True believers

[rl]

AUBURN, Ala. | He's thrown five interceptions, tied for the worst in the FBS. His 119.31 pass efficiency rating ranks 91st. His 186.5 passing yards per game ranks 75th.

Still, Auburn's coaches and players universally support quarterback Jeremy Johnson.

"We really believe in Jeremy," offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee said. "He's going to be a great player. He did a lot of things really well the last game. Some of the throws the average person looks at… he was throwing the ball away because they were doubling somebody, or they were doing this, or they gave us different look and there was nothing there and he threw it away. Sometimes that's a great play.

"The biggest thing I wanted to see going into the season is what's he going to do when the game is on the line. When the game is on the line and the pressure is on, he led us down and made a big-time third-down throw for a touchdown. That's not easy to do."

After throwing his second interception on the first series of the fourth quarter against Jacksonville State last Saturday, Johnson completed six of his final seven passes the rest of the game and overtime including a 10-yard game-tying touchdown pass to Melvin Ray with 39 seconds left.

Ray, who is tied for second on the team with five receptions, thinks that game-tying drive and leading the team to victory in overtime provided a boost for Johnson heading into this Saturday's showdown at LSU.

"Jeremy has always had a lot of confidence," Ray said. "I just try to keep giving him encouraging words. He's a great athlete. We have all the confidence in the world in him. He'll be fine. His mind is already set this week. He's already in a very positive mindset right now. He's ready to go."

By all accounts, Johnson has remained cool and not let the rough start negatively affect him on or off the field.

"He's still leading and being the guy that he was before we played our first game," center Austin Golson said. "I don't expect anything less. He does a very good job of leading and I think he'll continue to do so."

The message from Lashlee and head coach Gus Malzahn this week has been about putting Johnson in better positions to succeed. That'll be important in Johnson's first true road start at Tiger Stadium against a defense that had three sacks in its opener at Mississippi State.

"I've got to do a better job coaching him. I've got to do a better job putting him in positive situations to be successful," Lashlee said. "The guys around him have to do a better job. A lot of time the focus goes on one guy, good or bad, and usually it is somewhere in between. It's not all their fault, and it's not all the praise. We just have to play better as a group."

No. 18 Auburn (2-0) will open SEC play at LSU (1-0) Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT on CBS.