At some points, it felt like Auburn and New Mexico would never finish.

But after 25 combined flags and a monsoon (kind of, not really), Auburn ran away from New Mexico 45-19 inside a swampy Jordan-Hare Saturday night.

Here is how we graded Auburn position by position against New Mexico.

QUARTERBACKS: B+

It was an up-and-down first game for Brown

Brown showed a few flashes early on, specifically with a beauty of a deep ball to Keandre Lambert-Smith in the first quarter.

But after a hot start in the first, it was a struggle for Brown in the second quarter as he went 1-of-6 with eight yards.

He recovered well in the third leading two touchdown drives that both ended in him throwing for six points.

Brown finished the game 17-of-25 for 235 yards and four touchdowns.

It was a solid start for the redshirt freshman, but it's hard to make any large conclusions based solely on a game against New Mexico. But again, a good start.

RUNNING BACKS: B+

Once again, the running game started out slow, but Jarquez Hunter and Damari Alston both picked it up in the second quarter and kept it going to end the game.

The stats looked good for both of Auburn's backs, but New Mexico's run defense is horrid, so it's hard to take much from this.

Hunter and Alston combined to rush for 232 yards, so their production earned an A+, but the slow start combined with the strength of opponent bumps them down a letter grade.

WIDE RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS: C+

A couple big plays early on, but after that, it was a lot of nothing from the receivers.

A lot of that has to do with the weather and the fact that Auburn was eating on the ground in the second half, but it was still just an okay performance from Auburn's wide outs.

Lambert-Smith has been quite good for the Tigers to start the season. He finished with 72 yards.

It's been a tough start season for Rivaldo Fairweather, but he had a 26-yard catch and run in the fourth quarter for what was basically the dagger.

It is worth noting that Cam Coleman was inactive, which obviously had a negative impact on the corps.

OFFENSIVE LINE: C

Auburn's offensive line is not good. It is what it is.

The line struggled to run block, especially early on, but the pass blocking did look a bit better, but again, against bad competition.

Auburn run blocked well in the second half, and didn't allow a sack all game, which bumps the grade up a bit. But again, there's a bit to clean up.

They need to figure something out quickly as SEC play is set to start in a week.

DEFENSIVE LINE: B-

Tale of two halves for the defensive line, once again.

The first half was rough as the line missed a few tackles, lost contain and really just didn't create pressure.

The second half was the opposite.

The Tigers were able to speed up Devon Dampier, which included a pressure from Keldric Faulk that led to an interception on 4th-and-5.

It's fair to say Faulk has been Auburn's best player to start the season.

LINEBACKERS: C-

For the most part, New Mexico took Auburn's linebackers out of the game, but when they had the chance to make plays, there were lots of missed tackles and assignments.

Dorian Mausi and Eugene Asante both had good second halves, and Robert Woodyard made an impact as well.

Auburn loaded the box in the second half like it did against Cal, and Devon Dampier was punishing the soft spots in Auburn's defense.

DEFENSIVE BACKS: C-

The secondary was bad against Cal, and for a bit, it looked even worse against New Mexico.

The Lobos were moving the ball down the field with relative ease to start the game, and it was primarily through the air.

It's worth noting that the Auburn defense was great once the Lobos neared/got inside the red zone, but that's not a sustainable way to defend, especially once the Tigers reach conference play.

Two interceptions make this grade look a bit better than it would have otherwise.

It's worth noting that Kayin Lee did not play, and that certainly matters, but Auburn's secondary has to be better.

OVERALL: C

Not an inspiring performance by any means, but a win is a win.

The run game was very good, but again, New Mexico has one of the worst run defenses in the country.

Hank Brown had a quality first start, but what will that look like once Auburn faces a real defense? We'll find out a week from now.

As for the defense, it allowed 448 yards but was able to get off the field when it needed to and held a tricky New Mexico offense to 19 points.

Auburn's average starting field position was its own 40-yard line, which was due both to defensive takeaways and great returns from both Malcolm Simmons and Jeremiah Cobb.

Scoreboard looks good -- Auburn covered -- but there's quite a bit to clean up heading into conference play.