Louisville vs. Auburn: Game Grades, Analysis for the Tigers

The No. 6 Auburn Tigers outlasted the Louisville Cardinals 31-24 to earn a victory in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game at the Georgia Dome.

After a strong first half in which Gus Malzahn's team amassed a 17-0 lead, the offense sputtered in the second half and the defense nearly allowed a 21-point comeback during the fourth quarter.

Positional Unit	1st-Half Grade	Final Grade
Pass Offense	C-	C-
Run Offense	B	B+
Pass Defense	B+	B+
Run Defense	A-	C
Special Teams	A	A
Coaching	A-	B+

Pass Offense: Jeremy Johnson's debut as a full-time starter didn't exactly go as planned. The junior tossed three interceptions directly to the Louisville defense. He did take advantage of a blown coverage, though, finding Ricardo Louis for a 33-yard touchdown. Johnson finished 11-of-21 for 140 yards.

Run Offense: The ground game was only marginally effective early on. Roc Thomas managed 26 yards on six carries before leaving the contest due to injury. But Peyton Barber exploded for 96 of his 114 yards during the second half, and the Tigers wasted much of the final quarter thanks to a respectable performance from the offensive line.

Pass Defense: Auburn capitalized on the gift Lamar Jackson provided on the first snap of the game, easily intercepting Lamar Jackson and setting up a quick touchdown. Overall, Louisville averaged 5.1 yards per attempt and had a single pass gain more than 20 yards, so the Tigers secondary did well to force the Cardinals to sustain drives. The defense tallied four sacks.

Run Defense: Since Auburn surrendered very little through the air, Louisville turned to the legs of Jackson and Brandon Radcliff. The duo combined for 186 yards and three touchdowns, while the Cardinals racked up 17 of their 27 first downs on the ground. Defensive coordinator Will Muschamp has some work to do with the front seven.

Special Teams: Daniel Carlson set a career-best mark with a 56-yard field goal, and each of his six kickoffs resulted in a touchback. Kevin Phillips boomed a 55-yard punt, giving the Tigers a quietly effective special teams night, and that's exactly what coaches want.

Coaching: Between the offensive stylings of Malzahn and defensive wizardry of Muschamp, Auburn could be in for a special season. However, Malzahn must find some explosive plays, because top-tier SEC defenses won't allow 4.6 yards per carry and an inefficient quarterback to win a game. Muschamp needs someone to join Carl Lawson as a consistent disruptive force.

Follow Bleacher Report college football writer David Kenyon on Twitter: @Kenyon19_BR.