aubiefifty

to be honest i an not sure ott and company believed the hype they were putting out anyway. and i looked for a while for post game ott comments to see what he had to say about auburn being just a name. young man that team you called just a name beat you at home on as bad a game we have played in a while so what the hell does that make you?. i never thought i would say it but i feel good the hippies lost.........grins

now the folks who play us will look at the cal game and say ok maybe we can slow them down like cal did. we are still young and figuring out what we can do well. i did not see a single game yesterday where a team was totally dominated. coaches are saying the "O" in football has passed the "D". freeze said if we can hold a team to 24 points we have a chance to win ballgames and we did that against cal. cal played hard and we held them to way less than 24 so this is why coach is happy with the "D".

i have no problem with white face masks since we broke the jinx.

i have a question? in the celebration one of our kids is showing wearing a vehicle seat belt around his neck. is that our turnover doohickey symbolizing a stop?

Auburn football report card: High marks for defense vs. Cal, but what about the offense? Richard Silva, Montgomery Advertiser Sun, September 10, 2023 at 1:27 AM CDT·2 min read 0 BERKELEY, Cal. — For the first time ever, Auburn football is leaving the state of California with a win. The Tigers had taken a trip to the Golden State on three separate occasions prior to 2023, losing to Santa Clara in 1936, USC in 2002 and Florida State in the 2014 BCS championship game. But Auburn did enough to pick up a 14-10 victory against Cal on Saturday. It was often ugly, but as the saying goes: A win is a win. Offense: D- The Tigers played two quarterbacks − Payton Thorne and Robby Ashford − against the Golden Bears. They combined for a putrid 94 passing yards and completed just 10 passes. The offense also turned the ball over four times, putting the defense in some poor situations throughout. A big catch from transfer tight end Rivaldo Fairweather late in the fourth quarter to put Auburn on top and some solid running from sophomore RB Damari Alston save this grade from being a complete failure. BEST FRIENDS: 'Big brother, little brother': Matchup with Cal will be reunion for Auburn's Payton Thorne PAYTON THORNE: 'Hey dad, he did it right': How Payton Thorne's journey to Auburn began at North Central College Defense: A+ Time and time again, Auburn's defense needed to make a stop. And time and time again, the unit pulled it off. From freshman cornerback Kayin Lee holding his own to DJ James pulling down a clutch interception, it was a complete performance for the Tigers' defense. Junior linebacker Eugene Asante led the way with 12 tackles and a sack, and senior defensive lineman Marcus Harris stood out in his own right with a big tackle for loss. Special teams: B- With the offense struggling to generate much of anything, senior punter Oscar Chapman was tasked with booting five balls; he averaged 40.8 yards per punt. The return game, after having a big day against UMass in Week 1, was pretty quiet between Brian Battie (average of 19 yards) returning kickoffs and Keionte Scott (average of 10 yards) returning punts. Coaching: C- For a coaching staff with as many offensive minds as Auburn has, the Tigers ran into a lot of issues. Auburn moved the ball better coming out of halftime, but some costly turnovers and mistakes made those mid-game adjustments almost for naught. Overall: C+ The Tigers won on the road, and for that they pass. But it was extremely ugly and won't get the job done against the upcoming four-week stretch of Texas A&M, Georgia, LSU and Ole Miss after a Week 3 matchup with FCS Samford. Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on Twitter @rich_silva18. This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn football: Grading Tigers' win over Cal

