How the last six road debuts have gone for Auburn starting quarterbacks

Here's a look at how the last six Auburn quarterbacks faired in their first true road start.

Author:
Lance Dawe
Publish date:
Oct 4, 2022 1:06 PM EDT

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Auburn quarterback Robby Ashford will get his first collegiate road start of his career this weekend.

He might be up against the worst possible team to face in a road debut.

“He (Ashford) is going into a hostile environment and not going to be favored, and that's just part of the mental side of playing that position, but that goes for everybody," Auburn head coach Bryan Harsin said in Monday's press conference. "I think for Robby, it's continuing to just to play within himself. He's learning. He's growing. He's developing and he did some really good things in that game (vs LSU). He's a playmaker and he can do more."

Auburn's 21-17 loss to LSU was Ashford's second start, but his first start playing the entire game without being pulled. He completed 19 of 38 pass attempts for 338 yards, two touchdowns and a game-sealing interception (that was not his fault). He's raw, but there's a lot to build on moving forward for the dual-threat QB.

"He (Ashford) did a wonderful job, especially for it being his second start," Auburn tight end John Samuel Shenker said in a recent interview. "I mean that's a lot for a guy especially in the SEC, so really happy to see that [...] I mean there's really no telling (his upside) just because he hasn't played much at all. But what you've seen, that's pretty raw talent that you've seen so far. So if he wants it, he can get anything he wants honestly. The talent is there. It's just is he willing to put in that work each and every day? And he's been up to that so far."

His first road challenge in an Auburn uniform may be his toughest of the season - a road trip to Athens to take on the No. 1 Georgia. After losing a large chunk of their defensive star power to the NFL Draft last season, the Bulldogs have continued maintain things statistically (11th nationally in total defense and 4th in scoring defense) and will look to dominate this weekend against the Tigers.

How have past road debuts gone for Auburn quarterbacks? Here's a look at the last six road openers for Tiger signal-callers, and how they performed.