The Auburn offense sped down the field, traveling 75 yards on eight plays and ending the drive with a 27-yard touchdown pass from Payton Thorne to Shane Hooks, who extended the football across the goal line.

That sight alone was enough for Auburn fans to rub their eyes, squint a bit and question whether their eyes were deceiving them – which is fair considering the Tigers’ offense hadn’t scored on its first possession since the season-opener against UMass on Sept. 2.

During Auburn’s second possession, Payton Thorne and Co. did it again – this time on a five-play, 75-yard drive that ended in a 45-yard touchdown toss from Thorne to Ja’Varrius Johnson.

Not only was the Auburn offense moving, not only was it scoring, but the Tigers were doing both on the back of the passing game.

“When you connect down the field early on you feel good about it,” Thorne said. “Even just the little 5-yard hits, that’s good early in the game to get those completions and get those guys involved in the game and make the defense react to it. I would say that helps in any game.”

In the first half of Saturday’s 27-13 win over Mississippi State, Auburn dialed up 20 pass plays and 16 rush plays in the first half – a balanced approach that lit up the scoreboard as the Tigers put up 24 first-half points.

But who, exactly, dialed up those plays?

After all, no one would be shocked if head coach Hugh Freeze revealed it was someone else calling the shots considering just how different the output looked on Saturday.

“It was a collaboration of everybody, but I was very involved in what goes on the call sheet within the pass game,” Freeze said after the game.

Just like every week this season, Auburn’s head coach – a former play-caller himself – was involved in what made its way onto the call sheet for Saturday’s game.

But that was it. Freeze wasn’t the one calling plays against Mississippi State.

“Once it goes on (the call sheet), I’m good with it,” Freeze said. “And I thought Phillip (Montgomery) called a good game on the plays he called. I thought he did really well.”

Given the struggles of the Tigers’ offense heading into Saturday’s game, Auburn offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery had been sitting on a warm seat.

And while folks will say what they want about the struggling Mississippi State team Auburn’s offense had its breakthrough against on Saturday, it’s important to remember that this is the same offense that struggled against Cal in Week 2 and couldn’t find the end zone at all against Texas A&M in Week 4.

Saturday’s showing on offense was a massive step in the right direction by all accounts.

Thorne completed passes at a 76.9% clip – a career high for the junior Michigan State transfer, whose three touchdown passes and zero interceptions was a first for him since his four-touchdown performance against Miami in 2021.

The fact that Thorne was able to connect with 11 different receivers in Saturday’s win was icing on the cake.

“It was good to get everybody involved,” Thorne said. “It helps those guys to feel like they’re a part of the game. Guys feel like they’re part of the game no matter what, but when you’re a receiver and you get the ball in your hands, it helps you in whatever mental way.”

But if the guy calling the shots wasn’t the reason for Auburn’s newfound success on offense – and particularly through the passing game – what was?

Part of that answer comes from the tempo in which Auburn’s offense was operating with.

Freeze had previously said that he, Montgomery and Thorne all feel more comfortable in up-tempo situations. However, depth issues on defense had prevented the Tigers from going all-in on the quicker offensive approach.

“I like tempo. I feel like I’ve done it in my past before — whether that’s two-minute drill or other scenarios,” Thorne said. “It’s become a part of college football, and Coach Freeze emphasized it this week. We went out and executed to the best of our ability and made plays.”

On top of that, Auburn finally tossing its weird and frustrating two-quarterback rotation out the window seemed to benefit the Tigers, too.

Freeze and Montgomery have tried just about everything possible to keep both Thorne and Robby Ashford involved in each offensive game plan to this point.

And while Freeze admitted Saturday night that Ashford still had a package ready to go against the Bulldogs, with Thorne’s hot hand the Tigers never got to Ashford – they didn’t need to.

Thorne was asked after Saturday’s win if the lack of rotation at quarterback helped him find a groove.

“I would say so,” Thorne said. “Just going with what Coach is calling and doing my best to execute whatever play we put in there. I was out there more than normal and just rolling with our tempo and rolling with whatever guys are out there.”

And fortunately for Thorne, one would assume Auburn’s offensive breakthrough on Saturday will be enough for Freeze and Montgomery to stick with a similar approach through the final four games of the season.

But only time will tell.