11.7.23 Football Articles

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247sports.com

Big plays building confidence for Auburn offense

Jason Caldwell

10–13 minutes

Auburn's offense has created more big plays in the last two games.

AUBURN, Alabama—The search for big plays is always the goal for any offense, but it had been a struggle for the Auburn offense through the first eight games of the 2023 season with just three plays of over 50 yards. That all changed on Saturday with running back Jarquez Hunter scoring touchdowns from 67 and 56 yards and Rivaldo Fairweather adding a 53-yard touchdown reception from Payton Thorne.

The Tigers now find themselves tied for 32nd nationally with six plays of over 50 yards this season. It has been a goal for the offense and coach Hugh Freeze said it was good to finally see those things happen.

“We played with some confidence and swagger last week, particularly the first half,” Freeze said of the play of the offense. “And then, you know, got off to a fast start and was really optimistic about some of the... I really, really feel good about our ... I work hard at explosive plays and the possibilities of those and really felt good about our chances at having some explosive plays and we should have. We did have. We had some but it should have been more. And I think the more we are successful in doing that, the more confidence and swagger that our kids will play with it.”

Hunter also had a 50-yard run against Mississippi State last week, meaning four of the six big plays have come in the last two games. It’s not a coincidence that success has come with Thorne settling in as the every-down quarterback and the Tigers using more tempo.

“Well it was this is what we're going to do offensively and I believe Payton's skillsets are the most prepared for what we're doing,” Freeze said of going with Thorne as the guy. “It's not a negative towards anybody else, I think he's — you talk about playing with tempo, setting our protections, throwing accuracy with footballs and understanding coverages, I think that he's the farthest along in that.”

That has shown up on the field with Thorne completing 37-53 passes for 424 yards and five touchdowns with one interception in the last two games. That efficiency throwing the ball is great, but it’s making plays down the field that has been the difference in the offense. In two weeks, Auburn’s offense has 11 plays in the passing game of 14 yards or more. Those are the types of plays that move the chains and create more and more opportunities.

“One of the key areas of a game for an offense is explosives,” Thorne said. “It’s not easy to move the ball down the field five yards at a time. A five-yard play is a good play, but when you get that chunk play of 40, 50, 60 yards, it helps a ton. Just doing our best to continue to get those. It helps swing momentum in games. It helps you as an offense to put points on the board.”

In addition to making it easier to score, Thorne said those are the types of plays that bring just what Freeze is looking for. Chunk plays bring swagger and for the first time this season the Auburn offense has a little bit of that after back-to-back wins.

“Chunk plays, like you said, explosives, that gets you rolling and just if you want to look at the physical aspect of it, running down the field and chasing a big play, it gets your juices flowing a little bit,” Thorne said. “I'm sure there's some psychological research to be done there or something like that, but building on what we've been doing and getting back to some of the things that we were maybe more familiar with, I guess, I don't know.

“It is the first year we can't say that we have something to fall back on because we're setting the foundation still. But yeah, playing with tempo, getting some big catches down the field and obviously Jarquez and the other guys getting some big runs, it definitely builds momentum. Builds confidence.”

In His Own Words: Pearl previews marquee opener vs. No. 20 Baylor

"People ask me, why’d you take the game, why go out to South Dakota? It’s real simple: just to try to stay relevant in the world of college basketball, which is harder and harder to do now."

One of the best games of college basketball's opening week involves Bruce Pearl's 10th Auburn team, as the Tigers are the only SEC program to open their 2023-24 campaign against a top-25 team. 

Auburn heads to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to face No. 20 Baylor in the program's first season opener against a power program since losing to Michigan State in 1989.

Less than an hour before the Tigers hopped on their plane Monday, Pearl previewed the marquee matchup. Here's everything he had to say.

Tipping off in South Dakota ...

"We’re excited about getting the season started. Auburn is the only team in the SEC that will open up against a top 25 opponent. And we’re going to try to make history tomorrow night as we’ve never beaten a top 25 team in an opener. People ask me, why’d you take the game, why go out to South Dakota? It’s real simple: just to try to stay relevant in the world of college basketball, which is harder and harder to do now.

"Baylor is a preseason top 20 team. We’re not. Baylor has three guys that have been selected to various forms of like all-Big 12 stuff, and we have one in Johni Broome. Ja’Kobe Walter is the preseason freshman of the year. Really good team, really well coached. Scott Drew and the job he’s done at Baylor arguably is as good a job as has been done in college basketball considering what he inherited and where they’re at right now. I think in 16 years, I think he’s been to 11 tournaments. They’ve been really good, really consistent.

"The biggest challenge right now is we have no tape on them. We got no eyes on them from the standpoint of they had two private exhibitions and had agreements not to exchange film. We’re basically basing what we saw off of what they’ve done historically. So that will be an interesting challenge early in that game to see how they’re playing differently. We’re excited about getting started."

