There’s only one thing to do once something like last week happens. Coach Freeze has been saying it all week. He’s ready to get back on the field and get the taste out of his mouth.
Last week shouldn’t have happened. We all know it. Auburn knows it. Cal knows it. Las Vegas knows it. Joe Superfan knows it. It was no man’s fault. As discussed in the game review, sometimes the universe does weird things. Sometimes games are stupid. And with any sport that has multiple players working together to complete a singular task, literally nothing negative or positive is on one man.
But the game has been put to bed. It hurts nothing in Auburn’s chances to win the SEC, the national championship, or most importantly the next game. And the next opponent is New Mexico.
No, not that New Mexico team. That was New Mexico State. You can come out from the under covers now. This is 0-2 New Mexico. They have a home loss against FCS Montana State and hung with ranked Arizona for a bit before losing 61-39. You’ve probably never seen that score before.
This New Mexico is coached by Bronco Mendenhall, which may the scariest and most football name known to man. He was previously at BYU and Virginia, where things weren’t awful.
Like most games against what should be lesser opponents, and especially coming off a game like last week, Auburn is playing themself this weekend. Yes, that’s very cliche, but they are.
Many things were off last week, not just the 4 plays you see on Twitter and on your cousin’s group text. When you play an 0-2 team coming into an SEC environment, it should be a situation where you can work out the kinks.
Full disclosure: I don’t think there are as many kinks as the best fans have acted like all week. Auburn had 5 turnovers and lost to a senior-laden P5 team by a touchdown. Don’t tell anybody that, though. Nothing from Week 1 happened. Week 2 just shows how far behind Auburn is as a team
Get over yourself.
There are reports that Hank Brown will be starting the game in favor of Payton Thorne. Ok. It’s New Mexico.
I have thoughts about creating false hope for the ones that think a simple QB switch is all the team needs to beat the Chiefs. But whatever. I don’t care who is back there. As long as he isn’t shaving points, I’m going to pull for him.
The Lobos — that’s New Mexico’s mascot — have shown they can go on the road and mess with a better team. But they’ve also shown they can lose to FCS teams at home and give up 61 points on the road.
Auburn’s loss to Cal likely has them dreaming of coming in another SEC upset. It’s a big trip, a big stadium, and the biggest program they’ll play all year. They have nothing to lose. They’ve been given a little bit of a blueprint of how to beat Auburn at Jordan-Hare.
That said, it’s supposed to be raining all day and throughout the game, which can cause craziness, but it can also calm the game down and just let talent show. The Lobos should have to go all out to keep up with Auburn on a normal day, but the weather and field conditions will likely mean the offensive line and running backs will do most of the work. Auburn definitely has the upper hand there. They have to.
Hank Brown will play. He may not be asked to do too much. I think Payton Thorne will get some reps, too. Either way, the bad loss for the year has happened. It won’t happen again. Talent wins. Talent that has been awakened will win.
Jarquez scores three touchdowns. Hank Brown throws one touchdown pass. Payton Thorne runs one in. The bad taste gets out of our mouths.
Auburn 42, New Mexico 17
