One of Auburn's goals going into Saturday night's game against Alabama A&M was to earn its first shutout since 2008.

"Any time you get a shutout is something special," Tigers coach Gus Malzahn said. "It's so hard to get a shutout in college football."

Auburn made it look easy in this one, allowing only 130 total yards and forcing 12 punts from its outmatched FCS opponent in a 55-0 rout at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala.

In upping their record to 8-3, the Tigers got solid play from backup quarterback Jeremy Johnson, who filled in for the injured Sean White. Johnson completed 14 of 19 passes for 147 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 42 yards and two scores on six carries.

White was one of several Auburn starters who were either held out or forced out because of injuries. Starting running back Kamryn Pettway, who leads the SEC in rushing yards per game at 138.6, didn't play.

Defensive back Josh Holsey (ankle) was injured early and didn't return. Linebacker Darrell Williams departed just before halftime with a chest injury after absorbing a hit from Bulldogs wide receiver Ledarion Heath that was called targeting, leading to Heath's ejection.

None of those injuries mattered. The Tigers were ready to play and exerted all their advantages early and often, scoring on their first two possessions and easing to a 24-0 lead by halftime, then putting up 24 points in the third quarter.

Alabama A&M (4-7) stacked the scrimmage line defensively with eight defenders consistently in an attempt to stop the run, but it didn't help. Auburn finished with 451 yards on the ground and 598 total yards.

"We knew they were going to bring a lot of running game blitzes and they got us off-schedule a couple of times," senior guard Alex Kozan said. "But we made the adjustments. We wanted to get as many rushing yards as possible."

Kerryon Johnson, who played despite injuries, replaced Pettway at running back and rushed 18 times for 108 yards and a touchdown -- all in the first half. Kam Martin played most of the second half, rolling up 176 yards and two scores on 21 carries.

Jeremy Johnson got the scoring started with a 7-yard touchdown run at the 11:22 mark of the first quarter. Three plays after an interception by Montravius Adams set the Tigers up at the Bulldogs' 14, Johnson found Kyle Davis for a 14-yard scoring strike that made it 14-0 less than six minutes into the game.

Kerryon Johnson upped the lead to 21-0 with a 2-yard run around right end with 3:51 remaining in the first half. Kicker Daniel Carlson converted a 41-yard field goal with 1:30 left, capping the first half scoring.

Jeremy Johnson's 1-yard run with 9:50 left in the third quarter upped the margin to 31-0 and ended his night. Martin and backup quarterback John Franklin III added 18 and 39-yard touchdown runs, giving Auburn 21 points in a 2:34 span.

Carlson's 19-yard field goal made it 48-0 after three quarters, and Martin wrapped up the scoring with a 17-yard scoring run at the 9:52 mark of the fourth quarter.

The Bulldogs came close to scoring once, but Nick Carden's 37-yard field goal attempt with 30 seconds left in the first quarter was blocked. Quarterback De'Angelo Ballard completed 15 of 39 passes for 103 yards and tossed two interceptions as he was pressured consistently by a Tigers' defense that's allowing 14.3 points per game and hasn't given up 30 points in a game.

That unit will get its stiffest test next week at No. 1 Alabama in the Iron Bowl.

"It's always a different week," Kozan said. "We're out of school and they're out of school, so it's like a week of camp for us. It's the biggest game of the year for us. They're our rivals, so we'll give it everything we've got."

NOTES: Auburn K Daniel Carlson added to his school-record string of PATs with seven for the night, giving him 140 in a row. ... The Tigers entered the game averaging only 34.3 penalty yards per game, lowest in the SEC and sixth nationally. ... Auburn honored 20 seniors, plus redshirt junior defensive end Carl Lawson, in pregame ceremonies. Lawson is considered a potential No. 1 overall pick in next spring's NFL Draft.