9/19/22 Auburn Articles

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Missouri Tigers vs. Auburn Tigers: Where, when, odds, TV as MU seeks good start in SEC

AOL Staff

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Missouri got back on the winning track with Saturday’s 34-17 victory over Abilene Christian to improve to 2-1. Next up, Auburn.

It’s the first SEC game for the teams that share the same nickname and 2-1 record. In both cases, the loss was a similar score head-shaker, Missouri at Kansas State two weeks ago, 40-12, and Auburn on Saturday at home to Penn State, 41-12.

The details

Kickoff: 11 a.m. Saturday

Where: Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn, Ala.

TV: ESPN

Radio: KMBZ (980 AM, 98.1 FM)

Betting line: Auburn by 9 1/2

Five things to know

1. Auburn is coming off its worst home loss in a decade: The Tigers committed four turnovers and failed to score a touchdown on their four trips to the red zone. That hadn’t been a problem. In its first two games, Auburn had finished every red zone trip with a touchdown.

2. And the quarterback is ... : Auburn has rotated T.J. Finley and Robby Ashford at quarterback. In the Penn State loss, coach Bryan Harsin considered giving reps to Zach Calzada, a Texas A&M transfer. Neither of the regulars was effective against the Nittany Lions.

3. Ships that pass in the night: This is Missouri’s 10th SEC season and these two bands of Tigers will be meeting for only the second time in the regular season (and just the third time ever). Missouri is making its first trip to Auburn. The Alabama Tigers crushed the Missouri Tigers 51-14 in Columbia in 2017. That Missouri team won its final six regular-season games and played in a bowl. But there’s been another Tigers-Tigers meeting: Auburn defeated Missouri in the 2013 SEC Championship Game.

4. Missouri’s offensive line needs improvement, quickly: After the 34-17 win over Abilene Christian, Eli Drinkwitz said his Tigers need to identify their five best offensive linemen. Mizzou also has to find the group that can play well together. Poor pass protection turned into an opponent’s touchdown when Brady Cook was sacked and lost a fumble into the end zone. Oh, and the group produced five holding penalties. Ouch.

5. Critical juncture for Mizzou: As this season approached, media and fans played the schedule game. You know, running a finger down the 12-game slate and identifying likely victories and defeats. Before leaving September, the thinking went, Missouri would need to be no worse than 3-1 to reach goals that ranged from being part of the division race to bowl eligibility. Anything can happen in the course of a season, but Saturday’s game has a pivot-point feel.

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Auburn Morning Rush: Tigers lead for OL target, Volleyball sets program record

JD McCarthy

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It was not the weekend Auburn fans were looking for but it was not all bad for the Tigers.

The football team landed their ninth commitment of the 2023 recruiting class is three-star defensive lineman Jamarrion Harkless and could soon to landing another. Offensive line target Gernorris Wilson visited Auburn this weekend and not only are the Tigers still his leader but he is “real close” to a commitment.

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SEC Network analyst Paul Finebaum believes that a shift has occurred with the outlook for Bryan Harsin after Auburn’s 41-12 loss to Penn State and that the Tigers moving on is now a matter of if not when.

In more positive news, the volleyball program picked up two more wins over the reason and is now 11-0 to start the season, the best start to the season in program history.

Read about these stories and more in the latest edition of the Auburn Morning Rush.

Auburn landed four-star wide receiver Adam Hopkins on Thursday and three-star defensive lineman Jamarrion Harkless on Sunday and could be landing a third commitment soon.

Wilson, who is a three-star offensive lineman, spoke with Auburn Undercover’s Christian Clemente after the Penn State game and confirmed Auburn is still “No. 1” in his recruitment and that the visit was “amazing.”

The 6-foot-5, 285-pound Wilson believes he is capable of making an immediate impact at the college level.

“I really don’t want to toot my own horn but I feel like I can be a true freshman starter,” Wilson said. “To me, I’ve just got to come in hit the weight room hard, get the plays down and I feel like I can be a starter as soon as I come.”

When discussing a possible commitment he said it is “real close, real close. Closer than you think.”