Auburn rallies past mistake-prone California for 14-10 victory JOSH DUBOW Sun, September 10, 2023 at 1:03 AM CDT·4 min read 2 1 / 8 Auburn California Football Auburn cornerback D.J. James (4) intercepts a pass in the end zone intended for California wide receiver Trond Grizzell, right, during the second half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023, in Berkeley, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez) ASSOCIATED PRESS BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — Payton Thorne threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Rovaldo Fairweather following California's third missed field goal of the game and Tigers rallied for a 14-10 victory on Saturday night. “I don’t think we could have played any uglier or sloppier on offense. I’m really proud of our defense,” coach Hugh Freeze said. “All the credit goes to to to that side of the ball tonight. There’s going to be nights where we can score 50 and we might have to to win. And there’s going to be times where they got to hold them to 10 and we got to score 11. This is one of those nights with how poorly we played on our offense.” Auburn (2-0) had been stagnant most of the night offensively, generating only six first downs in the first three quarters before putting together a 69-yard drive midway through the fourth quarter to take the lead. The key play on the drive was a 28-yard pass from Thorne to Fairweather to convert a third-and-17. The Golden Bears (1-1) had a chance to come back after Jarquez Hunter lost a fumble for at Auburn at the Tigers 41 with 4:00 left. Cal drove down to the 15 but got backed up by a holding penalty and then Sam Jackson V threw an interception in the end zone on fourth and 13 with 1:44 to play. Auburn ran out the clock from there, winning the game despite four turnovers and only 230 yards of offense. “We found a way to win and we can grow from that,” Freeze said. “I think that’s what this season’s really about, is us finding a way to grow and and get better each week. We got better defensively tonight. We took a step back offensively. It’s very uncharacteristic. We really take pride everywhere we’ve been in not having many penalties and not turning the ball over and boy tonight was not that.” The Bears were also done in by the special teams mishaps with Michael Luckhurst missing two field goals from 42 yards and another from 44 to give him five missed field goals in two games this season. He also had a 51-yarder taken off the board by a holding penalty late in the first half. “We had a great opportunity that we let slip through our hands,” Cal coach Justin Wilcox said. “It’s very frustrating, extremely frustrating. ... Nobody is going to feel sorry for us. I don’t feel sorry for us. We have to do better. We have the guys to do it. Unfortunately, we had so many chances but couldn’t do it.” This game was a complete reversal from the style both teams played in lopsided openers against overmatched teams. Cal and Auburn combined for 117 points last week in wins over North Texas and Massachusetts, respectively, but came nowhere close to matching that output in their first meeting ever. Auburn got off to a rough start with Thorne losing a fumble on the first drive of the game. The Tigers had three turnovers and four first downs for the entire first half but only trailed 10-7. Cal missed a 41-yard field goal, had a 51-yarder negated by a holding penalty and lost a fumble at its own 17 to set up Auburn's only TD of the half on Thorne's 13-yard pass to Jay Fair. The Bears got their only TD of the half on Jaydn Ott's 14-yard run after Damari Alston lost a fumble for Auburn. THE TAKEAWAY Auburn: Thorne, a transfer from Michigan State, struggled in his second start for the Tigers. He finished 9 for 14 for 94 yards with two turnovers but did have the two TD passes. Eugene Asante was the star defensively with 12 tackles, a sack and a pass breakup. California: The Bears failed to take advantage of prime scoring chances, netting only three points on three drives that started at the Auburn 35 or closer in the first half. They had eight drives in all that got inside the Auburn 40 and came away with only 10 points on those possessions. “We just had so many self-inflicted wounds,” Jackson said.

