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247sports.com PMARSHONAU Sunday reflections from Auburn and beyond Phillip Marshall 11–13 minutes A lost Auburn Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium and more A mystifying game at Jordan-Hare I believed going into Saturday’s game against New Mexico at Jordan-Hare Stadium that there was little to no chance Auburn could lose unless it turned the ball over multiple times. If the same two teams were playing next Saturday, I’d probably believe the same thing. Auburn didn’t turn the ball over, and boy was I wrong. New Mexico State’s 31-10 victory was one of more mystifying games I have seen in a half century in this business. My feeling watching the game was that Auburn players were not particularly engaged. Auburn coaches verified that feeling. I thought they would be engaged be after tying the game. I thought they would be engaged after a cheap shot by New Mexico State almost started a fight. I thought they would win when it was 10-7 at halftime. I still thought they could win when it was 17-7. Instead, they lost 31-10. It was the most points Auburn has given up this season other than at LSU – more than against Georgia, more than against Ole Miss, more than against Texas A&M. It makes no sense. It was a performance reminiscent of the 2015 game against Jacksonville State, though Auburn won that one 27-20 in overtime. The difference was that New Mexico State was good enough to take advantage and win its seventh consecutive game. I won’t waste time trying to figure out the emotions of a college football team. The fact is Auburn played a terrible game. Flags costly for Auburn Saturday’s officiating crew was flag-happy. New Mexico State was penalized 12 times for 105 yards. Auburn was penalized nine times for 65 yards, but Auburn’s penalties seemed to be more costly. --On New Mexico State’s first drive, Jaylin Simpson and Larry Nixon III were hit with pass interference. The call on Nixon was on fourth-and-five and led to a touchdown three plays later. --A Nehemiah Pritchett interception was wiped out by an offsides penalty. --A 10-yard pass from Thorne to Fairweather was called back by a holding penalty. --As Auburn drove toward a go-ahead touchdown on its first drive of the third quarter, Thorne threw to Jarquez Hunter for a first down at the New Mexico State 22. It was wiped out by an ineligible receiver downfield penalty. --For good measure, Auburn got a holding penalty on the first play of its final drive. What does loss mean? The biggest question is what a lost day at Jordan-Hare means for Auburn’s program. Beyond playing an awful game, probably not much. If I am sure of one thing it is that Auburn players will be very engaged when Alabama visits Jordan-Hare Stadium next Saturday. Will that be enough to win? Probably not. Building programs is hard. Nick Saban lost to ULM in his first season at Alabama and to UAB in his first season at LSU. He seems to have done OK. Mike Norvell lost to Jacksonville State in his second season at Florida State. So, while its understandable that fans are upset, it makes no sense to say one game is a sign of long-term disaster. Did Tigers learn a lesson in defeat? Has this Auburn team learned a hard lesson? It was good enough to play Georgia to the wire. It was good enough to go on the road and crush Arkansas. It is not good enough to take any team for granted. Shocking collapse by Auburn defense The most surprising thing to me in Saturday’s game was the performance of Auburn’s defense. Coordinator Ron Roberts has been highly praised, and with good reason. But Auburn seemed to have no answer for New Mexico State and quarterback Diego Pavia. The Aggies played keepaway with Auburn’s offense. Auburn had some chances wiped out by penalties. In the end, Auburn’s offense had just 45 snaps. Quarterback Payton Thorne actually played pretty well but had nothing to show for it. Roberts, no doubt, will find it hard to watch. It seemed that Pavia took his time to see how the defense was lined up and who was coming on the pass rush. He made the Tigers pay often. No SEC team plays at a pace as deliberate as New Mexico State. Linebacker Eugene Assante said that gave Pavia more time to read the defense. If Auburn changed anything to deal with it or disguised any blitzes, I did not see it. That, I hasten to add, doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. Either way, it was an astonishing sight. Worst loss ever? Hard to say that Some say Saturday’s loss was the worst in Auburn history, but history is a long time. History includes a loss to Wofford. It includes losing 42-0 loss to Tennessee at home, losing 63-21 (it could have been 100) to Texas A&M at home, losing 31-7 to a four-win Alabama team at home with a trip to the SEC Championship Game on the line. I have to include a near-loss to Jacksonville State, which was an FCS team at the time. Auburn teams narrowly survived near-losses that would have been as bad or worse. I am not going to get into whether Saturday’s game was the worst, but it was bad. Dominant Bulldogs roll on I am of the opinion that nobody is going to beat Georgia. The Bulldogs are unbeaten and getting better every week. They unloaded on Tennessee on Saturday in Knoxville. Auburn and Missouri are the only teams that have taken Georgia into the fourth quarter with chances to win. Kill shows his skill for NMSU You have to give the Aggies credit. They had a plan they thought would give them a chance to