Auburn started the 2024 season with a blowout win Saturday night, beating Alabama A&M 73-3 to kick off Year 2 of the Hugh Freeze era.

It was clear from the beginning that Auburn had a substantial athleticism advantage over Alabama A&M, so it would be unwise to try and read too much into what Saturday’s result means for the Tigers.

But season openers are also an opportunity to get a feel for how a team wants to play and who some of the key players are.

With that said, here are our three takeaways:

Auburn was unafraid to air it out and for good reason

Payton Thorne had statistically the best game of his Auburn career on Saturday.

He threw for 322 yards and four touchdowns, all while only playing in the first half. It marked the first time since 2018 that an Auburn quarterback threw for four touchdowns in a game.

How did it happen? Auburn’s talented new receivers showed why they garnered so much attention during the offseason.

Malcolm Simmons caught the first pass of the game out of the slot, but Penn State transfer KeAndre Lambert-Smith was the first two bring fans out of their seats.

On the first play of Auburn’s second possession, he and Thorne connected for a 67-yard touchdown on a throw over the middle. Lambert-Smith beat his man with ease, a sight Auburn didn’t often see from its receivers in 2023.

Highly touted freshmen Cam Coleman and Perry Thompson each added long touchdowns of their own, as Auburn repeatedly looked to stretch the field during the first half.

It’s worth noting the competition when talking about the passing numbers, but if nothing else, Auburn showed an increased desire to throw the ball downfield and its playmakers shined as a result.

Only knock on the offense was some late ball security issues. The Tigers lost two fumbles in the fourth quarter, preventing it from making the blowout any worse.

Auburn may have found its starting left tackle

Towards the end of fall camp, questions emerged surrounding what the left side of Auburn’s offensive line would look like.

Redshirt freshman Tyler Johnson got the start at left tackle on Saturday and helped keep Thorne clean throughout the night.

Johnson, who began fall camp with a minor hamstring injury, emerged as a potential starter towards the end of preseason practice.

Freeze said leading up to the game there would likely be a rotation with Johnson, Dillon Wade and Mississippi State transfer Percy Lewis.

Johnson saw most of the action in the first half with Wade starting at left guard. Freeze said that it could take a few games to find a permanent solution to the left side of the offensive line, but Saturday might’ve been a step towards answering that question.

The front seven is deep

Freeze said throughout fall camp that there would be rotation along the defensive line, and that was the case on Saturday.

There still doesn’t seem to be a set first group along the interior defensive line, and given the depth, there may not ever be. With the constant rotation, though, there was never a considerable drop off from group to group.

The defense held Alabama A&M to 38 rushing yards and had 11 tackles for loss.

At linebacker, Eugene Asante was the mainstay of the group, but Austin Keys, Dorian Mausi Jr. and Robert Woodyard Jr. all made an impact in the first half.

The most notable contributions along the front seven, though, came from true freshmen Malik Blocton and Amaris Williams. Both saw playing time in the first half and constantly rotated with the first group. In the third quarter, the pair combined for a sack.

Regardless of opponents, having depth up front will only benefit Auburn this season. With the game out of reach early, it wasn’t a big deal on Saturday, but that will change when it’s time for four quarters of physicality in SEC play.