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Auburn seeks improvement in matchup with South Florida

Sep 8, 2007 - 10:27 AM South Florida (1-0) at No. 17 Auburn (1-0) 9:00 pm EDT

AUBURN, Alabama (Ticker) - Brandon Cox and Auburn were lucky to escape their season opener with a win. The 17th-ranked Tigers will need more than luck when they host dangerous South Florida on Saturday night.

The heavily favored Tigers struggled throughout most of their opening game here against Kansas State and needed 17 unanswered points over the final two quarters to scratch out a 23-13 victory last Saturday night.

Cox was erratic in the contest, completing just 17-of-30 attempts for 229 yards and a pair of interceptions.

But Cox - a fifth-year senior who was sacked five times - showed his mettle in the fourth quarter, hooking up with tight end Gabe McKenzie for a three-yard touchdown to give Auburn a 17-13 lead with two minutes left.

Aside from the five sacks allowed, Auburn's inexperienced offensive line struggled in the ground game as well, as the Tigers managed just 62 rushing yards in the contest.

Auburn will need a better offensive effort against South Florida, a rising program which picked off Big East Conference powerhouse West Virginia in Morgantown last November.

The Bulls posted a 28-13 victory Saturday over Elon.

Matt Grothe passed for 238 yards and two TDs while Mike Ford rushed for 83 yards and a pair of scores on just six carries for South Florida, which is 0-4 all-time against Southeastern Conference opponents.