Auburn football game score: Live updates vs. Mercer in season opener
AUBURN — The first game, when it's a cupcake, usually goes one of two ways.
Door No. 1: Absolute beatdown. Hard to tell what's legitimate and what's not before the schedule strengthens, but hard to ask for much more than that. Your team is invincible!
Door No. 2: Too close for comfort. Wait, why was it that close? Not to be alarmist, but if your team can't score more than that on an FCS program, isn't conference play going to be a disaster? Ready the hot boards.
Last season, Auburn football's season opener was deceptive. New coach Bryan Harsin guided the Tigers through Door No. 1 with a 60-10 win over Akron, but the season was fated to end with five consecutive losses. This time, it's extra important that Harsin avoids Door No. 2 on Saturday (6 p.m. CT, ESPN+) against Mercer (1-0), the FCS foe.
It's a new beginning in one sense for Auburn: For the first time in three years, the Tigers have a new starting quarterback in the opener. T.J. Finley fended off Robby Ashford and Zach Calzada for the job. Now is his moment. (It might also be Ashford's, if Harsin subs him in for his college debut.)
The Tigers are facing scrutiny. They're picked last in the SEC West. The mission to avoid that sentencing has to start somewhere, be it with optimism or fatalism via the cupcake. Follow along here for live score updates and analysis from Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Auburn football game score: Tigers vs. Mercer live updates Saturday
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This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn football game score: Tigers vs. Mercer live updates
