10.30.23 Football Articles

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si.com

 

Auburn's defensive PFF grades against Mississippi State

Zac Blackerby

~2 minutes

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Here are Auburn's defensive PFF grades against Mississippi State.

Auburn's defense stepped up in their first SEC win of the season.

The Tigers played 22 players on the defensive side of the ball. Linebacker Cam Riley earned the highest grade of all Auburn defenders. Eugene Asante, Keionte Scott, and Larry Nixon all had solid grades. 

Scott led Auburn's defenders with 60 of Auburn's 69 defensive snaps played. Jaylin Simpson also played 60 snaps.

Here's a look at all of Auburn's defensive grades from the win against Mississippi State.

1. LB Cam Riley - 89.8
2. LB Eugene Asante - 77.8
3. DB Keionte Scott - 72.8
4. LB Larry Nixon III - 70.9
5. CB Nehemiah Pritchett - 68.6
6. DB Donovan Kaufman - 68.0
7. CB DJ James - 67.8
8. DL Jayson Jones - 67.7
9. DL Justin Rogers - 65.6
10. DB Zion Puckett - 64.2
11. JACK Jalen McLeod - 63.8
12. DL Lawrence Johnson - 63.1
13. DB Caleb Wooden - 62.0
14. CB Kayin Lee - 61.4
15. JACK Elijah McAllister - 60.1
16. LB Austin Keys - 58.0
17. DL Zykeivous Walker 57.1
18. DB Jaylin Simpson - 56.5
19. DE Keldric Faulk - 53.6
20. DL Marcus Harris - 49.2
21. DB Champ Anthony - 38.8
22. LB Wesley Steiner - 35.2

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247sports.com

 

Auburn opens as doubledigit road favorite at Vanderbilt

Nathan King

2–3 minutes

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Auburn is not only moving forward in SEC play with momentum, but Hugh Freeze's team is also now favored in a second straight conference game.

The Tigers have opened as a 13-point favorite over the Commodores at both DraftKings and Circa Sports on Sunday afternoon. As it stands, the current spread is Auburn's largest as a favorite in an SEC game since it was given 13.5 points against Arkansas in 2020.

Auburn was a favorite for the first time in SEC play over the weekend against Mississippi State (-6.5) and covered with a 27-13 win.

Currently on a seven-game losing streak, Vanderbilt has failed to cover the spread in all but one game this season — when it lost 37-20 to Georgia as a 32.5-point underdog.

The Commodores have been reeling on both sides of the ball, giving up an average of 38.1 points per game during their seven-game losing streak. Vanderbilt's total defense, giving up an average of 436.8 yards per game, is currently the second-worst among all Power Five programs.

On offense, Vanderbilt played two quarterbacks — Ken Seals and Walter Taylor — and went a combined 8-of-20 passing for 60 yards and two interceptions in a 33-7 loss at Ole Miss on Saturday.

A win for Auburn (4-4, 1-4 SEC) would likely secure bowl eligibility, considering a home game against New Mexico State is still on the docket in November.

The matchup is Auburn's first against Vanderbilt since a 23-16 win in 2016. Auburn has dominated the series over the past half-century, with wins in 14 of 16 meetings since 1978. But thanks to the Commodores' success before that point — dating back to five straight wins from 1894-1909 — the all-time series is deadlocked at 21-21-1.

After Saturday, the programs will have only met three times since the SEC expanded in 2012, but will play again next season in Jordan-Hare Stadium in the first year of a divisionless conference that's expanded to 16 teams.

Kickoff in Nashville is set for 3 p.m. CDT in SEC Network.

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Who called the plays and what changed in Auburn’s offensive breakthrough vs. MSU?

Published: Oct. 29, 2023, 11:08 a.m.

5–7 minutes

The Auburn offense sped down the field, traveling 75 yards on eight plays and ending the drive with a 27-yard touchdown pass from Payton Thorne to Shane Hooks, who extended the football across the goal line.