win and executed it to near perfection. I have long heard from other coaches about Jerry Kill’s coaching prowess. I saw it up close Saturday. Nix moves to front in Heisman Trophy race If former Auburn quarterback Bo Nix can lead Oregon to wins over Oregon State and in a rematch with Washington, I have little doubt he will win the Heisman Trophy. The numbers he has put up and the consistency with which he has played have been unreal. I know he wishes, as do Auburn fans, that he’d had an opportunity to be featured like he has been at Oregon and perform the way has. Anyone who knows him has to be happy for him. I know I am. Lincoln Riley has no answers Remember when Lincoln Riley was all the rage? Remember the predictions that he would turn USC into a monster? Quarterback Caleb Willims won the Heisman Trophy last season, but the Trojans were whipped 47-24 by Utah in the Pac-12 Championship Game. And then they lost to Tulane 46-45 in the Cotton Bowl. This season, with Williams still around, they fielded one of the worst if not the worst defense in the FBS. Still, they won their first six games and moved into the top five. Since then, they have gone 1-5. They ended their regular season Saturday, losing 38-20 to UCLA. If it doesn’t get better, how long before USC pays a gargantuan buyout to be rid of him? Until next time …

saturdaydownsouth.com Auburn football: Is there any way Auburn can shock Bama? Glenn Sattell | 23 hours ago 5–6 minutes Hugh Freeze is still looking for that signature victory in his 1st year as head coach at Auburn. It nearly happened against Ole Miss, his former employer, but the Tigers came up just short in a 28-21 loss. They just weren’t quite ready yet. But that was a month ago and Auburn hadn’t lost since — until Saturday. A 4-game winning streak highlighted by 3 SEC victories, including 2 on the road, had lifted the Tigers out of the doldrums of a 3-game skid. But that all went down the drain in an uninspired and uninterested 31-10 loss to C-USA foe New Mexico State at Jordan-Hare. Perhaps the Tigers were looking ahead to the Iron Bowl? Already bowl-eligible once again at 6-5 (3-4 in SEC), Auburn appeared to have become a formidable foe, taking care of the bottom feeders in the conference. It appeared ready to challenge SEC West top-seeded Alabama in the Iron Bowl next Saturday (2:30 p.m. CT) at Jordan-Hare Stadium … until Saturday, a game that raised a lot of questions from the top of the program to the bottom. Alabama (10-1), on the other hand, is on a 9-game win streak since falling at home to Texas. The No. 8 Tide has everything to play for, still in the hunt for a Playoff spot with a date against Georgia in the SEC Championship Game looming. But, as the old saying goes, “That’s why they play the games.” Remember, New Mexico State was a 25-point underdog. Alabama is a double-digit favorite and certainly should win. If Auburn is to pull off the shocker, these 3 things must happen. 1. Keep Jalen Milroe in the pocket The Tigers must keep the Alabama QB from beating them with his feet. One way to do that is to keep him in the pocket. Against LSU on Nov. 4, Milroe was able to escape the pocket and pick up big yardage down the field. The LSU edge rushers continually overran the play and were blocked beyond the point of attack. That allowed Milroe to step up into the pocket and either make the throw or take off in Jayden Daniels-like fashion to make chunk-yardage plays. Against LSU, Milroe rushed for a career-high 155 yards. If Auburn is to contain Milroe, it must keep him in the pocket, not overrun the play, and make him win with his arm. The Alabama QB has proven he is capable of doing that. Milroe threw for 200-plus yards in 7 of his first 9 games this season, and in the past 3 SEC games, he has completed 66.7 percent of his passes (44-for-66) with 5 TDs and just 2 interceptions. You have to pick your poison. And Auburn’s best shot appears to be keeping Milroe from becoming that dual-threat quarterback. 2. Auburn QB must be elusive On the flip side, Payton Thorne must use his legs to extend plays and keep the Alabama defense off balance. Historically, teams with mobile quarterbacks are the ones that have given Alabama trouble. And Thorne has displayed an ability to do just that. He rushed for 123 yards against Samford, had a 92-yard rushing effort against No. 1 Georgia and ran for 88 yards against Arkansas. Thorne’s running ability has somewhat offset the conference’s worst passing game, although it has gotten better lately. In the past 3 conference games, Thorne has thrown for 587 yards and 8 TDs with only 2 interceptions, completing 67.1 percent (49-for-73) of his passes. Thorne must be a true dual-threat quarterback if Auburn is to have any chance of pulling off the upset. 3. Have something left in the tank Alabama will wear you down with its depth and conditioning. Auburn must have something left late in the game. The Tigers can’t compete with Alabama’s depth, so conditioning is a key. Holding some sort of lead heading into the latter stages of the game wouldn’t hurt, either. That’s because through the first 10 games of the season, only twice (Texas and Arkansas) has Alabama been outscored in the 2nd half. During that 10-game span, Alabama has a combined scoring advantage of 172-62. Alabama has trailed or been tied in 6 games this season, so jumping to an early lead is a possibility for Auburn. But holding onto any advantage it might gain will be the key if Auburn is to shock the Tide.

