Vasha Hunt | Opelika-Auburn News

Tommy Tuberville admitted it was a strange feeling.

A few days after a 34-0, season-opening victory, the Auburn head coach found himself trying to convince his listeners — fans and reporters alike — that he wasn’t all that disappointed in his offense.

“It’s always fun when everybody is disappointed in winning 34-0,” Tuberville deadpanned. “But we’re not, as coaches and players, the
least bit disappointed in how we played in a couple of areas.”

Offensive coordinator Tony Franklin wasn’t quite as cheerful about the offense’s showing. But Franklin, who blamed himself for
Auburn’s misfires in the passing game last weekend, is staying positive.

“It’s always funny after a game,” Franklin said. “When you think you’re really good and you watch the film, you’re never as good as you thought you were.

“When you’re really bad, you’re never as bad as you thought you were.”

The Tigers certainly were bad, at least when it came to throwing the ball. Quarterbacks Kodi Burns and Chris Todd were a combined 13-for-27 passing for 85 yards.

But the numbers don’t tell the whole story: Todd had a strong finish against ULM’s second-team defense in the fourth quarter.

For the first three quarters, AU managed just 28 yards passing. It didn’t matter, of course: The run game accounted for a whopping 321 yards, and the game was never in doubt.

But for the much-hyped offense, which spent the preseason dazzling observers with a smoothly clicking passing game, last week’s stumble was a disappointment.

“Everyone was expecting us to throw for 500 yards and run for 75,” Tuberville said. “It didn’t work like that.”

Franklin and the rest of the offensive coaching staff spent the last week working to make sure the disappointment wouldn’t be repeated.

It starts at quarterback, where Todd is expected to make his first career start. The junior says he isn’t fazed by his rough debut.

And after another week of practice, Todd thinks the passing game is about to take a big step forward

“We’re good throwing the ball, so we need to do that, and we have some great receivers, so we need to get the ball in their hands,” he said. “We definitely need to get that going.

“We just really need to do what we do every day in practice. That’s the way we’ve got to do it.”

One thing is for sure: With the first Southeastern Conference game — at Mississippi State — just a week away, a repeat of last week’s performance won’t be acceptable today. Tuberville knows that, even if he has to confess it’s hard to
believe.

“We had 400 yards, scored some points — and we can do much better if we get on a couple more cylinders,” he said.

Now, the Tigers have to make that happen.

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