Cox earns job back
IAUBURN — Brandon Cox didn’t need any reminders about how difficult last week was for him.
For the first time in two years Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville opted to not start Cox at quarterback. Instead, the Tigers gave true-freshman Kodi Burns that honor Saturday against New Mexico State.
But when the going got tough and Auburn’s offense still wasn’t moving the chains the way Tuberville wanted, the Tigers climbed right back on Cox’s shoulders. And this time, the fifth-year senior didn’t fall down.
Instead, Cox came into the game and threw for 135 yards with one touchdown as Auburn broke open what had been a tight game to beat New Mexico State 55-20. And at the same time, Cox regained his job as Auburn’s starting quarterback.
“It had been a very, very stressful week for me,” Cox said. “But I’ve been getting a lot of support from my teammates. They’ve told me that they still believe in me and it was just a matter of time before I turned things around. I got my opportunity today and I took advantage of it. It was a big relief for me.”
Even though the win was important to Auburn (2-2, 0-1), the most important thing that happened for the Tigers Saturday was that Cox finished the game without a turnover for the first time this season.
In the win, Auburn posted season highs in total offense (422 yards) and points scored with 55. At the same time, Auburn only committed one turnover in the game.
“I think once we got settled in, we did a nice job of moving the football,” offensive coordinator Al Borges said. We were coming off the ball and playing as hard as we have all year. I think it’s indicative of the temp of practice we had last week, which was really, really good.
“Brandon really played well. He had some good plays, some simple check downs under a lot of pressure that gained a lot of yards. He made some beautiful throws to Rod Smith. I think we made a step in the right direction.”
Now that Cox and Auburn’s offense has taken a step in the right direction, the quarterback is ready to put the past behind him. No longer does Cox want to worry about hearing boos and feel the pressures that go along with being benched.
Instead, Cox wants to worry about the future and concentrate on what needs to be done to move Auburn’s football program forward.
“It felt better to hear people cheering this week,” Cox said. “But more than likely those were the same ones that were booing me last week. But at the same time a lot of the real Auburn fans have been really supportive. I received lots of positive letters last week from people that were pulling for me.
“I’m just ready to put all of this past me. When you don’t have turnovers, you win games. We ran the ball really well, averaging something like five or six yards per carry. That really opens up our play-action passing game. We just need to keep working and continue to get better.”
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