al.com How did Auburn’s shell-shocked locker room react to Saturday’s loss to New Mexico State? Published: Nov. 19, 2023, 11:41 a.m. 6–7 minutes Shell-shocked is the only way to describe the look and feel of Auburn’s locker room after the Tigers were stunned by New Mexico State in a 31-10 beating in front of a Jordan-Hare Stadium full of the Auburn Family on Saturday. Jaylin Simpson and Keionte Scott – two veteran defensive backs who are widely regarded as leaders in the locker room – both started their postgame interview with the same four words. “I don’t even know,” they said when asked about the game’s surprising result. It was evident that players in Auburn’s locker room – no matter how seasoned – were still reeling and trying to make sense of the loss, which some are calling the worst in Auburn football history. “I don’t even know how to feel right now to be honest with you,” Simpson continued. “I’m just in disbelief. I don’t know, it don’t feel like real life to me.” Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze was still grappling with the loss during his postgame press conference, too. “It feels like a bad dream,” Freeze said. But unfortunately for Freeze and those in the Tigers’ locker room, it doesn’t matter how many times they ask someone to pinch them – Saturday’s loss won’t become any less real. The New Mexico State Aggies marched onto The Plains guaranteed to bring home a $1.85-million check. Winning the game, on the other hand, was all but guaranteed. The bookies in Las Vegas had the Aggies as three-score underdogs. “I said the same thing I’ve always said and I didn’t preach that we were underdogs,” New Mexico State head coach Jerry Kill said after the game. “I didn’t say we couldn’t beat Auburn, I told them we were going to, this is how we’re going to do it.” And so the Aggies did it, giving them the their first win over an SEC opponent in program history. “I probably shouldn’t say this but life’s short and I may not be here tomorrow,” Kill said when asked about Saturday’s celebration in the locker room. “So I walked in and said, ‘Hey, we just got $1.7 million to play a (Southeastern Conference) team. So how about $1.7 million and winning the game?’.” As if the 31-10 haymaker New Mexico State delivered to Auburn wasn’t enough, that was just one more jab for good measure. And the Tigers were feeling it after the game as they licked their wounds and tried to peer out from their blackened eye. “I don’t know,” Simpson said again. “In the beginning, we always — for some odd reason — we start a little slow and I thought that was what was going on. They wanted it more than us, flat out. They just wanted it more than us.” Simpson was one of three Auburn players to mutter those same words. Scott and tight end Rivaldo Fairweather also chimed in saying the Aggies wanted Saturday’s win more. “They just wanted it more than us today,” Fairweather said. “I don’t know what the energy was but you never underestimate an opponent. They wanted it more than us today and we’ve just got to be better, man.” Freeze said Monday that he knew there’d be temptation to try and relax as the Tigers had a game against a Group-of-5 opponent sandwiched between its most complete win at Arkansas and next week’s rivalry battle with Alabama. From the looks and sounds of it, some of that temptation won as Freeze admitted the Tigers didn’t have their best week of practice. While Tuesday’s practice was sharp, Wednesday and Thursday’s practices were “not up to par.” Auburn’s players saw it, too. “I just think guys — and I’m including myself in this whole thing — got comfortable,” said linebacker Eugene Asante. “Went to Arkansas, played a really good game, and maybe bought into the praise and the outside noise, and didn’t go out there and continue to remain humble, myself included.” Now for the big question that everyone has been quick to ask: Was Saturday’s loss the result of Auburn looking ahead to its Iron Bowl dance with Alabama? Freeze wouldn’t even let the seven-letter word come out of his mouth on Monday as he assured Saturday’s game against New Mexico State had he and the team’s full attention. After all, Kill and the Aggies upset a Freeze-led Liberty team last season. But was it coach speak? The consensus from the players is no. “I didn’t think so,” quarterback Payton Thorne said when asked if Auburn was looking ahead. “I haven’t looked at anything for Alabama yet. And I don’t know of anybody that has.” Asante said the most of Alabama he’s seen is when the Crimson Tide has played in primetime slots and the game is playing on the team plane after away games. Meanwhile, Scott gave a 50-50 answer to the question. “At the end of the day I feel like we didn’t overlook this team,” Scott said. “I just feel like in our heads and in our minds there was probably a little bit of attention on the next game.” And now Auburn will look towards Alabama with a shiner on its eye, bidding the question: How clear is Auburn’s vision going to be? “We need to have the 24 hour rule. Get the corrections we need to get and just completely throw this one in the trash and just focus on the biggest game of the season so far,” Simpson said. “It’s the Iron Bowl, it should not take a lot of motivation. It’s here at home. It’s the Iron Bowl so I feel like if you don’t understand what type of game this is you need to figure it out real quick.” 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.

