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Paul Finebaum sees a clear favorite to be Auburn's next football coach Chris Wallace | 17 hours ago Auburn was blown out at home by Arkansas on Saturday, 41-27. The loss dropped the Tigers to 3-5 on the season and they are now just 3-10 in their last 13 games dating back to last year. At this point, Bryan Harsin’s seat at Auburn can’t get any hotter. In fact, many are surprised that he’s still employed by the school. But most believe his termination is coming sooner than later, which of course has generated plenty of speculation about who might replace Harsin on The Plains. It was a topic that ESPN college football analyst Paul Finebaum touched on with colleague Matt Barrie on Sunday during the network’s “Week 9 Recap” show on YouTube. “Every time I look down at my phone there’s another ‘Harsin could go any minute’ (story),” Finebaum said. “(Auburn) is on the verge or they have already hired John Cohen as the athletic director. He’s coming over from Mississippi State. Why is that important? Well, they need an athletic director to technically hire the next coach.” So who might that next coach be? Finebaum believes there’s one candidate who should be seen as the clear favorite. “So Harsin is gone, whenever that is,” Finebaum said. “… He just did a miserable job. Hugh Freeze I think is going to be the coach to watch. (Lane Kiffin’s) name comes up, but I do think there’s a lot of interest for Hugh Freeze there.” Freeze is currently the head coach at Liberty University and just signed a contract extension with the school. He is 33-12 overall in his 4th season with the Flames. Of course, Freeze was previously the head coach at Ole Miss, where under his direction the school was cited for multiple recruiting violations, which ultimately led Freeze to step down. Would that be an issue for Auburn? Finebaum doesn’t think so. “One thing that Auburn boosters like about Hugh Freeze, and this may sound irrelevant to people around the country, but he has something in his back pocket that resonates in Alabama,” Finebaum said. “He’s beaten Nick Saban twice. … Not many people have beaten Nick Saban twice.”

Five winners from Auburn's loss to Arkansas Andrew Stefaniak Auburn was boat raced by Arkansas, losing by a score of 41-27. A touchdown in garbage time made the score appear closer than it should have been. It was a rough day to be an Auburn fan as the stands cleared awful quickly when Auburn got down big. While this was a bad loss, some players had good days on the field. Let's look at five Auburn players that played well against Arkansas. Camden Brown Trey Lee/ Auburn Daily Camden Brown was the biggest bright spot in this game for the Tigers. He caught four passes for 83 yards and a touchdown. The touchdown Brown caught you will be seeing on Sports Center tomorrow as it was a circus catch. Brown has a really bright future ahead of him and could be an absolute stud for the Tigers next year. DJ James Trey Lee/ Auburn Daily DJ James has emerged as the Tigers shut down corner. He is excellent at batting down passes and doing so without drawing a pass interference call. James had a few of these pass breakups in this game. James is in for a big year next year and has a chance to be a person hearing his name called in the NFL Draft in the future. Tank Bigsby Trey Lee/ Auburn Daily Tank Bigsby was a real gadget guy in this game for the Tigers, as he added six receptions to his work on the ground. Bigsby had a 41-yard touchdown scamper in the second quarter, where he showed a great burst of speed. Auburn fans need to root for Bigsby to finish the year strong so he can raise his draft stock over these last few games of the season. Robby Ashford Trey Lee/ Auburn Daily Robby Ashford continues to look better and better as the season goes on. He is still you and makes some poor throws and decisions at times, but overall he played well in this game. He had 285 yards through the air and 87 yards on the ground. He also threw a touchdown in this contest. It is still to be seen if Ashford is the quarterback of the future, but he will continue to develop as the season progresses. Colby Wooden Trey Lee/ Auburn Daily Colby Wooden sacked Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson in this contest. Wooden is a very talented football player that has had a good year for the Tigers. He is another player like Bigsby that Tiger fans need to root for as he tries to make a name for himself in the NFL Draft. Wooden has four games left to try and make a case for why an NFL team should take a shot on him. Engage with Auburn Daily on Socials! Join the Discord

