9/18/22 Auburn Football Articles

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Instant Analysis: Turnovers and miscues lead to Auburn’s 41-12 loss against Penn State

Updated: Sep. 17, 2022, 7:04 p.m.|Published: Sep. 17, 2022, 6:21 p.m.

3-4 minutes

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By

• Nubyjas Wilborn | nwilborn@al.com

Any slim remaining hopes of revenge for Auburn got dashed with 12:03 left in the fourth quarter. Auburn wanted to pay back Penn State for last season’s 28-20 loss at Beaver Stadium. Instead, the Tigers would lose by a worse margin during Saturday’s 41-12 loss.

Fans wearing orange bolted from Jordan-Hare as Nittany Lion running back Nicholas Singleton dashed into the end zone on a 54-yard touchdown. He scored his first touchdown with 12:16 left in the third quarter to put the Nittany Lions ahead 21-6 on their first drive of the half.

Auburn trailed 14-6 at the half. The Tigers went three-and-out on the drive before Singleton’s first touchdown against the Tigers. Jarquez Hunter’s 22-yard touchdown catch from backup quarterback Robby Ashford made the score 31-12 with 14:47 remaining in the contest. Hunter’s run was a rare highlight in an ugly game for Auburn. He hurdled a Penn State defender to get into the end zone.

T.J. Finley had 152 yards on 11-19 passing with the interception. Ashford threw for 144 yards on 10-19 with an interception. Sean Clifford was 14-19 for 178 yards.

Penn State increased its lead by outscoring the Tigers 17-0 in the third quarter. Auburn (2-1) gets a chance to redeem themselves with an 11 am game next Saturday at Jordan-Hare against Missouri.

Let’s get into the takeaways.

Turnovers

Auburn had four turnovers against Penn State. The Tigers have a minus-8 turnover ratio through three games, which isn’t a recipe for success. T.J. Finley threw an interception on the last play of the second quarter for the second week in a row. Unlike last week he didn’t have the same bounce back. Finley also had a costly fumble.

Shedrick Jackson fumbled on a drive that seemed as though it had an opportunity for some points. Robby Ashford threw an interception for the fourth turnover. Auburn’s defense failed to create a turnover for the third week in a row. Auburn will have to fix its turnover issues.

Run Game

Penn State ran for 245 yards compared to Auburn, rushing for 119 yards. Singleton had 124 yards on 10 rushes and the two touchdowns. Kaytron Allen had 52 yards and two touchdowns for the Nittany Lions. Devyn Ford ran for 40, and Keyvone Lee had 18 yards.

Tank Bigsby had 39 yards on nine carries. An issue in the first half was Bigsby only having five carries in the first half. He had two nice catches, but your best player getting so few opportunities is an interesting choice for head coach Bryan Harsin and offensive coordinator Eric Kiesau.

Auburn getting out-rushed by Penn State came as a surprise, which directly impacted the score.

Red Zone

Auburn kicked field goals on their first two trips to the red zone. The Tigers entered the game 8-8 in the red zone with the wins against San Jose State and Mercer. Auburn failed to score in their other two red zone attempts, including a turnover. Penn State was 5-5 with mostly touchdowns in their 41-12 victory.

Auburn put themselves in a bind by not converting touchdowns early, and it got worse as the game dragged on. Penn State finished drives with touchdowns while Auburn languished.

Edited September 18, 2022 by aubiefifty

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saturdaydownsouth.com

 

Rapid Reaction: Auburn’s QB issues resurface in blowout loss to Penn State

Luke Glusco

5-6 minutes

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Earlier in the week, SDS columnist Matt Hayes detailed the ugly truth about Auburn’s quarterback room.

Saturday did nothing to assuage those concerns. If anything, they exposed them to a national audience.

TJ Finley was ineffective and mistake-prone (1 interception, 1 lost fumble). The prevailing question next week will be whether Robby Ashford, who offset a pick with a late TD throw, did enough to claim the job moving forward.

The result? A humbling 41-12 loss in which Auburn’s defense played well in spurts early and the offense sputtered throughout most of the game. Ashford provided a late spark, but his TD pass to Jarquez Hunter merely cut the deficit to 31-12 in the 4th quarter.

Penn State had built that 31-6 lead by winning the red zone and turnover battles to outslug Auburn for the second year in a row. It immediately answered Auburn’s late TD with one of its own, too, silencing those who remained in Jordan-Hare.

Sean Clifford provided hard-nosed leadership and enough clutch throws to guide the No. 22 Nittany Lions (3-0) past the Tigers (2-1) in another heavy-hitting early-season battle between programs trying to return to prominence in the tougher divisions of the best 2 conferences in college football.

The game had echoes to last September, when Penn State won 28-20 on a White Out Saturday night in State College. This time, Auburn fans did their best to Orange Out Jordan-Hare Stadium and hit the Lions with a wall of noise.

Penn State’s aggressive defense under new coordinator Manny Diaz set the tone early.

The risk-reward nature of the approach left Lions fans fretting at times, but it sped up Finley enough to force an interception and limit his offense to 2 field goals in as many red zone trips in the first half.

Meanwhile, Clifford bounced back from a huge hit early in the game to go 9-of-13 for 117 yards in the first half, and the Lions finished with touchdowns both times they reached the red zone.

Clifford, maligned at times over his struggles with accuracy, hit Mitchell Tinsley twice for 48 yards, both spot-on throws into tight coverage, to lead Penn State 75 yards on 9 plays for a go-ahead score in the first quarter. Clifford finished the drive himself with a 7-yard draw, showing no ill effects from nearly getting his head knocked off on the team’s first possession.

On Penn State’s second TD drive, Clifford went 4-for-4 for 49 yards, then handed to Kaytron Allen for a 3-yard score.

Meanwhile, Diaz’s defense sent pressure at Finley and backup Ashford more often than not, forcing quick throws. A sack by LB Curtis Jacobs forced Auburn to settle for its 1st field goal. A hurried dump-off pass for 2 yards on 3-and-goal from the 7 forced the 2nd Anders Carlson FG.