He is ranked as the No. 1145 overall player and No. 86 interior offensive lineman in the 247Sports Composite ranking.

(Photo by Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images)

Auburn volleyball finished non-conference a perfect 11-0, the best start in program history. The Tigers had a perfect weekend to clinch the record-setting start, sweeping Jackson State and beating Jacksonville State 3-2 to close the weekend.

“It means a ton,” head coach Brent Crouch said. “Part of our job as head coaches is to raise the visibility of the university and you do that through winning. When you break records and stay undefeated for as long as we have, people pay attention.

“These tournaments are hard when you play three matches in two days. We were up at 7 a.m. doing scouting and playing at 10. We didn’t play our best volleyball in the morning but when it counted, we stepped up. To break the record when the average age of your team is 18, that just bodes well for the future.”

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247sports.com

 

Jason Caldwell's Monday morning quarterback column

Jason Caldwell

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Where to from here?

It’s only week four for the Auburn Tigers, but this feels like one of the most must-win games in quite a while for the football program and the future of Bryan Harsin. Auburn is coming off an embarrassing 41-12 loss at home to Penn State while Missouri is a team that got blown out by Kansas State two weeks ago, the same Kansas State team that lost at home to Tulane over the weekend.

Currently 2-1 on the season, there’s still a lot of football ahead for the Tigers, but that schedule includes LSU at home before back-to-back road games against ranked teams Georgia and Ole Miss. 

Since the schedule first came out, you could point to the first five games at home and know that any chance for a successful season in 2022 meant starting at least 4-1. That certainly looks like it’s in very serious jeopardy the way the Tigers played against Penn State.

Can this team turn it around? Yes, but it will have to quit turning the ball over and start forcing turnovers on defense. That’s a great place to begin for Harsin’s team, but that’s far from the only thing that needs to improve.

I’m not sure what the answers are at this point because of the issues Auburn has had recruiting on the line of scrimmage the last couple of years, but if that part of the game doesn’t improve dramatically in the new few weeks, things will go from bad to worse against one of the toughest remaining schedules in college football.

Speaking of Missouri

I was told that Missouri’s coaches felt like this was a team that was ready to take the next step with some additions from the transfer portal and 5-star wide receiver Luther Burden. It was all dependent on the play at quarterback. In three games the Mizzou Tigers are a little bit like Auburn with four touchdowns and five interceptions as a team. Redshirt sophomore Brady Cook rebounded from a terrible game against Kansas State and has put up some solid numbers outside of that performance.

One thing about Saturday’s game that makes this one interesting is that it has the feel of a Super Bowl of sorts for Missouri. Coach Eli Drinkwitz coached with Harsin at Boise State so he’s very familiar with many of the guys currently at Auburn. He is also a Gus Malzahn guy who was on the staff with the Tigers as an off-field assistant.

Former Auburn graduate assistant coach Erik Link is now the special teams coordinator for Missouri with former AU staffers Curtis Luper coaching the running backs and Al Pogue coaching the corners. The former right hand man of Tommy Tuberville, Andy Lutz, is the director of football operations for Missouri. Former Auburn strength coach Ryan Russell is the executive director of athletic performance for the Tigers while former Auburn staffer Ryan Trichel is the director of player personnel.

That is a lot of ties to Auburn for the Missouri program. Make no mistake, this is a big game for the visiting Tigers this week and they’ll look at it as an opportunity to make some noise in the college football world.

Around the league 

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Georgia keeps on rolling and I’m not sure any team is going to be able to slow the Bulldogs this season unless something changes. The statement of the weekend came with LSU beating Mississippi State at home after falling behind early. The Bengal Tigers are playing better football after struggling early and will be a tougher test down the road as Jayden Daniels continues to develop in the offense.

A team that is interesting to me is Ole Miss. Georgia Tech isn’t very good, but the Rebels dominated them in Atlanta and it started at the line of scrimmage. Lane Kiffin gets a lot of attention for his passing game, but once again Ole Miss can really run it. They are averaging 271 yards rushing per game with 12 rushing touchdowns while giving up 71.7 yards per game on the ground and no scores. With Tulsa and Kentucky at home the next two weeks before going to Vanderbilt, there’s a chance that the Rebels will be 6-0 when Auburn goes to Oxford on October 15.