auburnwire.usatoday.com Everything Hugh Freeze and Auburn's players said after losing to New Mexico State JD McCarthy 5–6 minutes Auburn suffered an embarrassing loss to New Mexico State on Saturday, falling 31-10 to the Aggies inside Jordan-Hare Stadium. Hugh Freeze is in Year 1 of a rebuild at Auburn but there are no excuses for such a disappointing loss, especially after Auburn had seemed to be improving in the final weeks of the season. The win was New Mexico State’s first-ever over a Power Five program after starting 0-27. Not only did they upset Auburn, they dominated every phase of the game and were in control of the game from the start. Freeze and several Auburn players met with the media after the game to discuss their fifth loss of the season, here is a look at everything they said. Opening Statement… “As good as last week felt and as complete as we played in all three phases, it was the exact opposite today. And it is very disappointing. Our university deserves a better effort than that, and that’s my job to make sure they give that, and we did not today.” On how practices were this week… “Not as good if I’m being truthful. I mean, I thought Tuesday was okay. Wednesday and Thursday were not up to par for sure. Now, I don’t want to sit here and not give credit to New Mexico State. They’re very confident. Jerry Kill is a heck of a football coach. They had the right calls at the right time. They milked the clock. I bet we didn’t have forty offensive plays between all the penalties. We kept killing ourselves with that, and them controlling the clock so I give them the credit for that. But the effort we had is not what Auburn deserves.” On what NMSU’s defense was doing that made it difficult for Auburn’s offense…. “I thought they played together and well as a unit. I feel like they had answers for things and that we hurt ourselves quite a bit. They came out and played hard so I will give credit to them. They’re a good team, and that was their ninth win. They stopped the run and did a good job defending us on the outside as well. We couldn’t get it going enough to get the ball in the end zone.” On how hard it is to get momentum after so many penalties… “Whatever the situation is, you have got to get going at some point. You have got to overcome the penalties and we did not do that tonight. If we want to be a really good offense, then we have to do those things. Number one, you don’t shoot yourself in the foot, but if you do, you have got to be able to recover. As I said, we did not do that tonight, so we have some work to do.” On tonight’s loss to New Mexico State… “I don’t even know how to feel right now to be honest…I am in disbelief. It doesn’t feel like real life to me.” On defensive issues… “In the beginning, we always start out a little slow. I thought that’s what was going on, but I don’t know, man. They wanted it more than us. Flat out. That’s just how I feel.” On taking this loss as motivation for Iron Bowl… “We better get back to the drawing board for sure On how NMSU surprised them offensively… “Just execution. I haven’t seen the tape yet, of course, but I know for sure we didn’t tackle well. We just didn’t take advantage of our opportunities as a defense like we normally do.” On struggling with the QB scrambles… “A moving quarterback is always difficult to go against, so we’ve just got to do a better job of containing them. Then when he does scramble and throw those radical balls, we’ve got to take advantage of the opportunity.” On tonight’s game… “Yeah, pretty bizarre game, I think. We just came out flat. The guys, we never really got in our groove. When you play football like that… you can’t be like that.” On what caused the most trouble for the defense… “They have a really good quarterback. Just different things, moving the pocket and trying to neutralize our D-line tackles on the outside a little bit. They had a pretty good team. New Mexico State coaches has a good game plan, and truthfully, it’s on us players to evaluate them and look within ourselves, myself included. I didn’t play nearly as good as I wanted. We just have to improve.” On the feeling in the locker room after tonight’s loss… “We’re just disappointed. Everybody knows we play better than that. You just got to just learn from this mistake we made and just come back 10 times harder next game.” On what went wrong today… “They just wanted it more than us today. I don’t know what the energy was, but you never underestimate an opponent. They just wanted it more than us today and we’ve just got to be better.”

Tis a sad day at the fiddy homestead today. they whupped us bad. i love my team and nothing will ever change that i still believe better days are coming............

247sports.com PMARSHONAU A sad and humbling day for Auburn football Phillip Marshall 4–5 minutes What happened to Auburn on Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium was no accident. New Mexico State came to town and got a victory to go with a big paycheck because it earned it. The Aggies, playing at snail’s pace, kept the ball away from Auburn’s offense. They made plays when they had to have them. And they pulled off a gigantic upset 31-10. Three-touchdown underdogs, they looked like the better team from the start. Auburn coach Hugh Freeze said in a brief conference after the game that he was not happy with the effort or much anything else. "It's like a bad dream," Freeze said. Lots of Auburn people would agree with that. Were the Tigers flat? Did they spend the week glancing ahead at next Saturday’s Iron Bowl? I have no answer. But on a stunning Saturday on their homefield, they looked more like the team many expected them to be than the one that crushed Arkansas on the road last Saturday. The fire that was evident in three straight wins was noticeably absent. The offense couldn’t run the ball. The defense, so acclaimed after three strong weeks, was just bad. Auburn didn’t turn the ball over. The flag-happy officials threw more on New Mexico