The first half ended with Penn State up 14-6, but with Auburn probably still thinking it could pound away in the trenches and forge a comeback. But despite a few solid runs, star running back Tank Bigsby couldn’t dominate. He had well under 50 rushing yards as the third quarter reached its midway point.

By the time Penn State built a 24-6 lead, its defense had 5 sacks and 4 turnovers forced.

Auburn merely had more questions about its struggling offense.

 

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Rewinding Auburn’s 41-12 loss to No. 22 Penn State

Updated: Sep. 17, 2022, 6:16 p.m.|Published: Sep. 17, 2022, 2:00 p.m.

7-9 minutes

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Auburn had its biggest home nonconference game in six years when it welcomed Penn State to town Saturday. The Tigers ended the day with their worst home loss in a decade.

Auburn was obliterated by No. 22 Penn State, 41-12, on Saturday afternoon at Jordan-Hare Stadium. It marked the most lopsided home loss for Auburn since it lost to Georgia, 38-0, during the disastrous 2012 campaign.

Read more Auburn football: Auburn’s defense wants to make an improved Sean Clifford feel “uncomfortable”

Auburn wants to expand Robby Ashford’s role beyond that of “niche” running quarterback

Can Auburn cut back on “bonehead” mistakes against Penn State?

Auburn turned it over four times and failed to force a turnover for the third game in a row. It struggled in the red zone, failing to score a touchdown on four trips inside the 20-yard line, and was unable to slow Penn State in the same situations.

Below is a blow-by-blow recap of Saturday’s game:

FINAL: Penn State 41, Auburn 12

-- Auburn drives deep into Penn State territory in the closing minutes, but Robby Ashford is stopped on fourth down. Turnover on downs.

-- Penn State 41, Auburn 12 (5:21): Penn State tacks on a 22-yard field goal. First time the Nittany Lions haven’t scored a red-zone touchdown.

-- Auburn goes three-and-out after Penn State’s big touchdown run.

-- Penn State 38, Auburn 12 (12:03): Nicholas Singleton with another touchdown, this one for 54 yards. He’s got 124 yards on 10 carries.

-- Penn State 31, Auburn 12 (14:27): Jarquez Hunter with a 22-yard touchdown on a catch-and-run. He hurdled a Penn State defender to get into the end zone. Second straight season Hunter has hurdled a Penn State player. The two-point try is no good.

THIRD QUARTER: Penn State 31, Auburn 6

-- Robby Ashford still in at quarterback, and he picks up 28 yards to get Auburn across midfield.

-- Penn State 31, Auburn 6 (1:07): Kaytron Allen with a 6-yard touchdown run, as Penn State capitalizes off the turnover and converts another red-zone trip.

-- Robby Ashford picked off on third down, as Auburn squanders another red-zone opportunity. That’s four turnovers on the day, and now Auburn is minus-8 on turnover margin this season.

-- Auburn going for it on fourth-and-2 inside the Penn State 30, and Robby Ashford converts it with a sprint-out pass to the left to Ja’Varrius Johnson.

-- Auburn with some good field position to open this drive, thanks to an unsportsmanlike penalty against Penn State after the field goal. Tigers take over at their own 38, and Robby Ashford is in at quarterback.

-- Penn State 24, Auburn 6 (9:27): Auburn’s defense gets a stop, and Penn State tacks on a 49-yard field goal to make it an 18-point game.

-- Penn State is devouring Auburn’s offensive line right now. T.J. Finley just saw the pocket collapse and then gets stripped. Another fumble, another turnover. Penn State ball at the Auburn 30.

-- Penn State 21, Auburn 6 (12:16): Nicholas Singleton punches it in for Penn State, which continues to execute in the red zone. Big hole now for Auburn.

-- Penn State’s first play of the second half is a 53-yard run by Nicholas Singleton. First-and-goal Penn State.

-- Auburn goes three-and-out to open the half: A run for a loss, an incompletion and a third-down sack. Less than ideal.

-- T.J. Finley still at quarterback, despite favoring his shoulder just before halftime.

HALFTIME: Penn State 14, Auburn 6

-- Auburn got Tank Bigsby just five carries (and two receptions) in the first half. That’s seven touches on 36 offensive snaps for one of the best running backs in the country.

-- Tank Bigsby picks up 37 yards on a catch-and-run to get near midfield, but then T.J. Finley is stripped on the next play. He recovers, but it’s halftime.

-- T.J. Finley runs for a first down, but then Brandon Council gets flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. Backs Auburn up to the 11-yard line.

-- Auburn forces a three-and-out and will get the ball back with less than a minute until halftime.

-- T.J. Finley comes out and completes three straight passes in the 2-minute offense, but Shedrick Jackson fumbles it near midfield while trying to get some yards after the catch. Penn State ball with 1:07 to play.

-- Penn State 14, Auburn 6 (1:46): Kaytron Allen with a 3-yard rushing touchdown to cap an 11-play, 68-yard scoring drive for Penn State.

-- Penn State runs a trick play for 25 yards. Clifford with the reception on the throwback to the quarterback. It’s first-and-goal at the 10.

-- Penn State 7, Auburn 6 (6:59): Auburn settles for another short field goal from Anders Carlson, this one from 22 yards out. Auburn has now had to kick field goals on two red-zone trips after entering the game with a perfect touchdown rate in the red zone this season (8-of-8).

-- T.J. Finley with another third-down conversion this time picking up 18 yards with his legs on third-and-16.

-- T.J. Finley with his second 20-plus yard completion on a third-and-long, this time to Landen King for 24 yards to get across midfield.

-- Back-to-back penalties on third down against Penn State: a false start, then a hold. It’s third-and-24. Derick Hall gets the stop on third down, and Penn State will punt.

FIRST QUARTER: Penn State 7, Auburn 3

-- T.J. Finley is hit from behind and throws an interception on the final play of the quarter. Second straight game Finley has been picked off on the last play of the quarter.

-- T.J. Finley on the move drops in a deep pass to Ja’Varrius Johnson to convert third-and-21. Auburn is into Penn State territory for the second time.

