aubiefifty

did davis not rewrite the record book in 7A ball in texas? and better than a pro qb playing right now?

ryan Harsin wants Auburn to learn valuable lessons from loss to Penn State By Tom Green | tgreen@al.com 6-8 minutes Bryan Harsin doesn’t want to dwell on Auburn’s loss to Penn State, but he also doesn’t want his team to forget it, either. The Tigers fell to the Nittany Lions, 28-20, Saturday in a thrilling game that didn’t provide the desires result for Harsin’s team as it took the first loss under the first-year head coach. It was an outcome that Harsin said afterward “should burn” for those within the program, but one he wants his team to learn valuable lessons from. “I think everyone’s disappointed, and should be,” Harsin said. “There’s that sting of not getting the job done. We didn’t accomplish the mission that we set out to accomplish. You use that. There’s a lot of positives in that. You use that as motivation. You use that as, alright, ‘I’m not good enough. I’m not good enough in these areas. We are not good enough in these areas.’ “One, it starts with you. And as a team, we have to understand that what we did wasn’t good enough.” Auburn wasn’t good enough on the road against a top-10 team, as it was unable to take advantage of key opportunities to pull an upset Saturday night in Beaver Stadium. The Tigers had their struggles — an inability to create a consistent pass-rush, difficulty defending the pass and an out-of-sync passing offense of its own, plus a costly turnover on the opening play of the second half — but they also did some things well in a difficult road environment. In the end, though, Auburn didn’t do well enough executing the things it could control, according to Harsin. Now, after taking time to review the entirety of the game, the Tigers have to ask themselves some critical questions: What needs to improve? What things weren’t executed well, and why? Did those issues begin in practice during the week? Was there a lack of focus? Was there not adequate time spent in preparations throughout the week? Winning can mask some issues for a team, but a loss can sometimes provide more value in improving from within. That’s what Harsin hopes can happen with his program after last weekend’s setback. “What a loss does is not so much exposes but gives you the understanding of just how important everything we do is,” Harsin said “And the time that you have to spend to really have yourself prepared to play the way you want to play for four quarters of football — that’s the reality. And with a loss, that sting, that drive, that motivation — whatever you want to call it — you’ve got to move on, and you can’t let the last game beat you twice.” That’s the message within the program this week: Don’t let the loss to Penn State linger and impact how you prepare for Georgia State; rather, recognize what the shortcomings were that led to that result and get better from them. “You don’t go out there and do the same thing,” Harsin said. “You make sure you do those things, but you do them better — you do them with more urgency; you do them with better focus.” That began following Sunday’s review session, as Auburn closed the book on Penn State and turned its attention to Georgia State, which will come to Jordan-Hare Stadium for Saturday’s homecoming game (3 p.m. on SEC Network). Now, the Tigers will focus on what they need to do to improve and avoid a similar situation as the one they faced in Happy Valley. That begins in film study and making sure you know everything there is to know about an opponent so that, come gameday, the preparation is adequate enough for the team to able to “play fast and play confident.” “That’s a driving factor; there’s no doubt about that,” Harsin said. “To me, that should always be the driving factor. I don’t think you have to have that kind of motivation to make you want to do those things better; I think you have to have the type of discipline to just do those things at that level, every single day, every single week we go and play.” For some players, Harsin said, they need that sort of motivation stemming from a loss to light a fire under them. For everyone, though, Harsin wants the desire to improve each day in practice and on Saturdays, regardless of the result on the scoreboard. The experience of a loss, especially one like the team endured last weekend on the road, can provide a better understanding of what needs to be accomplished — whether it’s regarding discipline, or focus, or toughness — daily to improve and find future success. “I hope for our players and everybody in this program, that stings, that’s a reminder,” Harsin said. “…That’s a reminder for this program right now that it takes what it takes. Regardless of how the day is going, when we lock in and we get in those meeting rooms, there’s a certain way of doing it; when we practice, there’s a certain way of doing it. Understanding that from what we just experienced, and then whatever happens next.” And while Harsin hopes his team can apply those difficult lessons learned in defeat, he made one thing abundantly clear Monday: It’s time to move on from that disappointing loss. He acknowledged that a lot of the talk within the program has been focused on last weekend’s result and the what-ifs that could have turned the tide in Beaver Stadium. But now, everyone’s attention needs to be focused on Georgia State and the team’s final task before the start of a grueling SEC schedule next month that includes games against five teams currently ranked in the AP top-25. “So, take what you learned and apply it and do it in a fashion where it doesn’t have to be more on gameday — it’s exactly the way we go and prepare ourselves,” Harsin said. “…Georgia State is a damn good football team. They will be ready to play. They will come in here and they will give us their very best. If we don’t prepare like that and we decide that’s not as important on Tuesday or Wednesday to have ourselves ready, and then by Thursday and Friday is when we really start getting our minds right, then watch out. Because Saturday’s going to be a tough day at the end of the day. “That’s the reality, and the sooner we learn that and do it every day, the better off we’re going to be. And for our team and this program, we need to learn that, and we need to do it each and every day consistently.” Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.