State than they did on Auburn. It was a really poor display of football. Auburn had just seven possessions as the Aggies, as is their way, ran the play clock down to single digits on every snap. One thing is certain: Auburn coach Hugh Freeze won’t be in favor of scheduling New Mexico State and head coach Jerry Kill again. The Aggies blew out Freeze’s Liberty team last season. As the game progressed, I waited for Auburn to turn it on. I thought maybe it had happened when Payton Thorne hit Rivaldo Fairweather for a touchdown to tie it 7-7. I thought maybe it had happened when the Tigers mounted a drive to start the second half, but a penalty put a stop to that. And it was downhill from there. Quarterback Diego Pavia was all he was advertised to be. Auburn defenders couldn’t tackle him. When they blitzed, he burned them. It was, frankly, shocking to watch. Kill and his team deserve immense credit. They were prepared for everything Auburn did on both sides of the ball. They came to win. What does it mean for Auburn? It certainly casts a dark cloud over a season that seemed to be going in the right direction. A buy game that was supposed to be a warmup for the Iron Bowl turned into a disaster instead. Can players pick themselves up and get ready to put up a fight against Alabama? Probably, and every Saturday is different. But it’s difficult to see a team that lost to New Mexico State at home beating Alabama or even keeping it close. As I write this, except for putting in the final score, the fourth quarter is just beginning and New Mexico State leads 17-7. I am wondering at this point if it might get even more embarrassing for Hugh Freeze’s first Auburn team. New Mexico State just faked a punt and ran to the Auburn 34. Not even a holding penalty and a dropped pass inside the 10 could keep the Aggies out of the end zone. On fourth-and-goal at the 2 Pavia threw a touchdown pass. It’s 24-7. And it’s over. The clock has dwindled all the way to 8:32, and Auburn has not had the ball in the fourth quarter. These are the stunning numbers to this point: New Mexico State 372 yards to Auburn’s 148. It has had the ball for 34:58 to Auburn’s 16:30. Kill and his staff had a plan to keep the ball away from Auburn and run the clock. Their players executed it to near perfection. Auburn went to its two-minute offense. On fourth down, Alex McPherson made his 18th consecutive field goal to make it 24-10 and cut it to a two-score game with 5:29 left. Too little, too late. Auburn tried an onsides kick. Didn’t have much choice. It was not successful. New Mexico State is running the ball every play now and gashing Auburn’s defense. The fans are headed to the exits, and who can blame them? There’s another touchdown. It’s 31-10. A three-touchdown underdog has won by three touchdowns. New Mexico State has beaten an SEC team for the first time in 25 tries. One of the sadder days in recent Auburn history is over.

auburnwire.usatoday.com Instant analysis: New Mexico State stuns Auburn behind impressive ball-control Taylor Jones 4–5 minutes Everyone has their day. However, Saturday was not Auburn’s. Auburn entered Saturday’s game against New Mexico State riding a three-game winning streak and was looking to add one more in order to push its streak to a season-high four games. The Aggies, had other plans, as they stunned Auburn, 31-10 on Saturday afternoon at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn. New Mexico State pulled off the win by dominating the time of possession battle and making the most of it. The Aggies held on to the football for a total of 38:28, while Auburn struggled to have it for more than 21 minutes. New Mexico State also outgained Auburn, 414-213. Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne passed for 148 yards and a score, but no one else offensively sniffed the century marks. His counterpart, Diego Pavia, completed 19 passes to 11 different receivers for 201 yards. There were plenty of fireworks in the first quarter. Sadly, most belonged to New Mexico State. On their first possession, the Aggies served notice to Auburn that they were ready to play. Aggies quarterback Diego Pavia, who was questionable to play in the game after sustaining a hamstring injury last week, led them on a scoring drive that lasted over five minutes. Pavia connected with wide receiver Kordell David for a nine-yard pass to push New Mexico State ahead, 7-0 with 9:34 to go in the 1st quarter. After being forced to punt on their first possession, Auburn earned its first highlight of the game on an interception that never was. Nehemiah Pritchett picked off Pavia on New Mexico State’s second drive, however, it was called back due to a pre-snap offsides call on linebacker Jalen McLeod. The key moment of the sequence, however, was on the return. Pavia bodyslammed Pritchett, which resulted in an unsportsmanlike conduct call on the Aggies quarterback. New Mexico State posted 126 yards in the first quarter, picking up eight first downs. The Tigers ran five total plays in the first quarter, gaining just eight yards. After a few aggravating possessions, Auburn finally got on the board in the 2nd quarter. Payton Thorne capped an 11-play, 81-yard drive by tossing a 32-yard touchdown pass to tight end Rivaldo Fairweather with 6:28 remaining in the first half. The Aggies regained the lead, 10-7, with 0:26 on an Ethan Anderson 40-yard field goal. The Aggies began the second half in a similar fashion to its opening drive. Auburn could not score on its opening drive of the 3rd quarter despite having seven plays to get it going. New Mexico State made them pay by putting together a 10-play drive that ended with Pavia tossing a 17-yard touchdown pass to Star Thomas to extend the lead to 17-0 with 5:03 to go in the 3rd quarter. New Mexico State ended the 3rd stanza with a whopping 304 yards compared to Auburn’s 148. The Aggies also had the football for 12 minutes longer than the Tigers. The dagger was delivered with 8:42 remaining. Pavia threw his third touchdown pass of the game to Eli Stowers to complete a 16-play, 83-yard drive that pushed the Aggies ahead, 24-7. Auburn trimmed the lead to 24-10 with a 48-yard field goal with 5:29 remaining before New Mexico State scored once more with a two-yard rush by Makhilyan Young with 1:59 to go. Auburn will look to bounce back against rival Alabama next Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. CT. Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Taylor on Twitter @TaylorJones__

