BY BRANDON HUGHES
FOR THE OBSERVER
AUBURN — Deuce Knight didn’t just get his first collegiate start Saturday afternoon in Jordan-Hare Stadium; the highly-touted freshman announced his presence with authority. On his first snap of the game, Knight dropped back to pass, looked left, moved right, made a cut and was gone, sprinting 75 yards to the end zone. At 15 seconds, his touchdown tied the Auburn record for the fastest touchdown scored (Carnell Williams vs. Alabama, 2003). By the time the roar of the crowd settled, Knight was orchestrating what may go down as the greatest starting debut for a freshman in Auburn history.
When the game was over, Knight had run nine times for 162 yards and four TDs, threw for 239 yards on 15 for 20 passing and two touchdowns, and Auburn (5-6) had defeated the Mercer Bears (9-2) 62-17.
Knight was asked after the game about his touchdown on the game’s opening play.
“It was crazy…great blocking downfield, great blocking up front, I just do the easy part,” he said. “All you got to do is just run.”
He went on to say that he had an idea what to expect from the Mercer defense before he even stepped onto the field.
“On the sideline, [Auburn quarterback Jackson Arnold] called out the coverage they were going to play the first snap,” Knight said. “[He’s] probably one of the smartest guys I know.”
How special was the left-handed quarterback? All told, the former five-star recruit was responsible for six touchdowns, becoming only the third Tiger to do so (Cam Newton vs. South Carolina, 2010, and Williams vs. Miss State, 2003). After his first three rushes, he had 135 yards and three touchdowns. His 173 first-half rushing yards were the third-most in a half by an Auburn player since 1980. His four rushing TDs in the game were the most by an Auburn quarterback in a starting debut since at least 1969 and tied for the third-most by an SEC quarterback since 1995. His 162 total rushing yards were the most by an Auburn quarterback since Nick Marshall had 214 vs. Tennessee in 2013.
“Deuce has had a great response this week,” interim head coach DJ Durkin said when he announced that Knight would be the starter.
“He knows he’s got an opportunity to play in this game, and you can see a difference in him…He’s lit up at practice…He’s earned it. We’re excited to see him go play.”
After the game, Durkin’s praise for his QB was effusive.
“Deuce was making the right decisions and delivering the ball where it was supposed to go,” Durkin said. “And there were a couple of times where it didn’t go as designed, but he just went out there and made a play…He’s out there playing like he’s in the backyard. It was fun to watch.”
Mercer may compete at a lower level of football, but they were not intimidated by playing an SEC foe. Not even getting down 7-0 one play into the game would deter the best offense at the FCS level — one that put up over 800 yards in a game earlier in the season. The visiting Bears did what they do and answered with a touchdown drive of their own, covering 75 yards in eight plays. The Bears would score on their next drive as well to take a 14-7 lead in the first quarter.
The coaching staff had some “rough conversations” with the defense about their early performance, Durkin told the media after the game.
“It was more of like, this ain’t how we play,” Durkin said.
Mercer would only garner a field goal the rest of the way.
Auburn would tie the game on a Knight 51-yard scramble and take the lead on Knight’s third TD of the half, a nine-yard scamper on a called running play. After Mercer kicked a field goal, Knight once again found the end zone on another called run, this time for 20 yards, putting the Tigers up 28-17. It was his fourth rushing TD of the day, becoming the first Tiger QB with four rushing TDs in a game since Cam Newton did it against Kentucky in 2010.
Mercer QB Braden Atkinson came into the game having thrown only two interceptions on the season, but as the first half was coming to a close, Auburn DB Kaleb Harris picked off an overthrow, giving Auburn the ball at the Mercer 33. The Tigers would convert that turnover into a TD when Knight found Cam Coleman with three seconds remaining in the half.
Freshman LB Elijah Melendez would get the scoring started in the second half with a 41-yard pick-six on Mercer’s opening drive. The offense would follow that with its second one-play drive of the day when Knight found Malcolm Simmons for a 91-yard scoring strike, tying for the third-longest TD pass in school history.
After two Alex McPherson field goals of 47 and 49 yards, Arnold would close out the scoring with a 56-yard touchdown run — the longest of his career.
This season didn’t unfold the way Auburn imagined, but the ending is still theirs to write. Beating Alabama sends the Tigers to a bowl game. Beating Alabama denies their rival everything it’s chasing. Beating Alabama means heading into the offseason with momentum, which is critical because, as Will Rogers warned, even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.
By the Numbers:
- For the first time since at least 1995, Auburn has had three different quarterbacks rush for two or more touchdowns in a single game in a season.
- Auburn has now had two quarterbacks (Knight and Arnold) rush for 100 or more yards in a game in the same season for the first time since at least 1996.
- Auburn has had 500+ yards of offense in back-to-back games for the first time since the first two games of the 2021 season.
Up Next:
Home versus Alabama at 6:30 p.m. on ABC.