Deal and Tigers embracing the 'dirty work' in physical offensive attack ByJason Caldwell 4-5 minutes AUBURN, Alabama—After three games Auburn tight end Luke Deal has yet to catch a pass, but it hasn’t kept him from having a big impact on the offense for Coach Mike Bobo. One of the best blockers for the Tigers, the former high school quarterback turned tight end has been instrumental in sealing the edge to allow Tank Bigsby and Jarquez Hunter the ability to get outside for explosive plays. Helping Auburn’s rushing attack to a 287.3 yards per game average with 10 touchdowns, Deal said it’s a part of the game he enjoys and he’s happy to play his role for the Tigers. The first big point in Coach Harsin and Coach Bobo’s offense is being physical, having a downhill, physical run game. That’s something that in high school I enjoyed even though I played a number of different positions and bounced from quarterback to tight end to playing some defense. “I’ve just always enjoyed the physical nature of the game,” Deal said. “Being able to show that and being able to see the effects of the run game after that is pretty great. I'm enjoying it; I love doing the dirty work. I'm one of those -- I think everybody on our team is starting to buy into that culture.” A key for the Tigers has been the ability of Bigsby, Hunter and others to get to the second level and make big plays. Currently, Auburn’s offense leads the nation in yards per attempt at 7.77 yards. While much of the credit goes to the guys up front for clearing holes, Deal said you’ve got to give the backs credit for being able to finish off runs. “It’s definitely nice,” Deal said. “It gives us a little breathing room. The goal is to be the most physical team and those two backs, that’s what they are. They are physical. To watch them break those tackles, even though Jarquez got a little air on that one hurdle, he’s still a run-through-you type of guy and so is Tank. Just building the identity of tight ends, O-Line and running backs, that’s kind of what we want to be a part of is that kind of physical run style.” While the running game is hitting its stride, Auburn and quarterback Bo Nix are still struggling to find the consistency needed in the passing game to win the big game on the road. Still searching for go-to receivers and to find the big play on the outside, Deal said all they can do is continue to work and continue to run the football well. “I think that's the main key,” Deal said. “If anybody thinks you can have a good passing game without a good rushing game, they're wrong. So keep running the football like we're doing and those things will come -- repetition in practice, reps, reps, reps. You can't emphasize that any more, just getting as many reps and getting comfortable with quarterback-receiver, quarterback-tight end, quarterback-running back, and being comfortable up front with quarterback-O-line. “So I believe in Bo; I think we all believe in Bo. So we're all going to kind of key in on what we need to do for the next game. When the ball comes my way, I'll be ready, just like Shenk was ready last game. We'll be ready for it.” What Deal and the Tigers are ready for is an old-fashioned street fight each Saturday. It’s a mindset the offense has embraced and it’s something that Deal believes can carry this team a long way if the execution is there. 4COMMENTS “I think that's something we want to make every game into,” Deal said. “I think that's something we pride ourselves in. Whether or not the game turns out the way we want it to, just like last game, we're going to bring a certain physicality and execute what we did not execute against Penn State. That's what we've got to do; there were a couple things we didn't do right and we need to key in on and focus on at practice, and that's what we'll fix. But like you said, that nature and that identity is what we want to hang our hats on. That's my cup of tea, so I'm excited about that.”

Does Auburn have the best running back tandem in the country? Lance Dawe Tue, September 21, 2021, 2:12 PM Even with the absence of Shaun Shivers, Auburn’s running back room has still been firing on all cylinders. Freshman Jarquez Hunter has been playing exceptionally well through his first three games of the season. Through two games, Hunter had out preformed Tank Bigsby (257 rushing yards compared to Tank’s 241 rushing yards), Auburn’s stud running back and Heisman contender. Where does this duo stand nationally? Could they possibly be the best tandem in the nation? Auburn message board legend Charlie5 joined Zac Blackerby on the “Locked on Auburn Podcast“to share his thoughts on the duo’s hot start to the season. Charlie5: “I don’t think we understand how good Jarquez Hunter is. To be able to build your gameplay around not just Bigsby but Hunter as well… call me a homer, but at worst, (Bigsby and Hunter) are the best running back tandem in the SEC. At best, possibly the best running back tandem in the country. I don’t think we understood that before (the Penn State game). We looked at Hunter as an ancillary back to compliment instead of getting 40 combined touches between (Bigsby and Hunter). There’s not hardly a drop off between either one. We now know that we can lean heavily on our running game. To the point where we can make our offense about those two guys.”

Auburn stays in the top 25 in the USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll Zac Blackerby Sun, September 19, 2021, 12:18 PM Auburn’s performance in their 28-20 at Penn State kept them in the top 25 despite suffering their first loss of the Bryan Harsin era. The Tigers come in at number 23 in this week’s USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll. They only fall three spots from their spot at 20 last week. Penn State moves up three spots to eight. Auburn is one of seven SEC teams in the top 25 this week. Alabama is ranked number one. Georgia comes in at number two. Texas A&M is ranked fifth. Florida falls out of the top ten to 11 after a loss to Alabama. Ole Miss is ranked 13. Arkansas is ranked number 18. Auburn still has to play five ranked teams this year after playing their first ranked opponent on Saturday.

Auburn football stats worth watching through first three games JD McCarthy Tue, September 21, 2021, 9:00 AM Auburn is one-fourth of the way through their season and after a close loss to Penn State, they are now facing questions. The Tigers only have one game against an evenly matched opponent, but some interesting trends have already emerged from the beginning of the season. Each game, we get a little bit more information about Bryan Harsin’s first team during his Auburn tenure. The Tigers are doing different things on both sides of the ball so there has been a lot of new trends to follow. Here is a look at some stats worth monitoring as the season goes on. Offense Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports Auburn ranks first in the country with 7.77 yards per carry. Auburn has allowed just one sack through three games, only six other teams in the country have allowed one or fewer sacks. Auburn’s third-down conversion rate of 58.82% is third in the country and leads the SEC and all Power 5 schools. It is up from 44.94% from last season. Auburn ranks fourth in the SEC with 19 plays from scrimmage that gains 20 or more yards. Jarquez Hunter is second nationally in yards per carry (12.31) behind Army's Tyrell Robinson (13.62). Tank Bigsby is 34th with 7.3 yards per carry. Hunter is fifth among all freshmen in total yards (320) and yards per game (106.67). Bigsby is third in the SEC in yards per game (114.3), total yards (343), attempts per game (15.67) and touchdowns (4). John Samuel Shenker is the third-leading pass-catcher among tight ends in the SEC with 11 receptions. Bo Nix has yet to throw an interception through three games, he is one of only four SEC quarterbacks yet to do so. Defense Jake Crandall-The Montgomery Advertiser Auburn's defense has allowed quarterbacks to complete 78.7% of their passes this season, which ranks 130th out of 130 teams in the country. Auburn's defense is second in the country and first in the SEC in stopping the run, allowing only 43.3 yards per game and 1.3 yards per carry, which leads the country. Penn State averaged just 2.7 yards per carry and gained 84 yards on the ground. Auburn’s 33 tackles for loss trail only LSU’s 40 for the national lead. Auburn ranks 30th nationally in opponent third-down conversion percentage (30.77%) but allowed Penn State to convert on half their opportunities. Roger McCreary is one of five SEC players to have multiple interceptions. Auburn has allowed their opponents to score touchdowns on five of their seven drives into the red zone, ranking them 97th nationally. Chandler Wooten leads Auburn in tackles (20) and is eight tackles away from setting a new career-high. T.D. Moultry leads Auburn with 4.0 tackles for loss and has set a career-high in sacks (2.5), tackles for loss and is two tackles away from beating that mark. Special Teams Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports Anders Carlson is three made field goals away from passing Wes Bynum for second-most in Auburn history. He would trail only Daniel Carlson after doing so.