Will Holloway and Broome play? ...

"Yep. I think both Aden and Johni will be able to play tomorrow."

Where have you improved the most this preseason? ...

"Again, it'll be really hard to duplicate Baylor's athleticism. They are historically one of the top 20 rebounding teams in the country, one of the top 10 offensive rebounding teams in the country. They will fly to the boards, they're athletic, they're big, they're physical. Our greatest challenge will be keeping them off the boards. I think from our standpoint, I'd say our halfcourt offensive execution has been pretty good for early in the season. We've shot the ball pretty well. Now, the quality of opponent is about to step up in a huge way. Then our challenge will continue to be defense and rebounding, and we'll kind of see what that looks like. That's what I would anticipate our two biggest challenges being."

Did you hold anything back against AUM? ...

"I was anticipating that we'd get one of their games, and they'd get one of our games. After today, everybody will have a game. They didn't want to do it, so we obviously didn't do it. There is an exchange policy that encourages you to do it, but it's not an NCAA rule. So we're good with it. It does mean both teams go in with, really, very little scouting ability."

What do you want to learn from your team? ...

"That's a great point, and it's one of the things I keep talking to our team about — we're going to get exposed. I would have loved to have gotten more exposed in a couple of our preseason opportunities. What I mean by exposed is: What aren't we very good at? What are we going to struggle with? My anticipation would be physicality, rebounding, some other things I don't want to give Baylor too much of an advanced scout. But where do we go from here? In other words, great opportunity to play a team in the top 25. We're not (in the top 25), and so, can we get ourselves in there with a win? That'd be a tremendous way to start the season."

"We've got so many quality opponents in the preseason that a week from now, we play Notre Dame in New York, in Brooklyn. It's here. And so, how quickly can we adjust? I told the guys I wanted them — I really wanted them — to remain positive with each other, because we have so much teaching to do with so many new guys. Again, we've got to kind of throw it out there and know they're going to be in the heat of battle and just see how they react. Hey, I hope it brings out the best in them. For some, there will be challenges in knowing what we do and why we do it. And late-game situations; we could have some late-game, close-game situations, I hope, either offensively or defensively. How do we handle those situations? How are we able to execute? That's what I've talked to the guys about, and I think they're prepared for that. And again, I want them to stay really positive with each other, because I'll be on their asses enough for everybody."

Extra time off beneficial after the exhibition? ...

"I thought the two days off on Saturday and Sunday — actually, it was Friday. Thursday and Friday. They had Thursday and Friday off — were good. We went pretty hard Saturday and Sunday in preparation. It was one more day than normal. I think it was fresh. It did let Aden and Johni have an extra day of rehab and recovery, and then they were both able to go yesterday."

How to expect the team to gel early on? ...

"They get along. They've done a good job pushing each other, done a good job teaching each other, and it's been one of the harder working teams I've had. It's been a team that's gotten along so well, but we've had no adversity yet. Just haven't, so obviously (we) don't really know. I think they — I definitely think they're prepared. We've got good leaders in the locker room. We've got guys who have been there and done that. They've just not played together much. Let's just say they've played two games together so far. Now Baylor's got a lot of new guys, too. They've got some core guys back, like we do, but they've got new pieces and they've got good new pieces. So I think both teams are going to learn a lot."

Aden Holloway in his first game ...

"It’s probably the toughest first game will game for be for Aden. This will be his first game. He didn’t play in the first two exhibition games. Well he did, but he played two minutes (in the private scrimmage). This is going to be the — you talk about putting him in a tough spot. But look, he’s born to be in a tough spot. This is what he relishes. He’s excited about playing and his teammates are excited about having him be out there."

Games like this help for recruiting? ...

"We would like to try to sign one or two high school guys in the fall, if we can. If we do, that’ll be great. I think that with the transfer portal and things like that, you’re not going to see more than a couple of high school guys early, ever, just because how important it is to still get old and stay old if you can. I think this roster still could. It’ll be quality, hopefully, but it won’t be quantity."

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saturdaydownsouth.com

Hugh Freeze reacts to Arkansas’ new OC, difficulty in preparation

Andrew Peters | 15 hours ago

2–3 minutes

Hugh Freeze has a unique challenge against Arkansas on Saturday.

The Razorbacks recently fired offensive coordinator Dan Enos, which makes the task of preparing for Arkansas a lot more difficult. Auburn had been preparing for Enos’ offense, but now it will have to prepare for Kennt Guiton’s offense, which put up 39 points against Florida last week.

Freeze recognizes that it is a completely different challenge now that Arkansas has a new offense to prepare for.