10 things I’m absolutely overreacting to after Week 9 in the SEC Chris Wright 9-11 minutes God bless Bo Nix. He wants Georgia, huh? Not nearly as much as Georgia would love another shot at Bo Nix. Instead, the Dawgs will spend next week worrying — with good reason — about Hendon Hooker. Nix’s overreaction to Oregon’s resurrection is just 1 of the 10 things I’m absolutely overreacting to after Week 9 in and around the SEC while counting down the seconds until Georgia-Tennessee in Week 10. 10. Apparently, Bo doesn’t know his history vs. Georgia We get it. The first Playoff rankings will be released Tuesday night. Bo Nix had another big day Saturday (6 total TDs) vs. another non-descript Pac-12 defense. Oregon is playing well and trying to make everybody — including and most importantly Playoff committee members — forget all about that 49-3 Week 1 drubbing. But NIx’s comment earlier this week is the overreaction of the year. Agree or disagree with Oregon's QB1? ? pic.twitter.com/kRrvqWKRgB — 247Sports (@247Sports) October 28, 2022 Bo Nix might be virtually unbeatable vs. the Pac-12. But he is 0-4 vs. Georgia. His teams (Auburn and, this year, Oregon) have been outscored by a combined 131-33 in those 4 losses. The past 3 losses were all by 21 or more points. Nix has averaged 203 passing yards per game against the Dawgs. He has thrown just 1 TD pass and has been picked 4 times. He wants more of this? We all like confident QBs, but, sorry, Bo, the only thing different about a hypothetical 5th Dawg bite would be Oregon’s uniform combination. 9. Hungry Dawgs are the best Dawgs Georgia hasn’t been elite lately. They were Saturday in the Cocktail Party. Mostly. Or, at least when they needed to be. You knew they would be, too. Will Muschamp vs. his old school? Yeah, those Dawgs were going to hunt. Brock Bowers vs. Florida’s inability to cover even average tight ends? Take the over. We didn’t really learn anything new about Georgia’s offense Saturday. It played as expected, right down to another curious drop from Ladd McConkey. (Is it me, or does that guy get more targets than his shaky hands deserve?) The defense, just like last year, ultimately will tell the tale of whether this story ends with another confetti parade. 8. Why doesn’t Georgia throw it to Brock Bowers every time? Sorry, that’s not an overreaction. That’s just an honest question after watching Bowers torch another defense, disappear, block, disappear, torch the defense, disappear, etc., etc. That’s been the pattern all season — and not because he can’t get open. Georgia, for whatever reason, just decides to go away from him for long and puzzling stretches. He had 5 catches Saturday — for 154 yards and 1 TD. He’s absolutely uncoverable. Whenever Stetson Bennett looks anywhere else, he’s doing the defense a favor. 7. You weren’t worried about Ohio State, were you? I wasn’t. Oh, I saw the “OSU overrated” tweets midway through the first half of their game at Penn State. I’ve had the Buckeyes at No. 1 most of the season. I expected them to play a bit better in the opening half at Penn State, but this offense still is operating without arguably the best receiver in the country, Jaxon Smith-Njigba. CJ Stroud was effective, if not explosive, as OSU traded blows for almost 3 quarters before the defense sparked a 28-point 4th quarter to turn the lights out on the White Out. That was the best part if you’re a Buckeyes believer: The defense won this game. It’s been awhile since Ohio State had a Playoff-caliber defense. That doomed the Buckeyes’ Playoff hopes last year, when the defense allowed 30 or more points 5 times. Saturday, OSU scored 3 TDs off 4 turnovers — including a sealing pick-6 off Sean Clifford. This might be the most complete team in America and is the biggest threat to the SEC’s title quest. Smith-Njigba’s eventual return will simply amplify that fact. 6. Syracuse getting crushed was the last thing Clemson needed A lot of people wanted to give Clemson credit last week for its gutty comeback victory over Syracuse — at Death Valley, no less. I was on the other side, waving the warning signs, alerting Tigers fans that they were on the brink of making the wrong kind of Playoff history. Now, after a mediocre-at-best Notre Dame team steamrolled Syracuse — at the renamed Carrier Dome, no less — I’m more convinced than ever that even if Clemson goes 13-0, the ACC’s overall lack of quality will keep the Tigers out of the Playoff. That will be a first, as every undefeated Power 5 champion has made the Playoff. Clemson travels to Notre Dame next week. The Irish lost to Marshall and Stanford, folks. Please don’t convince yourself that winning in South Bend this season is a quality win. We’re at the point where Clemson’s toughest remaining game might be … South Carolina. And, no, it didn’t help Clemson’s case — or the ACC’s — that Louisville laid it on Wake Forest, either. We’re smart enough to know what high-end, NFL-ready parity looks like. This is just average football. 5. 5 notable numbers from the 5 SEC games 1,041: That’s Rocket Sanders’ rushing total after running for 171 more yards Saturday. Sanders, who leads the SEC in rushing, became the first SEC back to cross the 1K mark this season. Sanders barely leads Ole Miss freshman Quinshon Judkins, who ran for 205 yards Saturday to push his season total to 1,034. 2012: That was, until Saturday, the last time Auburn failed to score 30 points against Arkansas. The Tigers got to 28 Saturday — thanks to a TD with 4 seconds left. That’s not a good omen for Bryan Harsin. Gene Chizik was fired after the 2012 season. 32: That was South Carolina’s rushing total in a strange, dishearteningly home loss to Mizzou. That was a season-low, something the Gamecocks thought they’d already set when they ran for just 40 against Arkansas in Week 2. Silver lining? The 2019 Gamecocks only ran for 16 yards against Mizzou. 14: That’s how many TD receptions Tennessee star Jalin Hyatt has. That’s a program record. He still has at least 5 more games to build on that number and potentially make a run at DeVonta Smith’s SEC record of 23 TD catches in a season. 338 yards and 4 TDs: Those were Texas A&M freshman phenom Conner Weigman’s passing numbers in a loss to Ole Miss. Aggies fans have been waiting for the 5-star to get some run. Final score aside, his starting debut couldn’t have gone much better. For context, his 338 passing yards are tied for 4th-most in the Jimbo Fisher era and his 4 TD passes are tied for 2nd-most. There might actually be hope in Aggieland, after all. 4. The 4 Playoff teams are … 1. Tennessee, 2. Ohio State, 3. Georgia, 4. Alabama There’s a new No. 1, just in time for Tennessee’s biggest game this century. The Vols mauled Kentucky, doing whatever they pleased in their final tune-up for next week’s showdown at Georgia. The Buckeyes beat a ranked rival on the road by 2 touchdowns — but Tennessee looked even more dominant in taking down another (former) Penn State QB. Georgia beat an unranked rival kind of on the road by 3 touchdowns. AP voters might continue to keep the Dawgs at No. 1. I’m not moving off Tennessee until somebody stops Hendon Hooker and this offense. Alabama slides in at No. 4 despite not playing. Call it a happy early birthday present to my birthday brother, Nick Saban. Michigan played but didn’t impress in a home win over Michigan State, so the Wolverines dipped to No. 5, just ahead of TCU and idle Clemson. 3. Auburn has a new AD … start the clock on its next coach Will new AD John Cohen’s first or second phone call be to tell Bryan Harsin, “Thank you, and good luck in your next endeavor?” The timing of Cohen’s hiring announcement Saturday seemingly coincided with Auburn’s latest home loss — a 41-27 drubbing against Arkansas. Cohen, of course, hired Mike Leach at Mississippi State. I wouldn’t necessarily draw any connections from that relationship. Auburn is a different gig with different dynamics. Whenever Auburn parts ways with Harsin and (cough, cough) begins its search, I still think Lane Kiffin would be the most natural, take-that-Bama! hire, but Kiffin has the same exact opportunities at Ole Miss with far fewer in-state hurdles and booster headaches. 2. Georgia is favored by how much? Kirk Herbstreit heard the number and wondered whether it was a mistake. I don’t know enough about gambling to describe what an “early” number is, or when or how it is derived. But I’ll say this about Georgia being an “early” 12-point favorite over Tennessee. Actually, I won’t. It’s Sunday morning. But you know what I was thinking … 1. “This win goes to Coach Dooley …” Legendary Georgia coach — and human — Vince Dooley died peacefully this week at the age of 90. Like always, Coach Dooley was never far from the Dawgs’ sidelines. Immediately after beating Florida, Kirby Smart said, emphatically, that this win was for Coach Dooley. You could feel the emotion in Smart’s words. "This win goes to Coach Dooley." Kirby Smart dedicates @GeorgiaFootball's win over Florida to the legendary Vince Dooley. pic.twitter.com/F0lavamNux — CBS Sports (@CBSSports) October 29, 2022 A lot of coaches win games. Some win titles. The best of the best do it in a way that not only elicits respect … but admiration. More than anything, that was Vince Dooley’s legacy.