-- Robby Ashford in at quarterback to open Auburn’s second drive of the game. After an offside call, T.J. Finley is back in.

-- Penn State 7, Auburn 3 (4:21): Sean Clifford with a keeper from 7 yards out for the touchdown. That caps a nine-play, 75-yard drive for the Nittany Lions. Clifford was 3-of-3 for 50 yards on that drive, plus the rushing touchdown.

-- Owen Pappoe with another tackle. Penn State’s Keyvone Lee is down on the field.

-- Auburn 3, Penn State 0 (8:20): Anders Carlson’s 31-yard field goal is good.

-- Finley is sacked on third down. Auburn settles for a 31-yard field goal attempt.

-- Facing third-and-goal from the 9, Auburn calls a timeout.

-- Auburn gets a couple good runs from Tank Bigsby out of the gate, and then T.J. Finley hits Shedrick Jackson for a 24-yard gain to get down to the 8-yard line.

-- Penn State tries the sneak on fourth down. Appears short, but officials will measure it. It’s short. Turnover. Auburn takes over near midfield.

-- Owen Pappoe with a monstrous hit on Sean Clifford to force a fumble. It’s fourth down Penn State.

-- An early false start on Penn State. It’s loud here. Penn State gets the first down on the next play, though.

-- Keionte Scott again gets the start at nickel for Auburn.

PREGAME

-- Auburn wins the toss, defers to the second half. Penn State will get the ball first.

-- The suspense is over: The jerseys are navy.

-- Auburn announces no pregame lineup changes from the depth chart today.

-- SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey is on hand for today’s matchup.

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

 

i have no idea why they posted this article backwards but they did.

 

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Penn State player drops hammer on SEC logo on Auburn's field

Kevin McGuire

2 minutes

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If you don’t think Penn State players took pride in representing the Big Ten on the road in Week 3, think again. Following their dominant 41-12 victory at Auburn on Saturday, a Penn State player was seen taking a sledgehammer to the SEC logo painted on the field at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

The sequence was captured, briefly, by the Big Ten Network during a postgame interview on the field with head coach James Franklin, with his back to the SEC logo smashing.

It does look as though Franklin got a quick glance at what one of his players was doing on the field as he continued his postgame interview.

 

 

there was a brief video but i could not get it to post.

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Misery Index Week 3: Bryan Harsin has turned Auburn into a bad and boring football team

1 minute

Auburn’s biggest problem is not necessarily losing 41-12 to Penn State.  

Make no mistake, it’s not good. The worst Auburn team you’ve ever seen should not lose by 29 points at home to the best Penn State team James Franklin could possibly put together. But it’s not the first or last time Auburn will have a bad day on the football field. 

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Goodman: Auburn’s Bryan Harsin said ‘just watch’ but what’s to see?

Updated: Sep. 17, 2022, 9:15 p.m.|Published: Sep. 17, 2022, 7:44 p.m.

5-6 minutes

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Just wait, Bryan Harsin said.

Just watch, Auburn’s coach pronounced.

After witnessing Auburn in its 41-12 loss to Penn State on Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium, I think we’re all a little scared to see anymore. He was already on the hot seat as a coach. Penn State’s destruction of Auburn was so thorough and complete, it’s hard to imagine Harsin surviving September. It was that bad.

Auburn football has been set back years by the hiring of Harsin, and decisive action needs to be taken immediately to stop the hemorrhaging.

Just watch. As in, we’re all about to just watch another coach walk away with millions in Auburn buyouts.

Hear me out: Penn State coach James Franklin.

Could Auburn wish to hire anyone better after these disastrous few years?

RELATED: Turnovers and miscues led to Auburn’s loss to Penn State

RELATED: Watch Owen Pappoe’s explosive hit on Sean Clifford

RELATED: What Bryan Harsin said after Penn State 41, Auburn 12

Auburn trailed Penn State 14-6 at halftime, but presumably the only halftime adjustments Harsin managed were fixing his hair in the mirror and maybe ripping out a few arm curls for the cameras.

Honestly, has there ever been a bigger imposter of a coach in SEC history? Harsin is the McDowell’s of fast food. Harsin in the SEC is Brad Pitt’s character in “Inglourious Basterds” trying to speak Italian.

Just watch?

Gotta wonder what Harsin was thinking when he said those words at SEC Media Days. Did he actually think this team of his, in his second year at Auburn, was in a position to surprise people? Did Harsin believe those words he was saying?

If so, then that’s probably even worse of an indictment against this coach than if he had just been lying through his shiny white teeth.

Whether he be delusional or simply a huckster from Idaho, Harsin, it is clear now, is fleecing Auburn for all its worth and badly weakening Auburn football just when the SEC is set to expand and bring in Texas and Oklahoma. These are critical times for unstable programs in this meat-grinder of a league.

Harsin is chewing Auburn up from the insides like some kind of virus.

I learned a new expression last week in my visit to Austin, Texas, for Alabama’s game against the Longhorns. Texas is joining the SEC soon, and so we’re going to have to start learning all these new things about the SEC’s teams out West.

Austin, for example, is a shiny thing with a cowboy veneer. As my friend from Texas told me, Austin is, as they say in the Lone Star State, “all hat and no cattle.”

That’s Bryan Harsin.

He was all talk, and a rip-off artist, and the mask was finally ripped off in the second half against Penn State.

Coming out of halftime, Auburn still had the stadium behind it and hope, but then a freshman running back for Penn State ended all that on the Nittany Lions’ first drive of the third quarter. Nick Singleton ran it right through Auburn’s guts. Auburn answered with a fumble by quarterback TJ Finley for a turnover. After a Penn State field goal, Auburn’s other quarterback came in and Robby Ashford’s drive ended with an interception.

What a mess.

Oh, and there’s this. Oregon quarterback Bo Nix accounted for five touchdowns on Saturday in the Ducks’ big win against BYU. Nix grew up loving Auburn, but in the end he saved his college career leaving the place.