“I think it’s pretty clear they were frustrated with what they were doing and I think it’s a pretty stark difference,” Freeze said in his press conference Monday. “The guy who’s calling it now whose background is with the former offensive coordinator, I think it’s a pretty good bet that you can throw a lot of the film out, unless you’re just looking at personnel and we probably need to pull a few games from last year is my opinion, to go with that they did at Florida.”

Auburn is looking for a win that would make the Tigers bowl eligible, but it’s going to be a challenge. With a new offensive coordinator at the helm, Arkansas seems recharged and is looking for a big win on Saturday.

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si.com

 

Hugh Freeze on playing only Payton Thorne: 'this is what we're going to offensively'

Lance Dawe

~2 minutes

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The Tigers have finally seemed to settle on one quarterback for the majority of their snaps as the season winds down.

Auburn's quarterback rotation has been confusing and lacked success for most of the season.

The Tigers swapped out QBs Payton Thorne and Robby Ashford back and forth during drives seemingly at random during important drives across games up until two weeks ago. Thorne played almost every snap of the Mississippi State and played excellent. He took every snap against Vanderbilt and outside of a really bad pick six also played well.

Could Auburn be turning things around on the offensive side of the ball with just one QB to manage?

Freeze was asked about the gameplan and whether or not Auburn set out with the intention of just playing one quarterback, or if it came naturally with the flow of the last two contests.

"It was more 'this is what we're going to offensively,' and I believe Payton's skillsets are the most prepared for what we're doing," Freeze said. "It's not a negative toward anybody else, I think when you talk about playing with tempo, setting our protections, throwing accuracy with footballs, and understanding coverages, I think he's the farthest along in that. I think Holden (Geriner) had one heck of a week last week, and he can really spin it. He's probably one that... I think he's got a bright future."

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auburntigers.com

 

Auburn football notebook: 'Felt like a home game'

Auburn University Athletics

8–10 minutes

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A casual viewer watching Saturday's SEC Network broadcast would have logically concluded that the home team's primary color was orange.

How else to account for the vast sea of orange on the east side of FirstBank Stadium during Auburn's 31-15 victory over Vanderbilt?

Auburn fans comprised the majority of the 28,500 attendees, bringing a noticeable flavor of Jordan-Hare Stadium to the Music City.

"We have the best fans," said freshman center Connor Lew. "I don't think anybody can doubt that them being here definitely helped us in a lot of aspects of the game." 

'That made us happy': Auburn players appreciated the strong show of support in Nashville

"It felt like a home game," said Zykeivous Walker, whose career-high five tackles included a sack and two tackles for loss. "The Auburn family, they show up every week, they show out. We're so thankful for the Auburn family. We're going to continue to do our best to make them proud."

"I heard we were going to have a lot of fans here but I didn't think it was going to be like that," safety Jaylin Simpson said. "It was orange on both sides. Our side was filled up and there was orange on their side. That was crazy. Our fans are great. Our fans showed out and that definitely played a big part. That made us happy."

Pritchett's pick
When Nehemiah Pritchett ended Vanderbilt's last possession with an interception, he extended Auburn's streak of forcing a turnover to 18 consecutive games, tying the longest takeaway streak since 2007-8.

"We have an incredible back end," said Simpson, whose defense held Vanderbilt to one offensive touchdown and 266 yards, 79 of which came on the Commodores' second-to-last possession which ended with Auburn's fourth-down stop. "We feel like we're the best in the SEC.

Pritchett's pick was Auburn's 11^th of the season, tied for the SEC lead, and a league-best 15^th forced turnover. 

"We've got one more," Simpson said. Keionte (Scott) has to get a pick, then that's the whole starting backfield."

Up next
The Tigers will try to win a third straight SEC game and earn back-to-back road victories this Saturday at Arkansas at 3 p.m. CT. The Razorbacks earned their first SEC victory Saturday, winning 39-36 at Florida.

"They're a great team, they've got a great running back," said linebacker Eugene Asante, who made five tackles including a sack against Vanderbilt. "We understand what K.J. Jefferson is in terms of his ability running and passing. He's a great football player, super strong, resilient and tough. We're looking forward to the challenge of going to Arkansas."

 

  Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer

Players Mentioned

#9 Eugene Asante

LB 6' 1" Junior Liberal Arts

#1 Nehemiah Pritchett

CB 6' 1" Senior Liberal Arts

#36 Jaylin Simpson

S 6' 1" Senior Business

#91 Zykeivous Walker

DL 6' 4" Junior Liberal Arts

#75 Connor Lew

OL 6' 3" Freshman Liberal Arts

#1 Payton Thorne

QB 6' 2" Junior Education

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247sports.com

 

Exit Survey Parting thoughts on Auburns win at Vanderbilt

Nathan King

14–18 minutes

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• 

Dive in for our plays of the game, helmet stickers, areas of concern and exiting analysis on the win at FirstBank Stadium

It wasn't a perfect evening in Nashville for the Tigers, but Auburn scored two quick touchdowns in the first quarter, then two more at the start of the third quarter to maintain a comfortable advantage over a reeling Vanderbilt team and ultimately come away with the 31-15 win — which marks Auburn's first SEC road win since October 2021.

