Too little, too late for offense in loss

[aubiefifty 18,222]

Too little, too late for Auburn’s offense in loss to Georgia

Posted Nov 16, 2019

5-6 minutes

Auburn Football

Gus Malzahn had two weeks to prepare for Georgia. The Tigers’ seventh-year coach, who had never lost a game following a bye week, had an extra week to devise a gameplan to solve the quagmire that is the Bulldogs’ defense — a unit that already posted three shutouts on the year, ranked second nationally in scoring defense and fourth in rushing defense.

The result left plenty to be desired for No. 12 Auburn, which did too little, too late offensively during a deflating 21-14 loss to No. 4 Georgia on Saturday night at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

“At times we're playing really good, and at times we're not,” Malzahn said. “And we were inconsistent tonight.”

That inconsistency plagued Auburn for the first three quarters against Georgia, as it failed to put any points on the board while totaling just 171 yards of offense against the Bulldogs’ stout defense. It wasn’t until the fourth quarter, when the Tigers’ backs were against the wall, that they showed signs of life, mounting a late comeback that felt every bit the part of a stereotypical, agent-of-chaos Auburn team.

Auburn accrued 158 yards of offense in the fourth quarter alone, finding the end zone twice — including a rushing touchdown by Bo Nix that marked the first allowed all season by Georgia’s run defense and cut the Bulldogs’ lead to one score with 7:03 to play.

“We moved the ball great in the fourth quarter,” Nix said. “We just had a few plays where we didn't convert.”

Nix was particularly sharp in the fourth quarter, leading the charge for Auburn’s comeback effort. The freshman quarterback completed 13-of-20 passes for 123 yards and a touchdown while adding the rushing score as well -- though he misfired on a crucial fourth-down pass attempt to Harold Joiner late -- as the Tigers excelled in a hurry-up, 2-minute-type offense for much of the final period.

It was all Auburn had as a last-ditch effort after being stonewalled by Georgia’s defense for, essentially, the first 48 minutes of the game. That’s how long it took Auburn to even sniff the red zone on Saturday afternoon, getting inside Georgia’s 20-yard line for the first time with just more than 12 minutes to play.

Before that, Auburn only had the ball in Georgia territory four times, coming up empty each time. The first saw Anders Carlson miss a 47-yard field goal on the Tigers’ opening drive. Auburn didn’t pass the 50 again until late in the second quarter. Then, each of the team’s first two drives of the second half saw the Tigers cross midfield only to stall out, punt and try to flip the field.

Saturday marked the first time under Malzahn that Auburn had been shut out for three quarters, and it was the first time since 2015 against Mississippi State that the Tigers were kept off the scoreboard in the first half of a game.

“I mean — (we had to be) pretty patient, I guess,” Malzahn said. “We felt like —and — we were talking, like, we've just got to score the first touchdown. We score the first touchdown, we'll get the crowd back in it and get some momentum, and sure enough that's exactly what happened.”

That first touchdown came with 10:04 to play, when Nix found Eli Stove from 3 yards out. Auburn’s defense forced a three-and-out on Georgia’s next possession, and the Tigers answered with a five-play, 57-yard scoring drive to make it a one-score game midway through the fourth.

Auburn couldn’t complete the comeback, though. After another three-and-out by the defense, Auburn went 10 plays and 38 yards but saw its drive stall out after a Seth Williams reception was overturned on replay review. Then, with one final opportunity with 2:03 to play, Auburn failed to gain a yard on four straight plays with the game on the line, turning it back over to Georgia in the closing seconds.

Despite the furious fourth-quarter rally, it was the latest chapter in an underwhelming performance from Malzahn’s offense against a top-tier opponent. Auburn previously struggled offensively in its losses to Florida and LSU, when the team floundered at key moments in hostile environments, and the Tigers entered the game with the nation’s 68th-ranked scoring offense against winning teams this year.

“At times we are (better than we show) and at times we're not,” Malzahn said. “We're still a work in progress. You've got to give them credit. That's one of the top defenses in the entire country. And still, we had a chance. We had a chance down at the very end. Like I said, we had an unfortunate overturn go against us, or we would have had a real chance.”

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