Auburn football narrowly escapes with road win at Cal

Auburn football didn’t play the prettiest game on Saturday night, but it came away with a victory nonetheless, putting Hugh Freeze at 2-0 early in his tenure on the plains.

The Tigers got a chance to exorcise some demons against Cal, winning their first-ever game in the state of California. The last two matchups were defeats, one to USC in 2004 and the devastating loss to Florida State in the 2013 BCS National Championship Game.

Payton Thorne threw for just 94 yards on a night where the offensive struggles were egregious, but his most important throw of the night was a five-yard toss to Rivaldo Fairweather that put the Auburn football up four with 6:31 remaining in the game.

This touchdown toss would prove to be the deciding score.

Auburn’s overall offensive performance on Saturday night could best be described as hideous. They scored just 14 points and totaled just 223 yards of offense against the Bears.

On third down, Auburn converted just three of their 10 attempts.

The Tigers were carried by their defense on Saturday night, and that unit was led by Eugene Asante, who registered 12 tackles, a sack, and 1.5 tackles for loss.

The Auburn football defense forced three turnovers, including two interceptions of Cal quarterback Sam Jackson V.

As frustrating as the offensive performance may have been for the Tigers, the defense featured a plethora of encouraging signs.

The Tigers get one last tune-up next week before SEC play. They’ll take on Samford in Jordan-Hare, and after the nail-biter, they just fought through an FCS opponent is a welcome opportunity to exhale and regroup.

The conference slate will begin on the road at Texas A&M in Week 4.