2nd-half defensive adjustments key to success

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al.com

Auburn’s 2nd-half defensive adjustments key to team’s SEC success

By Tom Green | tgreen@al.com

5-6 minutes

Oct 30, 2021; Auburn, AL, USA; Zakoby McClain (9) reacts after making a tackle for loss during the game between Auburn and Ole Miss at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Todd Van Emst/AU AthleticsTodd Van Emst/AU Athletics

There are halftime adjustments, and then there’s what Derek Mason has been able to accomplish with Auburn’s defense in the second half of SEC wins this season.

In Auburn’s three conference wins — on the road at LSU, on the road against then-ranked Arkansas and at home against then-No.10 Ole Miss — Mason’s unit has been stellar after halftime. The Tigers have given up just 22 second-half points and only two touchdowns in that span while coming up with big stop after big stop.

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“It goes back to being prepared for it, number one,” Auburn coach Bryan Harsin said. “I know Coach Mason and the defensive staff do a great job of preparing themselves with their game-planning and getting that to the players and making sure that we hit those things throughout the week. And then come game time being able to make adjustments, too, because you never know exactly what the offenses are going to do, and so you’ve got to adjust in how they’re going to attack you, like who they’re going to attack.”

Just how good has Auburn’s defense been in the second half of those SEC wins?

Opponents have scored on just four of 20 second-half drives in those three games, as Auburn has given up 22 total points (1.1 points per drive). The Tigers have forced turnovers on three of those drives: a game-sealing interception against LSU, a strip-sack recovered for a touchdown against Arkansas and an interception in the end zone against Ole Miss. Seven of their opponents’ drives have ended in a punt, with five three-and-outs and one four-and-out, while five have resulted in a turnover on downs.

The latest stalwart defensive effort for Auburn came this past weekend against Ole Miss, when the Tigers put the clamps on the Rebels’ explosive offense in the second half. Ole Miss had seven possessions after halftime and came away with just three points. It went three-and-out on back-to-back drives to open the second half, failed to convert three fourth-down attempts — all in the red zone — and saw another possession end with Jaylin Simpson picking off Matt Corral in the end zone.

The Tigers’ defense stepped up in a major way, lessening the pressure on Auburn’s offense, which had an efficient first half — scoring touchdowns on four of its five possessions — but was in a bit of a rut after halftime.

“I feel like we never back down, even when they were scoring back-to-back (touchdowns at the end of the first half),” defensive back Roger McCreary said. “I feel like we never let down with the communication with us, and Coach Mason came up with a new scheme for the second half. I feel like that was great for us, just like we did with Arkansas. I feel like we just played together and communicated. I feel like that was the main piece for the second half.”

It was, as McCreary noted, a similar second half to that win at Arkansas two weeks prior. In that game, Auburn’s defense held Arkansas to 13 points on seven second-half possessions, forced two punts, two turnovers on downs and had a momentous takeaway.

And, like the Tigers have done in each of their SEC wins this season, they didn’t allow a fourth-quarter point. Auburn has now outscored its opponents 27-0 in the fourth quarter of its three SEC wins this season, as Harsin’s team — and Mason’s defense — have come up big down the stretch of games, which has helped position Auburn for a pivotal November.

“It’s a lot of just effort and focus in the fourth quarter,” Harsin said. “I think it’s important to us. That’s something that our players have emphasized, that they want to play well in the fourth quarter, so when you emphasize something and it’s important to you, you’re going to have a good opportunity to go out there and get it done, because we have talented players.

“We have guys that can make those plays in the fourth quarter, and I think our coaches are putting our guys in a good position, too, to finish games. We’ve lost games too where we didn’t do that as well in the fourth quarter.”

That’s something to remember as Auburn nears the fourth quarter of its grueling regular-season slate, too. Auburn enters the final month of the season in control of its own path in the SEC West — and with a defense that seems to be hitting its stride after some early-season hurdles.

“It’s really important at the end of the game, winning or losing, that you find a way to finish,” Harsin said. “I think our guys are doing that, and I think they believe in it. They’ve made it important to them, so we’ve got to continue with that same mentality.”

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

[aucanucktiger 1,812]

Good thing Mason's adjustments are as brilliant as his initial game plans are bizarre.