Grading Auburn’s 41-27 loss to Arkansas Published: Oct. 30, 2022, 7:01 a.m. 7-9 minutes Bryan Harsin was apt in his assessment of his Auburn program after its latest loss, a double-digit setback against an Arkansas program the Tigers had dominated for much of the last decade. Auburn fell to Arkansas, 41-27, in a game that got away from Harsin’s team in the second half, sending fans to the exits in droves by the end of the third quarter and the Tigers to their fourth straight loss. It’s Auburn’s second four-game losing streak under Harsin, and it dropped the team two games below .500 on the year and to 1-4 in SEC play. Read more Auburn football: Auburn’s defensive decline continues in loss to Arkansas Instant analysis: Auburn throttled by Arkansas for fourth consecutive loss Auburn finalizing deal to make Mississippi State’s John Cohen next AD “We’re just not good enough,” Harsin said. “…We got to be better, and we need a lot more action then just hope and wanting to, and all that. You’ve got to work for it.” There’s no shortage of work and improvement needed for Auburn after Saturday’s loss, even after an off week to refocus and self-assess. With that in mind, let’s hand out some position-by-position grades for the Tigers after their latest loss: Quarterback: A Kudos to Robby Ashford, who seemed to be the biggest benefactor of Auburn’s off week. The redshirt freshman quarterback took a step back to reflect during the week off, and he honed in on some areas that have caused him trouble during the first half of the season. The result was by far the most well-rounded performance of his young career. He completed 24-of-33 passes (73 percent) for 285 yards and a touchdown, adding another 87 yards on the ground while finishing as Auburn’s leading rusher. He was 6-of-9 for 80 yards on third downs, converting five of those for first downs. Most importantly, he took care of the ball and didn’t commit a turnover (or a near-turnover) against Arkansas. Running backs: B The numbers didn’t jump off the page, but Tank Bigsby was Auburn’s best weapon against Arkansas. He averaged 5.7 yards per carry, though he finished with just 11 runs for 63 yards, and he added a season- (and team-) high six receptions for 37 yards. His 41-yard touchdown run late in the second quarter sparked some life to an Auburn offense that couldn’t capitalize on some good early field position. Jarquez Hunter added 30 total yards on 10 offensive touches, between carries and catches, and he scored a garbage-time touchdown to close the final margin with four seconds to play. Wide receivers: B- For Ashford to have his best day passing the ball, it only makes sense that Auburn’s receivers stepped up to make some plays. The most impressive was freshman Camden Brown, who had four catches for 83 yards and a touchdown. Ja’Varrius Johnson, Shedrick Jackson and Koy Moore also made some key receptions, but Auburn’s offense needs to do better to sustain and finish drives if it wants to fully find its footing offensively. Tight ends: C John Samuel Shenker was the only tight end to get involved in the passing game, hauling in two catches for 25 yards. On the plus side, both receptions converted third downs. On the other hand, Auburn needs more from a position it considered a deep one that would be heavily involved in the offense entering the season. Offensive line: C On paper, this looked to be one of Auburn’s best offensive games: 468 yards of total offense (the most since Week 1 against Mercer) and 6.6 yards per play (second straight game hitting that mark or better), as well as a strong passing game from Ashford and some big plays from Bigsby. But Auburn’s offense lacked some consistency, with an inability to finish drives and too much boom-or-bust situations. While the offensive line got some good push at times, allowing the Tigers to run for 183 yards, the team averaged just 3 yards per carry without Bigsby’s touchdown and a 34-yard scramble by Ashford. Add in three sacks allowed, and it there was plenty for Auburn’s offensive line to improve upon. Defensive line: D Credit to Colby Wooden and Derick Hall, who continue to show up on a weekly basis, but Auburn’s defensive front needs more than just those two to deliver. Lack of depth is wearing on the unit, and it’s showing in the stat sheet. Auburn allowed 286 rushing yards and four touchdowns on the ground against Arkansas, which averaged 6 yards per carry; it was the third straight game an opponent has rushed for at least 200 yards on Auburn, as the defensive front is struggling to contain teams from getting to the second level in the run game. Linebackers: D Owen Pappoe led Auburn with eight tackles and had 1.5 sacks—including one on the first play of the game—but run fits remain a problem, as opponents have been able to pick up yardage in chunks running the ball against the Tigers. On Saturday, it was Arkansas’ turn, with Raheim Sanders leading the way with 171 yards on 16 carries. Defensive backs: D Though no fault of his own, Zion Puckett will likely find himself on Arkansas’ highlight reel the remainder of the season after taking a fierce stiff-arm from KJ Jefferson on the second of two rushing touchdowns from the Razorbacks quarterback. Not only did Jefferson impact the game with his legs (and that stiff-arm), he picked apart Auburn’s pass defense. He completed 16-of-24 passes for 234 yards and a touchdown, and his 9.75 yards per pass attempt were better than his average entering the game (9.1), which was already 12th-best nationally. Six of his completions went for 18 or more yards, and he was 4-of-5 passing for 60 yards on third downs. Special teams: D It was another rough game at home for Anders Carlson, who was 2-of-4 on field goal attempts, had a kick blocked and booted a kickoff out of bounds. Carlson missed a 46-yarder on his first attempt of the game before connecting on his second try from the same distance one drive later. He made a 24-yard chip shot but then had a 52-yarder blocked on the opening drive of the second half — part of a pivotal sequence during which the game got away from Auburn. Add in a miscue by Keionte Scott, who let a punt bounce and turn into a 78-yarder for Arkansas (though Auburn scored on its ensuing possession, which started at its own 7-yard line), and it was a tough day for specialists. Even Oscar Chapman, who had a pair of 50-yard punts (with a long of 55 yards) and pinned four of his five attempts inside the 20, had a misstep in the kicking game that resulted in a 24-yard punt late in the first half. Coaching: F Things haven’t gotten better for Auburn, and even when one phase of the game starts to find its footing, the Tigers can’t get alignment in other aspects. Even with the added preparation time, coming off the bye week, Auburn couldn’t lay that first stepstone on the path toward salvaging its season. You can find fault in plenty of areas, but it all ultimately falls to the feet of Harsin, who has not been able to show he has what it takes to successfully run a program like Auburn. The Tigers are now 9-12 during his tenure and just 3-10 in the last calendar year, including a 1-8 record in SEC play during that stretch. As he said after the game, the Tigers aren’t good enough right now. That’s on him and his staff, because they aren’t good enough at this juncture, either. Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.

