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Sure, the numbers — 58 points and 657 yards of total offense — Auburn’s first-team offense put up during Saturday’s A-Day game were gaudy and eye-catching.

Everyone knows the Tigers’ offense, with eight returning starters, has the potential to be a serious force when the season rolls around in a few months. And to be able to show off some of that explosiveness in front of more than 70,000 fans — not to mention a national television audience — on a mid-April afternoon was a great way to reward the team as it finished up a physical spring season and looks ahead to three months of tough, but vital, offseason workouts.

But everyone also knows A-Day was nothing more than a glorified scrimmage. The real test won’t be given until the season kicks off against Arkansas on Aug. 30 inside Jordan-Hare Stadium.

So there’s no reason to rest after running up the score against second- and third-teamers.

“We got better in the spring, but we still have a long way to go,” said Auburn’s leading returning wide receiver Sammie Coates. “We still have to prove a point.”

And that point is what this season is all about.