Two of our football reporters — Jason Caldwell and Nathan King — took another look at Auburn's win over the Commodores with some superlatives and final thoughts from the game in the Week 10 edition of the Auburn Undercover Exit Survey.

Dive in for our plays of the game, helmet stickers, areas of concern and exiting analysis on the win at FirstBank Stadium — and what our observations could mean for the Tigers moving forward into their final three-game stretch, where it appears they've all but locked up a return to bowl eligibility.

 

PLAY OF THE GAME (OFFENSE)

 

Jason: "It was probably a play that gets overlooked by many. In the third quarter and leading 24-7, Auburn faced a third and five on its own 41. Payton Thorne hit Ja'Varrius Johnson for 39 yards and Jeremiah Cobb would later finish it off with the touchdown. Those are the types of plays this offense has to execute to win on the road."

Nathan: "On a third-and-4 before halftime, Thorne loaded up and delivered a strike to Jay Fair down the sideline, which the sophomore rose up to secure at the 3-yard line. The ensuing penalty on first-and-goal pushed Auburn back, and Alex McPherson eventually had to be trotted out for a field goal anyway, but that throw to put Auburn in position to score a touchdown before the half underscored Thorne's short memory in this game, and showed just how precise he was in terms of placing the ball downfield. Auburn's 10 points on its pre- and post-halftime drives were big in terms of regenerating a comfortable advantage over the Commodores."

 

PLAY OF THE GAME (DEFENSE)

 

Jason: "We have talked about the lack of pressure from Auburn’s defense, but Marcus Harris and Cam Riley sacked Vanderbilt QB Ken Seals on first down and goal from the 10 yard line in the fourth quarter for a huge play in the game. The 11-yard loss put the Commodores behind the chains and they would eventually turn it over on down. A score there and it could have been a one possession game. The sack was huge."

Nathan: "Vanderbilt had a chance to bring the game to one possession with a nine-minute drive in the fourth quarter. After a sack pushed the Commodores back from a first-and-goal the 10-yard line, the play call to throw a jump ball to star receiver Will Sheppard on third down seemed to be a good one. But D.J. James, who was stellar in all areas Saturday, made a great play in the air and won the battle against Sheppard to force a fourth down, which Vanderbilt did not end up converting."

 

HELMET STICKER (OFFENSE)

 

Jason: "I’m going with Jarquez Hunter for his performance in the win over the Commodores. With 19 carries for 183 yards and two touchdowns, Hunter showed another gear in two long runs and a third that was called back."

Nathan: "It has to be Hunter, who's now to a whopping 418 yards and four touchdowns over his past three games. Hugh Freeze said as much postgame: This is the most patient and explosive Hunter has looked all season, and his resurgence late in the season will be key for a team looking to squeeze seven wins out of this schedule. Don't look now, but the junior only needs 364 yards over the next four games — including a bowl — to rush for 1,000 yards this season."

 

HELMET STICKER (DEFENSE)

 

Jason: "Auburn cornerback D.J. James was all over the field with seven tackles, two pass breakups, and one huge tackle on a screen pass that could have gone for big yardage. James once again showed why he’s one of the top corners in the country."

Nathan: "James was assigned to defend Sheppard in a matchup of future NFL players, and James absolutely won that battle. Sheppard was targeted five times in the game while covered by James, and only caught two passes for nine yards. That's not to mention James' pair of pass breakups and a huge open-field tackle on a Vanderbilt screen pass that looked to be set up for a huge gain."

 

HELMET STICKER (SPECIAL TEAMS)

 

Jason: "Oscar Chapman had another strong day for the Tigers punting the football, averaging 45.4 yards per attempt on seven punts. He also helicoptered several punts, two of which were fumbled and could have been momentum changing plays for Auburn."

Nathan: "Chapman does it again, with a 45.4-yard average on the game and four punts that were pinned inside Vanderbilt's 20-yard line. The Tigers were a suspect penalty and a near-recovery away from getting two turnovers off punts, too, after Sheppard had two muffs in the first half."

 

WHERE AUBURN TOOK A STEP FORWARD

 

Jason: "The pass rush and overall play of the defense was a strength against the Commodores. The only real drive of the game came with Auburn’s second secondary group on the field until the final play. Another big step for Ron Roberts’ group."