Auburn opens as 2-score road underdog against Mississippi State Published: Oct. 30, 2022, 1:39 p.m. 3-4 minutes Oct 29, 2022; Auburn, AL, USA; Colby Wooden (25) and Derick Hall (29) celebrate a play during the game between Auburn and Arkansas at Jordan Hare Stadium. Todd Van Emst / AU Athletics Todd Van Emst / AU Athletics Auburn will be an underdog for the fifth time in as many games when it travels to Starkville, Miss., in Week 10. Auburn opened as a 12-point underdog against Mississippi State for the teams’ matchup Saturday at Davis Wade Stadium, according to Circa Sports. The Tigers and Bulldogs will meet at 6:30 p.m., with the game airing on ESPN2. Read more Auburn football: Robby Ashford shows growth, but Auburn can’t capitalize on QB’s best start Double-digit loss to Arkansas leaves Auburn feeling deflated Talty: New Auburn AD must deliver right football coach. It’s not Bryan Harsin Auburn has not been favored in a game since its SEC opener against Missouri back on Sept. 24, with Bryan Harsin’s team dropping each of its four games since that narrow overtime escape at Jordan-Hare Stadium -- losing at home to LSU, then on the road against Georgia and Ole Miss before the most recent loss at home to Arkansas after the bye week. Auburn (3-5, 1-4 SEC) will try to snap that skid Saturday in Starkville against Mississippi State. The Bulldogs are 5-3 overall and 2-3 in SEC play, and Mike Leach’s team is mired in a losing streak of its own. Mississippi State has lost each of its last two games, at Kentucky and at Alabama, but will be coming off its bye week when it hosts Auburn in Week 10. The Bulldogs are 4-0 at home this season, while the Tigers are 0-2 on the road this fall. Mississippi State will also be aiming for its second consecutive win against Auburn after rallying from a 28-3 deficit for a 43-34 win at Jordan-Hare Stadium last fall. That collapse set off Auburn’s season-ending five-game losing streak in Year 1 under Harsin; a loss Saturday would give the Tigers another five-game skid under the embattled coach. Auburn leads the all-time series with Mississippi State, 62-30-3, but the division rivalry has been relatively even over the last decade, with the teams splitting the last 10 meetings. Neither team has won more than two in a row against the other since Auburn strung together four consecutive wins between 2008-11. Auburn also holds a 14-7-1 advantage on the road in the series, but the Tigers have not won consecutive games in Starkville since 2008 and 2010. Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.

