Bryan Harsin gets creative in Auburn football's 42-16 rout of Mercer

AUBURN — A word of caution for Auburn football fans seeking unbridled optimism from an unmitigated season-opening blowout: Not everything is always as it seems.

Take last year, when the Bryan Harsin era started with 60-10 and 62-0 wins against the paycheck opponents. All was well until Auburn crash-landed with five consecutive losses.

Still, the Tigers (1-0) did everything they needed to do Saturday in a smooth-sailing 42-16 win against Mercer to start the 2022 season. Nothing could rain on the Tigers' parade, including an 87-minute, third-quarter weather delay that ended abruptly with Tank Bigsby treating the most loyal fans to a 39-yard touchdown. Bigsby finished with 147 rushing yards on 16 carries.

Bryan Harsin and Eric Kiesau are having fun

For a coach whose reputation as a creative play-caller preceded him at Auburn, Harsin seemed reserved at times during his first year in the SEC. Armed with a new offensive coordinator – one with whom he collaborated at Boise State – Harsin devised a season-opening game plan more befitting of his identity.

The first drive alone featured receiver handoffs, running back receptions and a quarterback switch for one snap. That new coordinator, Eric Kiesau, was asked weeks ago how he describes the 2022 offense. Pro-style with elements of hurry-up, he said.

Pretty accurate. Too many personnel groupings, too many substitutions and just enough tempo to keep lowly Mercer off-balance. Auburn traveled 68 yards in 11 plays with three third-down conversions.

And pretty exciting. Play-calling became an unpredictable guessing game for fans throughout the first half. One especially fun sequence started with a reverse: Bigsby took the handoff, swinging it to Ja'Varrius Johnson, who ran it 10 yards to the boundary with help from T.J. Finley's big block. Then Auburn rolled out a two-quarterback set the next play. Robby Ashford started in the slot. Finley handed off to him in motion, and Ashford ran an option ending in a pitch to Bigsby.

Four receivers carried the ball, multi-tight end sets continued to bewilder Mercer, and Harsin cooked.

Robby Ashford and other backups shine – not just in garbage time

About those two quarterbacks: It was generally expected that Harsin would give Ashford his first college game reps, but not this early and not this often. Auburn game-planned around the backup quarterback. He took the first snap of the second drive. Ashford turned on the jets, turned a corner and raced 49 yards. The next play, Finley was back, dropping a 40-yard dime to Johnson.

Ashford ended the first half with 66 rushing yards on five carries – but without a passing attempt. He got his chance in the third quarter and threw a beautiful 56-yard go route to Johnson. By then, Finley was struggling after an 8-for-10 start. The starter threw two interceptions and finished with a quarterback rating of 126.5 (9-for-14) to Ashford's 177.1 (4-for-7).

The backups outshined starters across the offense. Second-string running back Jarquez Hunter scored three touchdowns, becoming the first Auburn player to do so since 2019. Johnson was listed as the backup slot receiver on the depth chart, but he was everywhere. Along with his punt returns and rushing contribution, his 117 receiving yards led the team.

STARTING SAFETYFor Donovan Kaufman, 9 years of football without dad in the stands ends in Auburn season opener

QUARTERBACKTJ Finley wasn't the people's choice QB1 for Auburn football. You think Bryan Harsin cares?

Stock rises dramatically for this defensive player

A 2021 team captain roamed the Auburn sideline before kickoff, reminding the Tigers of what they lost this offseason. Chandler Wooten and fellow leading tackler Zakoby McClain both went pro.

Enter Cam Riley, the 6-foot-5 junior whose size and agility were on display against Mercer. He shed blocks and attacked the ball with surprising speed, compiling 15 tackles in his first start.

Auburn had solid defensive performances across the board – the edge rushers both recorded sacks, and safety Donovan Kaufman made five tackles, a pass breakup and was an effective blitzer at nickel – but Riley's contribution was the most promising given the unproven status of Auburn's linebacker room.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Bryan Harsin cooks in Auburn football's 42-16 rout of Mercer