to put Auburn up 14-3 before a weather delay suspended the game for the better part of three hours with 4:27 left in the half.
Auburn's special teams again excelled. Jordyn Peters recovered a fumbled USM punt. Arrryn Siposs then punted 37 yards, pinning the Golden Eagles at their own 3 when Javaris Davis fielded his teammates' punt.
A three-and-out from Auburn's defense gave the Tigers the ball at USM's 47. After a 1-yard run, Stidham and Williams teamed up for their long TD.
"I'm pleased with the victory," Malzahn said. "Defensively, I felt like we played well again."
After four consecutive home games, Auburn travels to Mississippi State next week at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN2.
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer
Auburn vs. Southern Miss game notes
- Captains: Deshaun Davis, Ryan Davis, Jarrett Stidham
- Coin Toss: Auburn wins the toss and defers. Southern Miss will receive
- Eagle Flight: Spirit from the flagpole
- Attendance: 83,792
- Homecoming Queen: Sadie Argo
- The weather delay occurred at 4:12 p.m., with 4:27 remaining in the second quarter; play resumed at 6:56 p.m., so a 2:44 delay
- The last weather delay at Jordan-Hare Stadium was the 2014 Arkansas game
TEAM NOTES
- First-time starters for Auburn: Big Kat Bryant, JaTarvious Whitlow
- Auburn scored first for the 20th time in its last 23 games and the fourth time this season
- Auburn improved to 18-5 all-time against Southern Miss, 16-4 in games played in Auburn
- The Tigers have held 3 of their last 4 opponents under 300 total yards; Southern Miss had 260 tonight
- Auburn held Southern Miss to 45 rushing yards, the second time this season to hold an opponent under 50 (Alabama State: 47)
- Auburn is now 80-8-4 all-time in Homecoming games
INDIVIDUAL NOTES/OFFENSE
- Seth Williams' 46-yard touchdown reception from Jarrett Stidham in the first quarter was his first touchdown catch at Auburn and a career-long reception.
- Anthony Schwartz scored his second rushing touchdown of the season and third score overall
- Ryan Davis is now fifth among Auburn career receiving leaders with 130 career receptions, passing Emory Blake (128 receptions from 2009-12). Davis ranks 21st in Auburn career receiving yardage (1,175), passing Clifton Robinson (1,167 yards from 1997-2000).
- Jarrett Stidham to Ryan Davis is the second most productive pass tandem in Auburn history, with 106 completions; the Auburn record is 140 completions by Pat Sullivan to Terry Beasley (1969-71)
- Stidham's 53-yard pass to Darius Slayton was Stidham's second-longest pass play of the season and Slayton's longest gain of the season
- Stidham recorded his second 200-yard passing game of the season and the 12th of his Auburn career
- Chandler Cox scores his first career receiving touchdown on the third-quarter pass from Stidham; It was Stidham's fifth TD pass of the season and 23rd of his Auburn career
- Cox has tied his previous season best with eight receptions this season
INDIVIDUAL NOTES/DEFENSE
- Jeremiah Dinson recorded his first career interception
- Christian Tutt recorded his first career interception
- Jordyn Peters recorded his first career fumble recovery; he also had a career-high 2.5 tackles for loss
- Deshaun Davis recorded double-figure tackles in a game for the sixth time in his career (10) and a season-high for tackles by an Auburn player
- Darrell Williams had 2.5 tackles for loss, a career-high
- Noah Igbinoghene tied his career high with 5 tackles
- Smoke Monday had a career-high 4 tackles
INDIVIDUAL NOTES/SPECIAL TEAMS
- Auburn now holds the SEC record for consecutive PAT with 244, the longest current streak in the nation. Anders Carlson is now 16-16 on PAT for his career.