That sight alone was enough for Auburn fans to rub their eyes, squint a bit and question whether their eyes were deceiving them – which is fair considering the Tigers’ offense hadn’t scored on its first possession since the season-opener against UMass on Sept. 2.

During Auburn’s second possession, Payton Thorne and Co. did it again – this time on a five-play, 75-yard drive that ended in a 45-yard touchdown toss from Thorne to Ja’Varrius Johnson.

Not only was the Auburn offense moving, not only was it scoring, but the Tigers were doing both on the back of the passing game.

“When you connect down the field early on you feel good about it,” Thorne said. “Even just the little 5-yard hits, that’s good early in the game to get those completions and get those guys involved in the game and make the defense react to it. I would say that helps in any game.”

In the first half of Saturday’s 27-13 win over Mississippi State, Auburn dialed up 20 pass plays and 16 rush plays in the first half – a balanced approach that lit up the scoreboard as the Tigers put up 24 first-half points.

But who, exactly, dialed up those plays?

After all, no one would be shocked if head coach Hugh Freeze revealed it was someone else calling the shots considering just how different the output looked on Saturday.

“It was a collaboration of everybody, but I was very involved in what goes on the call sheet within the pass game,” Freeze said after the game.

Just like every week this season, Auburn’s head coach – a former play-caller himself – was involved in what made its way onto the call sheet for Saturday’s game.

But that was it. Freeze wasn’t the one calling plays against Mississippi State.

“Once it goes on (the call sheet), I’m good with it,” Freeze said. “And I thought Phillip (Montgomery) called a good game on the plays he called. I thought he did really well.”

Given the struggles of the Tigers’ offense heading into Saturday’s game, Auburn offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery had been sitting on a warm seat.

And while folks will say what they want about the struggling Mississippi State team Auburn’s offense had its breakthrough against on Saturday, it’s important to remember that this is the same offense that struggled against Cal in Week 2 and couldn’t find the end zone at all against Texas A&M in Week 4.

Saturday’s showing on offense was a massive step in the right direction by all accounts.

Thorne completed passes at a 76.9% clip – a career high for the junior Michigan State transfer, whose three touchdown passes and zero interceptions was a first for him since his four-touchdown performance against Miami in 2021.

The fact that Thorne was able to connect with 11 different receivers in Saturday’s win was icing on the cake.

“It was good to get everybody involved,” Thorne said. “It helps those guys to feel like they’re a part of the game. Guys feel like they’re part of the game no matter what, but when you’re a receiver and you get the ball in your hands, it helps you in whatever mental way.”

But if the guy calling the shots wasn’t the reason for Auburn’s newfound success on offense – and particularly through the passing game – what was?

Part of that answer comes from the tempo in which Auburn’s offense was operating with.

Freeze had previously said that he, Montgomery and Thorne all feel more comfortable in up-tempo situations. However, depth issues on defense had prevented the Tigers from going all-in on the quicker offensive approach.

“I like tempo. I feel like I’ve done it in my past before — whether that’s two-minute drill or other scenarios,” Thorne said. “It’s become a part of college football, and Coach Freeze emphasized it this week. We went out and executed to the best of our ability and made plays.”

On top of that, Auburn finally tossing its weird and frustrating two-quarterback rotation out the window seemed to benefit the Tigers, too.

Freeze and Montgomery have tried just about everything possible to keep both Thorne and Robby Ashford involved in each offensive game plan to this point.

And while Freeze admitted Saturday night that Ashford still had a package ready to go against the Bulldogs, with Thorne’s hot hand the Tigers never got to Ashford – they didn’t need to.

Thorne was asked after Saturday’s win if the lack of rotation at quarterback helped him find a groove.

“I would say so,” Thorne said. “Just going with what Coach is calling and doing my best to execute whatever play we put in there. I was out there more than normal and just rolling with our tempo and rolling with whatever guys are out there.”

And fortunately for Thorne, one would assume Auburn’s offensive breakthrough on Saturday will be enough for Freeze and Montgomery to stick with a similar approach through the final four games of the season.