Auburn football: What’s left to play for? Glenn Sattell Glenn Sattell is an award-winning freelance writer for Saturday Down South. 5-6 minutes The losing streak now is 4 games. In the 2021 season Auburn finished with 5 consecutive losses. Those aren’t streaks that inspire confidence within a program, especially one with a new head coach – especially one for a program not known for its patience. The Tigers are now 3-5 and there’s really no salvaging the season save for a 4-game win streak to end it. That would mean victories against Mississippi State, Texas A&M, Western Kentucky and Alabama. The chances of that, given how the season has played out to this point, don’t even register. Where does Auburn go from here? What can be expected from head coach Bryan Harsin moving forward? Harsin is coaching for his job – not the one at Auburn, but for his next stop. More accurately, he’s coaching for his career. He’ll get another opportunity somewhere else, perhaps with a program not as thin, with more overall talent than Auburn. Being honest, the talent level at Auburn doesn’t stack up with that of its brethren in the SEC West. It’s not as deep and it has a problem at its most important position. Harsin will never get the chance to bring in “his guys” to the program. He’s done what he can with what he has. The effort certainly isn’t the problem. A talented and/or experienced quarterback is a big part of it. Is redshirt freshman transfer Robby Ashford the answer? Perhaps. The product of Hoover, Ala., who came in by way of Oregon, has flashed signs of a basic ability to get the job done. That’s a nice way of saying that eventually he could become serviceable. Going head-to-head with Arkansas’ KJ Jefferson on Saturday, there were visible similarities, athletically speaking. Ashford completed 24 of 33 passes for 285 yards and a touchdown. He led the Tigers in rushing with 87 yards, including a 34-yard scamper. Confidence-wise it was like night and day with Arkansas’ veteran QB. But that comes with experience. That and confidence in your offensive line. Ashford isn’t there yet. His inexperience will not allow him to stay in the pocket and execute the game plan. Not yet, anyway. With playing time comes that confidence, and perhaps that’s what the focus should be for the remainder of the season. Again, the impatience within the program might not be conducive to such a tactic. But right now, that’s all they have to work with. Until and unless the Tigers can recruit the next Cam Newton, or find him in the portal, patience in developing what could turn out to be a pretty good quarterback is a necessity. A necessity that Auburn big-money donors have shown they don’t have the stomach to wait for. That’s the dilemma Auburn faces. It’s a program that needs time to develop with Harsin, but won’t take the time to see it through. And so the school will continue to try to catch lightning in a bottle. It’s an odd aftereffect of Gene Chizik winning a national championship in his 2nd year, followed by Gus Malzahn reaching the national championship game in his 1st year after replacing the faltering Chizik. It gave an unrealistic impression that shuffling through coaches who don’t win a national championship in their first two seasons is the way to go. That’s not how Nick Saban did it at LSU. It’s not how Saban did it at Alabama. It’s not how Dabo Swinney did it at Clemson. Heck, it took him 9 seasons to build the program to national-championship level. The difference? Patience. Unfortunately, that’s a luxury any Auburn coach doesn’t have. Swinney never experienced the losing proposition of chasing an in-state rival like Saban year after year for recruits and titles. Sure, Swinney battled with Steve Spurrier. But that was the South Carolina Spurrier, not the Florida Spurrier. Different animals. No, Harsin is chasing the ghost of Malzahn, who tried Auburn’s last nerve with 8 years of failing to get across the line. Chasing the ghosts of Auburn’s past 2 coaches, each playing in the national championship game by their 2nd seasons on the Plains. So where does that leave this program? Currently, it leaves it floundering through the final games of 2022 just hoping for the long shot of becoming bowl eligible.