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#PMARSHONAU: A day that will live in Auburn football infamy

ByPhillip Marshall 18 hours ago

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Blame the offense. Blame the defense. Blame the quarterbacks. Blame the coaches. Blame whoever you want. The truth is, in a huge game in front of a sellout crowd at Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn was not good enough to beat a Penn State team that itself looks to be little more than ordinary.

Auburn’s offense wasn’t bad at times in the first half but couldn’t close the deal when it got down close. The second half was just bad all the way around until the issue had been decided. And Auburn, in perhaps the biggest game of Bryan Harsin’s tenure as head coach lost 41-12. And that is not a typo.

It was Auburn’s most lopsided home loss since a 63-21 beating at the hands of Texas A&M in 2012. Has there ever been a more lopsided nonconference loss at Jordan-Hare? And Harsin’s seat got hotter than ever.

It was a day that will live in Auburn football infamy.

I expected more. I really did. I thought the Tigers, with the crowd pushing them on, would play at a high level. I have no doubt they tried to play at high level. Other than a few fleeting moments, they didn’t.

These Tigers will have to show marked improvement to beat any of the SEC teams on their schedule, other than, perhaps, Missouri next Saturday. The operative word there is perhaps.

What happened against Penn State was, for lack of a better word, dreadful. As the game wore on, Penn State assumed total ownership of the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. Auburn’s could not run the ball consistently. Whether it was T.J. Finley or Robby Ashford, the quarterbacks were under duress almost every time they tried to pass.

Ashford provided a spark in the second half, but one long drive ended in an interception. Another ended in a touchdown on a terrific catch and run by Jarquez Hunter, but Penn State quickly answered on a 54-yard run by Nicholas Singleton to erase any doubt that remained, which was not much. Another ended on a fourth-down failure in the red zone. You would have to think a change in starting quarterbacks could be ahead.

Meanwhile, when Penn State got into the red zone, it simply handed the ball off and took it right into the end zone.

Some things I wonder:

* Why was Landon King, who made Auburn’s catch of the year in the first half, not seen again?

* Why did no Auburn coaches recognize that the game clock was clearly on 0:00 in the first quarter before the ball was snapped on the play that resulted in Finley’s interception? A better question might be why the replay official didn’t stop the game to review it?

* Why is Tank Bigsby so often not in the game in crucial situatiuons?

* Can Auburn score enough to beat good teams in the Harsin/Kiesau offensive scheme? Can it score enough in any scheme?

Some things I believe:

* If Auburn can’t run the ball and stop the run it might not beat anybody left on its schedule. It did neither of those against Penn State.

* It was one game and a non-conference game at that, but if Harsin can’t stop the bleeding, his future at Auburn is in serious question.

* It’s hard to be successful when you turn the ball over and get no turnovers in return. Through three games, Auburn’s defense has yet to force a turnover. The offense has turned it over nine times.

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* The Tigers made way too many mistakes. I’m not sure they are good enough to win if they don’t make mistakes. I am certain they aren’t good enough to win when they do.

That Auburn football is in a bad place is clear. Whether it can find a way out seems doubtful after what was on display Saturday.

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Bryan Harsin discusses plan at QB, Tank Bigsby’s touches after blowout loss to Penn State

Andrew Olson

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Bryan Harsin was handed the most lopsided loss of his Auburn tenure on Saturday when Penn State defeated the Tigers 41-12 on The Plains.

After the game, Harsin met with reporters. He touched on a range of topics, including his quarterbacks, RB Tank Bigsby and more.

