Artis-Payne, Marshall lead No. 16 Auburn to win
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 AUBURN, Ala. (AP) – Cameron Artis-Payne ran for 129 yards and a touchdown, quarterback Nick Marshall passed for 171 yards and a score and No. 16 Auburn snapped a two-game skid with a 31-7 victory over Samford on Saturday night.
Auburn (8-3) used the game against an FCS opponent to tune up for next week’s Iron Bowl showdown at No. 2 Alabama.
The Tigers, who upset Alabama last year before narrowly losing the national title game to Florida State, needed a morale boost after dropping from third to 14th in the College Football Playoff rankings with consecutive losses to Texas A&M and Georgia.
Artis-Payne, the Southeastern Conference’s leading rusher, has rushed for 100-plus yards eight times this season. He averaged 5.4 yards on 24 attempts.
Samford, a Birmingham-based Southern Conference school coached by former Auburn quarterback and 1971 Heisman Trophy winner Pat Sullivan, snapped a four-game winning streak.
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