Robby Ashford shows growth, but Auburn can’t capitalize on QB’s best start Published: Oct. 30, 2022, 12:39 p.m. 6-7 minutes Robby Ashford spent the bye week rewatching eight of his mistakes, over and over again. Watch. Rewind. Repeat. Ashford was responsible for eight of Auburn’s FBS-leading 19 fumbles through its first seven games, though only two of them resulted in turnovers. Ball security was an issue for the redshirt freshman quarterback, and it played into the team’s worst-in-the-nation turnover margin. He knew something needed to be done, and the bye week afforded the former Oregon transfer a chance to pinpoint the cause of some of those unresolved issues. Read more Auburn football: Double-digit loss to Arkansas leaves Auburn feeling deflated Grading Auburn’s 41-27 loss to Arkansas Talty: New Auburn AD must deliver right football coach. It’s not Bryan Harsin “It was good to be able to just go out there and just during the bye week and just work like I said, work on the things I was lacking in,” Ashford said. After reexamining those eight fumbles, Ashford noticed the biggest trouble came at the mesh point with Auburn’s running backs. Eagerness was the main culprit. Ashford’s eyes, he said, often got too wide; he’d see a hole in the defense he wanted to take advantage of, and he’d pull the ball too quickly or grip it incorrectly at the mesh, and it would result in putting it on the ground. “I was just rushing,” he said. “…But I mean, you got to mesh it first.” Ashford was perhaps the biggest benefactor of the bye week for Auburn, and it showed during Saturday’s game against Arkansas. The Tigers suffered their fourth straight loss, this one a 41-27 beatdown that wasn’t as close as the final score showed, but Ashford’s performance — and the development he has shown — provided somewhat of a silver lining for Auburn on what was an otherwise frustrating and disappointing Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Ashford turned in his best performance of the season, completing 24-of-33 passes (72.7 percent) for 285 yards and a touchdown while running for a team-high 87 yards. He also managed to not fumble the ball a single time and or commit a turnover, as Auburn managed to win the turnover battle for just the second time this season (the Tigers forced and recovered a Razorbacks fumble for the lone takeaway of the game). “I’m feeling more comfortable,” Ashford said. “Just the experience I’m getting, just the reps, like you said, it’s just — just got to keep working. Just keep getting in the film room, keep working at practice and just how can I improve my game every week? I think I’ve improved in that aspect every single week, and it’s just how can I put it all together?” Ashford, for the most part, put it all together against Arkansas. His 285 passing yards were his second-most this season, behind only the 337 he had against LSU. Saturday’s game was also just the second time he threw for more than 200 yards in a game. His 72.7 percent completion rate was a career high, surpassing his clip from the overtime win against Missouri (12-of-18; 66.7 percent). Ashford’s 8.6 yards per pass attempt also represented his best mark since that LSU game (8.9 yards per attempt), while his quarterback rating of 155.27 was his best in a start this year, and it trailed only his college debut against Mercer, when he finished with a rating of 177.14 while attempting just seven passes. Ashford’s 87 rushing yards were also a career-high, and Saturday snapped a streak of four straight games in which he fumbled the ball at least once (with seven total fumbles during that stretch). It was the first career start for Ashford in which he didn’t put the ball on the ground. “It’s a testament to him and being willing to learn and do things,” tight end John Samuel Shenker said. “He’s done an excellent job with that. I’m really proud of him in that way and being coachable. Just learning how to do the right things in practice and being a leader too, I tip my hat to him. We need to be surrounding him and being positive to him in this scenario because everyone is going to go to the quarterback after losses. He’s done a great job.” For as much growth as Ashford showed in his performance against Arkansas, it wasn’t enough for Auburn to overcome a swell of issues in a double-digit home loss that sent swaths of fans toward the exits at the end of the third quarter. Auburn’s offense amassed 468 total yards and averaged 6.6 yards per play against Arkansas — two of the best marks of the season — but only had 14 points to show for it until garbage time, when the Tigers scored two touchdowns in the final 5:28 to avoid their most lopsided defeat ever at the hands of the Razorbacks. Outside of its three touchdowns, Auburn had four other drives that got to inside the Arkansas 35-yard line, with just six points to show for it, as finishing possessions remained an issue for the Tigers. That included just three total points on its first two possessions of the game, which started near midfield and produced just 40 yards on 14 plays. “It’s always frustrating just when we know we can get out there and put the ball in the end zone and we don’t, and I mean, at the end of the day, we just got to execute,” Ashford said. “I mean, it’s frustrating; like I said, every loss, it stings. This one stings, but this team ain’t going to give up. We’re not gonna give up. We still got four more games, four games. So, we just got to go out there and just keep getting better and just we got to put it all together.” Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.