247sports.com Instant Impressions Auburn 14 Cal 10 Nathan King 12–15 minutes Auburn's offense suddenly came alive to put the Tigers up with 6:31 left, then their resilient defense got one final stop to seal — and steal — a 14-10 victory Saturday night BERKELEY, California — The Tigers' offensive performance 2,500 miles from home was one they'll soon hope to forget. But their go-ahead touchdown drive in the fourth quarter will go down as one of the team's biggest in recent seasons. Auburn's offense suddenly came alive to put the Tigers up with 6:31 left, then their resilient defense got one final stop to seal — and steal — a 14-10 victory Saturday night at California Memorial Stadium. Here are Auburn Undercover's instant impressions from an unbelievable first Power Five win for Hugh Freeze at Auburn. ONE DRIVE ALL THAT’S NEEDED FOR AUBURN Auburn started its 11th drive of the game with one of the team’s worst offensive performances in recent memory. As Freeze cycled quarterbacks, nothing had been clicking all night through the air or on the ground. But Auburn’s defense kept it in the game. So one drive was all the Tigers needed. Payton Thorne led Auburn down the field to take a 14-10 lead with 6:31 left to play, finding Rivaldo Fairweather for a 5-yard score on a fade in the back of the end zone. Before that series, Auburn had 131 yards of offense all game, was 1-of-8 on third down, and its previous longest drive was 26 yards. It converted two third downs on that scoring drive alone and went 69 yards down the field in 4:37. After a sack, Thorne hit Fairweather for 29 yards on a third-and-17 to push Auburn past midfield. Then Thorne dumped off to running back Damari Alston, then got the Tigers set up with a first-and-goal by lofting the ball to Fairweather in the end zone and drawing a pass interference. DEFENSE NEEDS ONE MORE STOP After squeezing everything from their defense all night, the Tigers needed just one more stop to possibly secure the win. Somehow, the Tigers got it. Auburn had a chance to put the game on ice, but Jarquez Hunter fumbled at his own 41-yard line. Cal quarterback Sam Jackson found Trond Grizzell for a first down, then 15 yards were tacked on by a late hit flag on Auburn freshman cornerback Kayin Lee, who started in place of the injured Nehemiah Pritchett. But Auburn took advantage of a holding call the following play, which ultimately set up a third-and-19 — with Cal needing a touchdown, the game at 14-10. D.J. James made a great tackle in space to set up a fourth-and-15, the game likely on the line. And it was James who sealed it, intercepting Jackson in the end zone with 1:44 left. AUBURN’S DEFENSE KEEPS GAME WINNABLE The only reason Saturday’s matchup didn’t get out of hand for Auburn is because its defense came to fight every drive. Cal crossed midfield eight times, and came away with only 10 points on the night. Auburn held the Golden Bears to a 4-of-18 clip on third down, 3-of-6 on fourth down, and forced three turnovers. On Cal’s first drive of the second quarter, Donovan Kaufman forced his second fumble in as many games — and recovered it — by stripping running back Isaiah Ifanse at the Cal 16-yard line. Cal made a quarterback switch on its sixth drive of the game, going with Week 1 starter Sam Jackson, who was questionable leading up to Saturday after a shoulder injury last week against North Texas. A more athletic option than Ben Finley, Jackson immediately galvanized the Cal offense, and the Tigers’ defense seemed a bit shell-shocked on a 65-yard touchdown drive that took only six plays. But they quickly settled back in, following up with another Cal punt, and an interception by Jaylin Simpson on a hail mary to end the first half. It took a long time for the dam to truly break for Auburn/The