Bo Nix talks about the play call on fourth and goal against Penn State Zac Blackerby Tue, September 21, 2021, 2:31 PM Auburn fans can’t stop talking about the play call from the Penn State two-yard line Saturday night. The play resulted in being an incomplete pass from Bo Nix to Kobe Hudson on a fade route. Head coach Bryan Harsin was asked about the call immediately after the game and said the play had multiple options once the ball was snapped. His quarterback had a similar response. Nix was asked about the play on The JBoy Show earlier in the week. The play resulted in being an incomplete pass from Bo Nix to Kobe Hudson on a fade route. Head coach Bryan Harsin was asked about the call immediately after the game and said the play had multiple options once the ball was snapped. His quarterback had a similar response. Nix was asked about the play on The JBoy Show earlier in the week. “When you look at that kind of situation, obviously there’s a million different directions you can go,” Nix said. “Every coach and every coordinator has their perspective but I thought our coach did a good job, Coach (Mike) Bobo. He could have put the ball in many different options and he put the ball in my hands to make that decision and obviously, you can say ‘you should have ran the ball’ or whatever but when you throw the ball like that, you have five different options. Tank got out and was an option of those receivers and we just tried to see what they would play and both sides of the field had some options to throw to. We just got a low goalline man-to-man. I decided just to work the fade and see what could happen. Unfortunately, when I let the ball go, he was tangled up and we practiced all the time throwing to that spot, especially inside the red zone. THrowing so those guys can go get it but he got tangled up and may have gotten pass interference and it was a no-call but that’s just part of football.” -

i call it the curse of gus. gus told us we already had a great coach but did we listen? of course not. so here we are.

not sure why i got a link instead of just showing the picture but in my mind there is no doubt.

targeting 2.webp

this shocks me more than anything. i thought coach mason would be lights out and it is baffling to me. like the kid db from west virginia is supposed to be a monster and yet he has not played very much. i have very few seasons left to give coaches a pass on and i want to see a winner dammit. i am old. the only thing i can think of is they have had to work so hard on fundamentals it has slowed things down as far as scheming goes. maybe the whiteout does work and hampers the visiting team. right now i do not see any easy fixes. and i wish we had better receiving coaches. or maybe we need better players. i know it is first year and growing pains but it does little good having a real route tree if we drop passes like we have been. i hate to say it but i think penn state had better players and they wanted it worse than we did. we need to get some fixes in this weekemd and have a great shot as lsu and the night game.

Harsin: Tigers need to fix pass-coverage shortcomings ByMark Murphy 4-6 minutes 2 Minute Drill: Auburn comes up short at Penn State AUBURN, Alabama–Three games into the Bryan Harsin Era of Auburn football the pass coverage has left a lot to be desired. In fact, in this week’s FBS statistics the Tigers are ranked 130th. For those not familiar with the current roster of teams competing in college football’s top division, Auburn’s ranking is dead last. After allowing Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford to complete 87.5 percent of his throws in Auburn’s 28-20 road loss to the Nittany Lions on Saturday night, that pushed the AU defense’s average for the season up to a seldom-seen level of 78.7 percent. Going into the game Clifford was connecting on 62.5 percent of his passes. Counting a pass thrown by wide receiver Jahan Dotson, the Nittany Lions finished the game vs. Auburn with 396 total yards with 302 on passing plays. Asked if the problem relates to personnel or adjusting to the new schemes installed by new defensive coordinator Derek Mason and an entirely new coaching staff on that side of the line of scrimmage, Harsin said, “I think it is a combination of, you know, our opponents doing a good job of executing their pass game so guys actually catching the ball and doing that, but we have got to come up and challenge them. “That's too high of a completion percentage that you want to see against the defense so there are things that we have to do as far as putting ourselves in zone coverage in better positions,” the coach said. “We have got to create some pass rush and be able to make the quarterback have to move in the pocket, and, so create some opportunities there. That is an area that we know we can improve on and then lower that percentage as the season goes on from what the quarterbacks are able to do.” Harsin added, “Even on the scrambles when a guy gets out of the pocket, we have to plaster and cover and stay in coverage a little bit longer and be able to make some plays on the ball so those are all things that are a work-in-progress every single week.” Asked to explain what he means by the term “plaster” as related to his team’s defense, the coach said, “That means just to cover--like to stay on. If there is a guy scrambling or moving, you know you need to stay on your man. “That's always something you work that in camp, you work that as the season goes on, you see it in games, but keeping your eyes on your man when the quarterback is scrambling and there’s eyes on the QB at times, you know, when he does finally break the line of scrimmage. He is going to be able to converge on him and tackle him...keeping eyes on your man as you cover down the field and he scrambles.” Next on the schedule for the Tigers is a 3 p.m. CDT home contest vs. Georgia State, which will be making its first-ever appearance on an Auburn football schedule. It will be Auburn’s final non-conference game of the regular season and it will be televised on the SEC Network. The Panthers are not expected to throw the ball a lot vs. the Tigers after making a change last Saturday at quarterback to Darren Grainger, whose strength is running the ball. He threw just a dozen passes last Saturday in a 20-9 win over Charlotte. Jahan Dotson caught 10 passes for 78 yards in Penn State's victory over Auburn. Cornerback Nehemiah tackles Dotson on Saturday night. (Photo: Jason Caldwell, Inside the Auburn Tigers, 247Sports) Asked if the defense is going through growing pains learning a new system, Harsin said, “You want to protect yourself from big-play opportunities at times, but we are trying to be aggressive throughout the game plan. I don’t think we’re trying to just play soft and give up those throws. We haven’t executed the way that we could and should.” Commenting on the plan moving forward, Harsin said, “We just have to continue to keep working and putting ourselves in a position to have the right personnel out there, absolutely, but also be able to play those techniques properly. 43COMMENTS “A fundamental of the game is covering, and we have got to be able to really work through the techniques and improve in those areas as we move forward and we get those numbers down, for sure.”

Bryan Harsin does not name players of the game after a loss Zac Blackerby September 20, 2021 2:04 pm CT Bryan Harsin is all about creating a specific type of culture at Auburn. Since he took the job, he has been trying to shift how this football program views success moving forward. Losing is not a part of his vision for the Auburn football program. He started his Monday press conference by saying, “We didn’t have any players of the game. We don’t do that in a loss.” The past two weeks, he started his press conference by mentioned who stood out in the game and named a few players by name. In his press conference following Auburn’s 28-20 loss to Penn State, he mentioned that some players played well but Auburn will not have players of the game after the team falls short. Auburn hosts Georgia State at 3:00 PM CT at Jordan Hare Stadium this Saturday.

