Auburn Football: Special Teams Save Tigers Against Utah State

The Auburn Tigers narrowly escaped a huge upset in their season opener on Saturday, defeating Utah State 42-38 at Jordan-Hare Stadium. The Tigers trailed by 10 points with three minutes left before roaring back with two late touchdowns to escape a shocking defeat.

On a day where many aspects of the Tigers’ game plan did not live up to expectations, one area that shined and played a key role in the victory was special teams play.

Auburn had two big plays in each half on kickoffs. Of course the most vital to the win was the successful onside kick in the fourth quarter. Down 38-35 with 2:07 remaining and one timeout left, the Tigers elected to try the onside kick and wide receiver Emory Blake recovered, setting up the winning touchdown.

The Auburn special teams also excelled early in the game with a 97-yard touchdown return by freshman running back Tre Mason. The play was also essential in the win, as it helped to recover some momentum after Auburn fell behind 21-7.

The coverage teams also did an excellent job, limiting Utah State’s Kerwynn Williams to only 44 kickoff return yards on seven attempts. Williams was one of the top kick returners in the nation last season. Utah State was also held to only nine punt return yards on the afternoon.

Auburn kicker Cody Parkey has some big shoes to fill in replacing the stellar Wes Byrum, but he had a solid debut on Saturday as the new starter. Parkey did not attempt a field goal, but was successful on all six of his extra-point attempts. He did show off some leg strength when he put one of his kickoffs through the goalposts. Fellow kicker Chandler Brooks also stepped up with the biggest play of all with the onside kick in the fourth quarter.

Despite the win, Saturday’s game has to be considered a disappointment since the Tigers came close to losing to a much weaker opponent. Plenty of aspects of the team will need improvement heading into next week’s SEC opener against Mississippi State, but it looks like one area that will be a strength in 2011 is special teams.