Auburn plagued by penalties, communication issues

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Auburn plagued by penalties, communication issues in loss to LSU

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Auburn Football

Auburn got caught behind the sticks against LSU, and it was a major factor in the team’s loss in “Red Stick.”

Auburn was flagged 15 times for 98 yards — including eight costly offensive penalties described as drive-killers — in its 23-20 loss to LSU. It was a season-high in penalties and penalty yardage, and it cost Auburn in a tightly contested game that ultimately ended in the program’s 10th straight loss in Baton Rouge, La.

“We had some opportunities, but when you have that many penalties, you’re not going to beat anybody; not a good team on the road with 15 penalties,” Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said. “That’s probably the biggest disappointing thing for me. And any time, that’s coaching, that’s me. I’ve got to do a better job with the discipline of the penalties.”

Auburn committed seven penalties on defense totaling 58 yards, including a couple that aided an LSU scoring drive, as well as a declined pass interference call on LSU’s first touchdown of the game. It was the penalties on the offensive side that were particularly irksome for Auburn in Death Valley, however.

Auburn’s offense was flagged eight times for 48 yards, including five false start penalties — four of which came before halftime. It was a reoccurring problem that Auburn first encountered three weeks ago on the road in a loss to Florida, when the offense was pegged for three false starts in the raucous environment of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

“There was some miscommunication with the snap count,” right tackle Jack Driscoll said. “It’s not just on one person. There’s a lot that goes to it; I’m not going to get too into our snap count, but everyone’s got to hear, and it’s hard. There’s no doubt it was loud. It was loud in Florida, but at the same time, it’s on everyone. It’s unacceptable. It kills drives. It’s a momentum-killer. We got to fix things; we’re at home the rest of the year, so it shouldn’t be too loud for us on the field, but still, it’s something going forward that we need to fix.”

The communication issues up front were also something Auburn was confident it had fixed after that loss to Florida and was prepared for heading into Saturday’s game in Death Valley. Instead, it was more of the same on the road in a hostile and loud atmosphere.

Along with the false starts, Auburn also had a personal foul on Sal Cannella that negated a 27-yard screen to D.J. Williams, as well as two intentional grounding penalties called against Bo Nix.

It all contributed to Auburn getting stuck behind the chains — and its offense getting stuck in the mud — where it struggled to convert. Auburn faced nine third-and-longs (9 yards or longer) and converted just one of them. Of the eight offensive penalties, three directly resulted in third-and-long situations, while four others eventually led to third-and-longs.

“We kind of shot ourselves in the foot at times,” Driscoll said. “Too many penalties, too many third-and-longs. They have a good front, but ultimately, I think more of it was us not executing at times, and we got ourselves in bad situations. It’s hard to win when you’re going nine times in third-and-10-plus. It’s hard in the SEC.”

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.