Owen Pappoe ‘ready to get after it’ following injury-related exit vs. Penn State By Tom Green | tgreen@al.com 3-4 minutes Sep 18, 2021; University Park, PA, USA; Owen Pappoe (0) tackling between Auburn and Penn State at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Todd Van Emst/AU AthleticsTodd Van Emst/AU Athletics Bryan Harsin was optimistic Monday about the status of one of Auburn’s team captains for this weekend’s homecoming game against Georgia State. Junior linebacker Owen Pappoe exited last weekend’s loss to Penn State in the second half with an apparent leg injury and did not return to the game. Harsin did not have an update on Pappoe’s status after the game, but during his weekly press conference Monday afternoon, the first-year coach said Pappoe was “doing good” and that he felt good about the linebacker’s availability this weekend. “He’s a tough guys, and he’s ready to go back and get after it,” Harsin said. Auburn will know more about Pappoe’s status for this weekend’s game on Tuesday, when the team reconvenes for practice. Auburn (2-1) will host Georgia State (1-2) for a 3 p.m. kickoff at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday, with the game airing on SEC Network. How much Pappoe will be able to play against the Panthers will be determined by his progress throughout the week in practice. Though Harsin noted Pappoe’s toughness, the team will also have to determine how much it wants to use him against Georgia State and whether it’s best not to push him too much with the team’s SEC opener at LSU on the horizon Oct. 2. Still, it sounds as though Pappoe’s injury is nothing serious, which is promising news for Auburn. The junior is the team’s third-leading tackler this season, with 15 stops through three games, including two for a loss. He has also been credited with two quarterback hurries. Having him available against Georgia State would also be good news for Auburn’s linebacker corps, which will already be without Zakoby McClain for the first half of Saturday’s game after being ejected for targeting in the fourth quarter of last week’s loss to Penn State. “There’s going to be guys that get nicked up in games and you’re going to have to manage that throughout the week,” Harsin said. “But they’ll be ready to go come game time. So that’s really going to be the case as we move forward, and hopefully nobody’s going to be out for the season. But you’re going to have some guys that have got to get in that training room and really spend time in there and really be a pro. Just taking care of their body. Getting themselves back into practice and then obviously preparing for the game.” Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.

Bryan Harsin wants Auburn to learn valuable lessons from loss to Penn State By Tom Green | tgreen@al.com 6-8 minutes Bryan Harsin doesn’t want to dwell on Auburn’s loss to Penn State, but he also doesn’t want his team to forget it, either. The Tigers fell to the Nittany Lions, 28-20, Saturday in a thrilling game that didn’t provide the desires result for Harsin’s team as it took the first loss under the first-year head coach. It was an outcome that Harsin said afterward “should burn” for those within the program, but one he wants his team to learn valuable lessons from. “I think everyone’s disappointed, and should be,” Harsin said. “There’s that sting of not getting the job done. We didn’t accomplish the mission that we set out to accomplish. You use that. There’s a lot of positives in that. You use that as motivation. You use that as, alright, ‘I’m not good enough. I’m not good enough in these areas. We are not good enough in these areas.’ “One, it starts with you. And as a team, we have to understand that what we did wasn’t good enough.” Auburn wasn’t good enough on the road against a top-10 team, as it was unable to take advantage of key opportunities to pull an upset Saturday night in Beaver Stadium. The Tigers had their struggles — an inability to create a consistent pass-rush, difficulty defending the pass and an out-of-sync passing offense of its own, plus a costly turnover on the opening play of the second half — but they also did some things well in a difficult road environment. In the end, though, Auburn didn’t do well enough executing the things it could control, according to Harsin. Now, after taking time to review the entirety of the game, the Tigers have to ask themselves some critical questions: What needs to improve? What things weren’t executed well, and why? Did those issues begin in practice during the week? Was there a lack of focus? Was there not adequate time spent in preparations throughout the week? Winning can mask some issues for a team, but a loss can sometimes provide more value in improving from within. That’s what Harsin hopes can happen with his program after last weekend’s setback. “What a loss does is not so much exposes but gives you the understanding of just how important everything we do is,” Harsin said “And the time that you have to spend to really have yourself prepared to play the way you want to play for four quarters of football — that’s the reality. And with a loss, that sting, that drive, that motivation — whatever you want to call it — you’ve got to move on, and you can’t let the last game beat you twice.” That’s the message within the program this week: Don’t let the loss to Penn State linger and impact how you prepare for Georgia State; rather, recognize what the shortcomings were that led to that result and get better from them. “You don’t go out there and do the same thing,” Harsin said. “You make sure you do those things, but you do them better — you do them with more urgency; you do them with better focus.” That began following Sunday’s review session, as Auburn closed the book on Penn State and turned its attention to Georgia State, which will come to Jordan-Hare Stadium for Saturday’s homecoming game (3 p.m. on SEC Network). Now, the Tigers will focus on what they need to do to improve and avoid a similar situation as the one they faced in Happy Valley. That begins in film study and making sure you know everything there is to know about an opponent so that, come gameday, the preparation is adequate enough for the team to able to “play fast and play confident.” “That’s a driving factor; there’s no doubt about that,” Harsin said. “To me, that should always be the driving factor. I don’t think you have to have that kind of motivation to make you want to do those things better; I think you have to have the type of discipline to just do those things at that level, every single day, every single week we go and play.” For some players, Harsin said, they need that sort of motivation stemming from a loss to light a fire under them. For everyone, though, Harsin wants the desire to improve each day in practice and on Saturdays, regardless of the result on the scoreboard. The experience of a loss, especially one like the team endured last weekend on the road, can provide a better understanding of what needs to be accomplished — whether it’s regarding discipline, or focus, or toughness — daily to improve and find future success. “I hope for our players and everybody in this program, that stings, that’s a reminder,” Harsin said. “…That’s a reminder for this program right now that it takes what it takes. Regardless of how the day is going, when we lock in and we get in those meeting rooms, there’s a certain way of doing it; when we practice, there’s a certain way of doing it. Understanding that from what we just experienced, and then whatever happens next.” And while Harsin hopes his team can apply those difficult lessons learned in defeat, he made one thing abundantly clear Monday: It’s time to move on from that disappointing loss. He acknowledged that a lot of the talk within the program has been focused on last weekend’s result and the what-ifs that could have turned the tide in Beaver Stadium. But now, everyone’s attention needs to be focused on Georgia State and the team’s final task before the start of a grueling SEC schedule next month that includes games against five teams currently ranked in the AP top-25. “So, take what you learned and apply it and do it in a fashion where it doesn’t have to be more on gameday — it’s exactly the way we go and prepare ourselves,” Harsin said. “…Georgia State is a damn good football team. They will be ready to play. They will come in here and they will give us their very best. If we don’t prepare like that and we decide that’s not as important on Tuesday or Wednesday to have ourselves ready, and then by Thursday and Friday is when we really start getting our minds right, then watch out. Because Saturday’s going to be a tough day at the end of the day. “That’s the reality, and the sooner we learn that and do it every day, the better off we’re going to be. And for our team and this program, we need to learn that, and we need to do it each and every day consistently.” Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.