dam never truly broke for Auburn. Even as Cal advanced inside Auburn’s 40-yard line on its first drive of the second half, the Tigers got a stop on fourth-and-5, continuing to keep the Bears at bay and giving their offense a chance. Cal advanced to the red zone on the next drive, after another fourth-down conversion, but the Tigers stood tall and forced another 42-yard field goal try — which was no good. And yet again, the following drive, Cal went down the field again, and after another Eugene Asante tackle for loss, kicker Michael Luckhurst missed yet again, this time from 44 yards. And when Auburn went ahead with the touchdown drive, the Tigers immediately got a three-and-out and got the ball back with a chance to chew clock. Asante played on fire all night, leading Auburn with a career-high 12 tackles, plus 1 sack, one pass breakup and two QB hurries. AUBURN AVOIDS DISASTROUS START On the Tigers’ first third down of the game, Thorne fumbled on a scramble, and the ball appeared to be picked up by Cal linebacker Jackson Sirmon and returned 28 yards for a touchdown. One official signaled touchdown in the end zone, but the official ruling was that Thorne stepped out of bounds before losing the ball. Even though the call was overturned, no advancement was granted to Cal because the play was blown dead on the field. So the Bears were gifted their first drive at Auburn’s 35-yard line. Cal’s second drive started at the opposing 33-yard line after Thorne was nearly sacked on the goal line, and Oscar Chapman’s punt went only 32 yards. But in both instances, Auburn was helped by a Cal mistake that set its offense back 10 yards — a broken play for a loss on the first drive, and Marcus Harris sack on the second. Both came on Cal first downs inside Auburn’s 25-yard line. Cal only managed a field goal after the first blunder, then missed a 42-yard kick after the second, so the Tigers escaped a rough start to the game by surrendering only 3 points. THORNE UNDERSCORES BRUTAL OFFENSIVE NIGHT Thorne’s rough night on the West Coast began on the third play of the game. The Tigers quarterback scrambled out to his right on third down and fumbled right in front of the Cal sideline, and linebacker Jackson Sirmon picked it up and ran it back 28 yards, as the crowd roared. But it was ultimately ruled that although Thorne didn’t step out of bounds, the play was blown dead, so the Cal touchdown didn’t count. That was the first of a long list of Thorne’s troubles — and issues for the Auburn passing game. Thorne went 9-of-14 for the game, with two touchdowns and a pick, and was sacked three times, as the Tigers failed to find any sort of rhythm through the air for the majority of the night. Auburn and Thorne’s issues led to a 1-for-8 start on third downs. Thorne’s second turnover — a pass that sailed too high for receiver Shane Hooks and landed in the arms of Nohl Williams — gave Auburn nearly as many giveaways (three) as first downs (four) to that point in the game. Running back Damari Alston also had a lost fumble on Cal’s side of the field in the second quarter. No. 2 quarterback Robby Ashford got his first look at the start of the second quarter, and even when he looked to be getting a drive’s worth of work toward the end of the third quarter, Thorne still came in when things got to third-and-long. Freeze continued to cycle quarterbacks into the fourth quarter, when Ashford threw a dropped interception by Cal, then had to come off to the sideline to be looked at by trainers. Auburn finished with just 94 passing yards, as Ashford went 1-for-3 with no yardage. Jarquez Hunter (53 yards) and Damari Alston (51 yards) combined to help the Tigers rush for 113 on the night. Auburn Undercover will update this story. Check back for additional information.

