14 more takeaways from Auburn's 14-point win at Baylor
Let's wrap up our final thoughts on the positives and negatives from the Tigers' season-opening victory before Week 2 gets rolling.
AUBURN — While Monday is a holiday for most people in this country, it was right back to work for Auburn football.
Auburn’s 38-24 win on Friday night against Baylor has reset the vibes around the program, as the Tigers now have back-to-back home games against Group of Five opponents Ball State and South Alabama before hitting the road to start SEC play.
“Obviously, you always celebrate when you can go on the road and get a win,” Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze said Monday. “It's hard to win games, period — particularly against a good football team. There were a lot of good things and a lot of things that we can improve and be better upon.”
That's the sweet spot coming out of Week 1: Auburn had enough miscues and struggles against Baylor to know it is nowhere near a finished product. But the Tigers are getting to do that at 1-0, which is not something that every SEC program that hit the road in Week 1 can say.
Before we officially turn the page to Week 2 and Auburn’s home opener against Ball State, let’s wrap up with our final thoughts from the victory against Baylor.
We’ve got 14 of these thoughts, of assorted length, to represent the 14-point win. Note: If this becomes a recurring newsletter this season, don’t expect the margin of victory to always determine the number of takeaways. It might be difficult to get to that number after this Week 2 matchup.
We’ll start with a couple of injury updates from the road trip and a deeper dive into the issues that Auburn faced on the defensive end against Baylor.
1: Champ Anthony will be out indefinitely after breaking his thumb at Baylor.
This is a brutal injury update, as Anthony has spent nearly the past year fighting his way back after breaking his leg against Arkansas early in the 2024 season.
Freeze said Monday that Anthony broke his thumb against Baylor and that it “will require surgery.” He will “miss some time.” Right now, there’s no immediate timetable for his return, but the Tigers are hopeful he could return later this season.
Anthony played 56 of the 79 snaps Auburn’s defense faced against Baylor last Friday. According to Pro Football Focus, he played 25 snaps at slot corner, 23 at free safety, five in the box and three lined up on the edge. Only cornerback Jay Crawford and safety Kaleb Harris played more defensive snaps in the game.
Jahquez Robinson played a similar role against Baylor, lining up mainly at free safety and in various spots in the slot or in the box. Freshman Eric Winters got 12 of his 16 snaps at free safety. Fellow freshman Newboy Fagans got a solo snap at safety. The Tigers could also use Sylvester Smith in the back, as he primarily played in the slot as the starting nickel against Baylor.
“I think the opportunity is there for several guys,” Freeze said Monday. “That was my challenge this morning, is, ‘Men, go have a great week. Those of you who didn’t get the number of snaps that you hoped, go have a great week and make this a different week.’
“Eric played a lot of snaps. It’s a reasonable assumption if Champ’s down, his snaps even go up more.”
2: Damari Alston might not play in Week 2 against Ball State, despite his big game.
Alston ran for 84 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries against Baylor. The senior started at running back for the Tigers and did well overall. However, he got banged up during the game and had to miss some time.
On Monday, Freeze said that Alston injured his shoulder and is officially questionable for Week 2 against Ball State.
“Damari got a little banged-up shoulder in the game, so we'll see how he is this week,” Freeze said. “If you run the ball that much and that many times, they're going to take some beatings. We've got to make sure we get the others ready also.”
The good news for Auburn is that Jeremiah Cobb had 35 offensive snaps to Alston’s 34 against Baylor and looked like a potential feature back. Cobb had 16 carries for 74 yards and a touchdown in which he got low on a gigantic Baylor nose tackle in a goal-line situation. His work between the tackles was particularly impressive.
If Auburn decides it doesn’t want to risk Alston against an overmatched Ball State team, it could mean more snaps for UConn transfer Durell Robinson — who had just one touch against Baylor. It could also mean the collegiate debut of true freshman Omar Mabson, the Auburn native.
No matter who gets the touches Saturday night, Auburn should be able to run the ball well. Last season, Ball State ranked No. 118 nationally in rushing defense at 5.21 yards allowed per carry. In its only power-conference matchup of 2024, Ball State allowed 7.84 yards per carry in a 62-0 loss to Miami… of Florida, that is.
3: Why was Auburn’s pass defense so rough against Baylor?