Nathan: "The competition level needs to be noted, but the string of eight straight punts by Vanderbilt — excluding the one-play drive right before halftime — was probably the most dominant Auburn's defense has looked since the Cal game. No has had more tackles for loss against the Commodores this season than Auburn's seven, snd the Tigers were routinely in the right place on all three levels of the defense. I'm not sure if this group is necessarily better after Saturday as much as they proved how well they've been executing all season."

 

WHERE AUBURN TOOK A STEP BACK

 

Jason: "Catching the football. The Tigers had at least half a dozen opportunities to make plays in the passing game and failed to deliver. Probably four of those were just straight drops and a few more were balls that should have been caught. They were able to overcome those against Vandy, but that won’t work this week at Arkansas."

Nathan: "Auburn has still yet to take its offense on the road and play even a somewhat clean game this season — considering the pick-six, near-interception, mass of penalties and drops in this game, plus all the errors that led to poor offensive showings at Cal, Texas A&M and LSU. As Freeze said postgame, Vanderbilt wasn't a team that was capable of taking advantage of all those mistakes, and Auburn was still able to win by double digits on the road. But Arkansas — and certainly Alabama — will not be as forgiving."

 

BIGGEST SURPRISE?

 

Jason: "It was probably the play of Zykeivous Walker. A guy that was highly recruited, Walker hadn’t been the guy the Tigers hoped for up until this point. If he can do what he did on Saturday consistently, this team could take on a much different look down the stretch."

Nathan: "This is an Auburn offense that only had four drops total over its previous three games, and its previous season high was only three. It had five, maybe six against Vanderbilt, and that wasn't an issue Freeze has come to expect from an already inconsistent group. The drops underscore the fact that Auburn will likely finish out the season without ever getting any extended, consistent play from its receiving corps, and that will be at least a minor surprise to me."

 

Did this outcome affect your thoughts on this Auburn team?

 

Jason: "Not really. This is an Auburn team I thought would have a chance to be 7-5 and maybe 8-4 if things fell right. To get to seven it’s going to take a win over Arkansas on Saturday. That’s something very possible for this team."

Nathan: "This matchup honestly went about as expected. The offensive hiccups have been there all season in road games, but Vanderbilt's dreadful defense — combined with the Tigers' increased execution and confidence from the Mississippi State win — was able to give way to some explosive moments for Hunter, Thorne and others. Against a backup quarterback and no semblance of a rushing attack, Auburn's defense feasted and played to the standard it's set for itself since the beginning of the season. Now comes another swing game: If Cal was the game that kept Auburn from a deep hole early in the year, record-wise, and Mississippi State likely punched the bowl ticket, Arkansas will probably decide whether this team wins seven games in the regular season. Sure, the Tigers can always win the Iron Bowl at home, but beating a severely inconsistent Arkansas team is the more likely outcome right now. Auburn will probably have to play its best road game of the season to do so."

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#PMARSHONAU: Monday reflections from Auburn and beyond

A day late: This week only, Sunday reflections are replaced by Monday reflections

Same song, fourth verse in Auburn victory at Vanderbilt

Some fret that Auburn should have beaten beate Vanderbilt worse Vanderbilt worse in Nashville, but here is the truth: Saturday’s 31-15 victory followed a similar script to Vanderbilt’s other SEC games at home. Kentucky, Georgia and Missouri each won by 17 points at FirstBank Stadium. Vanderbilt’s 15 points against Auburn was its lowest point total in any of those games, and seven of those were scored by the defense.

Here they are:

Kentucky 45-28

Vanderbilt 328 yards

Kentucky 365 yards

Missouri 38-21

Vanderbilt 200 yards

Missouri 532 yards

Georgia 37-20

Vanderbilt 219 yards

Georgia 552 yards

* Vandy scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to cut Georgia’s lead to 30-20 and missed a field goal that would have made it closer.

Auburn 31 -15

Auburn 462 yards

Vanderbilt 266 yards

Thorne rebounds from bad play

One of the more impressive parts of Auburn’s victory was how quarterback Payton Thorne rebounded from a terrible pass that was intercepted and returned five yards for a Vanderbilt touchdown. He had a good day and would have had a great one had two would-be touchdown passes that should have been caught weren’t.

Auburn fans take over FirstBank Stadium

It must be a strange feeling to play or coach at Vanderbilt. Saturday’s game was more like an Auburn home game than a Vanderbilt home game. Blue and orange was the color of the day as Auburn fans significantly outnumbered Vanderbilt fans at FirstBank Stadium. The thing is that’s nothing new. Over the years, I have covered Auburn and Alabama games at Vanderbilt, and Vanderbilt fans have always been outnumbered.