But only time will tell.

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si.com

Jamonta Waller Scouting Report, Recruiting Update

Brian Smith

~3 minutes

Jamonta Waller evaluation and recruiting update

The Auburn Tigers are continuing to seek out top prospects from across the South and beyond. One of the players that Hugh Freeze and his staff would love to add – and flip from the Florida Gators – would be Picayune (Miss.) Memorial edge rusher Jamonta Waller.

Seeing him this past Friday evening, Waller is a power player who utilizes leverage to his advantage. Just over 6-feet tall and roughly 240 pounds, Waller’s ability to dip underneath offensive tackles cannot be denied. Over and over, he gets below the opposing player. As one example, Waller does a great job of utilizing a one-arm stab move to fend off his counterpart. It’s impressive.

Beyond techniques, Waller is a pure athlete. Tight end/H-back, outside linebacker, and defensive end are positions he can definitely play at the SEC level. His first-step quickness and natural determination, combined, are far too much for most prep offensive linemen to handle.

Seeing his open-field speed is also accomplished. Going against national 2025 quarterback recruit and Notre Dame commitment Deuce Knight also presents a different viewing point. That’s a tremendously gifted signal caller.

Waller still made several plays by quickly beating his man and/or flat-out hustling to tackle Knight. He had one big stick on Knight from an inside quarterback run. That’s just a highlight, however. Waller’s ability to keep Knight pinned inside the pocket, that’s far more valuable.

Knight did gash Memorial for one 77-yard touchdown run, but overall, Waller and his teammates forced him to throw under duress and get hit over and over.

It will be interesting to see how Waller is utilized as a college player. He could serve numerous roles, even during the same football game. Waller is as natural a football player as one will see this season. As for his recruitment, Waller could still end up at more than one college.

Auburn is still after him hard. That’s confirmed by Waller himself. His commitment to Billy Napier and the Gators is still one he’s comfortable with. His only game-day visit, at least for now, is likely to be the annual Florida State versus Florida contest. This year it’s being played in Gainesville and The Swamp. Do not count out Auburn, but Florida should be considered the team to beat.

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auburnwire.usatoday.com

Auburn is '100% in the mix' for 2025 4-star quarterback

JD McCarthy

2–3 minutes

Auburn was not one of Ryan Montgomery’s top five schools when he announced them earlier this year but they are making a push for the talented 2025 quarterback.

The Findlay, Ohio native visited Auburn for the first time this weekend to watch the Tigers take on Mississippi State and the trip has the Tigers in the mix he told Auburn Undercover’s Christian Clemente.

“Yeah for sure, they’re 100 percent in the mix,” Montgomery said. “I’m looking at possibly coming down maybe later this year and possibly for a Junior Day in January… Really going into this I didn’t know too much about Auburn, obviously this is my first time here and it definitely bumped them up on the list. Like I said, they’re 100 percent in the mix now and I’m just looking forward to keep establishing and growing this relationship.”

The Tigers have plenty of ground to make up on Florida, South Carolina, Georgia, Michigan, Penn State and Ohio State, who all made his top five back in August.

Montgomery is the No. 221 overall player and No. 15 quarterback in the 247Sports composite ranking. He is also the No. 8 player from Ohio.

The visit allowed Montgomery to meet with Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze, something that had an impact on him.

“Yeah that was awesome,” Montgomery said about the meeting. “He just reiterated that I’m one of their top guys and that they really need a quarterback and the 2025 class is crucial for quarterback and that I’m one of their top guys. That was pretty cool.”

Montgomery is having a dominant junior season for Findley High School, completing 68% of his passes for 3,018 yards and 35 passing touchdowns in 10 games.

Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on  X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow JD on Twitter @jdmccarthy15

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saturdaydownsouth.com

Hugh Freeze rolls Toomer’s Corner after Mississippi State victory

Mark Kern | 1 day ago

~3 minutes

Hugh Freeze hasn’t had the easiest start as the new head coach at Auburn, but the Tigers ended their 4-game losing streak by defeating Mississippi State, 27-13. The win was the first SEC win for Freeze at Auburn and he made sure to enjoy the evening and roll Toomer’s Corner.

