Auburn’s Week 4 notebook: What made the offense successful against Missouri?

This was the type of offensive performance Auburn Tigers fans were seeking. After committing five turnovers against Mercer in Week 3, the offense bounced back with its most complete performance of the season on Saturday, and it resulted in a 51-14 defeat of Missouri.

New offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey had his best day as a play-caller and it certainly paid off, especially for quarterback Jarrett Stidham.

For the second week in a row, Stidham was extremely efficient throwing — completing 13 of 17 passes (76.5 percent) for 218 yards and one touchdown. Over the past two weeks, the Baylor transfer has averaged 291 yards passing and completed 83.3 percent of his passes.

The most impressive part of the offense’s performance was the ability to create big plays downfield.

A lot of moving parts are always required to pull those off, and everything seemed to be in working order for the Tigers. The deep calls were at the appropriate times, the offensive line was solid in pass protection and the chemistry between Stidham and his receivers was on point.

Here’s a recap of the offense’s successful plays downfield:

• 58-yard strike to Kyle Davis
• 46-yard pass to Will Hastings
• 57-yard touchdown to Nate Craig-Myers

On the season, Stidham is third in the SEC in completion percentage of passes thrown 10 or more yards downfield, according to CFB Film Room.

SEC QBs throwing 10 or more yards downfield are paced by @VandyFootball‘s Kyle Shurmur pic.twitter.com/VzF7NGaXY4

— CFB Film Room (@CFBFilmRoom) September 22, 2017

The vertical passing game was as strong as it has been this season, but that wasn’t the only offensive element performing well for Auburn against Missouri.

Auburn also rushed for 263 yards, 35 by Stidham. The use of his legs was timely, and it really helped the offense in some crucial moments.

The success of the run game looks even better when you consider that last year’s leading rusher, Kamryn Pettway, was banged up and did not play.

Coming into the game, Pettway was also the leading rusher this season, but thanks to a 74-yard performance from third-string running back Kam Martin, Pettway now sits as the team’s second-leading rusher with 202 yards and three touchdowns in only two games.

Auburn will welcome having both Pettway and Kerryon Johnson healthy as the Tigers welcome the 3-1 Mississippi State Bulldogs to The Plains on Saturday for a 6 p.m. kickoff.

Speaking of Kerryon Johnson, here’s this week’s stock report.

Stock up

1. Kerryon Johnson, RB: After missing two games with an injury suffered against Georgia Southern in the opening week of the season, Johnson returned in a big way on Saturday night.

He only rushed for 48 yards, but the junior from Madison, Ala., scored five touchdowns on the ground against Missouri.

2. Casey Dunn, C: Starting right tackle Darius James didn’t play against Missouri because of a neck injury he suffered against Mercer in Week 3. So center Austin Golson slid to right tackle and Casey Dunn was inserted in the starting lineup at center.

Overall, the grad transfer from Jacksonville State performed well in his first start.

3. Marlon Davidson, DL: Like with Johnson, it was nice for the Tigers to see Davidson back out there disrupting opposing offenses. He didn’t record any sacks, but there were a few plays where he showed why he is still considered the alpha player of the defense.

Stock down

Auburn’s performance against Missouri made it extremely difficult to find players for the “stock down” list. While Missouri’s run game found some success, it was still a solid outing for Auburn’s front seven on defense.

Clint Lamb

Clint helps cover the SEC West for Saturday Down South. His work can also be found on USA TODAY Sports, The 'Bama Beat podcast and The Bullpen with TonyMac and The Lamb. Previous stops include SEC Country, 247Sports and Touchdown Alabama Magazine.