saturdaydownsouth.com 3 takeaways from Auburn’s shocking loss to New Mexico State Keith Farner | 13 hours ago 4–5 minutes Auburn came into Saturday with momentum and an offensive identity, something Hugh Freeze admitted only arrived recently. New Mexico State already clinched a spot in the Conference USA championship game against Liberty and looked to extend a 6-game winning streak. Meanwhile, with the Iron Bowl looming, Auburn looked to improve on its bowl eligibility after 3 straight SEC wins. But that didn’t happen as New Mexico State won 31-10 in a game that was 10-7 at halftime. New Mexico State QB Diego Pavia and New Mexico State must love playing Hugh Freeze teams. Last season, Pavia had 6 touchdowns in a 49-14 win over Freeze-coached Liberty. This time, Auburn was a 25-point favorite coming into Saturday and New Mexico State came in 0-for-24 against the SEC and 0-3 against Auburn. Here are the 3 takeaways from the game: Auburn deals with halftime deficit Auburn didn’t score until 6:26 left in the first half when Rivaldo Fairweather caught a 32-yard touchdown pass from Payton Thorne. The other first-half drives ended with a pair of punts as they combined for 9 plays. Auburn gave up 257 yards in the first half, as NMSU took a lead with 26 second remaining on a 40-yard field goal. That was the 6th receiving touchdown by Fairweather, which is one away from the single-season TE record (7) set by Philip Lutzenkirchen in 2011. Auburn lost in the trenches, fell behind in time of possession, was out of sync and dealt with ongoing penalties. Freeze at halftime said Auburn’s “care meter” has to go up, but it never clicked into gear. Chippiness throughout Both teams dealt with a slew of penalties, including 11 total penalties totaling 110 yards through a quarter. The biggest one came from the New Mexico State QB Diego Pavia, who suplexed an Auburn defender and was flagged in an incident that sparked a fight. That was a highlight, but the game lacked rhythm because after nearly 24 minutes, there were 15 accepted penalties. Methodical approach The Aggies are known to be well-coached under Jerry Kill, who got a Gatorade splash at the end, and it proved to be the case as held an average time of possession per drive of 5:29 compared with Auburn at 2:35. But by the end of the 3rd quarter, the Aggies were only 3-for-8 on 3rd down, as they leaned on milking the clock, playing efficient, and even offensive penalties (6) giving them more time to run plays and clock. One sequence played out like this: Auburn had the ball with a 1st down on the NMSU 38-yard line, and squandered the drive with penalties. The Aggies then converted a huge 3rd-and-7 play on their next drive and scored. Freeze likes to call this kind of development “critical plays” and most of them went the way of NMSU.

si.com Takeaways: Tigers Use Strong First Half to Push Past St Bonaventure in Legends Classic Championship Lance Dawe 3–4 minutes Auburn basketball got off to a hot start once again. The Auburn Tigers have now won three straight in convincing fashion following their season-opening loss to Baylor. Tonight, Bruce Pearl and the Tigers were once again victorious, defeating St Bonaventure 77-60 in the Legends Classic championship game. It was a contest dominated by Auburn for 25 minutes before the Bonnies finally woke up in the second half. It was too little too late as Auburn rode strong performances from Johni Broome, Jaylin Williams and Denver Jones to a win. Here are four takeaways from the victory. Johni Broome cleaned house Everyone be thankful the Tigers were playing St Bonaventure and not the No. 1 seeded Houston Cougars. Despite an extremely poor performance from the foul line (4-of-11), Broome finished the game with 18 points, and five rebounds on 7-of-11 shooting. Denver Jones stepped up Aden Holloway had his first off night in an Auburn uniform, shooting 2-of-10 from the floor - but FIU transfer Denver Jones stepped up in his offensive absence, scoring 12 points and hitting all three of his outside shots. The Tigers are going to need players like Jones to rise to the occasion when the talented freshman guard is in a slump. Tre Donaldson also went 1-of-2 from beyond the arc. How will Auburn respond in tougher second halves? The Tigers shot sub-40% from the floor and just 1-of-10 from deep in the second half. The Bonnies, who also shot poorly in the final 20 minutes, were still able to crawl back into the game and cut the lead to 11 at one point. Auburn will face much better teams with significantly better three-point shooters. They were able to control the game and maintain their lead in the end... but how will Pearl and the team respond to more serious adversity down the road? Getting games like this one under the belt should help. The Legends Classic field simply could not shoot Outside of Auburn, the three other teams in the Legends Classic field shoot an average of 22.3% from beyond the arc (including tonight's two contests of Oklahoma State/Notre Dame and Auburn/St Bonaventure. The Bonnies went 3-of-24 against the Tigers tonight. Yikes. The field could not shoot the rock. Is it Auburn's improved three-point defense after a disappointing performance against Baylor? Or is it because none of the other three teams here can't shoot at all? What's next? The Tigers return to Neville Arena next Tuesday, November 21st, to play Alabama A&M. Tipoff time is at 7:00 pm CT and can be seen on ESPN+. Alabama A&M is currently ranked No. 339 nationally on KenPom.

