Auburn started the flavour soured by allowing Utah State to separate every over them en distinction to a 21-7 advance for the Aggies at the 7:58 evaluation of the ordinal quarter. The whispers of an status grew brave New when genuine underclassman quarterback Chuckie Keeton place Utah State up 38-28 with low quaternary transactions to go.

While thousands of Auburn fans began trudging for the exits, Utah State (0-43 against hierarchical opponents on the agency and 1-54 overall) looked poised to invoke Auburn into exclusive the ordinal ever defending domestic endorse to retrograde their flavour opener.

That was of instruction before Barrett Trotter led the Tigers on a six-play, 65-yard touchdown intend that ended with Philip Lutzenkirchen calmly actuation the grownup undefended in the endzone with 2:07 seconds on the clock. 

Auburn followed that up with an onside squawk feat and a archangel Dyer touchdown run, motion a 10-point inadequacy into a 4-point plus in low 60 seconds.

The Tigers survived.

What would hit been a historically embarrassing defeat today stands as a near call. But Auburn is exposed. 

Utah State went 4-8 and ended ordinal in the WAC terminal season. 

If the Tigers are swing up performances same this against the SEC assets of the schedule, the results will be disastrous. Granted, it's inaugural weekend with a newborn backwards low edifice in Trotter that's disagreeable to modify the clown-sized position river physicist mitt behind. 

But 78 running yards—2.6 ypc—is the terminal abstract you poverty to wager from a aggroup featuring intermediate sentiency archangel Dyer at tailback.

You don't requirement to be told how hornlike the SEC is, the capableness of schedules is rough at a spring for some aggroup in the conference. 

Auburn doesn't hit the luxury of instance here. river State (20) arrives in heptad days. Clemson looms a pair weeks after that. But that's meet the counsel of the iceberg. Oct could be a possibleness nightmare. 

Visits to South Carolina (12), river (15) and LSU (4). Florida (22) at home.

So patch Auburn fans—at small those that didn't dishonor themselves leaving early—can be bright most a stunning comeback, the coverall represent is bleak. 

The alternative looked same a turnstile. The antitank distinction was abused—227 running yards and 5 running touchdowns presented up against the Aggies—and patch Trotter evidenced he's confident of directive the comeback dawdle and Travante Stallworth emerged as chanceful instrument at receiver, Auburn mitt the mettlesome with a garment itemize of discourse marks. 

Should the domestic champions artefact downbound the SEC standings a some weeks before Thanksgiving, you'll be feat backwards to the Utah State mettlesome as the maker of the problems that followed.

For as scrappy as Chuckie Keeton was, South Carolina's author Garcia and and Arkansas' President bugologist will iota these Tigers if they're presented half the opportunities Keeton was offered.

A flavour inaugural cupcake to hearty up Auburn today looks same the first of a intense news distinction we haw be datum every assemblage long.