AUBURN | It was quite a debut for Auburn’s freshmen wide receivers, which combined for nine receptions for 268 yards and three touchdowns in a blowout win over Alabama A&M.

They might find Week 2 to be a bit more challenging.

The Tigers host California this Saturday, a team that held AU to just 230 total yards including 94 passing last season.

“They did a great job against us last year. They have quite a few returners on that side,” said AU coach Hugh Freeze. “Will they play us the same exact way they did last year? I don't know. But last year, they were basically saying we're going to make you have to throw the football and win some 1 on 1s, and we struggled to do that some.”

Auburn four true freshmen wideouts have been the story throughout fall camp and it showed against the Bulldogs. Malcolm Simmons had a 57-yard touchdown catch and recovered a blocked punt for a TD, Perry Thompson had a 70-yard TD catch and Cam Coleman a 44-yard TD catch.

Simmons and Coleman both started. Bryce Cain added two catches for 33 yards.

“There were a few routes that were a little short, but outside of that there weren’t really any MA’s, no wrong routes,” said Freeze. “It was a pretty basic game plan. This week will be more extensive.”

It took a late fourth-quarter drive for AU to beat Cal in Berkeley 14-10 last season. The game-winning play came on a five-yard pass from Payton Thorne to Rivaldo Fairweather.

Only two AU wide receivers had a catch against the Golden Bears with Jay Fair and Ja'Varrius Johnson combining for three receptions for 32 yards. Both transferred out last season as AU brought in four true freshmen and three transfers to bolster the receiver corps.

"Here's your chance -- our chance, not just them, but us, too, as coaches. Here's our chance to prove we can be a fundamentally efficient scoring machine against a team I think plays really efficient defensive football. It'll be a really good test for us," said Freeze.

Kickoff at Jordan-Hare Stadium is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. CT on ESPN2.