AUBURN, Ala. – No. 22 Penn State decisively won the red zone and turnover battles Saturday to defeat Auburn 41-12 in the first SEC-Big Ten matchup in Jordan-Hare Stadium history.
"Penn State did a really good job," Auburn coach Bryan Harsin said. "I thought our crowd was fantastic. We're disappointed in the performance, we're disappointed in the loss. I've got to do a better job, we all do as coaches, to get these guys prepared to play against really good football teams."
Jarquez Hunter leaped a defender on the way to his fifth touchdown of the season on a 22-yard pass from Robby Ashford in the fourth quarter to account for Auburn's only TD.
Three Auburn first-and-goals netted only a pair of Anders Carlson field goals while Penn State was 5-for-5 in the red zone, forced four turnovers and recorded six sacks without allowing either.
Auburn's defense made its presence felt on the opening series when Owen Pappoe delivered a big hit on Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford, causing a fumble that rolled out of bounds.
"Salute to him, getting up from a hard hit like that," Pappoe said. "He was actually about to slide so I pulled up and didn't give him all I had."
On the next play, the Tigers stopped Clifford's quarterback sneak for no gain on fourth-and-1 giving Auburn possession at Penn State's 47.
T.J. Finley's 24-yard pass to Shedrick Jackson set up Carlson's 31-yard field goal to give Auburn a 3-0 lead midway through the first quarter.
Clifford's 34-yard pass to Mitchell Tinsley gave the Nittany Lions first-and-goal at Auburn's 7-yard-line. One play later, he scored on a quarterback draw to put Penn State ahead 7-3 with 4:21 remaining in the first quarter.
Auburn answered in the second quarter, converting twice on third-and-long with a 24-yard pass from Finley to Landen King and Finley's 18-yard scramble on third-and-16.
Auburn had first-and-goal at the 10 but had to settle for Carlson's 22-yard field goal to trim Penn State's lead to 7-6 with 6:59 left in the half.
The visitors responded with a touchdown drive, gaining 25 yards on a double-pass back to Clifford for a first down at the Tigers' 10. Kaytron Allen rushed for a touchdown on third-and-3 for a 14-6 Penn State advantage at the 1:46 mark of the first half.
"In the first half, that's really the whole story," tight end John Samuel Shenker said. "They scored twice in the red zone, we kicked two field goals. I think that deflated us a little bit."
Auburn got the ball to start the second half but the Tigers went three-and-out and Nicholas Singleton ran 53 yards on Penn State's first play of the third quarter to set up his 1-yard TD rush one play later for a 21-6 Nittany Lions lead.
Penn State outscored Auburn 17-0 in the third quarter, regaining possession after forcing a fumble while sacking Finley on third-and-13.
After the Nittany Lions kicked a 48-yard field goal to extend their lead to 24-6, Ashford completed to Ja'Varrius Johnson a 6-yard gain on fourth-and-2.
Auburn had first-and-goal at PSU's 8-yard-line, but after two plays netted a loss of 15 yards, Ashford's pass on third-and-goal from the 23 was intercepted, one of four Tiger turnovers.
Penn State capitalized on the takeaway on Allen's second touchdown run to go ahead 31-6.
After Hunter's 22-yard touchdown on Ashford's first career TD pass, Auburn's 2-point rush attempt was unsuccessful.
Singleton scored on a 54-yard touchdown run and Penn State (3-0) added another field goal in the fourth quarter. Singleton rushed for 124 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries.
Pappoe and Cam Riley led Auburn with six tackles apiece. Eku Leota made two tackles for loss and Derick Hall added one.
"Stick together," Pappoe said. "They were the better football team today. We didn't execute how we needed to execute on both sides of the ball."
Auburn (2-1) kicks off SEC play next Saturday vs. Missouri on Homecoming on Pat Dye Field at 11 a.m. CT on ESPN and the Auburn Sports Network.
"There's a lot of football to play," Harsin said. "What we do moving forward is going to be the key to our success. We've got to put the time and work in to make sure we are prepared to play to our expectations and standards."
"That's a whole new season, so you can't let one beat you twice," Shenker said. "That's the mindset now. We'll flush it tonight and it's on to Mizzou after that."
"We're going to stay together," edge linebacker Derick Hall said. "We play for each other, week in and week out."Postgame Notes>> Captains: Derick Hall, Owen Pappoe, John Samuel Shenker, Anders Carlson
>> Coin Toss: Auburn wins the toss and defers; Penn State to receive
>> Eagle Flight: Independence from flagpole
>> Attendance: 87,451 (capacity)
TEAM NOTES
>> First-time starters for Auburn: DB D.J. James
>> Auburn has scored in 120 consecutive games, the second-longest streak in school history.
>> Auburn's string of 17 straight home game wins against non-conference opponents was snapped; that string dated back to a 19-13 loss to No. 2 Clemson to open the 2016 season.
>> Auburn's defense has allowed only 25 first-quarter touchdowns in its last 69 games.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES: OFFENSE
>>Jarquez Hunter's 22-yard touchdown catch from Robby Ashford was Hunter's first TD reception of the season and his second career TD catch. Hunter has scored five touchdowns this season. That was Ashford's first touchdown pass of the season.
>> Tank Bigsby now has 2,170 career rushing yards, to rank 17th all time at Auburn; next is Kenny Irons (2,186 from 2005-06).
>> John Samuel Shenker is tied for 6th in career tight end receptions (54), tied with Victor Hall (54 from 1989-91); next are Fred Baxter (57 from 1990-92) and Robert Johnson (57 from 2002).
>> Shenker is 4th in tight end career receiving yardage (640); next is Robert Johnson (741 from 2000-02).
INDIVIDUAL NOTES: DEFENSE
>> With 5 tackles, Derick Hall now has 102 career tackles, the fourth player on the current roster to reach the 100-tackle mark.
>> Owen Pappoe's first-quarter forced fumble was Auburn's first forced fumble of the season; it was his second career forced fumble.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES: SPECIAL TEAMS
>> Anders Carlson is now second in Auburn career scoring with 370 points; the career leader is Daniel Carlson with 480 points from 2014-17.
>> Carlson ranks second at Auburn in career field goals made with 70; Daniel Carlson is the career leader with 92.