The 3-2-1: Three things learned, two questions, one prediction following Auburn’s win over Samford

AUBURN — Through a spring and fall camp, and through three games, it’s becoming obvious that pleasing Hugh Freeze isn’t an easy task.

“There’s times where we don’t play great fundamental football. Those plays I know will haunt us. I want to get rid of those,” he said after the Tigers’ 45-13 Homecoming win over the in-state Bulldogs.

Payton Thorne accounted for 405 total yards and three touchdowns, becoming the first Auburn quarterback in nearly a decade to throw for 200-plus yards and rush for 100-plus yards in a game. Nick Marshall was the last to do it in 2014.

What did Freeze think of Thorne’s performance? “He played really solid.” It was a fairly subdued commentary on a really, really good showing from Thorne.

Auburn’s first-year head coach knows what lies ahead. UMass, Cal and FCS opponent Samford are one thing, the SEC is an entirely different thing. Texas A&M, loaded with talent, awaits for an 11 am kickoff on Saturday, with Georgia coming after that, and a week off before traveling to LSU. It’s real now.

The team made great offensive strides against Samford. Nearly 600 total yards (what should have been a point total pushing 60, if not for a pair of interceptions) and 26 first downs — the rhythm Freeze and Philip Montgomery created was impressive. The defense did their job, too, forcing a pair of turnovers. Everything that’s happened so far is the preseason, but another week did churn out another batch of things we can reflect on.

This was a building blocks game for Auburn. It was an opportunity to start to build confidence on both sides of the football, create some rhythm, and enter SEC play with as much momentum as possible. It’s time to lock in, and Auburn seemingly started to do that on Saturday night.

Here’s Three things learned, two questions and one prediction following Auburn’s third straight win.

Three things learned

Freeze’s involvement in the offense in the week leading up to the game showed on the field. There were two things Freeze was clear about last week. 1. He wanted to see more RPO elements of the offense incorporated and run. 2. He wanted the shuffling of quarterbacks to settle down. Both of those things were evident on Saturday night.

The RPO elements of Auburn’s offense were on display on Saturday night. That’s what we envisioned when thinking about a Freeze and Montgomery collaboration. Freeze said postgame many of the throws Thorne made, especially in the first half, were RPO decisions. Samford was packing the box and creeping up their safeties, so Thorne took advantage. That’s what it should look like. Ideally, the RPO offense should be incredibly difficult to stop because Thorne is reading the defense and there should always be an option, run or pass, to create positive yardage. That happened time and time again against Samford.

Five of Thorne’s eight incompletions in the game came inside the Samford 6-yard line, as wild as that is. And they were all called pass plays, as Auburn tried to work on some passing concepts close to the goal line. Freeze thought one attempt to Jyaire Shorter late in the second quarter from the Samford 4-yard line should have been caught, for what it’s worth.

Thorne was QB1 until into the fourth quarter, with Robby Ashford only taking a couple of snaps before then. It was Thorne’s show all night long. That decision helped Thorne accumulate 405 total yards and three touchdowns, completing 75 percent of his passes in the process. Ashford came in late and accounted for two touchdowns, one of which a touchdown pass to freshman Micah Riley late in the fourth quarter. There was no shuffling of quarterbacks in the middle of series, and there was no alternating series.

And it’s clear that helped Thorne’s confidence, maybe too much, as Thorne forced a couple of passes into the end zone trying to score touchdowns. They were forced, but at the same time, Thorne may have felt the freedom to make those throws because of how Freeze and Montgomery were handling the game plan. Bad decisions? Yea, but at least Thorne felt the freedom to let it fly without worry of consequence in terms of being replaced or not.

It remains a work in progress, but Auburn has weapons on offense. There’s plenty of development and evolution that needs to happen with the Tigers’ offensive playmakers on the perimeter, but the win over Samford showed some real signs of growth and talent at Freeze and Montgomery’s disposal.

Ten different players caught a pass, seven caught two or more, four caught three or more, and Ja’Varrius Johnson didn’t even play.

Jay Fair continues his fantastic play, catching seven passes for 93 yards. Rivaldo Fairweather caught five passes for 57 yards, upping his two-game total to eight catches for 96 yards and a touchdown. Shane Hooks showed back up with three catches for 47 yards and a touchdown, and nearly a second touchdown in the back of the end zone, but one-handed attempt was corralled after he stepped out of bounds. Shorter probably needs more targets after catching one pass on the opening drive then not converting a touchdown opportunity in the second quarter. He’s too big and too fast to not have more opportunities. Omari Kelly caught a 40-yard bomb from Thorne, Riley caught a 32-yard score, and even Koy Moore was back in action with a pair of catches.

Freeze said postgame that the receivers are still improving on all the elements that go into route running, which is to be expected. He and Marcus Davis are going to be hard on that group, expecting near perfection in their timing and spacing. However, it’s been years since Auburn possessed the potential they have this season on the perimeter. There will still be growing pains, but the potential is there as this season rolls on.