auburnwire.usatoday.com Instant Analysis: Auburn gains late momentum, steals win from California Taylor Jones 5–6 minutes Auburn’s California dream almost ended in a nightmare. In a game plagued by turnovers and poor offensive play, Auburn caught momentum late and rode it to victory. A late touchdown followed by an interception in the final two minutes lifts Auburn to a 14-10 win over California late Saturday night. Buy Tigers Tickets Auburn (2-0) trailed 10-7 with 6:31 remaining in the game before quarterback Payton Thorne connected with tight end Rivaldo Fairweather for a touchdown pass to give the Tigers the lead. Later in the quarter, California (1-1) forced and recovered a fumble which gave them one final opportunity to steal a win. However, DJ James picked off Steven Jackson’s pass in the end zone with 1:44 remaining to secure the victory. “A win is a win” head coach Hugh Freeze said following the game on the ESPN broadcast. Auburn’s first drive set the tone for the evening. On 3rd down, quarterback Payton Thorne fumbled the football before stepping out of bounds. California’s Jackson Sirmon recovered the fumble with 13:33 remaining in the 1st quarter to give the Bears great field position at the Auburn 35-yard line. Cal would respond by converting a seven-play drive into three points. Michael Luckhurst nailed a 39-yard field goal to give the Bears the 3-0 lead with 9:42 remaining in the first. The quarter would end with Auburn obtaining three drives. Two ended on punts, and one would end on a fumble. The Tigers managed to gain just 32 yards of offense in the first quarter, trailing 3-0. It took Auburn several drives to return the favor, but they managed to record a turnover of their own in the 2nd quarter. Auburn’s Jalen McLeod tackled Cal’s Isaiah Ifanse, and the football was stripped away by Donovan Kaufman. Kaufman would recover the fumble at the California 17-yard line to give Auburn a new set of downs with 13:01 remaining in the first half. Like California in the first quarter, Auburn turned a fumble into a score. On the third play of the drive, Thorne connected with jay fair for the second time this season for a score. This time, Thorne dialed up a 13-yard strike to Fair to give Auburn the 7-3 lead with 11:50 in the 2nd quarter. The trend continued later in the quarter, as California turned another turnover into points. Damari Alston fumbled the football with 7:20 remaining in the quarter to, unfortunately, end a positive drive at that point. Running back Jadyn Ott rushed for a 14-yard score to push the Bears ahead, 10-7. Thorne was responsible for Auburn’s third turnover of the game. California’s Nohl Williams picked off Thorne with less than two minutes remaining in the first half to set up the Bears’ final drive of the 2nd quarter. The Bears planned to end the half by kicking a last-second field goal. However, a holding penalty erased the kick, forcing the Bears to try one last play from scrimmage. California quarterback Steven Jackson V threw a desperation pass to the end zone, which landed in the hands of Jaylin Simpson. He returned the pick to the Auburn 25-yard line to cap the first half. The Tigers gained just 99 yards of total offense in the first half while committing three turnovers. Auburn had just four first downs and converted 1-of-6 third down opportunities. Defensively, the Tigers allowed 129 yards of offense and created two turnovers. The third quarter featured less action than the previous two. California needed two possessions to set themselves up for a scoring opportunity. The Bears began a nine-play drive with 5:57, which ended in a missed 42-yard field goal to keep the score 10-7 heading into the 4th quarter. After several frustrating drives that resulted in zero points, Auburn found the end zone again with 6:31 remaining in the 4th quarter. Thorne tossed his second touchdown pass of the game to tight end Rivaldo Fairweather to push Auburn ahead, 14-10. The play was set up by a pass interference call on the Bears two plays prior. Turnovers woes continued for Auburn on its next possession. Hunter fumbled on the Tigers’ second play from scrimmaged, and it was recovered by Cal’s Ricky Correia for the fourth turnover of the game. However, that turnover did not plague Auburn as others had done before. On the sixth play of California’s ensuing drive, DJ James picked off Jackson in the end zone to regain possession. Auburn finished behind California in total yards, 273-230. The Tigers also had fewer first downs than California, and ran 23 fewer plays. Those stats go in-line with the time of possession battle, which Auburn lost by nearly 10 minutes (34:48 for California opposed to 25:12 for Auburn). Thorne completed 9-of-14 passes for 94 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. Fairweather hauled in three passes for 39 yards and a score. In his return to action, Jarquez Hunter rushed for 53 yards on 11 carries. Auburn returns to Jordan-Hare Stadium next Saturday to face Samford. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 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 opinion. You can also follow Taylor on Twitter @TaylorJones__