The Tigers were in desperate need of a victory, after they started the season 3-0 but then lost 4 straight games. Quarterback Payton Thorne had by far his best day as the quarterback for Auburn, as he was 20-of-26 for 230 yards and 3 touchdowns. The Auburn ground game was also very good, as the Tigers rushed the ball 36 times for 186 yards.

We win, we ROLL ? pic.twitter.com/mlgQOUyHvd

— Auburn Football (@AuburnFootball) October 29, 2023

Running back Jarquez Hunter carried the ball 17 times for 144 yards.With the win, Auburn is back in position to make a bowl game in Freeze’s first year. The Tigers have a very winnable game next week, as they host Vanderbilt next Saturday.

They have games at Arkansas and then against New Mexico State before ending the year at Alabama in the Iron Bowl. Getting to a bowl would be a solid first year for Freeze, and may even have him back hanging out at Toomer’s Corner with the students.

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al.com

'Nostalgic' pregame speech sparks Auburn's win over MSU, a postgame dance party ends it

Updated: Oct. 28, 2023, 7:55 p.m.|Published: Oct. 28, 2023, 7:40 p.m.

6–8 minutes

Earlier this week, Auburn’s first-year head coach Hugh Freeze was asked about the role of Cadillac Williams, who doubles as Auburn’s associate head coach and running backs coach.

“He’s someone I lean on to get the pulse of the team, for sure,” Freeze said Wednesday afternoon during his time on the SEC coaches’ teleconference.

So when it came time for Freeze to choose someone to deliver the pregame speech ahead of Saturday’s game against Mississippi State, the decision was easy: The talking stick was going to Williams, who was forced into a somewhat similar situation last season.

Auburn was on a four-game losing streak last fall when former head coach Bryan Harsin was fired and Williams was asked to lead the Tigers through the back half of the season as the team’s interim head coach.

The first team the Tigers would face under Williams’ leadership?

The Mississippi State Bulldogs.

As a former Auburn player himself, Williams knew just the buttons to press and helped motivate a second-half surge from the Tigers, who ended up forcing overtime but falling short against the Bulldogs.

Nonetheless, Williams’ message to Auburn early last November drew a passionate effort out of the Tigers. And it was up to him get a similar outcome from Auburn on Saturday afternoon as the Tigers once again found themselves looking to end a four-game skid.

“It was kind of really a nostalgic thing, to be honest,” Auburn linebacker Eugene Asante said of Williams’ speech. “I was like, ‘Oh. This is giving flashbacks of last year.’ But it was a really good thing. I think Coach Freeze did a really good job in terms of letting Cadillac come up there and incorporate his philosophy to the team.”

But more important than the speech itself, Williams’ pregame message worked as the Tigers topped the Mississippi State Bulldogs 27-13 from Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday, putting an end to a four-game slide and giving Auburn its first SEC win under Freeze.

Williams’ message was simple.

“His message was just forget about everything and think about ourselves,” said Auburn tight end Rivaldo Fairweather. “Think about what we play for. Think about our why. Just go out there, put it all on the line. And his message got to everybody, it really touched everybody.”

Fairweather went on to say that the team he saw on Pat Dye Field on Saturday was new team – one that “put their head down and went to work.”

For the first time since Auburn hosted Samford on Sept. 16, the Tigers’ offense moved the ball – on the ground and through the air.

Freeze decided it was time to “put up or shut up” in terms of the quarterback situation and seemingly put the two-quarterback rotation to bed and allowed junior Michigan State transfer Payton Thorne to have full control of the offense.

By halftime, Thorne had passed for 192 yards and three touchdowns – becoming the first Auburn quarterback to tally three touchdown passes in one game since Bo Nix against LSU in 2020. And he did it in just one half of play.

Thorne finished 20-for-26 through the air for 230 yards and that trio of touchdown passes.