All told, it was a four-turnover day for Auburn against Penn State and the offense lacked any hint of coherence. The talent level just isn’t there. Here’s why Auburn is in trouble, though. The defense was badly outclassed. At Auburn, there is no excuse for a poor defense in any season. That unit should always be an iron curtain of talent and toughness. It was a porous sieve of limestone against Penn State, allowing huge chunks of flowing yards all day. It was awful, painful stuff in that second half, and embarrassing for Auburn in every way on national TV against a Big Ten opponent the Tigers went toe to toe with last year at Beaver Stadium.

But it’s just getting started, isn’t it?

Just watch?

Please, no.

Auburn still has to play Georgia … and Alabama … and Missouri.

Mizzou is next week for Auburn, and then it’s LSU. Both of those games are at home. Before the season, there was a hope that Auburn could maybe begin the season 5-0 and build some team chemistry before the heavy hitting. Now we know the truth. Against what’s about to become the hardest schedule in the country, Auburn will be fighting for its life every week no matter the opponent.

The Tigers had a chance to win this game early, but Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford survived that de-cleating by Auburn linebacker Owen Pappoe. I enjoyed watching that. Everything after, Auburn can’t forget fast enough.

Joseph Goodman is a columnist for the Alabama Media Group, and author of “We Want Bama: A season of hope and the making of Nick Saban’s ‘ultimate team’”. You can find him on Twitter @JoeGoodmanJr.

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Kevin Scarbinsky: Penn State exposes Auburn. Is it time to admit the Harsin hire didn’t work?

Published: Sep. 18, 2022, 5:55 a.m.

1-2 minutes

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By

• Kevin Scarbinsky | Special to AL.com

“And it didn’t work.”

That’s what Bryan Harsin said, buff, brash and full of chest, back at SEC Media Days in July. He dissed and dismissed last winter’s “inquiry” into his fitness to lead the Auburn football program.

One day that quote may lead his Auburn obit. Who could argue with any conviction if we beat the rush and started writing it today after Penn State 41, Auburn 12?

Too soon? Or too little, too late? From the little details to the big picture, it looks like Auburn may have missed its window of opportunity to make something of this season when it decided to let Harsin return.

The first Jordan-Hare Stadium visitor ever from the Big Ten handed the home team its worst home loss in a decade. Gene Chizik already had one foot out the door in 2012 when Georgia blanked Auburn 38-0.

Post-2010 Chizik comparisons are the opposite of a compliment.

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Talty: Auburn should get Kiffin because Harsin isn't it

Updated: Sep. 18, 2022, 8:46 a.m.|Published: Sep. 18, 2022, 8:09 a.m.

9-11 minutes

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As it turns out, there are reasons schools stay inside the box when they make hires.

Bryan Harsin was hailed as an outside-the-box hire when Auburn plucked him away from Boise State. He arrived with a sterling win-loss record (69-19) and a Fiesta Bowl win, but there were questions from Day 1 on how a man with no real experience recruiting the South would succeed in the ultra-competitive Southeastern Conference.

The spin at the time, from those involved in the search, is Harsin would do a better job at developing quarterbacks once they got to Auburn, an area Gus Malzahn had struggled with in the post-Cam Newton era. They liked that he was an outsider after spending decades hiring exclusively coaches with ties back to Auburn, the SEC or the state of Alabama.

Even though he’s only 16 games into his tenure at Auburn, it is already time to declare that decision a mistake. Harsin’s track record suggests he’s a good coach, but he hasn’t shown it at Auburn.

The latest embarrassment, a 41-12 loss at home to Penn State, illustrates how doomed Harsin already is as Auburn’s head coach. Harsin hasn’t developed quarterbacks any better than Malzahn, he can’t recruit well enough to compete with the SEC’s upper echelon and he’s not an elite X’s and O’s coach to overcome those deficiencies. That’s a recipe to get you fired long before your initial six-year contract runs out, as Harsin is well on his way to experiencing.

Saturday was a critically important opportunity for Harsin. Not only did he need to beat Penn State ahead of a brutal SEC schedule, but Harsin badly needed to impress the talented collection of recruits assembled inside Jordan-Hare Stadium. Auburn entered Saturday with the nation’s 62nd-ranked recruiting class, according to 247Sports, good for the lowest-ranked class in the SEC. Six SEC schools currently have classes ranked in the top 15, with Auburn’s chief rivals Alabama (No. 1) and Georgia (No. 3) leading the way. That’s the standard Harsin’s held against, and he’s failing miserably. It’s unlikely Saturday’s pitiful performance will have the nation’s top recruits fighting themselves to commit to Auburn.

Harsin entered this season on the hottest seat in the SEC. Former Auburn athletic director Allen Greene bucked the wishes of some influential boosters when he hired Harsin in 2020, throwing him into a precarious situation. When you don’t have the support of the right people, especially at a school like Auburn, you are doomed from the get-go, as we can now see Harsin was the minute he left Idaho for Alabama.

After a disappointing 6-7 first season, there was a well-publicized effort to get Harsin fired, including an inquiry into how he runs his program. That effort ultimately failed and he returned for Year 2 though the scars remained. The people who wanted him fired after that first season didn’t abandon those feelings just because the first try failed, either, putting considerable pressure on Harsin this season to deliver big results.

Before the season started, the perception throughout college football is Harsin would have a hard time getting a Year 3, a feeling that only intensified when Greene left the school after not having his contract renewed. Harsin, to his credit, went on a much-needed PR tour this offseason as he tried to soften his image and build relationships outside of the football building. He finally seemed to realize he badly needed friends if he was going to survive at Auburn. He also needed to win so many games it was impossible to get rid of him.

Don’t bank on Harsin returning for a Year 3 at this rate. Not when Auburn still has to play LSU, at Georgia, at Ole Miss, Arkansas, Texas A&M and at Alabama, among others. It’s a relentless schedule that Auburn has little shot of succeeding with, given the talent and coaching deficiencies. Harsin’s best shot at long-term survival was finding an answer at the quarterback position (he hasn’t) and creating momentum on the recruiting trail (he hasn’t). There is little reason now to believe Harsin is capable of fixing the issues that led to such a sloppy, listless performance against Penn State on Saturday.

