Run stoppers: Auburn routs Ball State 42-3 in Kickoff on The Plains

AUBURN, Ala. – Holding Ball State to minus-3 rushing yards thanks to 14 tackles for loss, Auburn used three Jackson Arnold touchdown passes and two Jeremiah Cobb touchdown runs to defeat Ball State 42-3 Saturday in Kickoff on The Plains at Jordan-Hare Stadium. 

“I thought we got better from week one to week two,” Auburn coach Hugh Freeze said. “We were more physical and more assignment sound. We were in the backfield and very harassing tonight.”

After relying on the run in its season-opening win at Baylor, Auburn went to the air early and often in its home opener, with Arnold completing 24 of 28 passes for 251 yards. 

“I thought Jackson was pretty automatic on all of our quick-game stuff,” Freeze said. 

With linemen Xavier Chaplin, Dillon Wade and Connor Lew creating a running lane to his left, Cobb broke a tackle at Ball State’s 20-yard line and scored on a 46-yard touchdown run to give Auburn a 7-0 lead at the 4:15 mark of the first quarter. 

Arnold put Auburn ahead 14-0 in the final minute of the first quarter with a 30-yard touchdown pass to Eric Singleton Jr., who motioned across the field and used his running start to clear the nearest defender by 15 yards for his first Tiger touchdown. 

“You can use Eric in a lot of ways and you saw a few of those tonight, whether it’s the toss sweep or quick screens,” Freeze said. “He has the ability to run by you, too. We saw a lot of that tonight with him.”

Auburn extended its lead to 21-0 when Arnold connected with an uncovered Horatio Fields for an 11-yard touchdown with 37 seconds left in the first half. 

Midway through the third quarter, Cobb cruised 45 yards for his second score to give Auburn a 28-0 lead. Cobb rushed for a career-high 121 yards on 11 carries, averaging 11 yards per rush. 

“I’ve said all summer I thought Jeremiah would have a breakout year,” Freeze said. “He’s well on his way after the first two outings. I felt like we really needed to work on being balanced and doing some things in the passing game that I think will be beneficial to us later on.”

After Ball State recovered an Auburn fumble on the Tigers’ 23-yard line, the Cardinals avoided a shutout by kicking a 22-yard field goal late in the third quarter. 

Arnold ended his night on a high note, connecting with Singleton for a 13-yard touchdown to give Auburn a 35-3 lead with 12:22 left in the game.

Freshman quarterback Deuce Knight relieved Arnold, rushing for a first down on third-and-10 in his Auburn debut. Knight’s first career completion went for 14 yards to Camden Etheredge.

Durell Robinson capped the scoring with a 54-yard touchdown run with 5:13 to play. 

Cam Coleman led Auburn with seven receptions for 77 yards. 

Sylvester Smith led Auburn with six tackles, all solos. Xavier Atkins delivered a memorable performance with five tackles, including four tackles for loss and a pair of sacks. 

Keyron Crawford added two sacks while Demarcus Riddick and Jared Smith each made one, helping Auburn hold Ball State to 68 total yards. 

For the second straight week, Auburn negated its opponents rushing attack, holding Ball State to negative-3 yards on 33 attempts. In two games, Auburn has allowed only 61 yards rushing. 

The Tigers (2-0) remain on the Plains next week, hosting South Alabama Saturday at 11:45 a.m. CT at Jordan-Hare Stadium on SEC Network and the Auburn Sports Network. 

Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on X: @jeff_shearer

GAME NOTES

>> Captains: Damari Alston, Champ Anthony, Keldric Faulk, Connor Lew
>> Coin Toss: Auburn won the toss and deferred; Ball State received

TEAM NOTES
>> First-time starters (collegiately & at Auburn): None 
>> Players with first collegiate action: Tai Buster, Kail Ellis, Ryan Ghea, Deuce Knight, Omar Mabson II, William Grier McDuffie, Duke Smith, Donovan Starr, Sam Turner, Jacobe’ Ward
>> Players with first Auburn action: James Ash, Connor Gibbs, Caleb Wheatland 
>> Auburn has scored in a school-record 156 consecutive games, dating back to the first game of 2013 
>> Auburn has not allowed a first-quarter touchdown in the first two games of the season 
>> Ball State’s 34 yards in the first half were the fewest by an Auburn opponent since the Tigers held Western Kentucky to 11 yards in 2003 
>> Auburn held Ball State to a total of 68 yards, marking the first time Auburn has held an opponent to under 100 yards since holding Georgia Southern to 78 total yards in 2017 and is the fewest yards allowed since holding Ole Miss to nine yards in 1985 
>> Auburn held Ball State to -3 yards rushing, which is the fewest since holding Akron to -3 in 2021 
>> Saturday marked the 16th-consecutive sellout at Jordan-Hare Stadium dating back to the beginning of the 2023 season; it is the second longest sellout streak in program history and one shy of tying the record of 17 straight games from 2013-16
>> Auburn has won 18 of their last 20 home openers, including all three home openers under head coach Hugh Freeze 

INDIVIDUAL NOTES - OFFENSE
>> Jeremiah Cobb made his second career start for the Tigers and his first since 2023
>> Cobb’s 46-yard rushing touchdown in the first quarter was his second of the season and the fourth of his career; it was Cobb’s longest career rush 
>> Cobb added a 45-yard rushing touchdown in the third quarter, marking the first two-touchdown game of his career 
>> Cobb recorded the first 100-yard rushing game of his career, ending the game with 121 yards
>> Durell Robinson’s 54-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter was his first as a Tiger and upped his career total to 10 
>> Jackson Arnold passed for 251 yards and three touchdowns, the firsts of his Auburn career; he upped his career passing touchdowns total to 19 
>> Arnold finished 24-of-28 (85.7%) which is the highest completion rate since Bo Nix (20-22; 90.9%) vs. Akron in 2021 and the highest since Jarrett Stidham (32-37; 86.5%) vs. Mercer in 2017 when attempting at least 25 passes 
>> Eric Singleton Jr.’s 30-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter extended his catch streak to 26 games, every game of his collegiate career thus far
>> Singleton Jr. added a 13-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter, marking the first two-touchdown game of his career
>> The scores were Singleton Jr.’s firsts as a Tiger and upped his career total to 11 
>> Cam Coleman has recorded at least once reception in all 13 of his career games played 
>> Horatio Fields’ 11-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter was his first as a Tiger and the fifth of his career 
>> Fields’ tied his career high with six receptions 

INDIVIDUAL NOTES - DEFENSE
>> Xavier Atkins recorded the first sack of his career in the first quarter – a loss for 1 yard 
>> Atkins recorded two sacks and four tackles for loss in the game, setting career highs; his four TFLs were the most since Jalen McLeod had 4.0 at Arkansas in 2013 
>> Atkins’ five total tackles matched his career high 
>> Demarcus Riddick’s six-yard sack in the first quarter was his first of the season and upped his career sacks total to four 
>> Sylvester Smith recorded the first tackle of loss of his career in the first quarter – a loss for 5 yards
>> S. Smith set a career high with six tackles 
>> Malik Blocton’s fumble recovery in the second quarter was the first of his career
>> Blocton added 2.0 tackles for loss, tying his career high
>> Keyron Crawford matched his career high with 2.0 sacks; he upped his season total to 3.0 and his career total to 9.5 
>> Jared Smith’s seven-yard sack in the fourth quarter was the first of his career 

INDIVIDUAL NOTES - SPECIAL TEAMS
>> Auburn has converted 165 consecutive point-after kicks dating back to the second kick of the 2021 season