247sports.com Tigers start strong defeat St Bonaventure to win Legends Classic Matthew Wallace 5–7 minutes For the second time in program history, Auburn walked away from Brooklyn as the champion of the Legends Classic. The Tigers earned the title of the event by defeating the home-state St. Bonaventure Bonnies 77-60 on Friday night. "That's a good St. Bonaventure team," said head coach Bruce Pearl. "Everybody knows what a great coach Mark Schmidt is, the job that he does...Overall, good win for us and proud of our kids for making history." The score was tied at six just over three minutes in. Then, Denver Jones hit a 3-pointer, St. Bonaventure turned it over twice, Johni Broome scored a pair of close-range baskets, and the Tigers led the rest of the way. A pair of Aden Holloway free throws capped off the 9-0 run. The run was Auburn’s first of three sustained scoring runs in the first half. The Tigers also put up a 13-4 run midway through the period and an 8-0 run to close out the half. Against Notre Dame, Auburn held a 15-point lead with 3:51 to go, only to surrender a run and see the lead reduced to six at the half. Against the Bonnies, it was the Tigers who went on the late first-half run. Ahead by 10 with 3:14 to play in the half, Auburn scored 13 of the final 16 points before going to the locker room. "The last few minutes of the first half was pretty exciting basketball," Pearl said. The Tigers shot 54.8 percent in the first 20 minutes, going 17-of-31 from the field, with Broome scoring 13 in the frame to lead his team. In the first half, Auburn made 50 percent of its 3-pointers, going 7-of-14 behind the arc. The second half was not as kind to the Tigers, with the Bonnies outscoring Auburn 32-29, but the Tigers’ strong first half was too much for their opponent to overcome. The Tigers shot just 38.1 percent in the second half, and made just one of 10 3-pointers in the frame, factoring into the team’s failure to reach 80 points for the first time this season. Auburn also hurt itself with eight turnovers in the second half of play. "We didn't shoot the ball as well in the second half," Pearl said. "That's probably the first half all year we really didn't shoot it well...that may have been a factor in our not continuing to build our lead." Holloway, who came into the game shooting just over 52 percent from 3-point range, was just 2-for-7 from behind the arc. Jones, however, picked him up, shooing 3-for-3 from 3-point range. Broome led the Tigers with 18 points, with Jaylin Williams and Jones joining him in double figures. Broome was 7-of-11 from the field and Williams led the Tigers with 10 rebounds, earning a double-double for the first time this season. Though Broome came into the game shooting just over 64 percent from the foul line, he made just four of his 11 free-throw attempts in the game. As a team, Auburn was 19-of-27 from the foul line. The result was largely skewed due to Broome’s output, however, as four Tigers were perfect on free throws, including a 6-for-6 performance from Dylan Cardwell. "When Johni had missed some free throws, we played the last four minutes with Dylan Cardwell in there and Dylan made all of his free throws," Pearl said. "Dylan's a career 40 percent free-throw shooter, he went 6-for-6 tonight. I know Dylan's shooting coach is smiling somewhere and look at the work Dylan has done, but he was poised and played great defense down the stretch." The Tigers were active on the offensive glass, getting 11 offensive rebounds and turning those into 16 second-chance points. Williams had three of Auburn's offensive boards. The Bonnies were equally active on the offensive boards, though they did not take advantage as well as the Tigers, scoring 11 second-chance points from 12 offensive rebounds. The active Auburn defense factored into the win, affecting the Bonnies, who committed several uncharacteristic miscues. St. Bonaventure came into the game averaging 11 turnovers per game but had 11 turnovers in the first half alone. For the game, the Bonnies had 16 turnovers, resulting in 24 Auburn points. For the second straight game in Brooklyn, Auburn benefitted from its opponent’s inability to make 3-pointers. One day after Notre Dame finished 2-of-26 from behind the arc, the Bonnies made just three of their 24 3-point attempts. Combined, Auburn's opponents in the Legends Classic were just 5-of-50 from 3-point range. Auburn, for the first time this season, was able to consistently get stops without fouling in the second half. Auburn’s first three opponents combined for 56 second-half free-throw attempts, but the Bonnies shot just 13 free throws in the entire game, with just ten attempts in the second half. After scoring a combined 33 points in the two tournament games, Broome was named MVP of the Legends Classic, with Williams also making the all-tournament team. "Honestly, I didn't know I was going to get MVP," Broome said. "I was focused on my teammates and celebrating a win. I was trying to get hyped." From 2005 to 2018, Auburn did not win a multi-team tournament event. The Tigers’ victory in the Legends Classic, however, was their third win in such events since 2019, and their second straight. The Tigers won the Legends Classic in 2019 and the Cancun Challenge in 2022. The Tigers outscored their two Legends Classic opponents by a combined 41 points, beating Notre Dame by 24 and the Bonnies by 17. After three neutral-site contests in four games, Auburn returns home to face Alabama A&M on Tuesday evening.