Soon attention will turn to who Auburn should hire to replace Harsin when the ax falls. Look for Auburn to stay inside the box in which it has long been comfortable, focusing on a coach that won’t be a fish out of water like Harsin. Despite all the drama surrounding Auburn, it is still one of the better jobs in the SEC and will attract quality candidates.

Auburn shouldn’t have to look too far for one of the best candidates, though, given he resides one state over in Mississippi. Lane Kiffin was very interested in the job in 2020 when Auburn hired Harsin, according to those familiar with the search process, and should be one of the first names Auburn calls when it has its next opening. Kiffin’s issues are well-known, but he’s the shot of excitement Auburn needs right now. He’ll win games, his offense will be fun to watch and clearly he’ll have no problem poking the bear over in Tuscaloosa. Kiffin has publicly talked about his love of Oxford, but those who know him well say there will always be a restlessness to the man who once bailed after a single season at Tennessee. At a minimum, it’ll be worth a call to Kiffin’s agent, Jimmy Sexton, to gauge the Ole Miss head coach’s interest level this time around.

It might feel absurd to already be discussing possible coach replacements only three weeks into the season, but that’s how bad things have already gotten at Auburn. The school’s leadership tried something different, and Saturday was more conclusive evidence that it didn’t work.

GOODMAN: Auburn’s Bryan Harsin said ‘just watch’ but what’s to see?

RELATED: Bryan Harsin addresses job security after Penn State blowout loss

SEC quick hitters:

-- Georgia is an absolute behemoth. The Bulldogs crushed South Carolina in every way in a 48-7 victory that could have been even worse. I love the job offensive coordinator Todd Monken is doing, and this Georgia offense looks explosive. Georgia is the clear top team to beat in the SEC right now, with Alabama checking in at No. 2.

-- Credit is due to Jimbo Fisher and Texas A&M for steadying the ship and beating a ranked Miami team one week after a disastrous loss to Appalachian State. Max Johnson didn’t light things up at quarterback, but he certainly looked like the better option.

-- The final score, 63-7, looks great, but there is still something off about this Alabama offense. Unless something changes soon, there are going to be more shaky offensive performances in the future. That October SEC stretch looms particularly large.

-- Strong first SEC win for Brian Kelly and his LSU Tigers. Mississippi State was firmly in control of that game early, but LSU hung around and capitalized on the Bulldogs’ mistakes. He has his flaws but LSU QB Jayden Daniels is awfully likable and can make some big-time plays when he needs to. As my colleague Creg Stephenson pointed out on Twitter, this is why all the piling on of Brian Kelly after the Florida State loss was silly. The man is going to win games in Baton Rouge.

-- We need to remember why preseason expectations for this Florida team were limited. The Gators shot up the rankings after an upset win over Utah, but this is still not a particularly talented team. Billy Napier has done a good job already, but Florida is a couple plays away from being 0-3.

Most pumped fanbase: App State

The first two-time winner for this column, but how could it be anyone other than App State after the week its fans just had? In a span of seven days, App State knocked off then-top 10 Texas A&M, hosted a raucous College GameDay in Boone and then knocked off Troy on a last-second improbable Hail Mary touchdown. Go crazy, App State kids! It’ll never get better than this.

Most panicked fanbase: Michigan State

The Spartans laid a total dud against Washington on the road Saturday, resulting in a 39-28 loss to the Huskies that was worse than the final score suggests. Expectations change when you get a massive 10-year, $95 million contract like Mel Tucker did after one good season, and losing games to unranked Washington before starting Big Ten play isn’t a great way to meet them. With an Oct. 8 game against Ohio State looming, Michigan State can’t afford any slip-ups against Minnesota and Maryland the next two weeks.

Top 5 Week 4 SEC games:

1) Florida at Tennessee (2:30 p.m. CT): Another important game in determining the SEC East’s second-best team. Kentucky owns the claim currently.

2) Arkansas at Texas A&M (6:00 p.m. CT): The Razorbacks struggled in the return of Bobby Petrino while the Aggies steadied themselves after a rough week. This should be a rock-fight and a lot of fun to watch.

3) Missouri at Auburn (11:00 a.m. CT): Two head coaches who could badly use a big win right now. If Auburn loses this game, Bryan Harsin might want to hire a real estate agent.

4) Tulsa at Ole Miss (3:00 p.m. CT): The SEC slate has a big drop-off after Missouri-Auburn, but Ole Miss should at least put up a lot of points in this one.

5) Vanderbilt at Alabama (6:30 p.m. CT): Your alternative viewing option when Arkansas-Texas A&M goes to commercial and halftime breaks.

John Talty is the sports editor and SEC Insider for Alabama Media Group. He is the bestselling author of “The Leadership Secrets of Nick Saban: How Alabama’s Coach Became the Greatest Ever.”

 

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Grading Auburn’s 41-12 loss to Penn State

Published: Sep. 18, 2022, 7:00 a.m.

6-8 minutes

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Auburn’s tune-ups to open the 2022 campaign were uneven but serviceable. The Tigers’ first real test of the season, though, was a failing effort.

Auburn was eviscerated by Penn State, 41-12, on Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium. It snapped a 17-game home winning streak against nonconference opponents, and it wound up as Auburn’s worst loss at Jordan-Hare Stadium in a decade.

Read more Auburn football: Bryan Harsin addresses job security after loss to Penn State

Goodman: Bryan Harsin said “just watch,” but what’s there to see?

Red-zone issues sink Auburn in worst home loss since 2012

It was a subpar performance from top to bottom in what was supposed to be a chance for Auburn to exact some payback and propel itself into SEC play. Instead, Bryan Harsin’s team limps into conference action next week against Missouri after a couple of shaky wins and a blowout loss to a Power 5 opponent.

