SportsDirect Inc. staff
Oct 12, 2013
Auburn 62, Western Carolina 3: Freshman Jeremy Johnson passed for four touchdowns in his first start and Tre Mason rushed for two scores as the host Tigers annihilated the Catamounts.
Johnson was 17-of-21 passing for 201 yards while starting in place of injured Nick Marshall (knee) as Auburn (5-1) rolled to the easy nonconference victory. Mason gained 100 yards on just six carries and Cameron Artis-Payne rushed for a career-high 133 yards on only seven carries.
The Tigers set a school total offense record with 712 yards and racked up 511 on the ground against overmatched Western Carolina (1-6). The Catamounts lost their 19th consecutive road game as well as dropping to 0-15 all-time against SEC programs.
Mason opened the scoring with a 20-yard run as Auburn led 21-3 after one quarter. Corey Grant scored on a 51-yard run early in the second quarter and Mason galloped 53 yards for a score midway through the stanza to help the Tigers to a 42-3 halftime cushion.
Johnson had three first-half scoring passes and added another early in the third quarter when he connected with Quan Bray on a 3-yard score. Artis-Payne scampered in from 25 yards later in the quarter and Johnathan Ford had a 38-yard scoring jaunt 10 seconds into the final period.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Auburnกฏs previous record for total offense was 695 against Southwestern Louisiana in 1985. กญ Western Carolina has allowed 45 or more points in 12 of its 15 games against SEC teams and has been outscored by a cumulative 722-64. กญ Daniel Cobb (five in 2001) is the only Auburn quarterback to throw for more touchdowns in his first career start.