Offense fails to move ball with only 251 total yards

Fresh off of a bye-week, the ULM football team fell to Auburn University on Saturday afternoon by a final score of 58-7.

The Warhawks were lead by quarterback Garrett Smith who passed for 139 yards and one touchdown.

The lone Warhawk’s touchdown came from wide receiver Marcus Green at the final seconds of the first half.

ULM started off the game with a quick four-play drive that resulted in a punt to the high-powered Auburn offense.

Auburn quarterback Sean White came into the game and put together a 70-yard drive that ended up with him diving towards the pylon to put the Tigers on the board first 7-0.

The first quarter offered chances for the Warhawks to capitalize, however dropped passes would comeback to hurt them in the long run.

On a third down and long, Smith threw a deep ball to wide receiver Green who then proceeded to drop the ball after trying to secure it while falling to the ground.

The Warhawks were then forced to punt, which would later result in a Tigers ten play 72-yard touchdown drive to make the score 14-0.

There was a short momentum shift when ULM safety Tre’ Hunter forced a fumble, and defensive end Tyler Johnson recovered the ball on the Auburn 21-yard line for ULM.

With great field position and their sights on the end zone, the Warhawks then turned the ball back over on the very next play when receiver Xavier Brown fumbled on a screen pass that had brought the team success prior in the game.

Auburn would take advantage of the second chance and put together a quick four play 83-yard that ended with a Kerryon Johnson touchdown run to make the score 21-0.

The ULM offense came out and responded with a 12-play 50-yard drive. The play calling was balanced with rushes from Austin Vaughn and multiple receptions from Green.

While the team may have a short memory from the game against Georgia Southern, it seemed that the blocked field goal still haunted them when Craig Ford lined up for a 42-yard field goal at the end of the drive against Auburn.

Auburn defensive lineman Joshua Holsey pierced through the line and blocked Ford’s field goal attempt that would have broken the shutout.

The Tigers then used the blocked field goal as momentum to extend their lead to 28 points after Sean White connected on four different passes to set up Johnson for yet another touchdown.

With a under five minutes left in the first half, the Warhawks looked to regroup and build off of their success on their last drive. They did just that with another mixed offensive drive to gainlarge chunks of yardage.

The Warhawks found themselves at fourth down and one with 21 seconds to go in the half on the Auburn four-yard line.

After Vaughn rushed for the first down, the Warhawks now had 1st and goal, but the clock was running out. With two seconds left, Aurburn called a timeout giving ULM a chance to draw up a play.

Smith snapped the ball and threw a fade to the corner of the end zone, which was caught by Green with no time on the clock. This would go down as ULM’s only score on the day and make the score 28-7 heading into halftime.

In the second half, the Warhawks came out hoping to add on to their late success in the first half, but it wasn’t meant to be. Auburn more than doubled their score in the first half, with 28 points coming in the third quarter.

Not only did the offense struggle to move the ball in the second half, they also struggled to keep possession. While punts were bountiful in the second half, Smith’s interception in the third quarter proved the quarterback was having a long day.

Auburn scored a total of four touchdowns in the third quarter and never struggled with bad field position. Auburn’s last touchdown came from quarterback John Franklin III, who is a second string transfer from East Mississippi Community College.

However, Auburn’s last touchdown was not their last score, with six seconds left in the game, Lamon Garrett sacked Smith for a safety to end the game and make the final score 58-7.

The Warhawks return to Malone Stadium this week on Saturday, October 8 at 6 p.m. when they take on Idaho for their Sun Belt conference home opener.