“I’ve said all week in every media deal that I was on that we had to be balanced, and we had to throw the football,” Freeze said. “That was the plan. Fortunately, we executed it pretty well.”

While Thorne put together a solid night, Freeze was most excited about the success his wide receiver room had.

Thorne dished the ball out to 11 different pass catchers Saturday – of which six came from inside the wide receiver room, which has heard its fair share of criticism this season.

“Obviously, I do think we had work to do,” Freeze said of his wide receiver corps. “But to see them keep working and keep working and then have good things happen to them, on a Saturday in an SEC game, it’s really gratifying”

The Tigers had their way on the ground, too, as junior running back Jarquez Hunter became the first Auburn rusher to notch a 100-plus-yard game with a 149-yard afternoon.

Defensively, the Tigers got punched in the gut early with a pair of chunk yardage plays that allowed the Bulldogs to get into field goal range quickly. But Auburn stopped Mississippi State there, forcing the ‘Dogs to settle for just three points.

The Tigers’ defense gave up another field goal in the third quarter and didn’t allow a touchdown until early in the fourth quarter.

“Truthfully, we gave up too many explosive plays,” Freeze said of the defense. “But I thought they did a good job keeping ‘em outta the end zone.”

As a coach, it’s Freeze’s job to nit-pick – that’s the only way a team gets better.

But with the season winding down and Auburn still needing a handful of wins to reach bowl eligibility, Freeze knew it likely had to start on Saturday afternoon at Jordan-Hare Stadium against Mississippi State.

“This was a big one for us, I think, with the remaining stretch that we have and going on the road the next two weeks,” Freeze said. “This was kind of a — and you never want to say it, because you don’t want to make too much of one game — but it had the feeling, for me, as a critical game.”

Between that, and the fact that Freeze knows you can never take SEC wins for granted, he wasn’t going to let the nit-picking get in the way of an opportunity to celebrate.

And so when the final whistle blew and Freeze made his way back into the locker room, he didn’t skip out on the dance party.

“Coach Freeze, he’s currently working on his dance moves,” Asante joked. “A little stiff in the hips, I’m just going to be honest, but he goes out there and does his best. We’re going to continue to grow upon the dance moves, and Coach Freeze is going to dance the rest of the season. We want that, we want him to be dancing for the rest of the season.”

And though Saturday ended with a dance party in the locker room, in an effort to give credit where credit is due, it started with a locker room speech from Cadillac Williams.

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Casagrande: Is Auburn offense finding itself at most opportune time?

Updated: Oct. 28, 2023, 7:56 p.m.|Published: Oct. 28, 2023, 6:56 p.m.

5–6 minutes

Hugh Freeze celebrates with family and friends as Auburn downs Mississippi State 27-13

By

Michael Casagrande | mcasagrande@al.com

This is an opinion column.

Every week a panel of AL.com sports staffers do our best to pick college football games against the spread.

To say it’s been a slog this year is far too generous but this isn’t about our collective failures. One wise guy in the bunch saw this week’s Auburn-Mississippi State showdown and cracked a joke.

Now this was a meeting between the two lowest-scoring offenses in league games this season so the door was open. This smart alec saw the low-hanging fruit and snatched it.

Predicted score: Auburn 3, Mississippi State 2.

You know why.

So one could assume that first half came as a surprise to most -- especially the comedian in pick ’em panel.

And while a 27-13 Auburn win won’t look like an offensive eruption when the record books yellow, context matters.

More importantly, the Tigers won their first SEC game in five tries, ending any thought of a repeat of 2012′s winless league slate.

An Auburn offense, one that’s looked as bad as any since the 5-point night 15 years ago in Starkville, found life. It took the form of something akin to what a reasonable viewer could’ve envisioned when Hugh Freeze left exile and returned to the SEC.

They could pass.

There was pace.

Seriously, Auburn passed the ball successfully.

This was a Tiger offense that averaged exactly 105.0 yards through the air in four league games by a margin of 25.5 yards. No SEC team has finished a season within five yards of that crevice since Vanderbilt in 2010.