USC’s woeful defense on display again

Finally, after a 52-42 loss to Washington at the Los Angeles Coliseum, USC coach Lincoln Riley had no choice. Defensive coordinator Alex Grinch, his friend who followed him to USC from Oklahoma, had to go. The Trojans have been staggeringly bad on defense, giving up 41, 41, 48, 34, 49 and 52 points in their last six games.

Alabama in full control of West Division

The SEC West Division race isn’t mathematically over, but it’s close. Alabama will win it unless it loses to Kentucky and Auburn and Ole Miss wins out, including in a game at Georgia next Saturday. Georgia needs only to beat Ole Miss or Tennessee to lock up the East Division championship.

A challenging road test for Auburn

It’s difficult to know what to expect when Auburn goes to Arkansas next Saturday. The Razorbacks broke a six-game losing streak with an 39-36 overtime win at Florida. In that losing streak, the Razorbacks lost by 3 at LSU, 3 at Alabama and 7 at Ole Miss. They also played a dreadful game against Mississippi State and lost 7-3 at home. That led head coach Sam Pittman to fire offensive coordinator Dan Enos and turn play-calling over to wide receivers coach Kenny Guiton

Auburn goes into the game with some momentum. It also has an advantage Florida didn’t have. It has now seen the new Arkansas offensive approach. Auburn has won on four of its last five trips to Arkansas.  It should be interesting.

Napier in danger of another losing season

Speaking of Florida, Billy Napier is in serious danger of having a second consecutive losing season in his second season as Florida head coach. The Gators have lost two straight. Their last three games are at LSU, at Missouri and against Florida State at home. I’ve heard no talk of Napier’s job being in danger, but if they have another losing record, the grumbling will get very loud.

The strange reality for Jimbo Fisher, Texas A&M

I don’t know how Texas A&M could have all those 5-star recruits and have lost nine straight road games and won just four of its 14 games against Power 5 opponents. It doesn’t make sense, but you come to expect it. The addition of Bobby Petrino as offensive coordinator has made no difference. The Aggies often come close to winning big games, but they rarely do it.

Fisher’s post-game press conferences are usually explanations that coaches made good calls, but they weren’t executed. Fisher’s $70 million buyout would make firing him at least uncomfortable, but at the least, he needs to undertake a thorough and honest evaluation of his program. Something is wrong, and that is not even open to debate.

LSU falls out of contention

After scoring in the final seconds of the first half and on the first series of the third quarter, LSU seemed to have Alabama on the ropes with a 28-21 lead. But led by quarterback Jalen Milroe, Alabama scored three unanswered touchdowns and won 42-28 at Bryant-Denny Stadium. LSU’s defense had seemed to be improving, but injuries in the secondary left three true freshmen in the starting lineup. Alabama took advantage.

LSU, which won great praise for losing four games but winning the SEC West last season, has now lost three this season and has no real shot of a return trip to Atlanta. Quarterback Jayden Daniels was injured in the fourth quarter after Alabama went ahead 42-28. Could he have made a difference. Maybe, but Alabama seemed to be in full control by then.

You have to give Alabama credit. The Tide looked nothing like a championship contender early in the season. Milroe made big plays, but he made more mistakes. He has improved dramatically, and so has Alabama.

A very strange decision

I wonder if some of the realities of the college game have escaped Deion Sanders. Trailing Oregon State 7-3 on Saturday, Colorado was backed up near its own goal line with 52 seconds left. The logical decision was to run it three times, make Oregon State use all its timeouts and use up most if not all the clock. Instead the Buffaloes threw three passes, did not make a first down and had to punt. The Beavers raced down the field and scored a touchdown to go up 14-3 at halftime.

To the credit of Colorado players, they fought back in the second half before losing 26-19. That ill-fated sequence before halftime turned out to be the difference in the game.

Colorado has lost five of its last six games to fall to 4-5. Yet, announcers and columnists continue to write that he has defied expectations after the Buffaloes were 1-11 last season. Is it really defying expectations for a team that goes 1-11 one season to win four game the next season? If it is, where is flood of platitudes for Northwestern and interim coach David Braun who has done the same thing?

To become bowl eligible, the Buffaloes would have to win two of their last three games – Arizona at home, at Washington State and at Utah. That is not going to happen.

Until next time …

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al.com

Who is calling plays at Auburn and how much does Hugh Freeze trust Philip Montgomery?

Published: Nov. 06, 2023, 2:27 p.m.

3–4 minutes

Is Hugh Freeze calling plays at Auburn?

The next question seemed a bit obvious.

Hugh Freeze had been asked originally about defensive coordinator Ron Roberts, and the job he’s done this season. Freeze is certainly an offensive-minded coach, but with his hires, he said he is looking to leave them some autonomy.