auburnwire.usatoday.com Three fun facts about Jarquez Hunter Zac Blackerby 2 minutes Auburn found a diamond in the rough. Jarquez Hunter was a late addition to Auburn football’s 2021 signing class. He has quickly become the star of the class as he has become a sparkplug for the Auburn offense. The Philadelphia, Mississippi native’s combination of speed and power is fun to watch and seemingly makes plays every time he gets the ball in his hands. The start of his career already has him in the record books and a place in Auburn football lore. Auburn fans may be talking about Hunter for a long time. Here are three fun facts about Hunter’s career numbers through three games on The Plains. John Reed-USA TODAY Sports This has been well documented but it’s worth leading off this list. His 94-yard run against Alabama State will probably have him in the record books for a while for the longest run in Auburn football history. The previous long was 92 yards by Ralph O’Gwynn vs. Loyola in 1936. It’s also worth noting that it’s the longest run in the nation this season by five yards. Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports The true freshman ranks 25th among Auburn freshman rushers for a season with 320 yards in just three games. John Reed-USA TODAY Sports In the season opener against Akron, Hunter rushed for 110 yards and a nine-yard touchdown. He was the first Auburn freshman to rush for 100 yards in a season opener since Onterio McCalebb (148 yds vs. Louisiana Tech in 2009). The last Auburn freshman to rush for 100 yards in a season opener before McCalebb? It was Bo Jackson vs. Wake Forest in 1982. McCalebb was also the last freshman to open the season with back-to-back 100-yard games at Auburn (148, La Tech and 114, Miss St) in 2009.

Kickoff time, television channel announced for Auburn-LSU Auburn and LSU will square off under the lights in Death Valley on Oct. 2. Auburn will travel to LSU for an 8 p.m. kickoff in Baton Rouge, La., for its SEC opener, the league announced Monday. The game will be broadcast on ESPN. Auburn won last year’s meeting between the two teams, 48-11, in Jordan-Hare Stadium. Tiger Stadium has been a different story for the team over the last two decades, however. Auburn has not won in Death Valley since the 1999 season, dropping 10 straight on the road in the series since that win. LSU leads the all-time series against Auburn, 31-23-1, and holds a 15-9-1 record when the game is played in Baton Rouge. Before the two teams meet Oct. 2, Auburn will first host Georgia State on the Plains this weekend (3 p.m. on SEC Network), while LSU will travel to Mississippi State for its SEC opener (11 a.m. on ESPN). Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.

Auburn’s defense left searching for answers after issues against Penn State By Tom Green | tgreen@al.com 5-7 minutes Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford (14) scrambles away from Auburn defensive end Colby Wooden (25) during an NCAA college football game against Auburn in State College, Pa., on Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021. (AP Photo/Barry Reeger)AP There were two major issues for Auburn defensively against Penn State — the Tigers couldn’t affect Nittany Lions quarterback Sean Clifford in the pocket, nor could they slow him through the air. The results were disastrous for Auburn in its 28-20 loss in Happy Valley, as Clifford methodically picked the Tigers apart while guiding his team to another top-25 win. The veteran quarterback put together a career effort Saturday night, completing 28-of-32 passes for 280 yards and a pair of touchdowns, as the Tigers struggled to contain the Nittany Lions’ passing attack. “Obviously, we didn’t top the pass efficiently enough,” Auburn linebacker and team captain Chandler Wooten said. “…We just got to be better in coverage; that goes for safeties, corners, linebackers — everybody involved. It’s not on one person, one unit; we all got to be better.” Clifford completed a career-best 87.5 percent of his pass attempts against Auburn, which has had a difficult time keeping opponents’ completion rates low this season while adjusting to first-year defensive coordinator Derek Mason’s off-man and zone coverage schemes. Through three games, Auburn is allowing teams to complete 78.7 percent of their passes, which ranks last among FBS teams. The Tigers have allowed two of their first three opponents to complete at least 80 percent of their passes after not allowing a single team to accomplish that since Kentucky (82.8 percent) in 2010. Clifford became the latest to take advantage of Auburn’s pass defense, as he was surgical with the ball on Saturday night in Beaver Stadium. His lone mistake came late in the second quarter, when he was intercepted by Roger McCreary near the goal line. After that interception, Clifford responded by completing all 12 of his second-half pass attempts, totaling 112 yards after halftime. He also completed 12 of his previous 13 pass attempts prior to that interception, with both of his touchdown passes coming in that span. It wasn’t just that Clifford was efficient against Auburn; it’s that the Tigers also gave up seven chunk plays in the passing game. Clifford completed six passes of at least 15 yards, while wide receiver Jahan Dotson had a 22-yard completion on a trick play. That successful gadget play was a bow on top of a big day for Dotson, who gave the Tigers headaches as he caught 10 of his 12 targets for 78 yards and a touchdown. While Auburn’s secondary had its own issues in coverage, with Penn State receivers at times wide open downfield, the defense’s issues were compounded by an inability to generate a consistent pass rush. After totaling nine sacks through the first two games of the season, Auburn did not register a sack against Penn State, and the Tigers were only credited with one quarterback hurry — courtesy of Zakoby McClain on the play that resulted in McCreary’s second-quarter interception. “There was one he stood back there for what seemed like 10 seconds early in the game; I thought we had a better pass rush after that,” Auburn coach Bryan Harsin said. “But you’ve got to find ways to get after the quarterback, and you’ve got to find ways to get the ball out of his hands.” Even when Auburn was able to get into the backfield, Clifford found ways to extend some plays with his legs and buy time or make throws to the perimeter, which Harsin said goes back to coverage. “If you can get after the passer and create some of those lanes, then he’s got to work through it,” Harsin said. “He’s good and he’s mobile and he’s able to do those things, so I didn’t think that we would keep him in the pocket the entire time. But we’ve got to do a better job of that. If guys are scrambling, we’ve got to continue to keep covering our man and not getting a throw downfield — or at least make it a contested catch and try to get a hand on the ball.” That was missing Saturday, as Auburn did not record a pass breakup in the loss. The career 60.3 percent passer looked like a superstar against a flustered Auburn defense that fought all night to keep the team within striking distance. For all the issues Auburn had against the pass, the defense was sound against the run while limiting Penn State to 2.7 yards per carry and got enough stops to give the Tigers’ offense chances to try to mount a comeback down the stretch. Auburn got a stop on a fake punt in the third quarter, and then late in the game with the team trailing by eight, the defense forced a three-and-out and four-and-out on Penn State’s final two possessions. Ultimately, it wasn’t enough to overcome the issues with the pass defense throughout the night, which Mason and his defensive staff will have to address and make the requisite adjustments for as the team tries to bounce back from a gutting loss on the road. “We’ve got a group of fighters,” Wooten said. “Obviously, we didn’t get the outcome we wanted but everybody played extremely hard. That’s just the kind of standard that has been set here at Auburn before us. That is the standard. It stings right now, but it’s supposed to.” Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.