So any reasonable viewer would be surprised to see this Auburn offense get half of its average passing output on the opening drive.

Payton Thorne completed 10 of his first 11 passes for 134 yards to nine different Tigers.

The Michigan State transfer entered Saturday with five touchdown passes in 130 throws had two among his first nine Saturday and three total. His 20-for-26 performance with 230 yards was easily Thorne’s most complete in an Auburn uniform.

A full 60-minute performance is the next goal as the Tigers hit cruise control and coasted probably more than that reasonable viewer would’ve wanted.

But gaining 301 of the 416 before halftime was notable for a few reasons. First, it bettered the total output from this offense in four of the five games against Power 5 competition and came just six yards short of the fifth.

In terms of passing yards, the 230 total easily eclipsed all outings against everyone but FCS-level Samford (340).

Again, context is important, and it cuts both ways.

This was a Mississippi State defense that ranked 89th nationally against the pass. The Bulldogs allowed 297 through the air to Western Michigan on Oct. 7 before last week’s statistical anomaly. It held Arkansas to 97 passing yards in a 7-3 win that would strengthen the argument for two single-digit scoring totals Saturday in Jordan-Hare.

It’s also worth noting Mississippi State was playing without decade-long starting QB Will Rodgers and starting running back Jo’Quavious “Woody” Marks. Backup Mike Wright was a grab-bag of the quarterback experience by completing 16 of 32 passes for 161 yards, one incredible score and an arm punt of an interception. He also ran it for 63 yards for a Bulldog offense that put up 345 yards but didn’t put enough heat on Auburn after halftime to make things interesting.

Ultimately, it was a good day for Auburn to catch a few breaks and a tailwind. The Tigers’ next two SEC opponents -- Vanderbilt and Arkansas -- are a combined 0-9 in league play before New Mexico State visits Nov. 18. That leaves three solid opportunities for this Auburn offense to mature into the team observers -- reasonable and otherwise -- thought possible before the weekend everyone’s eyeballing.

Iron Bowls in Jordan-Hare are almost always fascinating and should Auburn ride this momentum and nail the timing of Freeze’s fast-paced plan, who knows?

It’s all about learning from mistakes and that goes for quarterbacks and sports writers who think they’re super clever.

Maybe I’ll grow up by then.

Michael Casagrande is a reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ByCasagrande or on Facebook.

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Auburn report card: Offense gets its best grade of the season in Mississippi State win

Published: Oct. 29, 2023, 5:45 a.m.

6–8 minutes

Auburn entered Saturday with a four-game losing streak. That’s over now. Auburn entered Saturday with a string of consecutive putrid offensive performances in a row that made up the worst stretch of head coach Hugh Freeze’s coaching career.

That, too, seemed to end Saturday.

Auburn beat Mississippi State 27-13 Saturday for a win it just absolutely had to have in order to get back to 4-4 overall, 1-4 in the SEC and into considerable hope for an appearance in a bowl game at the end of this season.

Let’s get into grades. It’s the best report card for Auburn in a month.

Offense: A-

Well, how much better that was. Auburn, finally, finally, had a productive day passing the ball against a Power 5 defense. Sure, it’s easy to critique Mississippi State for not exactly having a great passing defense, but Auburn has faced other bad pass defenses in the last two weeks — LSU and Ole Miss — and greatly struggled.

Saturday, that didn’t happen. Auburn threw for 230 total yards. Payton Thorne completed 77% of his passes and threw for three touchdowns. Eleven different Auburn pass catchers had a reception.

Running back Jarquez Hunter also had his best day of the year, eclipsing 100 rushing yards. It was the big day he’s long been searching for. Auburn went over 400 total yards of offense in the win, too. It had almost seven yards per play as a group, almost 12 yards per completion and was much better with regard to time of possession compared to previous weeks.

Though, what may have been most notable from this offense was a much smaller quarterback rotation than had been seen in previous weeks. Auburn committed to riding Payton Thorne and what appeared to be his hot hand. It worked.