Here’s AL.com’s position-by-position report card for Saturday’s loss:

Quarterback: F

Auburn needs to figure out an answer at quarterback, because play at the position has not been up to par, whether it’s from T.J. Finley or Robby Ashford. The two combined for three more turnovers against Penn State, with Finley throwing his fourth interception of the season and losing a fumble and Ashford throwing a red-zone interception in the 41-12 loss. Neither quarterback played great Saturday: Finley was 11-of-19 for 152 yards and ran for 47 sack-adjusted yards before being benched in the third quarter; Ashford completed 10-of-19 passes for 144 yards, a touchdown and an interception while rushing for 44 sack-adjusted yards.

Running back: C

Grading Auburn’s running backs isn’t simple: Tank Bigsby and Jarquez Hunter combined for just 14 carries against Penn State, and Bigsby finished with just 11 touches in the blowout loss. Still, Bigsby accounted for Auburn’s second-longest play from scrimmage (a 37-yard catch-and-run just before halftime) and Hunter scored the Tigers’ lone touchdown on a 22-yard catch-and-run in the fourth quarter in which he hurdled a Nittany Lions defender on his way to the end zone. It wasn’t the best game for either, and it’s not their fault they didn’t get more touches (that’s on the coaches), but they provided some of the limited bright spots against Penn State.

Wide receiver: C-

Auburn’s wide receivers made some nice catches against Penn State, even if the offense was unable to sustain consistency or momentum. Auburn had nine pass plays of at least 15 yards, with seven of them going for 20-plus yards. Seven of those big completions went to receivers, including three long third-down conversions in the first half when the game was still tight. Ja’Varrius Johnson, Landen King and Shedrick Jackson all made nice plays in those situations. Johnson finished with 73 yards on six catches, while Jackson had a team-high 76 on four receptions — though he also lost a fumble near midfield late in the first half, just when it seemed like Auburn’s offense was going to get something going after three straight first-down completions by Finley.

Tight end: F

Auburn’s tight ends had just two receptions totaling 7 yards (a 5-yard completion to Tyler Fromm and a 2-yarder to John Samuel Shenker). It was a quiet night in the passing game, and for the second week in a row, Shenker committed a 15-yard penalty — this one for unnecessary roughness after Ashford’s red-zone interception in the third quarter.

Offensive line: F

Auburn’s offensive line was overwhelmed against Penn State, giving up six sacks for the second straight game against a Power 5 opponent. The Tigers gave up 11 tackles for loss on Saturday, and they averaged just 3.3 yards per carry while rushing for just 119 yards. Complicating matters up front: Auburn’s offensive line committed four of the team’s six offensive penalties, with a pair of false starts, a hold that wiped out a 12-yard run and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that pushed the offense back after a first down.

Defensive line: F

No sacks and just three tackles for loss (all three coming from the edge tandem of Derick Hall and Eku Leota) is a brutal stat for an Auburn defensive front that should’ve been the team’s biggest advantage against Penn State. Instead, the Tigers failed to get consistent penetration as Sean Clifford put together another efficient performance in the pocket and the Nittany Lions rushed for 245 yards and five touchdowns—four of them coming in short-yardage situations in the red zone. Auburn’s bend-don’t-break defense broke.

Linebackers: F

For a moment early Saturday afternoon, it looked like Owen Pappoe set the tone for Auburn’s defense when he absolutely destroyed Clifford on a third-down run, stopping him short of the line to gain and forcing a fumble in the process. Turns out, that was the high point of the game for Auburn’s linebackers, as Penn State gashed the Tigers up the middle, breaking off two runs of 50-plus yards and another 30-yarder.

Defensive backs: F

Another week, another game with Auburn’s secondary struggling to win one-on-one plays in coverage. Clifford wasn’t as prolific as he was in last season’s meeting in State College, Penn., but he still completed 74 percent of his passes and picked apart Auburn’s secondary when Penn State threw the ball, averaging 9.3 yards per pass attempt. The Tigers were credited with three pass breakups, two coming from Oregon transfer D.J. James in his first start of the season, but once again couldn’t force a turnover.

Special teams: B

If there was a bright spot Saturday, it was probably special teams. Anders Carlson was 2-of-2 on field goals, with makes of 33 and 22 yards after Auburn had a couple of red-zone drives stall out. He also had two of his four kickoffs go for touchbacks. Oscar Chapman averaged 42 yards on three punts and didn’t allow a return. Keionte Scott had one solid punt return for 14 yards.

Coaches: F

As Bryan Harsin put it after the game: Auburn’s coaches didn’t have this team prepared well enough to compete against Penn State. There’s not much more that needs to be said after the program’s worst home loss in a decade, but Saturday was bad all around — from execution, to discipline and everything in between. Harsin still has the support of his players “100 percent,” according to Shenker, but Saturday’s performance will do little to ease pressure off the second-year coach.

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

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Auburn opens as 2-score favorite for SEC opener against Missouri

Published: Sep. 18, 2022, 11:17 a.m.

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Auburn running back Jarquez Hunter carries the ball against Penn State during the second half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022, in Auburn, Ala. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)AP

Auburn will be favored in its SEC opener despite coming off the program’s worst home loss in a decade.

Auburn opened as a 10.5-point favorite for its Week 4 tilt with Missouri, according to VegasInsider.com. The line shifted a point in favor of Missouri late Sunday morning, with Auburn settling as a 9.5-point favorite.

Auburn welcomes Missouri to Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday for an 11 a.m. kickoff on ESPN. It will be the SEC opener for both programs, as well as Missouri’s first-ever trip to the Plains.

Read more Auburn football: Auburn debated playing QB Zach Calzada in blowout loss to Penn State

Grading Auburn’s 41-12 loss to Penn State

Talty: Auburn should get Lane Kiffin because Bryan Harsin isn’t the guy

Bryan Harsin’s program is coming off an embarrassing home loss to Penn State. Auburn was routed by its Big Ten foe, 41-12, in Week 3, marking the team’s most lopsided defeat at home since a 38-0 shutout at the hands of Georgia in 2012. The loss also snapped a 17-game home winning streak against nonconference opponents for Auburn, and it also represented the program’s fifth straight loss to Power 5 competition after last season’s winless November stretch.

