The Tigers held an Ole Miss offense averaging nearly 38 points per game out of the end zone until the final minutes of a 31-16 win on Oct. 20. They held Texas A&M scoreless on its final six drives (which included Noah Igbinoghene’s momentum-shifting interception), paving the way for a come-from-behind, 28-24 victory on Nov. 3.

There are even positives to be taken away from a 27-10 loss at Georgia this past Saturday, even if the final result was negative — Auburn held the Bulldogs to field goals on its first two trips inside the 5-yard line and allowed points on only one of five second-half drives.

But sometimes, senior middle linebacker Deshaun Davis after the game in Athens, “we’ll do things that you’re just like, ‘What the heck?’”

Auburn’s defense has surrendered more of those than usual over the latter half of this season to date. Mississippi State quarterback Nick Fitzgerald rushed for 195 yards and Tennessee signal-caller Jarrett Guarantano threw for a career-high 328. Texas A&M running back Trayveon Williams totaled 182 yards and became the first skill player since Leonard Fournette in 2015 to score three touchdowns against the Tigers.

Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm captured every bit of momentum in the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry with a 38-yard touchdown pass to Terry Godwin on fourth-and-2 in the closing seconds of the first half, and running back D’Andre Swift provided the dagger with a 77-yard rushing touchdown early in the fourth quarter. Those were just two of the eight plays of at least 20 yards Auburn surrendered in Athens.

The Bulldogs finished their win with 516 yards of total offense, which is more than the Tigers had allowed in any game since the 2016 Sugar Bowl against Oklahoma. More than 300 of those yards came on the ground, which makes this the first season since 2012 that Auburn has surrendered 300-plus rushing yards to two different opponents, with Mississippi State being the other.

When October began a little more than six weeks ago, the Tigers boasted one of the best defenses in the nation. They allowed 304.6 yards and 12.6 points per game during a 4-1 start against Washington, Alabama State, LSU, Arkansas and Southern Miss. Those totals ranked 16th and third out of 130 FBS teams, respectively.

In the five games since, the Tigers have allowed an average of 440 yards and 24 points. They’re 2-3 in those games, and they still have No. 1 Alabama on the schedule after this Saturday’s matchup with Liberty.

“Same 11 guys going out there on the first snap, so, I mean, whatever the situation is or whatever the case is that’s going wrong, we got to just fix it,” Davis said. “Obviously if we don’t, in two more weeks we’re going to see the same thing.”

OPPONENT PER-GAME AVERAGES AGAINST AUBURN'S DEFENSE
2018 Rush yards Pass yards TOP 3rd down Points
First 5 games 92.8 211.8 31:18 25.3% 12.6
Last 5 games 209.2 230.8 36:36 43.2% 24

The level of opponent has certainly played into the offensive production Auburn has given up. Washington, LSU, Arkansas and Southern Miss all rank outside the top 80 nationally in scoring offense, and Alabama State is an FCS school. Mississippi State and Tennessee also fall within that range, but Ole Miss, Texas A&M and Georgia are significantly better in that regard.

But it seems there is more to it than simply who the opponent has been. Auburn’s offensive struggles have led to the defense being on the field even more during the latter half of the season, and that group has struggled to get off the field on third down more than usual.

No player has or likely will admit it, but it seems as if fatigue could be playing factor.

Auburn’s offense averaged nearly 29 minutes of possession per game through its first five this season. It’s a low total that ranked only 93rd nationally, but with a defense that was playing as well as the Tigers’ was, it was enough — opponents converted only 20 of 79 third downs (25.3 percent), which ranked third nationally.

In the five games since, though, Auburn’s offense is averaging a little more than 23 minutes of possession, which means its defense has been on the field for nearly 2/3 of those contests. Opponents have converted 35 of 81 third downs in those games, or 43.2 percent. That total would rank outside the top 100 nationally over the course of a full season.

If you ask Davis, though, he’ll tell you that’s not an excuse. Auburn’s defense has held itself to a certain standard since Steele (who signed a new contract this season that will pay him north of $2 million per year) arrived as defensive coordinator in 2016, and allowing Georgia to convert 8 of 14 third downs during a 516-yard night isn’t meeting that standard, no matter what the offense is doing.

And it won't get any easier during the final two games of the regular season — Alabama has by far the best offense in the SEC averaging more than 48 points per game, and Liberty isn't a pushover at more than 35 points per game.

“We’re first responders. It has nothing to do with the other side of the ball,” Davis said. “If we’re on the field, we’re expected to execute, execute at a high level, and we expect everybody to do their job. We just have to find a way to get consistent right now."