Auburn remains undefeated with win over South Alabama

September 13, 2025 – AUBURN, AL – The number 24 Auburn Tigers football team defeated South Alabama by the score of 31 to 15 in a game where the Tigers leaned heavily on the run game.

Quarterback Jackson Arnold ran the ball ten times for 51 yards and two touchdowns. He also completed the ball 13 times for 142 yards on 24 attempts. Receivers dropped four passes stymying the Tigers' passing attack.

State running back Jeremiah Cobb was the standout performer on the day - rushing for over 119 yards and one touchdown. It was the second week in a row for Cobb to rush for over a 100 yards.

Eric Singleton was the leading receiver on the day with six catches for 65 yards. Wide Receiver Cam Coleman had two catches including one 32 yard pass for a Tigers touchdown.

Auburn's offense leaned on balance throughout the game, finishing with 195 rushing yards and 337 total yards.

It looked like Auburn was going to blow out South Alabama at the half with a 28 to 6 lead; but South Alabama came roaring back in the second half with long drives that kept Auburn's offense off the field.

"We made some tweaks at halftime-got more creative with our motion and spacing," said Applewhite. "I thought our defense settled in and gave us a chance to claw back."

It was not the dominating defensive performance that Auburn had against Ball State. South Alabama outgained the Tigers and had the ball seven minutes more in the second half. Auburn head Coach Hugh Freeze addressed that after the game.

"Defensively, we looked like we're sleepwalking to me," said Coach Freeze. "It's frustrating. We'd rather talk too much than line up and play. We have to get some things corrected."

South Alabama quarterback Bishop Davenport had a masterful performance on the day – finishing with a 141.9 quarterback rating. Despite the athleticism advantage of the Tigers Davenport completed 18 of 26 passes for 171 yards. He also rushed seven times for 37 yards. He did have one interception.

"Bishop made some good throws and kept us in rhythm," said South Alabama Coach Major Applewhite. "The interception hurt, but overall, he gave us a chance to move the ball and stay aggressive."

Keyron Crawford with the Auburn defender with the INT.

Devin Voisin had four catches for 45 yards and a touchdown for South Alabama. Jeremy Scott contributed two catches for 21 yards, including a 20-yard touchdown.

South Alabama was hampered by two missed extra points. The Tigers defense rose to the occasion in the fourth quarter stuffing South Alabama on two key fourth downs for the Tigers to lock up the 31 to 15 win.

This is the first year in the Hugh Freeze era that the Tigers have started 3 and 0.

"Man, happy to be 3-0," said Coach Freeze after the game. "Tied the school record for consecutive sellouts. We played 13 true or redshirt freshmen today. I just think South Alabama is a solid football team. We've got a lot we can obviously improve on. But the goal today was to be 3-0 and 1-0 heading into conference play. Our team achieved that, so we're going to celebrate that."

The Tigers begin SEC play next week on the road traveling to Norman, Oklahoma to face the No. 13 Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday, September 20. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. CT at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.

South Alabama's next matchup is against conference opponent Coastal Carolina on Saturday, September 20, at Hancock Whitney Stadium in Mobile, Alabama. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. CT, and the game will be part of the university's "Extra Yard for Teachers / USA Day" celebration.

If you have a question or comment email brandonmreporter@gmail.com