Auburn’s running game took a step backwards. Last week at Cal, the running game struggled because of three fumbles, two by Jarquez Hunter and Damari Alston, as drives stalled and plays/points were taken off the board. Hunter and Alston showed flashes last week, and Freeze said he was satisfied with the offensive line’s play against Cal, again, pointing towards turnovers as the cause of the lack of efficiency and consistency in the run game. Against Samford, it was slow going.

The Tigers’ running backs tallied 30 carries for just 86 yards on the night. None of Hunter, Alston, Cobb or Brian Battie had a rush over nine yards. For the first time in three games, Cobb was bottled up with four carries for three yards. To make matters worse, Auburn was stopped for two yards or less on 38 percent of their runs. That’s not nearly good enough against a team like Samford.

Hunter injured his right ankle and needed tape during the game, so he was hindered. Kam Stutts and Izavion Miller were injured during the game. Gunner Britton committed a pair of penalties, so did Dillon Wade. So, there were problems all around Auburn’s rushing attack on Saturday. Samford did pack the box and dare Auburn to throw, which the Tigers did successfully, but some of those rushing numbers aren’t acceptable against a team like Samford, specifically the average success on short-yardage. Next up? A stingy Texas A&M rushing defense, followed by Georgia, then LSU after a week off. After two straight weeks of the running game lacking pop, things need to get figured out quickly.

Two questions

Can Auburn’s defense keep this up? Entering the season, the defense was a huge question mark. Most considered it the liability of the team, but through three games, it’s been the most consistent element. Auburn’s defense has given up less yards every Saturday they’ve walked onto the field this season, allowing 301 yards against UMass, 273 at Cal and then 218 to Samford. The group has forced seven turnovers in three games. The defensive backs have five interceptions after nabbing just four interceptions all of last season. Jaylin Simpson‘s three picks have already surpasses his total of two last fall. Auburn is still T-1st nationally in red zone defense, allowing three scores in seven attempts through three games. The Tigers also rank fifth nationally in third-down conversions allowed, giving up just 10 third downs in 41 attempts (24 percent).

Against Samford, the Tigers were credited with nine “havoc” plays, a 15 percent clip, just below the 20 percent Ron Roberts expects. But, can this continue? UMass, Cal and Samford aren’t offensive juggernauts. Auburn’s defensive line and linebackers have faced offensive lines and schemes that don’t measure up, so far. The SEC will be different. Auburn only managed two sacks and two quarterback hurries against Samford. Michael Hiers had too much time to throw for the most part. One of the times he was pressured was on JD Rhym‘s interception, where Hiers felt pressure and forced a throw into tight coverage.

The other issue is injuries. Nehemiah Pritchett missed his third straight game. Donovan Kaufman didn’t play after suffering a concussion against Cal. Jalen McLeod is still slowed with an ankle injury. Larry Nixon III is playing with a club on his right hand. Keionte Scott left the Samford game in the first quarter and didn’t return. Auburn has some injuries on offense, too, but the ones on defense really stand out. The Tigers simply don’t have the depth on defense to overcome these injuries in SEC play and hold up.

How healthy will Auburn be when they travel to College Station? On the injury note, to go along with the defensive players banged up, toss in Miller and Stutts along the offensive line, plus Johnson at receiver, and the health status of this team is not where Freeze wants it to be to start SEC play. Pritchett, Scott, McLeod, Johnson, Kaufman, Stutts, Miller and Nixon are all starters or starter quality players. The Tigers are just a few more injuries to starters away from seeing half their starting lineup with “questionable” by their name during game week.

With some injuries piling up and still coming off a long week following the brutal travel schedule around the Cal game, Freeze and Co. sure would love to dial things back for his players, but there’s no time. Auburn has to get through these next two weeks and try to upset Texas A&M before earning a bye before LSU.

One prediction

The quarterback rotation will look like what it did against Samford moving forward. There’s no going back now. How can Freeze and Montgomery see the rhythm and production created from the offense with Thorne at the helm consistently, albeit against Samford, and then revert back to rotating and playing the shuffle game? I don’t see it happening. I think the plan for the quarterbacks, and offensive approach in general, was good against Samford, and will trend in that direction as SEC play begins. Ashford has his role, and that’s to be athletic and create some indecision in the defense when he enters the game in specific situations, but that needs to be it.

Thorne needs every opportunity possible once SEC play begins to lead Auburn’s offense. He finished 5-7 passing on passes 15+ yards downfield. That’s highly impressive. Ashford should only enter the game in the same way that Cobb or Battie might enter: to run a specific play/formation at a specific time of the game or place on the field, or maybe to set something up for later. This offense should be Thorne’s show from now on. He clearly showed he’s capable of being the running threat in the RPO game, and the only way to fix some poor decisions is repetitions and experience. That won’t happen if his snaps are limited with quarterback shuffling.

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