Now Bryan Harsin’s team will try to bounce back against Eli Drinkwitz’s Missouri program while also seeking to end a four-game losing streak in SEC play. Missouri is 2-1 on the year, with a Week 2 loss at Kansas State, and is coming off a 34-17 win against Abilene Christian.

Auburn leads the all-time series with Missouri, 2-1, and has won each of the teams’ two meetings as SEC opponents. Auburn defeated Missouri in the 2013 SEC Championship Game on its way to a national runner-up finish, and then it beat Missouri in Columbia, Mo., during the 2017 season in the program’s first-ever trip to Memorial Stadium. The teams’ only other meeting came in the 1973 Sun Bowl, which Missouri won 34-17.

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

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What they’re saying nationally after Auburn’s loss to Penn State

Published: Sep. 18, 2022, 8:00 a.m.

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Penn State offensive lineman Juice Scruggs (70) celebrates with Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford (14) after he scored a touchdown against Auburn during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022, in Auburn, Ala. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)AP

Auburn-Penn State was billed as a marquee nonconference matchup. What it delivered was a massacre at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Auburn was walloped by Penn State on Saturday, 41-12, in what was the Tigers’ worst home loss in a decade. Auburn was outplayed at every level, and Bryan Harsin and his staff were outcoached by James Franklin and company. Instead of securing a signature out-of-conference victory against a Big Ten opponent at home, Auburn was dealt its first major setback of the season and will now head into SEC play next week looking to regroup.

Read more Auburn football: Red-zone issues sink Auburn in worst home loss since 2012

Bryan Harsin addresses job security after Auburn blown out by Penn State

What Bryan Harsin said about Auburn’s 41-12 loss to Penn State

It was hardly the result or the performance Auburn wanted on its home turf, but it was one that certainly generated buzz around the country. Here’s a look at what’s being said nationally and in Pennsylvania after Saturday’s game on the Plains:

-- “It’s getting ugly at Auburn” (ESPN)

-- “For Auburn, there’s only one way this thing is going to end: in a coaching change” (USA Today)

-- Auburn develops identity under Bryan Harsin -- and it’s ugly (USA Today)

-- Penn State dominates Auburn, leaving more questions for Bryan Harsin (CBS Sports)

-- Bryan Harsin said ‘just watch,’ but what’s there to see? (AL.com)

-- Penn State ran through Auburn like it was some Big Ten also-ran (Penn Live)

-- Penn State youngster key overwhelming defensive performance (Penn Live)

-- Penn State runs all over Auburn, literally (Philly Inquirer)

-- Penn State defense, rushing attack pave the way in road thumping of Auburn (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

-- Freshman backs power Penn State past Auburn (Associated Press)

-- James Franklin, Sean Clifford and Penn State needed that win, and they got it (StateCollege.com)

-- Penn State dominates Auburn in trip to remember (The Athletic)

-- Penn State a big winner in Week 3 (Yahoo Sports)

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

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Bryan Harsin vows to re-evaluate Auburn football. AU brass should, too | Toppmeyer

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Blake Toppmeyer, USA TODAY NETWORK

Sun, September 18, 2022 at 9:41 AM·3 min read

 

 

In this article:

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• Bryan Harsin

  American football player and coach

 

 

Sixteen games into Bryan Harsin’s term as Auburn’s football coach, he’s going back to the drawing board. He better find some answers quickly, because this isn’t working.

Harsin vowed to re-evaluate the quarterback rotation after Auburn (2-1) delivered its worst performance of his tenure in a 41-12 loss at home to No. 23 Penn State (3-0) on Saturday.

“If the plan doesn’t work, you re-evaluate the plan,” Harsin said.

And quarterback is just the start.

Harsin said he’ll re-evaluate the depth chart.

And schemes.

And playcalling.

And practice plans.

Nothing should be sacred after that embarrassment at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

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“It was sloppy all around,” senior tight end John Samuel Shenker said amid a blistering rebuke of Auburn’s performance. “They played better than we did all day.”

OPINION:Auburn football is developing an identity under Bryan Harsin -- and it's ugly | Toppmeyer

WHERE'S TANK:Bryan Harsin offers bizarre explanation for why Tank Bigsby is not getting the ball more

JOB SECURITY: 'I can't control that,' Bryan Harsin says

While Harsin re-evaluates his practice plans – talk about returning to square one – Auburn's brass should evaluate Harsin's future, because this program is floundering under his watch.

During Harsin's self-reflection, he might take a moment to ponder why his offense’s best player, running back Tank Bigsby, touched the ball just 11 times Saturday.

“We got behind, and we had to throw the football,” Harsin said.

Baloney.

Auburn didn’t hand the ball to Bigsby one single time in the second quarter, when the game was close.

When I pointed that out to Harsin, he didn’t offer a logical explanation.

"I don't know all the reasons,” Harsin said.

Auburn isn’t teeming with talent, so it cannot ignore its strengths. Going a full quarter without handing the ball to Bigsby qualifies as coaching malpractice.

Auburn won’t enjoy a talent advantage against many of its remaining opponents, leaving little margin for error. Trouble is, errors are piling up from all directions.

To borrow from Shenker’s assessment, sloppy is the appropriate word to describe how Auburn played against Penn State.

Sloppiness led to four turnovers, and AU now ranks 130th nationally with a minus-eight turnover ratio. Sloppy pass protection contributed to Penn State amassing six sacks. Sloppy discipline played a part in Auburn having seven penalties. Sloppy defense yielded 477 yards of Penn State offense, the second-most allowed in Harsin’s tenure.

Harsin explained the result by pointing to three areas:

• Turnovers

• Poor tackling

• Red-zone woes

Yep, that’ll do it.

“Some guys, I don’t think we have super mature guys in some areas,” Shenker said. “That’s something we try to work on, but hopefully this opens their eyes.”

Harsin’s quarterback experiment imploded. He’s used backup Robby Ashford as a run-first wrinkle, but Ashford’s insertion into drives interrupted momentum.

