Grading loss to Georgia

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Grading Auburn’s 21-14 loss to Georgia

Today 7:03 AM

9-12 minutes

In its 21-14 loss against Georgia, Auburn staged a late comeback that fell short in the final two minutes of the game.

The offense got off to a quick start but couldn’t do anything between its opening drive and the last 10 minutes of the game. Meanwhile, the defense held Georgia well below its season averages in rushing yards per game, passing yards per game and points per game. The special teams also held solid in the field position battle but missed a field goal attempt.

The performances of all three phases evened out to a loss that felt “worse than the last two” losses, linebacker K.J. Britt said.

Here’s a position-by-position look at how each group did in the loss:

Quarterbacks: B-

Bo Nix started out strong. He got the offense moving with a series of quick passes and completed seven of his first 10 passes. While the running backs struggled against Georgia’s elite run defense, Nix kept the ball for positive gains. The rhythm faltered and then staggered to a stop after that first drive, though. Nix fumbled the ball the next time Auburn started to find momentum. But Nix also threw 50 passes, more than he had ever attempted before. He completed 60 percent of them and scored Auburn’s only rushing touchdown of the game (the first rushing touchdown scored on Georgia all season). He missed a wide open pass that ended Auburn’s chance of a comeback, but his performance in the fourth quarter also put Auburn in a place where it could think about a comeback.

Running backs: C

Auburn is a two-dimensional offense, but it also knows the offense doesn’t work right without its run game specifically. It can’t run for just 84 yards on 36 rush attempts and hope to do well. Three running backs had carries against Georgia for a total of 52 yards. D.J. Williams rushed for 26 yards on eight carries and averaged 3.3 yards per carry. Boobee Whitlow had a really nice run where he bounced off of Bulldog defenders to pick up the first down, but at the end of the day he had just 23 yards on 11 carries. Shaun Shivers had one carry for three yards. Harold Joiner was only targeted for the final fourth-down conversion, and he wasn’t able to make the catch.

H-backs / tight ends: B-

The tight ends were not part of a very good blocking team against Georgia. Auburn rushed for a season-low 84 yards. Nix was sacked twice and was scrambling a lot. The tight ends also didn’t contribute in the receiving game. Jay Jay Wilson had a drop at the beginning of the game, although he later drew a big pass interference call.

Wide receivers: B+

Seth Williams had more yards than any offensive player besides Nix. He caught 13 passes for 121 yards. The receivers caught 28 passes for 237 yards against Georgia. Their performance was critical in a game against a defense that hadn’t given up a rushing touchdown. There were a few drops that could have helped the offense get moving, and there were a few incompletions where the receiver was out-of-bounds that could have been game changers. But, overall, the receivers had a good night where five different guys contributed.

Offensive line: C+

Georgia has one of the best defensive lines in the country, and it absolutely dominated Auburn’s offensive line. Nix was scrambling all over the place and was sacked twice. Auburn couldn’t get its run game going and rushed for just 84 yards. The running backs were stuffed almost as soon as they were handed the ball. Also, Auburn had a chance to draw an offsides call when one of Georgia’s defensive backs was over the line of scrimmage for several seconds, but It failed to snap the ball. However, they protected Nix long enough for him to throw for 245 yards, and they helped him get into the end zone to break Georgia’s streak against opponents’ rushing touchdowns.

Defensive line: A-

At first, it didn’t seem like the line was making its normal impact. The safeties and linebackers were making all the tackles on run plays. Then Derrick Brown tackled Brian Herrien for a loss of two yards, and Marlon Davidson followed it with a sack to make it fourth-and-20. Before the game, Georgia’s offensive line had only give up five sacks all season. Big Kat Bryant then made an impact by getting in Fromm’s face, and Brown deflected one of his passes. It wasn’t one of the line’s more spectacular performances but they helped force nine three-and-outs and held the Bulldogs to 21 points.

Linebackers: A-

K.J. Britt was everywhere, tackling any runners who came through gaps and stopping receivers. He finished with six tackles. The other three linebackers had three tackles between them. Zakoby McClain forced a fumble, although it went out of bounds before anyone could recover it. The linebackers helped hold Georgia to 141 rushing yards, well bellow their season average of 208.

Cornerbacks: A-

Jake Fromm only threw for 110 yards and completed less than half his passes, thanks to Auburn’s secondary. Javaris Davis had the best game of the cornerbacks with three tackles and two pass breakups. He played really solid man coverage, forcing receivers to run out of bounds on routes or drop passes. Noah Igbinoghene had three tackles. Roger McCreary made a critical mistake when he was called for pass interference and then immediately gave up a 13-yard play, but he also had a tackle and two pass breakups.

Safeties: A-

Jeremiah Dinson was a critical part of Auburn’s success against Georgia’s run game. He acted as a second line of defense and helped stop Swift whenever he outran the defensive line or slipped around wide. He managed to trip Swift up on what was close to being a touchdown run. Dinson led the team with eight tackles. Daniel Thomas had six tackles, as well as the most tackles-for-loss with two, but he was part of a miscommunication that led to the first touchdown. Jamien Sherwood had three tackles with one tackle-for-loss.

Special teams: B

Auburn’s punt team helped keep Auburn in the game by pushing Georgia into bad field position. After the game, punter Arryn Siposs said that, while he was unhappy with the final score, he was pleased with how the punt team and the special teams did as a whole. Siposs averaged 45.1 yards per punt and had one punt that pinned the Bulldogs at their 2-yard line. However, kicker Anders Carlson missed yet another field goal, which makes that two games in a row where he missed field goals. If he had made it, Auburn would have been the first on the board.

Coaching: B-

Defensively, the plan was good. Auburn played a solid game with the exception of a few mistakes. The offense seemed like it had its game plan figured out coming out against Georgia. They threw slants to Williams, and it worked so effectively. Then they were stopped at fourth-and-3. Initially, Gus Malzahn chose to go for it, which showed aggressiveness. Then Georgia called a timeout, and he decided to kick a field goal instead. Carlson missed it. If Carlson hadn’t, it wouldn’t have been a bad call and Auburn would have scored the first points. Malzahn seemed to believe Carlson’s troubles against Ole Miss were out of character. But that miss set them back. Malzahn chose to go for it on two more fourth downs, none of which Auburn converted. The final failed fourth down, which sealed Georgia’s win, was a good play call but poor execution. However, in between the beginning and the end of the game, Malzahn was not as aggressive. In the third quarter, he tried to run the ball but only gained 17 yards. Nix didn’t throw many deep balls.

[AidiAU 1,270]

And for some reason, it felt so much worse. 🤷🏻‍♀️