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We’re not breaking any news here, but Auburn just doesn’t have the roster yet to compete with the best teams in the SEC. Those are just the cold, hard facts for the Tigers in 2023, as evidenced by the 48-18 loss at LSU on Saturday.
That’s not to say that the Tigers should simply fold up their tent and not show up for the 2nd half of the season. Not at all. At 3-3 on the year, 0-3 in conference play, Auburn still has a lot to play for. Besides building a culture, the Tigers are looking at 6 winnable games still left on this year’s schedule.
That’s right — Auburn should be in all 6 games left on the slate, and it will probably be favored in at least half of them. Four of the final 6 will be played at Jordan-Hare, where Auburn is 2-1. So while things look quite bleak at the moment, all is not lost.
Player of the Week: Eugene Asante
Although there weren’t a tremendous number of bright spots, the junior LB was among those who put up good numbers at least. The Tigers’ leading tackler once again led the way, registering a career-high-tying 12 tackles.
It was his 2nd double-figure tackle total this season and 3rd of his career. Asante had 1 sack, his 3rd of the season, and 1 QB hurry.
Freshman of the Week: Jeremiah Cobb
The RB from Montgomery turned in his career-best game, both in attempts and yards. Cobb rushed a team-high 10 times and led the Tigers’ ground game with 69 yards.
Prior to Saturday’s game, Cobb had his busiest day in the season opener, rushing 5 times for 57 yards and 1 touchdown against UMass. For the season, Cobb has carried 23 times for 150 yards. That’s an average of 6.5 yards per carry.
Biggest surprise: They let it get away from them
Auburn hasn’t won every game, but except for the Texas A&M loss it has kept them close. Even Georgia wasn’t able to pull away, winning by a mere touchdown.
So it was a little surprising to see LSU sprint away the way it did and win by a 30-point margin. Sure, the Bayou Bengals have the best offense in the conference by a wide margin. But until Saturday, Auburn’s defense has been able to keep the opposition within reach.
But not Saturday. The LSU offense proved to be too much for an Auburn defense that ranked 5th in the conference, allowing just 18.2 points per game.
Biggest concern: Quarterback play
Again, not breaking any news here, but the quarterback play has been awful for Auburn this season. And it seems to be getting worse as the season goes on, instead of better, as one would expect.
Auburn entered the game last in the SEC in passing offense, averaging 156.2 yards per game through the air. That’s 53 yards fewer than Kentucky, which was next to last, averaging 209.5 yards per game.
The Tigers didn’t even hit their average Saturday, passing for 154 yards. And that was against an LSU defense that ranked 13th in the conference against the pass, giving up an average of 285.3 yards.
There’s no sugar-coating it — the Auburn passing game is dreadful.
Developing trend: Losing
After winning the first 3 games of the Hugh Freeze era, the Tigers have lost their past 3 to even things up record-wise. Granted, not too many teams would come out of that 3-game stretch with a winning record. Texas A&M on the road, then Georgia, and finally at LSU is a trio of games that compares with any schedule anywhere.
But losing can become contagious, and that’s something that Freeze and his staff must guard against.
“We’ve got to go back to work and hopefully get better,” Freeze said after the game. “This will test us.”
Key stat: 563 total yards
That’s how many yards the Auburn defense gave up. It’s the 2nd most in 7 years, and the most since Auburn yielded 578 to Ole Miss last season. Prior to that, you have to go all the way back to 2016, when Ole Miss again racked up 570 yards on the Tigers. Amazingly enough, Auburn still won that game, 40-29.
First impression about Week 8: Hello, old friend
Auburn returns home Saturday to host Ole Miss for a 6 p.m. CT kickoff. Freeze will lead Auburn against his former team. Freeze coached the Rebels from 2012-16, posting a record of 39-25 over those 5 seasons. He won 10 games in 2015 with the Rebels, including a Sugar Bowl victory.
Freeze is still looking for his 1st SEC win at Auburn. Getting that initial victory against his former team would make it just that much sweeter.
Glenn Sattell is an award-winning freelance writer for Saturday Down South.