Auburn beat Samford 45-13 Saturday over Homecoming weekend. This was Auburn’s final tune-up before SEC play. So there’s a lot to unpack. Here’s our report card.

Offense: B-

Much of these grades will reflect this, but the offense is really hard to grade.

There were some questionable choices: two different drives where Auburn threw the ball three straight times inside the Samford 10-yard line and combined for three total points over those two drives.

The playcalling there was a bit confusing. More on that later.

There were turnovers and penalties that cost Auburn on multiple occasions in the first half. While Auburn had great passing stats in the first half, the numbers didn’t really indicate some of the costly issues that kept Auburn from building out a big lead.

But man, this was so much better than the Cal game.

Statistically, Auburn did figure out the passing game. Payton Thorne had one fewer completion and three fewer passing yards in the first half against Samford than he has had combined all season.

Then came the second half, where Payton Thorne went on to put up the best rushing game by an Auburn quarterback in a decade. Yeah, you read that right. He had over 400 total yards of offense between his arm and legs. And he didn’t even play the whole game as Robby Ashford took on the mop-up duty.

Rivaldo Fairweather was excellent with some grown-man catches, including a 41-yard grab where he jumped over two Samford defenders.

Auburn’s running backs, though, struggled. Auburn had 86 yards on 26 carries from its running backs. That’s barely over three yards per attempt. Samford allowed over 300 rushing yards to Western Carolina last week.

Auburn had three turnovers in the first half. Thorne’s two interceptions were really poor decisions. Then Auburn got stuffed on a 4th-and-one for a turnover on downs.

For everything that was good on offense, it seemed like there was something bad to match it. It was a weird day for a team that still put up more than 500 total yards. So it’s hard to be too critical. But there were a good chunk of mistakes. And just some things — the running back struggles and weird passing decisions — that just don’t make sense.

Defense: A-

This wasn’t the heroic effort Auburn’s defense showed against Cal, but it was another really solid day.

When Auburn’s offense ran into problems in the first half, the defense came through. And to hold a high-paced, effective passing offense in Samford to just 144 passing yards is pretty impressive.

Jaylin Simpson had an interception for a third straight game. Auburn had six pass breakups including a block from freshman Keldric Faulk at the line of scrimmage who continues to have an impact early.

Auburn is dealing with so many injuries on defense but new faces keep stepping up. Auburn was without two starting cornerbacks in Nehemiah Pritchett and Keionte Scott for most of this game. Donovan Kaufman, who has had a very strong start to the year, also didn’t play. Neither did Austin Keys who is recovering from thumb surgery.

But guys like Larry Nixon III and Kayin Lee keep filling in holes. How long can they keep this up? SEC play looms next week.

Special Teams: C

Okay, let’s start with the good.

Auburn has an absolute stud with Brian Battie in the kick return game. He had 89 kick return yards on three attempts. He very nearly broke off a return all the way for a touchdown in the second half before he was tripped up at the last line of the Samford defense.

He was great. If this grade was based on Battie only, it would be an A.

But yeah, it isn’t based on Battie alone.

So let’s talk about Auburn’s punt returning.

It starts with Keionte Scott, Auburn’s top punt returner. He got hurt early on in the first half. Auburn did not state what his injury was.

It left catching punts to backup punt returner Ja’Varrius Johnson who also got hurt. Then it was Jay Fair’s turn. Neither caught the ball well.

Both Johnson and Fair muffed punts. Johnson recovered his own drop. Samford recovered Fair’s drop.

That needs to get cleaned up, especially if Auburn may be dealing with Scott missing any more time.

Coaching: B

It’s a tale of two halves. There were issues on the offensive line. There was an overreliance on figuring out the passing game which put Auburn in some awkward spots.

It’s easy to question some of the playcalling. Auburn wanted to get the passing game going. It makes sense. It just may have been too much.

There also are a lot of questions now surrounding Robby Ashford. Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze stated he wanted to find a more healthy quarterback setup, which means less rotation. Yet Freeze also said he wants Ashford on the field to get his touches.

Those two points don’t always line up together. And we didn’t see Ashford at all in the first half, especially in some situations that would have made some sense for him.

But it’s hard to grade that too badly because Auburn made multiple very effective halftime adjustments.

Despite only being up 17-0 at halftime and not scoring in the first quarter at all, Auburn pulled away in the second half.

It took a fix on the offensive line. That freed up Thorne to run the ball more. Seemingly every decision Auburn’s coaches made in the second half worked. It also involved more Robby Ashford, who played well in his time on the field.

Overall: B

Here’s the thing: this was so much better than the Cal game.

But it’s all against Samford. The first half had a lot to take away, especially with regard to the quarterbacks.

So take the good. Take it with a grain of salt.

There will be a lot more that gets clearer when Auburn walks into Kyle Field for the start of SEC play in less than a week.

Matt Cohen covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @Matt_Cohen_ or email him at [email protected]