3 takeaways from Auburn’s 77-60 win against St. Bonaventure Updated: Nov. 17, 2023, 8:23 p.m.|Published: Nov. 17, 2023, 8:17 p.m. 5–6 minutes BROOKLYN, NY - NOVEMBER 17 - Jaylin Williams (2) during the game between the Auburn Tigers and the St. Bonaventure Bonnies at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY on Friday, Nov. 17, 2023. Photo by Steven Leonard/Auburn TigersSteven Leonard/Auburn Tigers Auburn won the Legend’s Classic on Friday with a 77-60 win over St. Bonvanenture. Auburn blew out its opponents in each of the two games it played this week, beating Notre Dame on Thursday before St. Bonaventure. Auburn rides a serious wave of momentum with one more game before a short Thanksgiving break. It is 4-1 overall this season and winners of three straight after letting the opener against Baylor slip away. Auburn’s offense? Elite Should it be maintained, Auburn’s offense makes it a serious contender in the SEC this year. But what makes it so dangerous is that Auburn doesn’t just rely on one thing or one player. Auburn can score from anywhere, and it can do so efficiently and quickly. Take the end of the first half tonight. Over the final 11 minutes of the first half, Auburn outscored St. Bonaventure 26-11. Eight Auburn players scored in the first half. Auburn made 7-14 3-pointers. It assisted on 15 of 17 made field goals. That came against only five turnovers. Auburn had already been among the top 25 teams in the nation in terms of assists per game. That stretch put Auburn put by 20 at halftime, a cushion that helped it pull away for good. Auburn shot 9-15 over the final nine minutes of the first half. That’s 60%. As a team, Auburn is shooting close to 50% as a team this season and more than 40% from deep. The fact that Auburn has that offense in its arsenal, and can unleash it pretty much at any moment is an incredible asset. St. Bonaventure is a quality opponent, and Auburn blew past it. At least it did in the first half. Auburn’s offense had possibly its worst half of the season in the second half against St. Bonaventure, but even as the gap closed slightly, Auburn had played well enough offensively in the first half that Auburn never seemed in danger of losing the lead. Auburn’s 3-point defense this week was incredible — albeit unsustainable Auburn nearly went an entire 40 minutes without allowing a 3-pointer. Notre Dame’s Braeden Shrewsberry made a shot from deep with 1:19 to go in the first half of Auburn’s win Thursday. Notre Dame didn’t make a 3-pointer in the second half. St. Bonaventure then didn’t make a 3-pointer until Moses Flowers made one with 1:57 before halftime. In the two games, Auburn allowed a combined 5-53 from deep. Obviously, that’s incredible. And obviously, that’s unsustainable. But the point here is Auburn is figuring things out on defense. It’s not really that Notre Dame and St. Bonaventure were missing open looks — though both teams did, in fact, miss open — but more that Auburn’s closeouts at the perimeter have been greatly improved. Even if that type of defense is impossible to keep up, for that to extend against two different teams in two different games means that Auburn maintained its perimeter defense. And that comes after Baylor blitzed Auburn to make nearly half of its 3s. Southeastern Louisiana made greater than 35%. Auburn has an identity Auburn has played its best defense of the season in the two Brooklyn games this week. As a whole, that may still be something Auburn is going to keep building on as it didn’t exactly play two offensive powerhouses this week. But what is maybe more notable is the offensive identity Auburn is already finding through just four games. Pearl discussed this after the win against Notre Dame. And that identity appears to be an ability to play team basketball. To be balanced. To be efficient from all parts of the floor. “Obviously, if you’ve got to guard in the perimeter, it opens up driving lanes,” Pearl said after beating Notre Dame. “It opens up Johni Broom on the inside, Dylan Cardwell. I just think we’ve had great spacing and we’re getting open looks. We’re getting open looks and that’s what you want. Try to get a feel for how other teams are going to guard. It does look like in November this team has got an idea of what we want to try to do offensively.” As discussed above, Auburn’s offensive numbers this season are among the best in the nation in numerous categories — before considering that Auburn has not played cupcakes to open the season. To have the same tropes discussed after each game — high assist rate, high shooting percentage, reliable from beyond the arc — is a further sign of the consistency and identity Auburn is finding. Matt Cohen covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @Matt_Cohen_ or email him at mcohen@al.com

auburnwire.usatoday.com Recap: Auburn Basketball cruises to Legends Classic Championship Brian Hauch ~2 minutes The Auburn Tigers have won their first trophy of the season. Bruce Pearl’s squad improved to 3-1 on the young season Friday Night, defeating the St. Bonaventure Bonnies 77-60 in front of a large crowd at the Barclays Center. The win secured a “Legends Classic” Championship for Auburn. They won both games by double digits and were clearly the best team in the tournament. Johni Brrome once again led the Auburn offensive attack, muscling his way to 18 points and 5 rebounds. As will normally be the case this season. plenty of Tigers stuffed the stat sheet in the win. Aden Holloway, Jaylin Williams, Denver Jones, K.D Johnson, and Dylan Cardwell all contributed 8 points or more and could have done more if not for the blowout nature of the second half. Auburn’s offense was great, but the real story of their early season continues to be the perimeter defense of Tre Donaldson, Aden Holloway and Denver Jones. Tiger guards held the opposition to under 15% from the 3-point line for the second night in a row, as the Bonnies shot just 3/24 from deep. Auburn also out-rebounded, out-assisted, and out-blocked St. Bonaventure. The Orange and Blue also had one less turnover. St. Bonaventure’s premier player and Atlantic 10 Preseason First-Team guard Daryl Banks III had just 4 points, giving the Bonnies virtually no chance at making a comeback. Auburn will enjoy this early season championship before they return to action Tuesday at Neville Arena to take on Alabama A&M.

the tiger is looking at that dude like he smells...........lol