Louisville Cardinals vs Auburn Tigers Box Score on Sep 05, 2015

The Sports Xchange
Sep 5, 2015

ATLANTA - No. 6 Auburn built a big lead and held off a late Louisville challenge in a 31-24 opening victory over the Cardinals on Saturday in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game at the Georgia Dome.

Auburn quarterback Jeremy Johnson ran for a touchdown and threw for another, but also was picked off three times. The strong-armed junior connected with receiver Ricardo Louis on a 33-yard touchdown that put the Tigers up 24-0 early in the third quarter.

Louisville lost, but after an offseason of uncertainty may have found its quarterback. Freshman Lamar Jackson sparked the Cardinals' offense in the second half, leading three scoring drives to get Louisville back in the game. Running back Brandon Radcliff scored two touchdowns, including a 2-yard sweep that cut the Auburn lead to 31-24 with 2:59 left.

The Tigers recovered the ensuing onside kick and chewed up the final minutes.

Sophomore running back Peyton Barber led the Tigers with 109 yards on the ground. Johnson completed 11-of- 21 passes for 140 yards, and Louis finished with a receiving and a rushing touchdown.

Jackson, who split time with sophomore Reggie Bonnafon in the first half, completed 9-of-20 passes for 100 yards and led the Cardinals in rushing with 105 yards.

Louisville coach Bobby Petrino was Auburn's offensive coordinator in 2002 and was interested in the Tigers' coaching vacancy after Gene Chizik was let go in 2012. He landed at Louisville instead and enters his second season hoping to move up the ranks in the ACC.

Auburn passed on Petrino and chose Gus Malzahn, another ex-Tigers offensive coordinator, who promptly won the SEC in his first season (2013). With new defensive coordinator Will Muschamp and plenty of playmakers on offense, Auburn is expected to make another run this year.

Petrino played coy with his quarterback situation all the way up until game time, listing four players as potential starters on the depth chart. He then got cute on the opening play, and it cost him.

Bonnafon lined up under center with Lamar Jackson behind him. Bonnafon motioned out and Jackson took the direct snap, rolled to his right under duress and was promptly picked off by Auburn's Tray Matthews, who returned it 35 yards to the Louisville 26.

Five plays later, Johnson kept it on a zone read and pranced into the end zone untouched to put the Tigers on top 7-0 only 2:11 into the game. Auburn scored 14 points off the Cardinals' two turnovers.

Louisville threatened twice in the first half, driving deep into Auburn territory, but missed a field goal and fumbled away another opportunity inside the Tigers' 20. With Auburn leading 7-0, linebacker Justin Garrett scooped up Bonnafon's fumble on an errant handoff and raced 82 yards to put the Tigers up 14-0 with 6:54 left in the first half.

Auburn's Daniel Carlson kicked a personal best 56-yard field goal with 34 seconds left in the first half to send the Tigers to the locker room up 17-0.

NOTES: Louisville SS Josh Harvey-Clemson, who while playing for Georgia tipped a pass that Auburn's Ricardo Louis caught and scored the winning touchdown with seconds left in 2013, had two interceptions in the first half. ... Louisville WR James Quick, the Cardinals' top receiving threat, went down with an apparent leg injury in the fourth quarter and had to be helped off the field, unable to put pressure on the leg. After being examined on the sideline, he was carted off into the locker room. ... Louisville was picked by ACC media to finish third in the Atlantic Division, behind Clemson and Florida State. The SEC media picked Auburn to win the conference championship. ... Auburn K Daniel Carlson also set a Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game record with his 56-yard field goal. ... Saturday's game was the second meeting, with Auburn beating Louisville 16-3 in 1974. ... Announced attendance was 72,937.