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Starkville (Miss.) Daily News State turned its focus toward Auburn Sunday with precious little time to spare . . . Fannin carried the ball only three times for 14 yards Saturday night . . . Gene Chizik of Auburn, Mark Richt and Bryan McClendon of Georgia, and Chuck Smith of Tennessee stood along the Carver sideline as well . . . Cameron Newton's record-setting performance Saturday didn't go unnoticed by the SEC, which awarded the Auburn quarterback today with its SEC Offensive Player of the Week award . . . "We can't give up that many points and passing yards . . . It's difficult to judge teams based on teams they are supposed to dominate . . . Allowing a lower-tier opponent to crack the 300-yard passing barrier elicited serious concerns . . . It helps that the game is so early in the year . . . Chizik said Sunday he wouldn't discuss specifics regarding Stevens' indefinite suspension . . . MSU's offense is like "night and day"compared to the one Auburn saw last year . . . What Auburn will see in film room over the next few days is a Mississippi State team that had as impressive of an opening weekend as anyone in the SEC . . . Chizik said Sunday the fumble didn't keep him from getting more runs . . . "Hey, a Thursday night ESPN game ought to be really exciting for our guys. They're already excited about it . . . Chizik said Quindarius Carr jumped out on the game film from the opener . . . This defense will be a lot better than some Auburn fans think right now . . . Defensive coordinator Ted Roof substituted often just as he promised, but his group didn't demonstrate much improvement . . . Neil Caudle, who lost the starting quarterback job in the spring and the backup job in the fall, had one of the most satisfying plays of the night . . . The Tigers' defense didn't just come out flat. It seemed befuddled at times trying to stop Arkansas State quarterback Ryan Aplin, making him look like Greg McElroy . . . Arkansas State rolled up 205 yards passing in the first half and 323 total . . . Newcomers Newton and Dyer were directly involved in six touchdowns . . . He's a little bowling ball with a nice burst of speed and solid balance . . . "Being his first football game, I couldn't be prouder of what he did . . . "He's awesome . . . You leave Auburn's 52-26 victory Saturday over Arkansas State feeling as if you watched five different games . . . Yet even Malzahn, Auburn's No. 1 perfectionist, left impressed by what Newton did both through the air and with his feet . . . It was the longest touchdown run by an Auburn quarterback since the 1970s . . . "I don't know if I have seen an individual performance better than Cam Newton's. He is the best player I have ever seen live . . . Trovon Reed suited up and appeared healthy during Auburn's pre-game warmups, but did not see the field Saturday . . . Rumors had swirled for days that Stevens faced some sort of disciplinary measure, although Auburn remained mum until after the game. Chizik did not say how long Stevens or Mincy would be out or whether they would be allowed to practice . . . Stevens wasn't the only scholarship player left off the roster Saturday . . . "I wanted to run out and tackle him I was so happy . . . And the way it looked Saturday night against a scrappy Arkansas State team, the defense is going to have to do something drastic between now and Thursday's game at Mississippi State . . . "That's when you're hoping to come out and make a statement and the statement we came out and made was not a good one . . . Arkansas State's offense was on the field for 34:23 compared to 25:37 for Auburn, which ran 19 fewer plays than Arkansas State . . . Auburn allowed Arkansas State just 135 total yards in the second half and forced three successive three-and-outs in the third quarter . . . "Offensively, I don't know if I have seen a better individual performance than what we saw tonight out of Cam Newton. He may be the best player that I have been able to see live . . . He showed off great speed, a strong passing arm, and a command for the offense that's shocking considering this is his first start . . . Cam Newton ran for 171 yards and two touchdowns and passed for 186 yards and three more scores to help Auburn beat overmatched Arkansas State 52-26 on Saturday night . . . Michael Dyer carried the ball 14 times for 95 yards and a score . . . Auburn-Arkansas State stats . . . The offensive line is a group that has played together for the past three years and moving into their fourth together . . . It's given fans hope that a new era of Auburn football is in full swing, one that's hoped will resemble Pat Dye's and Ralph "Shug" Jordan's squads more than Terry Bowden's or Tommy Tuberville's . . . Once he learns how to lick a defender without having the ball in his hands, Dyer will be a force to be feared . . . We'll kick things off with USA Today, where all eight guessers guessed Auburn will win. Erick Smith, the chief selector, said it'll be 42-14 . . . "It's going to be a dream come true . . . Defensive line coach Tracy Rocker, whose unit will probably play more freshmen than any other position, said players will be wide-eyed for the first few minutes . . . But it's not every day a quarterback with 12 Division I passes under his belt bursts into the public conscience quite like Newton, who actually is listed as "only" 6-6 and 250 pounds . . . Arkansas State holds a 1-46-3 all-time mark against SEC opponents, and lost to the Tigers, 27-0, in the teams' only meeting back in 2006 . . . September 4, 2010 will be a day where Auburn fans will learn more about the young players than the starters . . . Closed practices and a limited arsenal in the spring game have left Newton something of a mystery to Auburn fans . . . Even though Michael Dyer won't be an official starter, he has to be mentioned as someone to watch on Saturday . . . Auburn is 14-0 all-time against teams currently in the Sun Belt . . . The only key returner on the ASU special teams units is senior deep snapper Adam Gaston. The rest of the positions have been a battle throughout fall camp, with the biggest question mark at kicker . . .
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