Payton Thorne might’ve been named Auburn’s starting quarterback on Aug. 17, but until Saturday night’s 45-13 win over Samford, it never felt like the junior Michigan State transfer truly had the keys to the Auburn offense.

Despite Thorne starting in the Tigers’ first two games against UMass and Cal, the Auburn offense was ultimately driven by two drivers as Thorne and sophomore Robby Ashford both saw ample opportunities under center.

Against UMass, the two-quarterback approach worked well as Auburn rolled over the Minutemen with three rushing touchdowns from Ashford. Against Cal, however, the Tigers’ offense sputtered and neither quarterback provided a spark as the two shuffled in and out of Auburn’s narrow 14-10 win.

“I do not like the way the other night went with it,” Hugh Freeze said of the quarterback rotation the Monday following the Cal game. “We’ve gotta figure it out.”

Saturday night was Freeze’s attempt to figure it out. And though Thorne’s performance wasn’t perfect, it was one for the books.

Coming into Saturday night, Thorne had completed a combined 19 passes for 235 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.

Against Samford, Thorne didn’t even need three full quarters to eclipse both those marks as he completed 20 passes for 258 yards before the start of the fourth quarter.

Thorne finished his night 24-for-32 through the air, good for 282 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions.

And while yes, it was “just Samford”, it’s still worth noting how committed Freeze and offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery were to the passing game Saturday night. Some might even say the two were too committed to the passing game early on.

In Auburn’s first offensive possession, Thorne piloted the Tigers down to the Samford 1-yard line on the back of 12 plays, of which seven were pass plays. Once at Samford’s doorstep, the Tigers stayed committed to the passing game, only for the drive to end in a false start and Thorne tossing an interception to the end zone.

“We had the unfortunate penalty… That moved us back, put us into a passing situation,” Thorne said. “I don’t think that was we’re saying we’re throwing it no matter what. I just think it worked out like that.”

Despite the early interception, Freeze make it clear Thorne’s leash would be long Saturday night as Thorne threw — and completed — four consecutive passes in Auburn’s ensuing possession.

“Just wanted to be balanced, really, and get us some confidence,” Freeze said of Auburn’s pass-heavy attack early.

However, Freeze added that many of Auburn’s passes early in the game came as a result of what the Samford defense was giving the Tigers.

“The way their safeties were playing, they were getting eight in the box really quick,” Freeze said. “A lot of those throws in the first half were truly off the run game.”

It wasn’t until the Tigers’ third drive, however, that Auburn would see the passing game pay off as Thorne connected with Jay Fair for a 32-yard touchdown, capping off a three-play, 78-yard drive in the second quarter.

Eventually, the Samford defense had no choice but to respect Auburn and its commitment to attacking through the air, which opened up the Tigers’ running game.

To the surprise of many, Thorne capitalized on that opportunity too.

Though four different running backs appeared in Saturday night’s game, it was Thorne who led Auburn’s rushing efforts with 123 yards on 11 attempts and two rushing touchdowns.

Following the game, Freeze said Thorne was the first Auburn quarterback to rush for more than 100 yards and throw for more than 200 yards since Nick Marshall in 2014.

When asked what he felt like he proved against Samford, Thorne quipped, “I guess that I’m not that slow.”

Thorne went on to explain that in previous seasons, he’d dealt with injuries to his feet, which limited his mobility.

“I can get some stuff done on the ground, and so, it was good to get back out there and running again. My body finally feels back to 100 percent,” Thorne said. “It was great. I haven’t run many quarterback-design run plays — different reads in my past. Tonight, we were able to get that done and that was fun.”

Prior to Saturday night, Ashford was Auburn’s dual-quarterback threat.

But in an attempt to establish one guy under center, Ashford didn’t see his first snap until the third quarter against Samford with a bulk of his action coming in the fourth quarter with the game well in Auburn’s hands.

Ashford’s night finished with two carries for 17 yards and a touchdown, as well as a 3-for-4 passing performance for 58 yards and a touchdown.

“We weren’t going to go in this and be in and out, in and out,” Freeze said. “We’ve got to find out if Payton truly is going to function every aspect of the offense, which I thought he did tonight well. I thought Robby did things too, and I thought he looked good. It’s good to have both of them. How that looks from game to game? I’ve said from Day 1, I don’t know.”