no karen i am saying you are an idiot. you do not know if he is not a narcissist. if you are going to correct me in public you best have your facts together. and people say way worse than i have about harsin and yet you give them a pass. so this suggest to me it might be personal. i think you need to put me on ignore.

listen karen if you want to run your mouth and make a fool of yourself go right ahead. quit acting like a victim when you came at me dude. i am the guy you picked a fight with. we can do this all day if you want sugar...............or until the mods shut it down.

him and even his wife smeared cam who is one of the greatest football players of all time.he now has a taint by his name that will probably never go away. and THEY were the ones offering cam money. screw him.................

mullen can die and burn in hell is all i have to say about that.

i do not remember freeze being at baylor?

well now it is on hold. it appears some may have voiced their objections.................

i see a lot of articles when i search for stuff to print. that is my take but i could be wrong because i did not in fact fact check it. and i was shocked it was his AD. i thought it was just a friend.

this is scary to watch for me. we are gaslighting people and people are getting hurt and most times over nothing true just perceived like the stolen election. if you read much about rome they went through the same thing. they had roving gangs and stuff just like us. i believe this country is now doomed if things do not change. repubs have come up with a dangerous strategy and it will be the end of us.

he told a woman who was sexually assaulted that his friend did not do that. now if he is right then ok. but if he is wrong then it looks real bad and auburn would end up paying for it. for the record freeze is not my guy but i believe in forgiveness and redemption like good christians are supposed to is all. but if they choose him i will support him as long as he keeps his nose clean.