What Bryan Harsin said after Auburn’s 28-20 loss to Penn State By Tom Green | tgreen@al.com 11-13 minutes The first loss of Bryan Harsin’s tenure as Auburn’s coach is one that he said “should burn” for he and his players. No. 22 Auburn fell to No. 10 Penn State, 28-20, on Saturday night in Beaver Stadium. The Tigers squandered some key opportunities and made a couple of costly mistakes against the Nittany Lions, and it resulted in a stinging road loss in a national spotlight. Harsin met with the media via Zoom after the game to discuss the loss. Here’s everything he had to say: BRYAN HARSIN, Auburn coach Opening statement… “There are things we have to fix moving forward. It’s always that -- it’s all about the work and the time spent preparing and getting yourself ready to play so you can go out there and just do, really, the basic things, consistently throughout the game. We will do that and get ourselves back tomorrow. But I felt like we put ourselves in a position to win, and we didn’t. So that hurts. It should. Now we have to take that and learn from it and apply the things we can control and do a much better job of and focus on -- and actually go and do those things as we move into this next week, starting with tomorrow. So, questions.” On the fourth-and-2 play call near the goal line late in the fourth quarter… “We talked about it; everybody kind of gives their input. Those plays are pre-planned and scripted in those areas, so, you know, those are things you work on. I have to go back and look at it -- exactly what happened. Obviously we didn’t execute it and it didn’t play out how we wanted. So those are things that you go through in the game plan. Believe it or not, we actually spend time on it, working through it and working through the different scenarios and getting to that moment. That’s the play selection that you had and that you choose, so. We went to that play and it didn’t hit like we wanted it to.” On the failed trick play to open the second half… “Well, we thought we had something throughout the week watching film that was going to be a good call for us. We came out of it, and part of that was it’s not there and, you know, you get what you can out of it -- and he fumbled. So that was one of the plays -- anytime there’s a turnover in the game, that becomes a major factor. For us, our goal is always plus-one, so we’ve got to figure out a way to get it back and create that on the defensive side if the offense gives it up. We were trying to be aggressive. I thought we didn’t see it was there, and we were trying to go do exactly what we talked about, and the ball got put on the ground; they recovered it and it became a big turnover at the start of the third quarter. So that did not get us out to the fast start we wanted coming out.” On Auburn’s pass rush… “There was one he stood back there for what seemed like 10 seconds early in the game; I thought we had a better pass rush after that. But you’ve got to find ways to get after the quarterback, and you’ve got to find ways to get the ball out of his hands. He escaped a couple times from what I remember and made some throws on the perimeter. That goes back to coverage, so we’ve got to be able to plaster long enough with guys out of the pocket. So ultimately, yeah, if you can get after the passer and create some of those lanes, then he’s got to work through it. He’s good and he’s mobile and he’s able to do those things, so I didn’t think that we would keep him in the pocket the entire time. But we’ve got to do a better job of that. If guys are scrambling, we’ve got to continue to keep covering our man and not getting a throw downfield -- or at least make it a contested catch and try to get a hand on the ball.” On Auburn’s passing offense… “Um, well, we had 185 yards. Yeah, not good enough. That’s really -- we needed to hit some, some explosive plays. We got opportunities to do that. We need to catch the ball, and we need to be in the right areas in the pass concepts. “That just goes back to those are things that we have to work on on this team, and those are things that have to be continually focused on. They’ve got to become priorities for everybody involved in order for us to go out there and execute those concepts that we have in there. “But ultimately, we’ve got to come down with the ball. We’ve got to make some plays. You know, there are opportunities to do that. You know, we needed to hit some of those. We’ll go back on Sunday and we’ll work on it when we get better at it. There will be other opportunities in games moving forward as well, but explosive plays become a difference in any game, not just this game. But, if you can hit some of those explosives in the pass game -- and we did. We hit a few of them. You know, we want to create more of those and give ourselves some opportunities to do that. We’ve just got to go finish on those plays, and with that we’ll continue to be a work in progress as we go through this season.” More on the fourth-and-goal call from the 2 late in the fourth quarter… “Well, it’s a little more calculated than that, but there are four options on it -- there’s really five. Kobe was one of them. “I just saw, you know, kind of the first of the play and the ball went up and [Kobe] was out of phase with where the throw was. But to answer your question, yes: there’s five possibilities on that play right there to give ourselves the best chance to get somebody in the end zone. I’ve got to go back -- before I make any comment on, you know, was that the right decision? I’ve got to go back and watch and see where the progression starts. “And that’s really the one thing with the quarterback position: sometimes those plays don’t work out, and the main question is, ‘Well, he made the wrong read.’ Not necessarily; sometimes either it’s a route, it’s the defense doing a good job in their coverage. And so, we’ll access that tonight as we watch the film on the plane. We’ll work at it and make corrections tomorrow. But ultimately, you know, you want to give yourself a better chance in that situation right there. I don’t know if that was a decision -- we’ve run that thing quite a few times and we’ve had some really good plays on it. So, I trust that what he saw out there, we’ll look at it, we’ll learn from it and we’ll go from there.” On how he used Auburn’s timeouts in the second half… “Which one in particular?” On the timeout before the fourth-and-goal play in the fourth quarter… “Yeah, well we did that to see what was happening on that play there, so that was going to be used in that situation there. And as the game went on, we would have to use them -- really with the two-minute mark, right? We did do a good job because I think we had maybe 40 seconds left. We got the ball back, so, where they were and what we had a chance to do, I thought we managed that to where we could get the ball back and have a chance to go down and score. “Now, we’ll review that as well and look at all those things, but sometimes you use timeouts because you may not be in the right position. You want to see something, and you want to make sure you have the right call on critical downs. Fourth down is one of those, and so, that’s why we used one of them early. And then the rest of them I think were in the two-minute situation to get the ball back, and then we were out of timeouts.” On what he learned about his team tonight… “Well, I think there’s a lot. I didn’t see anybody that was on the field — nobody quit. Alright, everybody was locked in on the sideline as far as running everything and make decisions and adjustments and those things. And that there’s plenty of work to do. That’s one thing. Just, this loss, it should burn. “We came here and played a really good Penn State team on the road, we gave ourselves an opportunity to go win the game, those are games that you want to win. Those are the games that we came here to win. We didn’t come here to just play and be in the game, we came here to win the game. That’s going to be the mindset with everybody around in this program — not just showing up and playing well, but finding a way to win. And, the goal is a big part of that, if you want to be a championship team you have to win on the road. Half the games are on the road. “Ultimately, from this point on, what do we do tomorrow? What’s the attitude, what’s the effort, what’s the focus that we’re going to get from this team? I think there’s a lot of guys in that locker room that are disappointed — and they all should be. I think it’s something that you want to absorb and take in and then you do everything in your power to not let that happen again. And, that’s everybody. Anytime — really, this should be every single week, in my opinion. Is you go back and look at it, you’re always trying to do everything you can to put yourself in the best position. Well, that starts on Sunday, and it goes all the way through Friday and Saturday’s game day. So, it doesn’t happen on just game day. You’ve got to put in the work, you’ve got to do it all the time. “You’ve gotta leave no stone unturned and prepare yourself in a way that you’re going there to win — not just be a part of it. I thought we had a lot of guys that prepared themselves to win. I think we’ve got to get better at that. I don’t think it’s okay to feel good about just getting there and playing and losing a game. I think there’s a lot of things that we can take away from it and learn that will be positives, but at that same time, it’s still gotta have that sting. And that’s gotta be that fuel for the fire that you come back and go to work — it’s gotta be that internally that you want to go out there and do a better job. That’s everybody. That’s not just our players, that’s everybody in this program. “Hopefully tomorrow we’ll be back out there, we all feel that way, we put in the work and then we learn from that. And then the reality of that is, you know, once you do that and once you learn that, that should become how we operate every day. Not just because we have to lose a game to figure that out. So, that’s what I saw tonight. Those are the things that we have to learn from this. That’s what Auburn football, in my opinion, should be about as we move forward. And everybody involved should feel that same way. So, those are the things that we’re going through. Those are the things that we want to create. Those are the things that we want to have in this program week in and week out. We want to be consistent. We want to put ourselves in a position in every game that we play to win. And it takes a tremendous amount of focus and work to do that. On the status of Owen Pappoe, who left the game in the second half and didn’t return… “I don’t (have an update). He didn’t go back in the game. He was out there, so I don’t have anything else to tell you that way. I’ll know more tonight and tomorrow. Owen’s a tough player, he’s a tough person, so I imagine we’ll figure out what that looks like and how we operate that going into next week.” Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.