Here’s what Harsin said in his postgame presser:

• Thanked the orange-out home crowd for bringing energy.
• Disappointed for the players.
• Described TJ Finley as banged up a bit (shoulder).
• Finley’s injury did not have much of an impact on the decision to play Robby Ashford more in the second half. The feeling was Ashford could get something going.
• The staff considered playing QB Zach Calzada in the second half, but decided not to. Calzada could get playing time in the future.
• Calls discipline, toughness and conviction keys moving forward.
• Auburn was not consistent enough to get into a groove and regain momentum.
• Turnover issue needs to be fixed, “not sustainable.”
• Thinks team is better than what it showed on the field Saturday.
• On Bigsby’s lack of touches: Auburn fell behind and needed to throw. He wants to be a running team with Bigsby and Jarquez Hunter.
• Can’t control job security conversation, focus is on coaching for the players.

 

Andrew Olson

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Impactful plays from Auburn’s 41-12 loss against Penn State

Updated: Sep. 18, 2022, 10:42 p.m.|Published: Sep. 18, 2022, 2:53 p.m.

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Fumbles, interceptions, and ineptitude put a damper on a sunny afternoon at Jordan-Hare for Auburn fans. Nearly 88,000 people, mostly wearing orange, bolted for the exits with almost 14 minutes left in the fourth quarter during a 41-12 Auburn (2-1, 0-0 SEC) defeat against Penn State (3-0, 1-0 Big Ten).

Penn State had a balanced offense with 245 rushing yards, led by Nicholas Singleton with 124 yards on 10 carries with two touchdowns. Nittany Lions quarterback Sean Clifford threw for 178 yards and caught a 25-yard pass from receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith. Penn State had 232 passing yards.

Auburn struggled with creating a rhythm on offense; starting quarterback T.J. Finley and Robby Ashford combined to throw for 296 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions with a 55 percent completion rate. The Tigers had four turnovers, with two interceptions and two fumbles. Combing the turnovers with an inability to score in the red zone led to the crushing loss.

Read More Auburn Football: Instant Analysis: Turnovers and miscues lead to Auburn’s 41-12 loss against Penn State

What James Franklin said and players said after win against Auburn

Grading Auburn’s 41-12 loss to Penn State - al.com

“You can look at the stats; it’s pretty matter-of-fact. I think football really comes down to that, just the execution piece,” Auburn head coach Bryan Harsin said. “You lose the turnover battle; that’s number one. And I think tackling that was another area that we can improve on. But overall, they were 5 for 5 in the red zone, and we were 2 for 4. And those penalties hurt us. Excuse me; the turnovers hurt us when it was all said and done.”

We’ll look at some plays that directly impacted the Auburn loss.

3rd & 8 Ball on Penn State’s 39-yard line 13:22 1st Quarter Auburn 0 Penn State 0

Clifford stepped up, looking to complete a pass on the Nittany Lions’ first drive of the contest. Receivers weren’t open, and Clifford decided to run. He saw an open lane and would’ve had a first down. Auburn linebacker Owen Pappoe had other ideas. Pappoe leveled Clifford and knocked the ball loose.

Instead of a first down, the Nittany Lions had a fourth and one that Clifford failed to convert. Pappoe got injured during last season’s game. It felt like a tone-setting play at the time.

“It’s football. They have good players, and that guy rocked me,” Clifford said. I saw the video too, and it looked even worse than it felt. It is just football, and we take hits, and we have to bounce back.”

2nd & Goal ball on Auburn seven-yard line 4:23 1st Quarter Auburn 3 Penn State 0

Auburn took a 3-0 lead on an Anders Carlson 31-yard field goal at the 8:20 mark on the previous drive. Finley got sacked on 3rd and goal from the nine, one of the red zone trips that Auburn could not convert into a touchdown. Both of Auburn’s red zone scores were first-half field goals.

Clifford completed a pass to Western Kentucky transfer Mitchell Tinsley for 41 yards on second down to get the Nittany Lions in the red zone. His seven-yard touchdown run gave Penn State a 7-3 lead. The Nittany Lions would never trail again in the game.

3rd & 6 ball on Penn State 28-yard line 0:05 1st Quarter Penn State 7 Auburn 3

Auburn had a chance to take the lead with the offense putting a few plays together. Finley threw an interception to safety Zakee Whatley on third down. Credit to the Tiger defense for holding the Nittany Lions without a point on this turnover. However, the play by Finley was a microcosm of how the game would go for the Tigers. Every time there was momentum, there seemed to be a play to set the team back.

