First thoughts: Auburn struggles at Texas A&M, falls 27-10 in SEC opener

AUBURN — Hugh Freeze and Auburn football fell in their SEC opener at Texas A&M on Saturday by the score of 27-10. The Tigers dropped to 3-1 on the season, while the Aggies improved to 3-1.

It was rough outing. Auburn finished with just three offensive points and 156 total yards, going three-and-out on five different occasions during the game. Payton Thorne finished with 44 yards on 6-12 passing, suffering six sacks on the day. Auburn gave up seven sacks in all. Backup running back Brian Battie stood out with 82 total yards.

Auburn’s defense tried to hang tough, but allowed 21 points and over 300 yards in the second half. The majority of the Aggies’ offensive production came after starter Conner Weigman left the game and backup Max Johnson entered to start the second half.

Here’s some real-time thoughts as the game transpired, as more postgame coverage is on the way at Auburn Live.

First quarter thoughts

— Texas A&M racked up 99 total yards in their first two drives, but 62 of those came off two plays. Auburn’s defense, particularly the defensive line, held their own early in this one, minus two busted plays. DJ James missed a tackle on the perimeter and Wesley Steiner had a misfit that allowed a big rushing play.

— Auburn’s offense was a mess in the opening 15 minutes. The first possession netted -1 yards. The second possession looked more encouraging. The Tigers’ offensive line created some nice push, as Jarquez Hunter tallied three carries for 30 yards, and Damari Alston had two carries for 12 yards before his nearly costly fumble. Alston injured his right arm on the play and didn’t return.

— Thorne was sacked once and complete no passes in the opening frame. Auburn might have attempted a long field goal on their second possession, but the sack took them out of field-goal range. Then on the punt, the snap was launched over Oscar Chapman’s head. Chapman ran the ball down and got the punt away, but it was nearly a disaster.

— Freeze said on ESPN after the first 15 minutes that Auburn had something in the run game, but would have to figure out a way to be more balanced.

Second quarter thoughts

— Auburn only went 19 yards on their opening drive of the second quarter, but chewed up 4+ minutes in the process. Between the break between first and second quarters, plus the additional time on the sideline, the Tigers’ defense received a much-needed rest. It resulted on Auburn’s defense coming back on the field for their first second-quarter possession and forcing a three-and-out, and their fourth straight third-down stop after allowing two straight conversions to start the game.

— Freeze is really getting onto Thorne on the sidelines, but that’s to be expected. Freeze’s expectations are really high and Thorne isn’t off to a good start in this one. He missed a wide open Jay Fair on a wheel route that would have likely been a touchdown.

— Brian Battie showed flashes of what makes him so dangerous in the open field, with 31 total yards in about a quarter and a half. Unfortunately, Auburn’s fourth drive of the game stalled out after a bogus holding call by the refs. Auburn would have faced a 3rd-and-4 after a Thorne scamper, but a phantom holding call pushed the Tigers back to 2nd-and-16 and killed the drive. Tough break.

— I like the pre-snap motion that Philip Montgomery and Freeze dialed up more often as the game went on. It didn’t allow Texas A&M to dial in and run blitz like they were earlier in the game. The motion kept the defenders more at bay and uncertain, and seemed to open up a few more running lanes without defenders blitzing and stopping the play before it started.

— Twice in the first half, Thorne has taken sacks that have pushed Auburn out of FG range. The Tigers punted the first time, but figured they’d give it a shot with Alex McPherson the second time. Good thing for Auburn, McPherson is a beast and made the 53-yarder.

— Auburn allowed four sacks in the first half.

— Auburn’s running backs accounted for 105 of 112 total yards.

— Through six quarters against Power Five competition, Thorne was 14-24 (58.3%) for 140 yards (5.83), 2 TD and 1 INT, while being sacked seven times. Thorne has to keep his eyes downfield and either step into some throws, or Auburn has to give him more options on check downs. Thorne is feeling the pressure and trying to escape rather than making a throw.

— At least Auburn held the ball for over 12 minutes in the second frame, giving the Tigers’ defense some rest, especially when you factor in the quarter break and then the halftime rest.

Third quarter thoughts

— Like the beginning of the game, Auburn’s opening drive of the second half is an unmitigated disaster. The plays tallied -1, -3, a false start and then an incompletion forcing the punt.

— Robby Ashford came into the game in place of Thorne, as Auburn’s offense was struggling mightily. The Tigers followed up their first second-half drive with another poor drive, featuring a gain of one yard, incompletion, false start and gain of four yards on the next drive. Coming out of halftime, that’s awfully hard to explain if you are Freeze or Montgomery.

— Texas A&M went to backup quarterback Max Johnson after an injury to Weigman and all Johnson did was complete his first five passes of the second half, leading the Aggies to two straight touchdowns.

— Midway through the third quarter, every starting Auburn offensive linemen has a penalty except for Kam Stutts.

— The third quarter was as brutal as it can be for Auburn. Two total yards, no first downs, dominated 14-0, and on top of the offensive struggles, the defense started getting shredded through the air.

Fourth quarter thoughts

— Fair, Auburn’s best wideout, has zero touches as the fourth quarter begins. Freshman Jeremiah Cobb has one. That was odd.

— Freshman Kayin Lee continues to shine, forcing a fumble early in the fourth quarter, where Eugene Asante picked up the fumble and returned it for a touchdown. That’s an awesome moment for Asante, who is truly one of the good guys in college football. As Will Herring said on Auburn radio, “good things happen to good people.”

— Following the two touchdown drives to start the second half, Auburn’s defense forced two punts and a fumble in the next three drives. Toss in Asante’s return, and the defense really turned this game around all on their own, helping the Tigers stay within striking distance.

— Battie again flashed with some nice gains in the fourth quarter. Cobb didn’t get his touches today, but Battie took advantage. With seven minutes remaining, Battie had accounted for 74 of Auburn’s 163 total yards on the day.

— With Ashford, it often looks like backyard football, but the Tigers were driving late in the fourth quarter. Sitting at 1st-and-10 at the A&M 28-yard line, two negative plays and a penalty knocked Auburn back out of field goal range and forced a punt. Texas A&M took over and on their second play following Auburn’s stalled drive, roped off a 79-yard run to help ice the game.

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