Auburn went on the road for the 2nd time in two weeks to face a Top-10 SEC opponent and returned to Auburn with a touchdown loss.
Last week, Auburn had a chance to drive the length of the field at Oklahoma and get a 2-point win with a touchdown. Instead they gave up a 2-point safety and lost by 7 points. This week, Auburn had a chance to drive the length of the field at Texas A&M and get a 1-point win with a touchdown. Instead they went 4-and-out with Jackson Arnold once again being sacked in the shadows of his own goalposts.
They are so very close. They’ve spent 3 of their first 5 weeks on the road in former Big 12 stadiums while other ranked SEC teams are playing Georgia State, Utah State, UMass, and the like. Sure, those teams may eventually play what Auburn is playing now, but Auburn’s front loaded road schedule has put them in a hole that others will fall into later this season.
That said, they are so very close. They beat Baylor by 14 points on the road. They lost to now #5 Oklahoma by 7 points. They lost to now #6 Texas A&M by 6 points. That’s close.
Sure, you’re going to argue that it’s not that they lost, it’s how they lost. Right, how the lost was by 6 and 7 points. 6-7!!!!!
But I get it. The offense awful was stagnant at best this past weekend. it was somehow better at Oklahoma and I didn’t think that would ever be possible.
Every coach, player, prognosticator, and football fan will tell you it all starts up front. And that is Auburn’s problem solely. There are other things that aren’t great at times, just like with every football team ever fielded, but up front kills everything for the vast majority of the 3 plays that the offense is out on the field.
It is simplistic to blame the quarterback. It’s even simplistic to blame the coach and the play calling. Yes, the coach(es) are responsible for the players and their performances. But at some point you have to look at a unit, not a person, and say, if that was better, then all of it would be better. It wouldn’t be perfect, because no team is perfect despite what the vocal minority of Auburn fans will tell you right now, but it would be immediately better.
Remember when Auburn ran the ball at will against Baylor? That’s because they were dominant up front. The problem is that the film got out. The Jackson Arnold tuck and run isn’t as effective as it was then. Now obviously Auburn has played two defenses that are better than Baylor’s over the last two weeks. They’ve also played in real stadiums that can be very loud and make it difficult to hear audibles and a snap count.
But we’re somewhere between the two. Baylor was not a good litmus test of where Auburn is up front, and neither is Oklahoma and Texas A&M on the road. And while they were supposed to be one of the team’s best units, they have had exactly 0 tough situations while at home to work out some kinks.
So, again, I’m not going to blame anybody because they’re all better than me, but stop being simplistic and just looking at who holds the ball and who stands on the sideline. If one unit is fixed, it immediately gets better. And maybe if they could play a big game at home that would help, too.
Oh look, here comes Georgia. After we get a week off to lick our wounds.
