Observations: Georgia 31, Auburn 13
Auburn might have played better than usual in Athens. But it was still a 3-score loss that featured a lot of the same old problems for the Tigers.
(David Gray/Auburn Tigers)
ATHENS, Ga. — For the first time since 2009, Auburn scored more than 10 points and recorded more than 300 yards in a road game at Georgia.
Unfortunately, it was just 13 points and 337 yards.
It can be called progress. It can be called improvement. But, ultimately, it feels like more empty calories for a team that went from losing three winnable games at home to start the season — despite putting up better stats than it had last season.
For the fourth straight trip to Athens, Auburn lost to Georgia by more than two scores. Few, even at the beginning of the season, would have expected the Tigers to have a shot of beating the Bulldogs in the house of horrors known as Sanford Stadium.
Yet that doesn’t erase the fact Auburn had opportunities to show more legitimate progress at Georgia on Saturday and, perhaps, even have a chance to pull off a stunner.
“We're not playing winning football,” Hugh Freeze said after Auburn’s 31-13 loss to Georgia on Saturday.
Auburn was in a one-possession game with Georgia up until the late stages of the second quarter. It scored the first touchdown of the second half to make it a one-possession game yet again.
But the Tigers couldn’t hang in there, with empty offensive drives and failed defensive stands piling up. Auburn didn’t turn the ball over for the first time all season, yes. Still, its lack of efficiency — even with some explosive plays in its favor — continues to be just as big of a problem as giving possessions away.
There might be a narrative after this loss that Auburn, which didn’t get completely blown out at Georgia, showed plenty of fight. There might even be a silver lining after a loss like that, right?
Freeze didn’t seem to agree with that afterwards.
“Well, truthfully, I expect more fight than what we saw for the 60 minutes today,” Freeze said. “I told them that in the locker room, and I mean it. It's my job to get that out of them, and I'm gonna die trying. We're gonna get it turned and find the ones who want to fight for 60 minutes.”
Here are five big Observations from Auburn’s 31-13 loss to Georgia on Saturday, along with a concise Quote of the Night from a star player.
What happened on fourth-and-1 to start the final quarter?
Let’s set the scene: After Georgia scored a touchdown late in the third quarter to go up by 11, Auburn started a drive at its own 5 due to a special teams penalty — a recurring problem so far this season.
But the Tigers got out of the shadow of their own goalposts with a few good passing plays. Even after a sack that ended with right tackle Izavion Miller having to be checked out by trainers for an injury, Auburn got a couple of successful plays together to set up a fourth-and-1 that it took to the quarter break.
Out of the timeout, Auburn went with a bunch shotgun formation, with Jarquez Hunter next to Payton Thorne. In the above video, you can see Hunter lining up to the right of Thorne. He started the play on the left side. Even the broadcast commentary noted how Thorne “is doing a lot of orchestrating before the snap.”
The ensuing play looked like a zone read. The Georgia edge rusher on the right side went unblocked, causing Thorne to pull the ball back and try to get to the outside. But it was dead in the water, with two free defenders flying outside and the original read man closing in quickly.
Thorne lost four yards on the play for a turnover on downs. Georgia took over at the Auburn 40 and scored a touchdown five plays later on the short field.
So, what happened? Last week, Freeze talked about regretting not giving the ball to Hunter on a fourth-and-short situation against Oklahoma. Did the Tigers take the ball out of the hands of one of their best weapons — who averaged 7 yards per carry on Saturday and scored their only touchdown — yet again?