2nd & 5 ball on Auburn 35-yard line 2:58 2nd Quarter Penn State 7 Auburn 6

Penn State went into their bag of tricks on this play. Clifford pitched to receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith, and Lambert-Smith tossed it to Clifford for a 25-yard gain. Kaytron Allen scored his first two touchdowns a few plays later to increase the Nittany Lion lead to 14-6 before halftime.

1st & 10 ball on Penn State 42-yard line 13:23 3rd Quarter Penn State 14 Auburn 6

Auburn’s hopes started slipping away on Singleton’s 53-yard carry on the Nittany Lions’ first possession of the second half. The Tigers went three and out after getting the second-half kickoff. Tank Bigsby lost two yards on first down, Finley threw an incompletion to Bigsby on second down, and took a sack for a seven-yard loss on third down. You might wonder how you’re this far into an article about an Auburn football game and it took this long to see Bigsby’s name. Well, Bigsby only had 11 touches in the game and had five rushing attempts at halftime.

Bigsby didn’t get a touch in the second quarter. He wound up with nine carries for 39 yards.

Singleton was the dominant running back in the game instead of Bigsby, and he showed on the long run that set up Penn State’s third touchdown two plays later.

3rd & 13 ball on Auburn 35-yard line 10:46 3rd Quarter Penn State 21 Auburn 6

Penn State’s defensive line caused the pocket to collapse around Finley. He got strip-sacked on the play. Finley took four sacks, an interception, and fumbled against the Nittany Lions’ defense. This ended up being the last time Finley would see the field. He favored his shoulder and other points during the 19-point loss after the play. Harsin confirmed it wasn’t an injury that kept Finley out of the game.

“It comes back to us executing, but the decision for that was not necessarily off of, you know, him not being able to go. TJ’s a tough guy,” Harsin said. He showed toughness tonight, too, and we felt like Robby had some plays in there and that he could get some things going, and he did.”

Penn State hit a field goal a few plays later, increasing their lead to 24-6 with a little under 10 minutes remaining in the third quarter.

3rd & Goal from the Penn State 23 4:21 3rd Quarter Penn State 24 Auburn 6

Auburn started with a 1st & Goal from the eight after a 15-yard pass from Ashford to Malcolm Johnson Jr. Ashford lost four yards on a quarterback keeper on second down. He got sacked for an 11-yard loss on third down to set up 3rd & 23.

Ashford committed Auburn’s fourth turnover of the game and eighth of the season on an interception. Ji’Ayir Brown leaped for the ball at the 10 and ran it back 27 yards.

Colby Wooden got called for a personal foul on the play, which tacked 15 yards to the return. Allen scored his second touchdown from the six to cap off the scoring drive a few plays after Ashford’s interception.

Penn State led 31-6 with 1:07 left in the third quarter. Ashford threw a 27-yard touchdown to Jarquez Hunter on the ensuing drive, but Singelton sent remaining Auburn fans home with a 50-yard touchdown run with a little over 14 minutes left in the game.

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Talty: Auburn should get Kiffin because Harsin isn't it

Updated: Sep. 18, 2022, 6:12 p.m.|Published: Sep. 18, 2022, 8:09 a.m.

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As it turns out, there are reasons schools stay inside the box when they make hires.

Bryan Harsin was hailed as an outside-the-box hire when Auburn plucked him away from Boise State. He arrived with a sterling win-loss record (69-19) and a Fiesta Bowl win, but there were questions from Day 1 on how a man with no real experience recruiting the South would succeed in the ultra-competitive Southeastern Conference.

The spin at the time, from those involved in the search, is Harsin would do a better job at developing quarterbacks once they got to Auburn, an area Gus Malzahn had struggled with in the post-Cam Newton era. They liked that he was an outsider after spending decades hiring exclusively coaches with ties back to Auburn, the SEC or the state of Alabama.