al.com Three takeaways from Auburn’s adversity-filled 14-10 win over Cal on the road Updated: Sep. 10, 2023, 1:09 a.m.|Published: Sep. 10, 2023, 12:55 a.m. 5–6 minutes Coming into Saturday night, the Auburn football program hadn’t made a trip out to Northern California in nearly 87 years with the Tigers’ last trip coming on Oct. 30, 1936 for a game against the University of Santa Clara Broncos. This go ‘round, Auburn lined up against the Cal Golden Bears for a game under the lights of California Memorial Stadium in Berkeley, Calif. With a 9:30 p.m. CT start, Saturday’s kickoff was the latest in program history for Auburn and gave the Tigers a chance to pick up their first ever win in the Golden State. And in front of a crowd that was more lopsided in the Golden Bears’ favor than many expected, the Tigers squeaked out a 14-10 adversity-filled win to improve to 2-0 on the season. Here are the takeaways from Saturday night’s action on out west. Auburn’s one-dimensional offense nearly rolls over Saturday night’s performance against Cal might leave Auburn with some questions at quarterback. All week, the storylines revolved around how much energy — if any — Auburn would come out with after a long Thursday of traveling, a Friday getting adjusted to Pacific Time and a Saturday spent waiting for a late kickoff. However, that all felt like a worn-out storyline once the rubber hit the road and the Tigers’ offense sputtered not just to start the game, but all four quarters. The Auburn offense got eight possessions in the first half. Of those eight possessions, three ended in turnovers, four ended in punts and one ended in a touchdown. The Tigers’ lone score of the first half was the result of Auburn’s defense finally forcing a turnover of its own, giving the offense a short, 17-yard field. A 13-yard pass play from Thorne to Jay Fair capped off the scoring drive, giving Auburn a 7-3 lead. Thorne’s touchdown pass to Fair was one of just five passes that were completed by the Tigers’ offense in the first half. Even after the the Tigers’ first score of the night, the Auburn offense limped along through the second and third quarters, only finally finding some kind of groove midway through the fourth quarter as Thorne piloted a 10-play, 69-yard drive that ended with a 5-yard 50/50 ball brought down by tight end Rivaldo Fairweather. Auburn’s scoring drive in the fourth quarter was just the second drive of the night in which the Tigers’ offense completed more than one pass. While Cal passed for 160 yards Saturday night, Auburn’s offense mustered just 94 yards through the air. The Tigers added 136 yards on the ground — good for 230 yards of total offense to Cal’s 273 yards of total offense. Ball security, turnovers nearly catch up to Auburn There aren’t many games in which you lose the turnover battle and the penalty battle and keep the game as close as Auburn did Saturday night — let alone win it. The Tigers’ offense committed four turnovers in Saturday’s win — three fumbles and a interception. Of those, three came in the first half as Thorne fumbled in Auburn’s first drive and later tossed a pick. Meanwhile, running backs Damari Alston and Jarquez Hunter were each stripped of the football. Fortunately for Auburn, despite four chances to capitalize on turnovers, the Cal offense was only able to do so twice as it scored a field goal following the first fumble and a touchdown off of Auburn’s second fumble. The Tigers were able to tighten the turnover margin late in the game at DJ James intercepted Cal quarterback Sam Jackson — good for Auburn’s third takeaway of the game. James’ interception with 1:44 to play in the game sent Cal fans to the exits as it paved the way for the Auburn offense to milk the clock. On the penalty front, the Tigers committed seven penalties for 56 yards, while the Bears committed four penalties for 41 yards. Jarquez Hunter returns, but takes his time to come alive Seeing junior running back Jaquez Hunter dressed ahead of Saturday’s matchup felt like it might foreshadow a strong night on the ground for Auburn. Hunter, who came into the 2023 season primed to be the bell cow in Auburn’s backfield, missed the season-opener against UMass last week. It’s unclear if Hunter’s absence in Week 1 had anything to do with him allegedly being involved in a sex tape that leaked out during the offseason. Nonetheless, No. 27 returned to action Saturday night and certainly didn’t get out to the start many likely expected. Hunter’s number got called on Auburn’s first two plays from scrimmage on back-to-back carries that went for three yards a piece. After Auburn’s first drive, Hunter tallied just three more carries in the first half, totaling five carries for just 12 yards. Come the second half, Hunter and the Auburn offense seemed to be a bit less flat. Hunter finished the night with 11 carries, good for 53 yards. Hunter’s longest scamper of the night went for 19 yards. Meanwhile, Damari Alston tallied 51 yards on eight carries. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. By browsing this site, we may share your information with our social media partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

i want to take a quick nap but bama is getting beat so i was enjoying it.

since i do not want to worry alone check this out. we have never won in cali from what i have read. ALSO...................we are 0-3 when we wear our storm trooper look with the white facemasks. we have never won according to an Auburn Wire article posted on yahoo.

i am as well.they have one hell of a coach.

tonight they are going to say we released the Kraken on them after we whoop off in that tie dyed behind................grins