Starter T.J. Finley connected with Landen King for a 24-yard gain on third down to bring the Tigers past midfield in the second quarter.

Instead of letting Finley feed off of that big gain, Harsin parked him on the sideline for the next two plays while the offense reversed with Ashford at the wheel.

Progress should be the goal for every second-year coach, but this stinker pointed to regression.

“A lot of self-reflection needs to happen with every guy on the team,” Shenker said.

That should include the coach.

Harsin’s approach isn’t working, and nothing suggests he knows how to fix this.

If Harsin can’t solve this soon, this sloppy mess will become someone else’s problem.

Blake Toppmeyer is an SEC Columnist for the USA TODAY Network. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer.

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Dan Wolken: ‘Bryan Harsin has turned Auburn into a bad and boring football team’

Patrick Conn

Sun, September 18, 2022 at 10:14 AM·3 min read

In this article:

Auburn Tigers

Sat 11:00 AMvsMIZZ

Bryan Harsin

American football player and coach

Each and every week after the slate of college football games on Saturday, national columnist Dan Wolken puts together his “misery index”. A collection of teams that are having a miserable time on game days. This week the list is headlined by Bryan Harsin and the Auburn Tigers football team.

 

Wolken writes that it isn’t just losing by 29+ points at home for the first time since Georgia skunked them in 2012 (38-0). It’s more that they don’t have the talent on this team currently and it doesn’t appear to be coming next year either.

Auburn’s biggest problem is not necessarily losing 41-12 to Penn State.

Make no mistake, it’s not good. The worst Auburn team you’ve ever seen should not lose by 29 points at home to the best Penn State team James Franklin could possibly put together. But it’s not the first or last time Auburn will have a bad day on the football field.

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He isn’t wrong. Looking at this team right now, Auburn doesn’t look like a team that can come back from big deficits. They forgot about Tank Bigsby during the game, he averaged 7 yards per touch but only heard his number called 11 times. Backup quarterback Robby Ashford had more carries than the Tigers leading rusher.

Speaking of the quarterbacks, T.J. Finley and Ashford just don’t seem to have enough juice to overcome what we are seeing on the field. You could argue that it was just one game, being 2-1 isn’t a bad thing right now. But it is how they look on the field, the win over San Jose State didn’t do much in terms of confidence in this team.

But as Wolken continues, the losses aren’t even the worst thing happening on the Plains for Harsin and the Tigers.

The more pressing issue for Auburn right now is in the recruiting rankings, where 247 Sports ranks the Tigers’ 2023 class No. 62 in the country, just behind Washington State, Oklahoma State and Missouri.

Auburn’s current coach is Bryan Harsin. After going 6-7 in his first season, it seemed that a salacious whisper campaign about his alleged off-field behavior was aimed at getting him fired. After the school found there was nothing to those rumors, Harsin kept his job. But the reality for Harsin was that only two things were going to calm the waters long-term: A lot of wins or a lot of blue-chip recruits.

The first one isn’t going to happen. This might be the least talented Auburn team since the late 1970s, and it would be semi-miraculous for Harsin to win eight games this year. If Auburn had a bunch of studs waiting in the wings, this might be survivable for another year. But at 62nd in recruiting? This seems like a dead end for Harsin, who won a lot of games at Boise State but has not shown an aptitude or an appetite for the cutthroat world of SEC football.

Through 16 games with Auburn, Harsin is 8-8. When you are playing .500 football and not getting top-tier recruits, there is only so much that the administration will put up. Given the attempted coup this past February, I would guess they won’t put up with much more.

At this point, it is beginning to feel like a matter of when, not if, Harsin is relieved of his duties. This would put Auburn on the coaching market and join the Nebraska Cornhuskers, who already parted ways with their head coach this season.

Story originally appeared on Auburn Wire

 

 

[hutchids 239]

1 hour ago, aubiefifty said:

Auburn opens as 2-score favorite for SEC opener against Missouri

Published: Sep. 18, 2022, 11:17 a.m.

3 minutes

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Auburn running back Jarquez Hunter carries the ball against Penn State during the second half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022, in Auburn, Ala. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)AP

Auburn will be favored in its SEC opener despite coming off the program’s worst home loss in a decade.

Auburn opened as a 10.5-point favorite for its Week 4 tilt with Missouri, according to VegasInsider.com. The line shifted a point in favor of Missouri late Sunday morning, with Auburn settling as a 9.5-point favorite.

Auburn welcomes Missouri to Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday for an 11 a.m. kickoff on ESPN. It will be the SEC opener for both programs, as well as Missouri’s first-ever trip to the Plains.

Read more Auburn football: Auburn debated playing QB Zach Calzada in blowout loss to Penn State

Grading Auburn’s 41-12 loss to Penn State

Talty: Auburn should get Lane Kiffin because Bryan Harsin isn’t the guy

Bryan Harsin’s program is coming off an embarrassing home loss to Penn State. Auburn was routed by its Big Ten foe, 41-12, in Week 3, marking the team’s most lopsided defeat at home since a 38-0 shutout at the hands of Georgia in 2012. The loss also snapped a 17-game home winning streak against nonconference opponents for Auburn, and it also represented the program’s fifth straight loss to Power 5 competition after last season’s winless November stretch.

Now Bryan Harsin’s team will try to bounce back against Eli Drinkwitz’s Missouri program while also seeking to end a four-game losing streak in SEC play. Missouri is 2-1 on the year, with a Week 2 loss at Kansas State, and is coming off a 34-17 win against Abilene Christian.

Auburn leads the all-time series with Missouri, 2-1, and has won each of the teams’ two meetings as SEC opponents. Auburn defeated Missouri in the 2013 SEC Championship Game on its way to a national runner-up finish, and then it beat Missouri in Columbia, Mo., during the 2017 season in the program’s first-ever trip to Memorial Stadium. The teams’ only other meeting came in the 1973 Sun Bowl, which Missouri won 34-17.

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

Is Missouri really this bad? What's their issue?

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17 hours ago, hutchids said:

Is Missouri really this bad? What's their issue?

i am not getting my hopes up.