Auburn ended a lackluster season on a high note.
Using a steady rushing attack and a stout defensive effort, Auburn overwhelmed Paxton Lynch and Memphis in a 31-10 Birmingham Bowl win.
Auburn was plagued by turnovers in the first half, but Lynch, a top NFL prospect, and the Memphis offense could not match up with Auburn’s defensive speed. The teams limped to a tie at the half, but Auburn turned up the intensity in the second half and cruised to a blowout victory.
Auburn rushed for 254 yards on the afternoon, led by 121 yards and a touchdown from Jovon Robinson, but the defense was the story. Lynch averaged more than 305 passing yards per game this season, but Auburn limited him to just 104 yards on 17-of-38 throwing.
Memphis was plagued by drops and looked overwhelmed offensively from the start. Auburn defenders got in Lynch’s face and in throwing lanes all afternoon and Lynch had the worst game of his season. It may be his last game in a Memphis uniform, too, as the junior could opt to leave school early for the NFL.
And with the passing attack it has relied on all year struggling, Memphis couldn’t get much going on the ground either, totaling just 102 yards on 30 attempts.
As lopsided as the final score looks, this game was close early on – mainly due to Auburn miscues.
Auburn jumped out to a 10-0 lead, but two interceptions allowed Memphis to tie it. First, after forcing Memphis to turn it over on downs near midfield early in the second quarter, Gus Malzahn dialed up a trick play. Wide receiver Jason Smith came around on a reverse and looked to throw downfield. He tossed a lame duck into traffic and the pass was intercepted by Reggis Ball, leading to a Memphis field goal.
Ball made another big play later in the second quarter when he intercepted Auburn’s Sean White on a fourth-and-two play and returned it 56 yards for a touchdown, tying the score at 10 going into halftime.
But that was the last time Memphis would sniff the end zone.
Memphis moved the ball deep into Auburn territory on the first drive of the second half, but Lynch forced one into traffic near the goal line and was intercepted by Tray Matthews.
From then on out, it was all Auburn.
The much-maligned Jeremy Johnson, in at quarterback for White, threw a touchdown to Smith on a wide receiver screen late in the third quarter to give Auburn a 17-10 lead.
Auburn’s defense forced three-and-outs on Memphis’ next two drives and the offense capitalized, extending the lead on touchdown runs from Johnson and Robinson to put the game out of reach.
And while the quarterback position is still a major question mark for Auburn (7-6) moving forward, the win is a nice way to move into the offseason. It also gives the program a winning record for the third straight year under Malzahn.
For Memphis (9-4), which played the game without head coach Justin Fuente (who’s now at Virginia Tech), it was a disappointing way to finish one of the best seasons in program history. The program was looking for back-to-back 10-win seasons and back-to-back bowl wins for the first time in its history, but came up short.
Now, Memphis will move forward with former Arizona State offensive coordinator Mike Norvell as head coach. And maybe without Lynch at quarterback.
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