Musk has owned Twitter under a week and big names are already leaving the platform, complaining about a hate surge, and calling for tighter regulation Patrick Pleul—Picture alliance via Getty Images That didn’t take long. It’s been four days since Elon Musk finalized his $44 billion takeover of Twitter, and already he’s facing pushback from celebrities, lawmakers, and advertisers worried about how the social network will change under his leadership, even as many conservative voices rejoice. Sen. Amy Klobuchar is among those voicing concerns. Asked Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press whether she trusts Musk now that he runs Twitter, she replied, “No, I do not.” The Minnesota Democrat wants more content moderation and less immunity for social networks that amplify hate speech. Referring to the man who attacked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband this week, she said, “He was posting antisemitic tropes, he was showing memes that showed violence and all of this election-denying, pro-Trump, MAGA-crowd rhetoric. That’s what we’re dealing with here…I just don’t think people should be making money off of passing on this stuff that’s a bunch of lies.” Noting that TV networks have to screen commercials for false information before they air, she said companies like Twitter do not face similar requirements. ”We have to change the requirements on these companies,” she said. “They’re making money off of us. They’re making money off of this violence.” 'Scary AF' tweets Meanwhile NBA star LeBron James tweeted yesterday that the surge in N-word use on Twitter since Musk’s takeover was “scary AF,” and added that he hoped Musk “and his people take this very seriously.” https://twitter.com/kingjames/status/1586431561041293312 That followed the Network Contagion Research Institute—a social media research firm—reporting that use on the N-word spiked 500% on Twitter in the 12 hours after Musk took control. https://twitter.com/ncri_io/status/1586007698910646272 Antisemitic memes also jumped, and so did the word “plandemic”—shorthand for a conspiracy theory in which elites are using the pandemic to gain power and profit off vaccines—according to Dataminr, which also analyzes social media, Bloomberg reported. In response to James' complaint, Musk shared a tweet from a Twitter employee reading, "Nearly all of these accounts are inauthentic. We’ve taken action to ban the users involved in this trolling campaign — and are going to continue working to address this in the days to come to make Twitter safe and welcoming for everyone." But some Hollywood power players have already decided to leave Twitter. Yesterday Shonda Rhimes, the TV screenwriter, producer, and author behind hit shows like Scandal and Grey’s Anatomy, tweeted that she would be leaving the platform, writing simply: “Not hanging around for whatever Elon has planned. Bye.” That followed This Is Us executive producer Ken Olin tweeting Friday, “I’m out of here.” 'Free-speech absolutist' Of course, many conservative pundits and lawmakers are delighted that Democratic lawmakers and Hollywood elites are upset with Musk’s Twitter takeover, having long believed—like Musk himself—that the social network was overly strict and suppressive. “Free speech. Liberal tears,” tweeted Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio on Friday. Jordan is strong ally of former President Donald Trump, who the previous leadership of Twitter banned from the platform—and who Musk might welcome back. Trump himself wrote on his rival social platform Truth Social: “I am very happy that Twitter is now in sane hands, and will no longer be run by Radical Left Lunatics and Maniacs that truly hate our country.” Meanwhile Texas Sen. Ted Cruz told Fox News on Friday: "I think Elon Musk buying Twitter is one of the most significant developments for free speech in modern times." Podcaster Joe Rogan, for his part, on Saturday praised Musk—a self-described “free-speech absolutist”—for wanting to restore a "reasonable exchange of ideas" on the platform. "I think we have a real problem with discourse on Twitter," he added. "What some would like to do is silence those that have opposing viewpoints, and then you get all this positive feedback from all the people that agree with you." This spring, when the Twitter takeover drama began, Musk tweeted: “By ‘free speech’, I simply mean that which matches the law. I am against censorship that goes far beyond the law. If people want less free speech, they will ask government to pass laws to that effect. Therefore, going beyond the law is contrary to the will of the people.” On Friday, Musk tweeted, “To be super clear, we have not yet made any changes to Twitter’s content moderation policies,” adding, “Twitter will be forming a content moderation council with widely diverse viewpoints. No major content decisions or account reinstatements will happen before that council convenes.” A day earlier, he rushed to reassure advertisers on Twitter that the platform wouldn’t become a “free-for-all hellscape.” Not all of them are convinced, yet. General Motors said it would temporarily pause advertising on Twitter, adding, “We are engaging with Twitter to understand the direction of the platform under their new ownership.” This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

guess what? you are judging me and you know absolutely nothing about me. i do know what a narcissist is in fact. they never take blame for anything they always think they are right and they are controlling. people that work around him have said the same thing.so you called me petty and then got petty. how is that working out for you?

they all cheat. we cheat. saban cheats. kirby cheats and is more brazen about it. do i want him to cheat? no! but he is an exceptional motivator. and instead of cheating at liberty he appears to be doing more with less. it is the other crap i worry about.and then i i realize he and the dude from bama are not the only ones that have never hired hookers. hell many coaches have been sleeping with students. but the harassment thing i cannot get over. he would need to handle that somehow where he gets that behind him and does nothing to make auburn look bad hiring him. i do believe in second chances but i would keep him on a short leash.

i suffer from depression and ocd and anxiety and it is just not that simple. you should not be so flippant to what you apparently do not understand. people have different triggers that send them into the abyss. i can imagine you saying that is probably hurtful to him. is it necessary?

i think when it comes to freeze it would be important to find out what all his players think of him. and i am past his sexual adventures but harassing a lady who has been sexually assaulted it pretty bad. if he is rehabilitated then i have no problems but the harassing part stops me from getting behind him a hundred percent. did he apologize? get worked up taking up for a friend? he could probably take us to the promised land but but he could also turn out to be a public relations nightmare. and i am really tired of folks banging on auburn all the time.

i try to be fair. i have a temper about certain things. so i do penance by posting articles every morning often before i even check my sugar.kinda weird but i love most auburn people and want to give back. i live on a poverty line so the articles are something i can do without hurting my budget. anyway you forgot to mention how good looking i am.

i want you to remember this hank because people on this board i trust say when everyhting comes out when he is gone folks will be shocked. remember i told you this......

hank i have very little filter but i am very law abiding other than pot. my grandfather who taught rotc taught me love for the law when i was a child. he was an mp that went into a barn unarmed and drug out an escaped prisoner. they said they did not want him to have a gun in case he over powered him grandfather and potentially hurt other people. i do not however remember what the prisoner did but the word dangerous was used. hank what roles do you think i play? just curious.