“You hire people to do a job and you get out of the way and let them do it until they prove they can or can’t,” Freeze said Monday. “That’s always been my philosophy. I try not to get too in the way.”

Do some reading between the lines here and it leaves an immediate question: what about offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery?

Earlier in the press conference, Freeze had been asked about who is calling plays for Auburn at this point. This question has been asked throughout the season in an attempt to determine how much involvement Freeze actually has with running the offense.

And as the season has gone on, Freeze has appeared to have more involvement in the offense. He said Monday that he’s “very involved.”

But based on his remark on how he treats his assistants while talking about Roberts, it raises the question of how much autonomy Montgomery has at this point given that Freeze has not let him do his job.

So Freeze was asked if his comment on Roberts also applies to Montgomery.

“You play to your strengths, but yeah, you hire people and you hope that — you’re not always right,” Freeze said. “I don’t know that I’ve ever totally been right on every single hire that I’ve ever made. You evaluate that every single year, but I think to this point, I’m pretty pleased. We’ve got good men in the building, and I want folks that can drive our culture, for sure. I think I’ve got to play to my strengths, too, and I think that’s something I’m still figuring out, exactly what that looks like.”

Freeze hired Montgomery quickly after he had been fired as the head coach at Tulsa for the sole purpose of calling plays. In July, Freeze said he no longer is the elite playcaller he felt he once was. So he brought in Montgomery to change his offensive terminology and free himself to focus on recruiting and other aspects of building this program.

It didn’t work out.

Auburn’s offense struggled mightily to open the season and by the Georgia game on Sept. 30, Freeze said he wasn’t able to recruit as much as he would have liked on a weekend with a significant number of high-ranked players on campus. That was because he had to spend more time being involved with the offense.

It appears Freeze has maintained involvement since, and over the last two weeks, Freeze’s offense has had its two best performances against Power 5 opponents this season.

Freeze has expressed trust in Montgomery and has expressed that he is still calling plays.

It’s a collaboration, Freeze said.

Matt Cohen covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @Matt_Cohen_ or email him at mcohen@al.com

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al.com

 

Auburn’s Hugh Freeze recaps win over Vanderbilt, previews Arkansas

Updated: Nov. 06, 2023, 12:34 p.m.|Published: Nov. 06, 2023, 10:54 a.m.

3–4 minutes

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Hugh Freeze on Auburn's bowl chances, trip to Arkansas

Coming off its second SEC win in a row, Auburn is preparing for a second straight road trip as it heads to Fayetteville, Arkansas to play the Razorbacks in Week 11.

Auburn is now 5-4 overall and 2-4 in the SEC. It’s one win away from bowl eligibility after not going to a bowl game last year.

Back in Auburn after the Vanderbilt win, head coach Hugh Freeze will address local reporters recapping one of the best offensive performances this season and a dominant defensive day. He’ll also look ahead to the next matchup.

Updates will appear below at 11 a.m. when Freeze arrives.

- Hugh Freeze opens his press conference by wishing well to the basketball teams getting started this week. Jokes that he isn’t quite jealous of the men’s basketball team going to South Dakota this week.

- “They’ve kind of gone back to playing how they did last year on offense,” Hugh Freeze said on Arkansas. Arkansas fired offensive coordinator Dan Enos in October.

- “We’re looking to become bowl eligible, that’s big in Year 1,” Freeze said.

- “We’ve got to lock in and be a little more focused,” Freeze said of the penalties that led to touchdowns being called back. Said the holding call on Rivaldo Fairweather didn’t have to happen. Needs his team to clean up the penalties.

- “I thought we played with some confidence and swagger,” Freeze said.

- Freeze discussing his chats with Payton Thorne. Said after their “put up or shut up” chat, Thorne hasn’t pushed for a specific volume of throws, nor does Freeze believe Thorne needs a certain quota.

- Freeze said Auburn won’t know until Wednesday or Thursday about Avery Jones’ status. Even if he can play, Connor Lew will still see some time on the field.

- Freeze said he’s relied more on Payton Thorne the past two weeks because he’s the most advanced at running the scheme and the gameplan Auburn wants to run. He did not mention Robby Ashford’s role or package in the offense during the answer, but did mention Holden Geriner looking good in practice.

- “I thought our linebackers played their best game,” Freeze said.

- On Payton Thorne’s pick-6, Freeze said Thorne told him simply that he didn’t see the defender. It happens. So Freeze told him to just go back and play the next play.

- Interesting moment from Freeze. He said that Ron Roberts does a masterful job of calling plays. He then said that when he hires someone, he tries to get out of the way and let them do their job until they prove they can’t. But that brings up an interesting read-between-the-lines moment about Philip Montgomery, who Freeze said he is “collaborating” with.