Even though he’s only 16 games into his tenure at Auburn, it is already time to declare that decision a mistake. Harsin’s track record suggests he’s a good coach, but he hasn’t shown it at Auburn.

The latest embarrassment, a 41-12 loss at home to Penn State, illustrates how doomed Harsin already is as Auburn’s head coach. Harsin hasn’t developed quarterbacks any better than Malzahn, he can’t recruit well enough to compete with the SEC’s upper echelon and he’s not an elite X’s and O’s coach to overcome those deficiencies. That’s a recipe to get you fired long before your initial six-year contract runs out, as Harsin is well on his way to experiencing.

Saturday was a critically important opportunity for Harsin. Not only did he need to beat Penn State ahead of a brutal SEC schedule, but Harsin badly needed to impress the talented collection of recruits assembled inside Jordan-Hare Stadium. Auburn entered Saturday with the nation’s 62nd-ranked recruiting class, according to 247Sports, good for the lowest-ranked class in the SEC. Six SEC schools currently have classes ranked in the top 15, with Auburn’s chief rivals Alabama (No. 1) and Georgia (No. 3) leading the way. That’s the standard Harsin’s held against, and he’s failing miserably. It’s unlikely Saturday’s pitiful performance will have the nation’s top recruits fighting themselves to commit to Auburn.

Harsin entered this season on the hottest seat in the SEC. Former Auburn athletic director Allen Greene bucked the wishes of some influential boosters when he hired Harsin in 2020, throwing him into a precarious situation. When you don’t have the support of the right people, especially at a school like Auburn, you are doomed from the get-go, as we can now see Harsin was the minute he left Idaho for Alabama.

After a disappointing 6-7 first season, there was a well-publicized effort to get Harsin fired, including an inquiry into how he runs his program. That effort ultimately failed and he returned for Year 2 though the scars remained. The people who wanted him fired after that first season didn’t abandon those feelings just because the first try failed, either, putting considerable pressure on Harsin this season to deliver big results.

Before the season started, the perception throughout college football is Harsin would have a hard time getting a Year 3, a feeling that only intensified when Greene left the school after not having his contract renewed. Harsin, to his credit, went on a much-needed PR tour this offseason as he tried to soften his image and build relationships outside of the football building. He finally seemed to realize he badly needed friends if he was going to survive at Auburn. He also needed to win so many games it was impossible to get rid of him.

Don’t bank on Harsin returning for a Year 3 at this rate. Not when Auburn still has to play LSU, at Georgia, at Ole Miss, Arkansas, Texas A&M and at Alabama, among others. It’s a relentless schedule that Auburn has little shot of succeeding with, given the talent and coaching deficiencies. Harsin’s best shot at long-term survival was finding an answer at the quarterback position (he hasn’t) and creating momentum on the recruiting trail (he hasn’t). There is little reason now to believe Harsin is capable of fixing the issues that led to such a sloppy, listless performance against Penn State on Saturday.

Soon attention will turn to who Auburn should hire to replace Harsin when the ax falls. Look for Auburn to stay inside the box in which it has long been comfortable, focusing on a coach that won’t be a fish out of water like Harsin. Despite all the drama surrounding Auburn, it is still one of the better jobs in the SEC and will attract quality candidates.

Auburn shouldn’t have to look too far for one of the best candidates, though, given he resides one state over in Mississippi. Lane Kiffin was very interested in the job in 2020 when Auburn hired Harsin, according to those familiar with the search process, and should be one of the first names Auburn calls when it has its next opening. Kiffin’s issues are well-known, but he’s the shot of excitement Auburn needs right now. He’ll win games, his offense will be fun to watch and clearly he’ll have no problem poking the bear over in Tuscaloosa. Kiffin has publicly talked about his love of Oxford, but those who know him well say there will always be a restlessness to the man who once bailed after a single season at Tennessee. At a minimum, it’ll be worth a call to Kiffin’s agent, Jimmy Sexton, to gauge the Ole Miss head coach’s interest level this time around.

