ATLANTA -- Louisville coach Bobby Petrino played coy with his quarterback situation all summer. He listed four quarterbacks as potential starters on the depth chart and even sent out two of them on the first play in the opener Saturday against Auburn.

It backfired.

No. 6 Auburn intercepted a pass on the first play and returned a fumble 82 yards for a touchdown en route to a 31-24 win in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game at the Georgia Dome.

Auburn quarterback Jeremy Johnson ran for a touchdown and threw for another, but he also had three passes picked off. The strong-armed junior connected with receiver Ricardo Louis on a 33-yard touchdown that put the Tigers up 24-0 early in the third quarter.

Louisville lost but, after an offseason of uncertainty, may have found its quarterback. Freshman Lamar Jackson sparked the Cardinals' offense in the second half, leading three scoring drives to get Louisville back in the game.

Running back Brandon Radcliff scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, including a 2-yard sweep that cut the deficit to 31-24 with 2:59 left.

The Tigers recovered the ensuing onside kick and chewed up the final minutes.

"I told our team before the game we're going to find out a lot about our team," Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said. "We know a lot about the first 22 (players), but the second 22 we've got a lot of question marks."

Louisville has some question marks, too. On the first play of the game, Petrino sent out quarterback Reggie Bonnafon along with Jackson. Bonnafon lined up under center with Jackson behind him. Bonnafon motioned out and Jackson took the direct snap, rolled to his right under duress and was promptly picked off by Auburn's Tray Matthews, who returned it 35 yards to the Louisville 26.

Five plays later, Johnson kept it on a zone read and pranced into the end zone untouched to put the Tigers on top 7-0 only 2:11 into the game. Auburn scored 14 points off the Cardinals' two turnovers

"It was a package that we worked on all week," Petrino said of the first play. "The center is supposed to wait for the signal from Lamar to snap the ball, and we snapped it a bit early. That's when, as a young quarterback, you just have to have poise and run out of bounds."

Petrino was Auburn's offensive coordinator in 2002 and was interested in the Tigers' coaching vacancy after Gene Chizik was let go in 2012. He landed at Louisville instead and enters his second season hoping to move up the ranks in the ACC.

Auburn passed on Petrino and chose Gus Malzahn, another ex-Tigers offensive coordinator, who promptly won the SEC in his first season (2013). With new defensive coordinator Will Muschamp and plenty of playmakers on offense, Auburn is expected to make another run this year.

Sophomore running back Peyton Barber led the Tigers with 109 yards on the ground. Johnson completed 11 of 21 passes for 140 yards, and Louis scored on a reception and a rush.

"We made some mistakes," Johnson said, "but I know I can perform better. We were just trying to make a play and made a few mental mistakes."

"He's going to be fine," Malzahn said about his junior quarterback.

Jackson, who split time with sophomore Reggie Bonnafon in the first half, completed 9 of 20 passes for 100 yards and led the Cardinals with 105 rushing yards.

Asked whether Jackson will start the next game, Petrino said. "We'll wait and see. But I thought he really did a nice job."

Louisville threatened twice in the first half, driving deep into Auburn territory, but missed a field goal and fumbled away another opportunity inside the Tigers' 20. With Auburn leading 7-0, linebacker Justin Garrett scooped up Bonnafon's fumble on an errant handoff and raced 82 yards to put the Tigers up 14-0 with 6:54 left in the half.

Auburn's Daniel Carlson kicked a personal-best 56-yard field goal with 34 seconds left in the half to send the Tigers to the locker room up 17-0.

NOTES: Louisville SS Josh Harvey-Clemson had two interceptions in the first half. While playing for Georgia in 2013, he tipped a pass that Auburn's Ricardo Louis caught for the winning touchdown. ... Louisville WR James Quick, the Cardinals' top receiving threat, went down with an apparent leg injury in the fourth quarter and had to be helped off the field, unable to put pressure on the leg. After being examined on the sideline, he was carted to the locker room. ... Louisville was picked by ACC media to finish third in the Atlantic Division, behind Clemson and Florida State. The SEC media picked Auburn to win the conference championship. ... Auburn K Daniel Carlson set a Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game record with his 56-yard field goal. ... Saturday's game was the second meeting; Auburn beat Louisville 16-3 in 1974. ... Announced attendance was 72,937.