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si.com

 

Tracking Auburn’s Payton Thorne: Two Questions Regarding Future Success

Brian Smith

2–3 minutes

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How well will the Auburn quarterback play during the final three games?

Sometimes a quarterback just finds a groove. That appears to be the case for Payton Thorne of the Auburn Tigers, as he’s been far more consistent and explosive during the past two games. Here’s how it breaks down.

Against Mississippi State and Vanderbilt, Thorne’s passing statistics include going 37 of 53, 69.8%, 424 yards, 8 yards per attempt, 5 touchdowns, and just 1 interception. Those are all good numbers, especially with how Auburn’s passing attack began the 2023 season. That brings up a couple of questions.

1) Is this newfound success a product of Thorne and Auburn players finally feeling comfortable with the scheme that Hugh Freeze is putting in?

It’s no secret that new offensive schemes take time. Plus, Thorne did not arrive at AU until the summer, so Hugh Freeze and his staff had to fast-track Thorne's offensive playbook awareness. In short, he’s been playing catch-up. 

The good news is that it's obvious the learning curve is shortening. It’s also a good bet that he’s now more comfortable – and the Auburn receivers are comfortable with him – now that Thorne has been through nine games.

2) How much more growth can Thorne and the Tigers' passing attack display prior to hosting the Iron Bowl in three weeks?

With the green light seemingly coming on with regards to better timing, more confidence with down-the-field passes, and better execution overall, it’s not necessarily about Thorne’s numbers at Arkansas and versus New Mexico State. It’s about critical plays being made that place points on the board for Auburn.

Then again, if Thorne is making great plays, i.e. red zone passes being on the money, his passing statistics will rise anyway.

As Auburn football continues to improve, keep an eye on Thorne’s production. He’s a big key to the final three regular season games for the Tigers.

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al.com

New Mexico State-Auburn football kickoff time, TV information released

Published: Nov. 06, 2023, 12:01 p.m.

~2 minutes

Auburn players thank fans for showing up in Nashville; celebrate win over Vanderbilt

When the Auburn Tigers (5-4, 2-4 SEC) return home to Jordan-Hare Stadium to put a bookend on their two-game road stretch, it’ll be in a game against the New Mexico State Aggies (7-3, 5-1 CUSA) on Nov. 18.

And that game will kickoff at 3 p.m. and be televised on SEC Network, the SEC announced Monday morning.

The Tigers and Aggies have met three times in a sporadic history that’s featured matchups in 1993, 2007 and 2012. All three of those matchups have been in Jordan-Hare Stadium with Auburn winning each of them handedly.

Auburn has averaged more than 50 points per game against New Mexico State, while the Tigers have held the Aggies to an average of less than two touchdowns per game.

When the Aggies march into Jordan-Hare Stadium, they’ll be doing so after a visit to Western Kentucky, where they’ll see the Hilltoppers for a 2:30 p.m. kickoff. Meanwhile, the Tigers will be coming off their second consecutive road game — this time against the Arkansas Razorbacks in Fayetteville.

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

[SaltyTiger 7,897]

Thanks and good stuff again Fiddy. Another beautiful day coming up here. Saturday looking cloudy, cooler with rain chances. Forecast in Arkansas looks to be pretty right now.

[aubiefifty 17,071]

12 minutes ago, SaltyTiger said:

Thanks and good stuff again Fiddy. Another beautiful day coming up here. Saturday looking cloudy, cooler with rain chances. Forecast in Arkansas looks to be pretty right now.

thanx salty! i am ready for some rain.i lived in old houses some with tin roofs and used to love hearing the rain against them. it soothes the savage beast in me so to speak...be well

[Gowebb11 9,424]

2 hours ago, aubiefifty said:

 

He’s becoming more and more productive the past few weeks. 

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Just now, Gowebb11 said:

He’s becoming more and more productive the past few weeks. 

i believe walker is coming around as well? i think ron is getting pretty much all he can get out of our D. it appears we will have a winning record this year. is it the first since terry?

[SaltyTiger 7,897]

37 minutes ago, aubiefifty said:

thanx salty! i am ready for some rain.i lived in old houses some with tin roofs and used to love hearing the rain against them. it soothes the savage beast in me so to speak...be well

Love rain on a tin roof. Like a rain day every now then. Forces me inside to take care of things that have been kicked down the road or just be sorry and lazy. I pretty much live everyday from sunrise to sunset outside playing. 

[Gowebb11 9,424]

1 hour ago, aubiefifty said:

i believe walker is coming around as well? i think ron is getting pretty much all he can get out of our D. it appears we will have a winning record this year. is it the first since terry?

Agree on Walker. I like Lawrence Johnson too. Gives max effort and gets to the ball. Coach Garrets group has improved a lot.