Fresno State Gets Pounded by Auburn

Fresno State Coach Jim Sweeney knows when to say thank you.

Saturday was one of those times. No. 18 Auburn spent the evening hammering Fresno State with touchdown after touchdown until all Sweeney could do is hope the Tigers would show some mercy. The final score: 62-0, Auburn.

“I want to thank Terry Bowden and his coaching staff for not making it worse than it was, because it could have been,” he said. “They could have named the score tonight.”

Auburn (2-0) romped over the Bulldogs (0-2) all night, rushing for 292 yards and passing for 296.

Dameyune Craig passed for 207 yards and two touchdowns, then ran for two touchdowns before leaving early in the third quarter with leg cramps.

Marketh Cooper, who went 62 yards for a touchdown late in the game, had 109 yards rushing. Fred Beasley rushed for 59 yards and two touchdowns, while Tyrone Goodson caught seven passes for 116 yards and a touchdown.

Fresno State had seven turnovers, three of which led to Auburn touchdowns, and was held to an average of 3.4 yards a play.

“We were totally outmanned,” Sweeney said. “They were so much bigger and faster than I ever dreamed they would be.”

Quarterback Jim Arellanes typified the Fresno State performance, completing six of 17 passes with two interceptions.

“We had to be disciplined and execute perfectly, but we couldn’t do anything,” he said. “At the beginning, we kept going three-and-out when we needed to answer Auburn’s scoring.”

Auburn’s 62 points were the most it has scored against a Division I-A team since 1970, when the Tigers beat Florida 63-14.