Auburn played with a higher tempo and allowed its starting quarterback to get into a rhythm. Head coach Hugh Freeze said after the game that this week was time to finally time to figure out the quarterback situation. This option, the Thorne-heavy option, succeeded.

The main critique here is the offense getting so conservative in the second half. It slowed down the tempo it played with and wasn’t as effective. Though Hugh Freeze had a good reason for why that happened. More on that in the coaching section.

It’s hard to grade this lower than an A because of the circumstances. It’s not as if this was some sort of program-changing offensive outburst, but it was easily the best the offense has looked this season — especially when considering this isn’t against a non-FBS team like Samford.

Defense: B

This fits what’s become a typical mold for this defense in SEC play. It’s a bend, but don’t break defense that can hold opponents down in stretches.

Auburn did that again Saturday when it held Mississippi State to 122 yards in the first half.

But like it has in previous SEC games, the defense gave out in the latter portions. Auburn allowed 223 yards in the second half. That gave Mississippi State some hope of coming back into the game.

Zion Puckett stepped up with an interception to essentially ice the game in the second half, but its a closer score than Auburn fans may have liked given how well the offense finally played.

This was the first time in weeks, if not just the first time this season, that the defense got help from the offense. Linebacker Eugene Asante and cornerback Keionte Scott both had great games, much in the line of the types of strong games they’ve had throughout their respective time healthy in 2023.

More in the bit below about coaching on why the defense may have faltered a bit late.

Special teams: B

You’ve read this before about Auburn’s special teams. Alex McPherson made his kicks and Oscar Chapman punted well.

McPherson hit a 49-yard and 39-year field goal. Chapman averaged a just bit over 47 yards per punt in five punts.

But Auburn hasn’t seen much productivity from its return game recently. That could come down, in part, to opponents not punting directly to Auburn’s stellar returners.

There hasn’t been a special return from someone like Brian Battie in a few weeks. Auburn could use some help here.

Coaching: A-

For the past two weeks, the Auburn coaches have gotten failing grades here largely with regard to failing to make adjustments.

Auburn made adjustments on Saturday. We’re they perfect? No. Did Auburn at least try something different? Yes. Did it work? Mostly!

Let’s focus on the key area where Auburn made a change: quarterback.

This game saw among the least amount of quarterback rotation Auburn has had all season. And, considering the opponent, it led to Payton Thorne’s best passing game of the season.

Auburn’s other game with limited quarterback rotation was Samford which, until Saturday, was probably Auburn’s best overall game of the season.

Robby Ashford didn’t attempt a pass Saturday on only rushed the ball twice. This isn’t to say Auburn should just ride Payton Thorne without using Ashford at all. Ashford certainly has a role because of his athleticism and Freeze has said as much.

Freeze has also said Ashford’s role will change week-to-week, so it’s possible this just fit into whatever gameplan Auburn thought was best for beating Mississippi State. Regardless, it strayed from the game plan Auburn had used in its four previous losses and allowed Auburn to find success passing the ball.

Auburn also relied a bit more on the higher tempo offense Freeze has hinted could be successful at, albeit knowing it leaves the defense to potentially be on the field for longer. But Auburn found success doing this in the first half.

It’s the first time in weeks that this coaching staff made a change that could further identity the team’s offense identity.

Overall: B+

Auburn needed this win. It had to end its losing streak. It had to get back in position to be bowl-eligible.

It did both of those things.

Behind a performance from the offense that instilled a lot of hope, Auburn is now 4-4.

In order to get to a bowl game, all it has to do is beat Vanderbilt and New Mexico State. Auburn should be able to do that. And getting to a bowl game at all is a step in the right direction for this team.

Matt Cohen covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @Matt_Cohen_ or email him at mcohen@al.com

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[SaltyTiger 8,579]

Good stuff again Fiddy. Due to wife obligations missed this morning. Time to move on. Excited about the upcoming game for a change.