It might feel absurd to already be discussing possible coach replacements only three weeks into the season, but that’s how bad things have already gotten at Auburn. The school’s leadership tried something different, and Saturday was more conclusive evidence that it didn’t work.

GOODMAN: Auburn’s Bryan Harsin said ‘just watch’ but what’s to see?

RELATED: Bryan Harsin addresses job security after Penn State blowout loss

SEC quick hitters:

-- Georgia is an absolute behemoth. The Bulldogs crushed South Carolina in every way in a 48-7 victory that could have been even worse. I love the job offensive coordinator Todd Monken is doing, and this Georgia offense looks explosive. Georgia is the clear top team to beat in the SEC right now, with Alabama checking in at No. 2.

-- Credit is due to Jimbo Fisher and Texas A&M for steadying the ship and beating a ranked Miami team one week after a disastrous loss to Appalachian State. Max Johnson didn’t light things up at quarterback, but he certainly looked like the better option.

-- The final score, 63-7, looks great, but there is still something off about this Alabama offense. Unless something changes soon, there are going to be more shaky offensive performances in the future. That October SEC stretch looms particularly large.

-- Strong first SEC win for Brian Kelly and his LSU Tigers. Mississippi State was firmly in control of that game early, but LSU hung around and capitalized on the Bulldogs’ mistakes. He has his flaws but LSU QB Jayden Daniels is awfully likable and can make some big-time plays when he needs to. As my colleague Creg Stephenson pointed out on Twitter, this is why all the piling on of Brian Kelly after the Florida State loss was silly. The man is going to win games in Baton Rouge.

-- We need to remember why preseason expectations for this Florida team were limited. The Gators shot up the rankings after an upset win over Utah, but this is still not a particularly talented team. Billy Napier has done a good job already, but Florida is a couple plays away from being 0-3.

Most pumped fanbase: App State

The first two-time winner for this column, but how could it be anyone other than App State after the week its fans just had? In a span of seven days, App State knocked off then-top 10 Texas A&M, hosted a raucous College GameDay in Boone and then knocked off Troy on a last-second improbable Hail Mary touchdown. Go crazy, App State kids! It’ll never get better than this.

Most panicked fanbase: Michigan State

The Spartans laid a total dud against Washington on the road Saturday, resulting in a 39-28 loss to the Huskies that was worse than the final score suggests. Expectations change when you get a massive 10-year, $95 million contract like Mel Tucker did after one good season, and losing games to unranked Washington before starting Big Ten play isn’t a great way to meet them. With an Oct. 8 game against Ohio State looming, Michigan State can’t afford any slip-ups against Minnesota and Maryland the next two weeks.

Top 5 Week 4 SEC games:

1) Florida at Tennessee (2:30 p.m. CT): Another important game in determining the SEC East’s second-best team. Kentucky owns the claim currently.

2) Arkansas at Texas A&M (6:00 p.m. CT): The Razorbacks struggled in the return of Bobby Petrino while the Aggies steadied themselves after a rough week. This should be a rock-fight and a lot of fun to watch.

3) Missouri at Auburn (11:00 a.m. CT): Two head coaches who could badly use a big win right now. If Auburn loses this game, Bryan Harsin might want to hire a real estate agent.

4) Tulsa at Ole Miss (3:00 p.m. CT): The SEC slate has a big drop-off after Missouri-Auburn, but Ole Miss should at least put up a lot of points in this one.

5) Vanderbilt at Alabama (6:30 p.m. CT): Your alternative viewing option when Arkansas-Texas A&M goes to commercial and halftime breaks.

John Talty is the sports editor and SEC Insider for Alabama Media Group. He is the bestselling author of “The Leadership Secrets of Nick Saban: How Alabama’s Coach Became the Greatest Ever.”

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Kevin Scarbinsky: Penn State exposes Auburn. Is it time to admit the Harsin hire didn’t work?

Published: Sep. 18, 2022, 5:55 a.m.

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• Kevin Scarbinsky | Special to AL.com

“And it didn’t work.”

