It seems the Auburn Tigers let last week’s loss at Penn State affect them a little bit too much.

Even after the 28-20 loss, many analysts and fans across the country discussed this week how impressed they were with Bryan Harsin’s squad and the fight it showed in one of the toughest road environments in college football.

Well, those takes will certainly go away after this weekend’s game against Georgia State, a Sun Belt team that entered Saturday’s game 1-2 overall with a 43-10 loss to Army and a 59-17 loss to North Carolina on its resume.

The Tigers struggled in the first half, compiling only 12 points on 4 field goals to enter halftime trailing 24-12.

Even though the Panthers didn’t score a single point in the second half, costly mistakes (like a fourth-quarter fumble by star RB Tank Bigsby) hampered Auburn.

Georgia State punter Michael Hayes had the kick of the day for the Panthers, pinning the Tigers at their own 2-yard line with 3:23 left in the game.

Backup QB TJ Finley was in the game at that point, taking over for Bo Nix, who was ineffective in his time running the offense. Nix completed only 13 of his 27 passes for 156 yards, 0 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. He also ran 2 times for 0 yards.

The Tigers’ only touchdown of the first 3 quarters came on this blocked punt by Caylin Newton, brother of Auburn legend Cam Newton:

Under Finley, though, the Tigers moved down the field, getting it to the 11-yard line with just over a minute left in the game.

That’s when he played a bit of hero ball. On this fourth-down play, Finley kept it alive and fired a strike to Shedrick Jackson in the end zone:

After a 2-point conversion, the Tigers took a 27-24 lead. Then, on the ensuing Georgia State possession, Auburn’s Smoke Monday snagged this pick-6:

The Jordan-Hare magic continues!

No, it wasn’t pretty. Yes, Harsin’s squad has a lot of work to do after this lackluster performance. But, a win is a win, and the Tigers will absolutely take it as they improve to 3-1 on the year.

Now, Auburn has a legitimate QB controversy on its hands, as Finley saved the day for the Tigers. What will Harsin do with Nix and Finley as SEC play starts next week?

Auburn hits the road for its SEC opener next weekend, visiting LSU in Baton Rouge.