AUBURN, Ala. (EETV) – After a convincing 73-3 Week 1 win over Alabama A&M, many Auburn fans were optimistic about the upside of the “new look” Auburn offense. Quarterback Payton Thorne and the revamped wide receiver room all had excellent days, and many on the plains were feeling hopeful about the new aerial attack. However, after a deflating 21-17 loss to Cal in Week 2 in which the offense turned it over five times, the Tigers seem to have more questions than answers.
Many Auburn fans expected their team to roll at home in Jordan-Hare Stadium vs a Cal defense that was bottom 25 in the FBS last season in total defense, allowing 416.9 yards per game and 32.7 points per game. Unfortunately for the Tiger faithful, that was far from the case. The Auburn offense gained just 286 total yards, and the “new and improved” passing game racked up just 165 of those yards, a depressingly familiar sight for a fan base that saw the 16th-worst passing offense of 2023 pass for under 200 yards in 11 of its 13 contests.
To make matters worse, the supposed new and improved leader of the Auburn aerial attack had arguably the worst statistical game of his career. Payton Thorne, a player who the Auburn coaching staff had maintained all offseason had made major strides, launched four interceptions to the Cal defense. Thorne previously had never thrown more than two interceptions in a game and became the first Auburn quarterback to do so since Brandon Cox against Georgia in 2007. Though, not all of this was on Thorne himself.
The Auburn offensive line was just that, offensive. Thorne was constantly running for his life behind the line of scrimmage and was rarely given time to make a read in the pocket, much less go through a full route progression. Even worse, the offensive line struggled to create any kind of notable push up front. Though Auburn recorded 121 rushing yards on the afternoon, just 78 of those were from the Tigers’ running backs. And, to top it all off, preseason All-SEC running back Jarquez Hunter fumbled after a missed block from tight end Luke Deal, a turnover that would lead to a Cal touchdown just two plays later.
So, where does Auburn go from here? Well, fortunately, the defense is still solid. The Tigers’ run defense was especially stout, allowing just eleven yards on ten carries to preseason 1st-team All-ACC running back Jayden Ott. The pass defense struggled to defend Cal quarterback Fernando Mendoza and Cal’s quarterback rollout offense in the first half but was able to buckle down in the second half and keep the Tigers in the game as the offense sputtered. If Auburn wants to compete in the SEC this season, the Tigers will need the defense to continue playing at its current level or higher.
As far as the Auburn offense is concerned, though, the program as a whole seems to be at a loss right now. Most concerningly, the problem is consistently with Thorne, a player that the coaching staff always seems to be impressed by in practice. Regardless of these practice performances, it seems clear that Payton Thorne is unable to translate his processing ability and arm talent into a live game environment effectively, often due to a frequently overwhelmed offensive line. Normally, an offense would look to mitigate this issue by relying on the run game more. However, the Auburn offensive line hasn’t proven to be strong enough in the middle for the Tigers to run the old-fashioned ground-and-pound offense that used to be synonymous with football on the plains.
Because of this, the Auburn offense isn’t able to establish the play-action game, which is where much of the problem lies, in my opinion. Payton Thorne has proven he can excel on the run and out of the pocket, and it’s easier to get a quarterback on the move off of play action, especially on boots or rollouts. These plays can also help slow down a defense and keep opposing linebackers from keying downhill, either to fill run lanes or rush the passer. Scheming your quarterback out of the pocket versus making him run for his life out of the pocket are two very different things, and Auburn tends to do much more of the latter. These distractions and diversions off of play-action are key for this iteration of the Auburn offense, which simply doesn’t have the personnel to try to be a straight-up from-the-pocket air raid.
Overall, the Auburn coaching staff needs to find a way to give Thorne more time behind the line and add a more dynamic aspect to this offense. That dynamic aspect is something that has eluded the Tigers for years, especially through the air. If the coaching staff can find a way to unlock that, the roster of skill players that Auburn has is, on paper, more than enough to give this team a fighting chance in the SEC, Furthermore, there is always the possibility that these offensive players will gel as a unit as they get more and more live reps together throughout the season.
However, regardless of how the Auburn offense performs, I would urge Tiger fans to not boo their own players off the field or slander them on social media. Confidence and morale are very real things that have a very real impact on performance, and consistently attacking and belittling the players you want to perform better is HIGHLY unlikely to make them improve. On top of that, those starters are almost always starting because they are the best option, not some bench player you saw one or two electric highlights from in a bowl game or high school. At this point in the process, I believe that faith in the coaching staff is still warranted and deserved, but a spark needs to be found desperately before Auburn begins SEC play vs Arkansas at home in Jordan-Hare Stadium on September 21, lest we see more of this offense that is more “Frozen in Place” than “Freeze Warning.”