That’s what Bryan Harsin said, buff, brash and full of chest, back at SEC Media Days in July. He dissed and dismissed last winter’s “inquiry” into his fitness to lead the Auburn football program.

One day that quote may lead his Auburn obit. Who could argue with any conviction if we beat the rush and started writing it today after Penn State 41, Auburn 12?

Too soon? Or too little, too late? From the little details to the big picture, it looks like Auburn may have missed its window of opportunity to make something of this season when it decided to let Harsin return.

The first Jordan-Hare Stadium visitor ever from the Big Ten handed the home team its worst home loss in a decade. Gene Chizik already had one foot out the door in 2012 when Georgia blanked Auburn 38-0.

Post-2010 Chizik comparisons are the opposite of a compliment.

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Report: Auburn’s Bryan Harsin a name to watch for Arizona State job

Published: Sep. 18, 2022, 8:28 p.m.

4-5 minutes

Auburn head coach Bryan Harsin before the start of an NCAA college football game against San Jose State Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022, in Auburn, Ala. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)AP

The college coaching carousel started spinning early this fall.

It began a week ago, when Nebraska fired head coach Scott Frost, and it continued Sunday when Arizona State became the second Power 5 team to make an early-season coaching change. The Sun Devils parted ways with Herm Edwards just three games into his fifth season with the program.

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Just hours after Arizona State’s decision to cut ties with Edwards, Auburn coach Bryan Harsin’s name popped up as a potential replacement -- despite being just three games into the second season of a six-year contract. ESPN’s Pete Thamel identified Harsin as a name to watch for the Sun Devils’ opening, along with BYU coach Kalani Sitake, former Texas coach Tom Herman, Air Force coach Troy Calhoun, Marshall coach Charles Huff, North Dakota State coach Matt Entz, Kent State coach Sean Lewis, Alabama offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien, Georgia offensive coordinator Todd Monken, Oklahoma State (and former Auburn) defensive coordinator Derek Mason and USC defensive coordinator Alex Grinch.

It’s notable that Thamel also broke the news of Auburn’s hiring of Harsin in December 2020 and was one of the ESPN reporters Harsin turned to for an interview to defend himself during the early stages of the university’s February inquiry into his handling of the program.

Harsin, who spent most of his life and coaching career out west, is 8-8 in his first 16 games at Auburn. His team is coming off its first loss of the season -- a 41-12 blowout at the hands of Penn State that marked Auburn’s worst home loss in a decade and the team’s fifth consecutive loss to Power 5 competition.

While pressure has been mounting on Harsin since last season’s 6-7 finish -- which was followed by a tumultuous offseason -- he is under contract with Auburn through Dec. 31, 2026. He signed a six-year, $31.5 million deal to take over the program following the firing of Gus Malzahn in December 2020. If he were to be fired before the end of that deal, Auburn would owe him 70 percent of the money remaining on his contract. If Harsin leaves for another job before the end of this season, he would owe Auburn a $5 million buyout.

When asked Saturday evening about his job security following the Tigers’ lopsided home loss and how he handles hot-seat talk, Harsin said he “can’t control that” and can only control what he does each day.

“I’m always coaching for this football team, alright, and these players, No. 1,” Harsin said. “...What I’ve always done is coach for this team, these players, these coaches, make sure I’m doing my job, having our team prepared and all that. I don’t control any of those others things other than what I do each and every day. That’s been no different since I’ve been a GA to being a head football coach; I’ve operated the same way and had the same mindset, so we put more expectations on ourselves than anybody else, alright? That’s always been that way. So, at the end of the day, I’m disappointed for our football team, and my job is to make sure we put together a plan and put a football team out there that can go compete and play at a high level, and that’s always the expectations. The standard needs to be better than what it was, and that’s really all we’re going to focus on.

“For our football team, it’s the same thing; I tell those guys that.... I love being a part of that. I love putting plans together and processes and all those things, so that we can do that. At the end of the day, this is why we get a chance to do what we do, because we’re good at it. I believe in this team, and I believe in what we’re doing, and we got to be better at it. So, at the end of the day, that’s all I ever focus on.”

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.

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