BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Quarterback Paxton Lynch and the Memphis offense have been a mismatch for plenty of opposing defenses over the last two years. On Wednesday, there was another mismatch when they were on the field.

This mismatch, though, came with a twist. This time it was the Memphis offense which had few answers for an Auburn defense that led the way in a 31-10 Auburn victory in the Birmingham Bowl before a record crowd of 59,430 at Legion Field.

"Our defense was outstanding," said Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn, who won a bowl game for the first time as a head coach. "That's a great quarterback with a lot of great skill guys."

Auburn (7-6) never allowed Lynch to get into a rhythm.

The 6-foot-7 redshirt junior, who threw for 3,670 yards and 28 touchdowns in the regular season, was ineffective against an Auburn defense that was playing their first game without former defensive coordinator Will Muschamp.

Lynch completed 16-of-37 for 108 yards with no touchdowns and an end zone interception by Tray Matthews on the opening drive of the second half.

"It was a lot on us, but you've got to give Auburn credit," Lynch said. "Our offense only scored three points today. So, no matter how good your defense is playing, three points is never enough in today's game."

Plenty of Auburn defenders had big afternoons against an explosive Memphis offense that averaged 42 points per game before Wednesday.

No one had a bigger game than freshman cornerback Carlton Davis, who had 11 tackles and a tipped pass that turned into Matthews' interception.

"All week in practice, they were preaching not to let (Lynch) beat us by himself," Davis said. "I think we did a great job with the game plan. We just stuck to it and played Auburn football."

Actually, it was a thorough job by every phase of the Auburn team. The offense produced 402 yards on 71 plays, while special team highlights included a blocked field goal and a 56-yard punt return by Marcus Davis to set up the final touchdown.

"To be quite honest, they did it in all areas," Memphis interim head coach Darrell Dickey said. "Their offense was better than our offense today. Their special teams was better than ours today. Their defense was better than ours today."

Surprisingly, Jeremy Johnson had his fingerprints all over the victory.

Auburn announced Sean White would start at quarterback before the game and White got the bulk of the snaps.

However, Johnson, who didn't come close to meeting preseason expectations, made two significant plays to help Auburn run away after halftime.

Johnson threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Jason Smith on his first play of the game in the third quarter and added a five-yard scoring run on the first play of the final quarter.

Those two scores turned a tie game into a 24-10 Auburn lead.

"He got his opportunity," Malzahn said of Johnson, who had three carries for 26 yards and his only pass was the touchdown. "When he went into the game, he gave us great momentum. I'm very proud of him. He gave us momentum in the second half, there is no doubt about that."

The other big story, at least offensively, was the play of Auburn running back Jovon Robinson. The Memphis native rushed for 126 yards on 27 carries and scored on a four-yard run in the fourth quarter to provide Auburn's final points.

"This game was special because it's Memphis," Robinson said. "I know a lot of guys who play at Memphis. It's a rivalry for me."

A promising offensive start by Auburn disintegrated into familiar offensive problems by halftime. The Tigers began the game by largely keeping the ball on the ground on the first two series.

The first drive included one pass –- a 37-yard completion on fourth down from punter Kevin Phillips to Kerryon Johnson. The pass gave Auburn a first down on the three-yard line, but the drive stalled before Daniel Carlson kicked a 20-yard field goal.

It took Auburn 10 plays to move 70 yards on the following series, with Jovon Johnson bursting to the end zone from the eight-yard line to give his team a 10-0 lead. Auburn threw only two passes on the drive.

Lynch threw for only 61 first yards in the first half, but Memphis (9-4) still managed to forge a 10-10 at halftime on a Birmingham Bowl record 53-yard field goal by Jake Elliott and a 56-yard interception return by Memphis defensive back Reggis Ball.

Ball had two of Memphis' three interceptions in the first half.

White threw two interception and wide receiver Jason Smith, a former quarterback, threw the other interception. Auburn outgained Memphis, 197-91, in the first half but the turnovers stunted its success.

NOTES: Memphis and Auburn met only twice in football before Wednesday's game. Memphis won both games, beating Auburn 31-20 in 1975 and 28-27 in 1976. ... Wednesday's crowd of 59,430 set a Birmingham Bowl record. The previous record was 59,135 in 2013, when Ole Miss beat Pittsburgh. ... Auburn punter Kevin Phillips was game's leading passer after a quarter, throwing for 37 yards on his only pass. ... Coach Gus Malzahn confirmed after the game that Kevin Steele will take over as the Auburn defensive coordinator.