What they’re saying nationally, in Pennsylvania after Auburn lost to Penn State By Tom Green | tgreen@al.com 3 minutes Penn State tight end Brenton Strange (86) breaks away from the Auburn defense in the fourth quarter of their NCAA college football game in State College, Pa., on Saturday, Sept.18, 2021.Penn State defeated Auburn 28-20. (AP Photo/Barry Reeger)AP Auburn went into Happy Valley looking for an early-season statement. The Tigers instead returned home with a stinging loss to Penn State, falling 28-20 in Beaver Stadium. It was a drama-filled affair between the two teams, with Auburn’s late comeback bid coming up short in Penn State’s annual White Out game. As one of the marquee matchups of Week 3 of the college football season, Saturday night’s showdown garnered a lot of attention. Here’s a look at what’s being said in Pennsylvania and nationally about Auburn’s loss to Penn State: -- Auburn should be disappointed, but not discouraged after loss to Penn State (The Athletic) -- Sean Clifford backs up his confidence against Auburn, and his play could take Penn State a long way (The Athletic) -- Auburn gave Penn State everything it could handle (Yahoo Sports) -- Penn State makes case as Big Ten’s top team with win against Auburn (Yahoo Sports) -- Nittany Lions show mettle in win against Tigers (CBS Sports) -- With two impressive wins against ranked teams, it’s time to consider Penn State a contender (CBS Sports) -- Penn State-Auburn was Exhibit A in the case for banning neutral-site nonconference games (Associated Press) -- Penn State holds on to white out Auburn (Associated Press) -- Through three games, James Franklin is delivering on a promised redemption tour (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) -- Penn State’s 2020 failures still motivating 2021 team, including against Auburn (StateCollege.com) -- As Penn State rolls under James Franklin, what if Penn State is already his USC? (StateCollege.com) -- Against Auburn, Penn State’s Jahan Dotson again proves he’s one of country’s top receivers (Centre Daily Times) -- Penn State’s offensive line shines against Auburn, which didn’t have a sack (Centre Daily Times) -- A quarter of the way through the season, Penn State has the best pair of wins in the country: Auburn and Wisconsin (247Sports) Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.

