AUBURN | Most teams have learned to stay away from Roger McCreary. Alabama State didn’t and Auburn’s All-SEC cornerback made them pay.

McCreary intercepted a Ryan Nettles pass midway through the third quarter and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown giving the Tigers a commanding 41-0 lead. It was part of a third-quarter blitz that saw the Tigers out-score ASU 35-0.

“Roger’s interception was spectacular. He did a great job of just being ready on that particular play,” said Auburn coach Bryan Harsin.

Facing a 2nd and 10 at the ASU 36-yard line, Nettles tried to make quick pass to his outside receiver to the left. McCreary stepped in front of the intended receiver and blocker and had to reach back across his body to make the fifth interception of his career.

He evaded a diving tackle at the 26-yard line and raced down the sidelines for the first touchdown of his career.

“That play, they did that like three times in the first quarter,” explained McCreary. “The coaches, we talked about it at halftime. It was like, recognize the formation pre-snap, recognize everything.

“So, when the receiver did the same release like he did the first three times, that's when I knew it was going to come the same distance and everything.”

Auburn went on to beat the Hornets 62-0, pitching a shutout for the first time since a 52-0 win over Samford in 2019. AU has out-scored its first two opponents this season 122-10.

The closest ASU got tp scoring was a 20-yard field goal attempt, which was blocked by Colby Wooden and returned 80 yards for a touchdown by Nehemiah Pritchett. It’s the first time AU has scored on offense, defense and special teams since Liberty in 2018.

The Tigers held ASU to 176 total yards including 46 on the ground, and had 11 tackles-for-loss and two sacks. ASU was 4 of 15 on third down.

“To get the goose egg on the defensive side, that was something,” Harsin said. “I think any time you're on the defensive side of the ball and you have a chance to do that, everybody wants to do it, so that was a great deal for our defense today, and rewarding for those guys. I thought we tackled well.”

No. 25 Auburn plays at No. 11 Penn State next Saturday. Kickoff at Beaver Stadium is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT on ABC.