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No Irons, no problem for Auburn against Buffalo

Sep 23, 2006 - 9:32 PM AUBURN, Alabama (Ticker) -- Coming off an emotional win and with a short turnaround before another conference clash, No. 2 Auburn did just what it had to Saturday.

Brad Lester and Ben Tate each ran for a pair of touchdowns as the Tigers rolled to a methodical 38-7 victory over Buffalo in a non-conference matchup.

Last week, Auburn (4-0) took early control of the Southeastern Conference West Division with a critical 7-3 victory over then-No. 6 Louisiana State.

The Tigers will not have long to celebrate this win as they travel to South Carolina for an SEC clash Thursday.

"It's like I just told the team, you can't play with it every week," Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville said. "We had a tough one last week. I could even tell it with the crowd. Everyone was still thinking about last week, but we got the job done."

Without star running back Kenny Irons, who suffered a sprained foot and toe against LSU, Lester got the start and ran for 83 yards on 18 carries.

Lester opened the scoring with a two-yard TD run in the first quarter. He added a score from four yards out in the third quarter to make it 17-0.

Buffalo (1-3) made it 17-7 with 6:30 to play in the third quarter on a five-yard TD pass from Drew Willy to Evan Wallace. Auburn responded with a 71-yard TD march, capped by a two-yard run by Tre Smith that made it 24-7.

"Tre Smith, Ben Tate and Brad Lester. This was a day for everybody," Tuberville said. "This was one where we wanted to get as many people into the game as we could and we did."

A freshman, Tate ran for 114 yards on only seven carries and capped the scoring with TD runs of 42 and 28 yards in the fourth quarter.

"It felt good to get out there and get a feel for the game," Tate said. "Being a freshman, I was a little nervous on the first few plays. I got a lot more comfortable once I go in the flow of the offense."

Tate's exploits helped the Tigers roll up a 261-87 advantage in rushing yards and a 414-198 edge in total offense.

"Auburn is solid offensively and defensively," Buffalo coach Turner Gill said. "We played hard and it was a great experience for our football team to come to a great venue here."