Bo Nix’s familiar road struggles resurface in loss to Penn State By Tom Green | tgreen@al.com 5-7 minutes This was a chance for Bo Nix to flip the script. Instead, it was the rehashing of several familiar chapters in the Auburn starting quarterback’s rollercoaster career. Nix struggled in familiar fashion during No. 22 Auburn’s 28-20 loss to No. 10 Penn State on Saturday night in Happy Valley. The junior completed just 21-of-37 passes for 185 yards, as his night was defined by misfires, some dropped passes and a couple of narrowly-avoided backbreaking interceptions. “Not good enough,” Auburn coach Bryan Harsin said of the passing game. “That’s really -- we needed to hit some, some explosive plays. We got opportunities to do that. We need to catch the ball, and we need to be in the right areas in the pass concepts. That just goes back to those are things that we have to work on on this team, and those are things that have to be continually focused on. They’ve got to become priorities for everybody involved in order for us to go out there and execute those concepts that we have in there.” It was a familiar tune for Nix, who has largely struggled on the road and against ranked teams throughout his career. Entering Saturday’s showdown at Beaver Stadium, Nix had just a 54.5 percent completion rate, with more interceptions (10) than touchdowns (nine), and a yards-per-attempt averaged of 5.65 in nine true road games. Over the course of those nine games, Nix only had two quality outings — in wins against a 2-10 Arkansas in 2019 and Ole Miss last season. In 10 games against ranked opponents entering Saturday, Nix completed 54.1 percent of his passes for eight touchdowns, nine interceptions and 5.6 yards per pass attempt. Nix had a chance to counter those knocks against his resume against Penn State amid the hottest start to his career. Nix entered Beaver Stadium completing 74.4 percent of his passes and looking confident and comfortable in the Tigers’ new offense, a system designed in tandem by Harsin and first-year coordinator Mike Bobo. That blazing start to the season, which came against Akron and Alabama State, flickered out amid the 109,958 raucous fans, most clad in all-white for Penn State’s annual White Out game. Nix completed 11 of his first 15 pass attempts against the Nittany Lions, and he appeared sure of himself and the offense early on, as the Tigers staked an early lead in a hostile environment, even as he missed a couple of downfield shots to Shedrick Jackson. “There will be other opportunities in games moving forward as well, but explosive plays become a difference in any game, not just this game,” Harsin said. “But, if you can hit some of those explosives in the pass game -- and we did. We hit a few of them. You know, we want to create more of those and give ourselves some opportunities to do that. We’ve just got to go finish on those plays, and with that we’ll continue to be a work in progress as we go through this season.” Things began to unravel for Nix after the promising start. With time winding down in the first half, Nix nearly had an untimely and devastating interception. After Penn State went ahead, 14-10, Nix and Auburn tried to answer before halftime — as Harsin likes to try to take advantage of those end-of-half situations. On second down, Nix attempted to find John Samuel Shenker on the right side, but Penn State’s Brandon Smith broke up the attempt and nearly had a pick-six. He bobbled the ball multiple times, and it ultimately fell incomplete as Auburn dodged a bullet. Things didn’t get much better for Nix in the second half. He completed just 10-of-22 passes for 86 yards. The most unfortunate of those 12 incompletions came with 3:12 to play. The Tigers faced fourth-and-goal from the 2 and trailing by eight coming out of a timeout. Auburn ran an end-zone fade to Kobe Hudson, but the receiver never had a chance to get the ball, and the Tigers turned it over on downs. “Before I make any comment on, you know, was that the right decision? I’ve got to go back and watch and see where the progression starts,” Harsin said. “And that’s really the one thing with the quarterback position: Sometimes those plays don’t work out, and the main question is, ‘Well, he made the wrong read.’ Not necessarily; sometimes either it’s a route, it’s the defense doing a good job in their coverage. And so, we’ll assess that tonight as we watch the film on the plane. We’ll work at it and make corrections tomorrow. “But ultimately, you know, you want to give yourself a better chance in that situation right there. I don’t know if that was a decision -- we’ve run that thing quite a few times and we’ve had some really good plays on it. So, I trust that what he saw out there, we’ll look at it, we’ll learn from it and we’ll go from there.” Auburn had one last-ditch effort in the waning seconds, with 62 yards to go and needing a touchdown plus a two-point conversion. Nix drove Auburn to the Penn State 26, but on fourth down, he was nearly picked off again — this time by Jaquan Brisker, whose pass breakup quelled any remaining hopes of Nix writing a happy ending to this chapter of his career on the road. Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group.

Minimal pressure on Clifford in Penn State victory ByMark Murphy 3 minutes STATE COLLEGE, Pennsylvania–Coming into the game with nine sacks Auburn’s defense needed to continue the trend, but that didn’t happen as Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford was a key reason his Nittany Lions defeated Auburn 28-20 on Saturday night. At times it seemed Clifford had enough time to re-tie his shoes or do other maintenance while waiting for his receivers to find an opening. Clifford completed 28-32 passes for 280 of his football team’s 376 total yards and connected on two short touchdown passes. His only interception didn’t cost his team because it was a long pass picked off by the Tigers just before halftime. "There was one he stood back there for what seemed like 10 seconds early in the game," Coach Bryan Harsin said. "I thought we had a better pass rush after that, but you've got to find ways to get after the quarterback, and you've got to find ways to get the ball out of his hands. He escaped a couple times from what I remember and made some throws on the perimeter." Auburn’s defense made 67 tackles, with 11 1/2 behind the line of scrimmage, but none were sacks. Compounding the problem is the visitors from the Southeastern Conference were credited with just one quarterback pressure. That came from Zakoby McClain, which happened on the interception play by Roger McCreary. Unfortunately for the AU defense, McClain was ejected from the game on a targeting call with 12:21 left in the third quarter. With Auburn’s other starting linebacker, Owen Pappoe, out with an injury backup linebacker Chandler Wooten led the Tigers in tackles with six solo stops, four assists with 1 1/2 tackles behind the line of scrimmage. Sean Clifford launches a pass before T.D. Moultry can affect the throw. (Photo: Jason Caldwell, Inside the Auburn Tigers, 247Sports) 18COMMENTS Another senior, safety Smoke Monday, added six solos and two stops for the visitors, who dropped to 2-1 on the season while Penn State improved to 3-0 in the first meeting between the two programs in 20 years to the delight of a crowd of 109,958 at Beaver Stadium. Another big problem for the Tigers, both defensively and offensively, was production or lack of it on first down plays. The Nittany Lions 7.3 averaged yards on first down plays, more than double Auburn’s 3.6 average. ">247Sports

saturdaydownsouth.com Bryan Harsin comments on Auburn’s 4th down play call SDS Staff | 9 hours ago 1 minute Late in the fourth quarter and losing 28-20, Auburn had a chance to at least tie Penn State near the goal line. The Tigers had a 4th-and-goal from the 2-yard line, and unfortunately, they didn’t convert. The play call, however, called for a low percentage fade by quarterback Bo Nix into the end zone: Naturally, Kirk Herbstreit and college football fans didn’t like Auburn’s play call in that situation, and why would they? It was puzzling at best. Auburn ended up losing 28-20, and head coach Bryan Harsin was asked about the play call following the game during his postgame press conference. “Those plays are pre-planned and scripted in those areas. Those are things that you work on. I have to go back and look at it, but obviously we didn’t execute it,” Harsin said, via AL.com’s Tom Green.