Payton Thorne explains what happened on pick-6 vs. Oklahoma
Payton Thorne broke down what happened on the pick-6 he threw against Oklahoma on Saturday.
Thorne discussed the play during an appearance on The Next Round podcast this week. He said despite the result, he was comfortable with the decision he made on the play.
“I talked to people close to me and our coaches and some of our teammates too,” Thorne said. “Quite honestly, if I had that play over 10 times, I probably would have done the same thing 10 times out of 10. It is frustrating for me. You look back on it and it sucks. However, I’ve got to give credit to them. They had the perfect call on for what we were doing.”
Thorne also walked through his pre-snap process, including what he read from the defense and how he shifted his protection on the play.
“It looked like zero across the board to me,” Thorne said. “We had 5-out, we were in empty. They brought 6 guys up to the line of scrimmage. They had their 2 backers mugged up in the A-gaps. And so I had to do something with my protection in order to get protection because obviously we only had 5 guys.”
Thorne also explained that his target on the play had a “choice route,” so he had to keep his eyes on that receiver to see which direction he was going.
“When I looked at, I think it was No. 10, he was in the boundary A-gap,” Thorne said. “The backer, he took a step forward and put his hands on our guy and so did the other backer on the snap. So I thought they were coming. And then since I have a choice route to the boundary, I have to keep my eyes on him to see if he’s going in or out. I can’t just keep my eyes glued in the middle of the field. And then, obviously, he won inside. He ran a really good route. I threw it to him and unfortunately they executed their call really well and they bluffed the pressure enough for me to see and think they were coming. And then when I went to find my receiver, I wasn’t able to see [the linebacker] drop out.”
Here’s video of Thorne’s comments:
“Quite honestly, if I had that play over 10 times, I probably would have done the same thing 10 times out of 10…”
Auburn Quarterback Payton Thorne walks us through what he was seeing prior to throwing the Pick 6 vs Oklahoma: pic.twitter.com/a6W85Xt66S
— The Next Round (@NextRoundLive) October 1, 2024
Unfortunately for Auburn, Thorne’s interception was returned for a touchdown by Oklahoma linebacker Kip Lewis. That proved to be the difference in the game for the Sooners as they handed Auburn its second straight SEC loss.
Auburn will head out on the road to face Georgia this weekend.
So, he would throw 9 more INTs, because he knows what is going to happen each time he throws it. Man, no wonder AU has problems.
This whole situation is a mess. Auburn is going to lose recruits and players. To me it is like a dysfunctional nuthouse.