5-Star Auburn Commit Voices Frustration With Tigers' Offense After Loss to Missouri

AUBURN, Ala. – The Auburn Tigers fell to No. 16 Missouri in double overtime late Saturday night in heartbreaking fashion once again, and the nation’s most coveted recruits are starting to take notice of a recurring theme.

Five-star safety Bralan Womack, Auburn’s top commitment in its 2026 class, was one of many recruits in town for a visit on the Plains this weekend, and he witnessed the Tigers drop their fourth consecutive game.

He spoke to multiple recruiting outlets after the game, and his reaction to Auburn’s 23-17 loss is certainly less than desirable for Auburn fans.

“You’ve got to score 20 or more points to compete. And we’ve done that zero times in SEC play. It doesn’t look like it’s going to change. Nothing’s changing,” Womack said, according to 247Sports’ recruiting analyst Christian Clemente.

“We’re just not making the plays offensively in the big moments,” Womack told On3’s Jeffrey Lee. “We’re taking sacks after sacks after sacks.”

“The defense has got to stop leaving the game up to the offense,” Womack added.

Womack is ranked as the No. 1 safety in the 2026 cycle, per 247Sports, and he’s listed as the No. 13 overall player in the nation. The five-star from Flowood, Miss., committed to Auburn in August over Ohio State, Florida, and Texas A&M, and stands as the highest rated pledge of the Tigers’ class by a considerable margin.

At some point, Auburn’s poor performance and inability to win important football games will begin to affect its success on the recruiting trail.

The Tigers had legitimate opportunities to win all four conference games that they lost, and led by a touchdown at some point in the second half in two of them. They could’ve jumped out to a 17-0 lead over Georgia last weekend if Jackson Arnold hadn’t fumbled on a quarterback sneak from the one-half-yard line at the end of the first game.

However, the sole reason why Auburn was even competitive and had a chance to win in the late stages was due to its defense, which has performed exceptionally well in conference play, even when it seems like they are on the field for most of the game.

D.J. Durkin’s unit has received essentially no help from Hugh Freeze and the offense, and Arnold and company seem to fold in the face of adversity every week without fail. The second half continues to be a disaster, and they are simply unable to make the winning play, consistently finding different ways to lose.

This could be a detrimental trend that hurts recruiting on both sides of the football. Any potential offensive player likely wouldn’t wish to play in an offense as pathetic as Freeze’s, and a top defensive prospect like Womack may not want to play for a team whose offense gives nothing in return.

Auburn boasts one of the best defenses in the nation, and if it had any sort of competent offensive production, the Tigers could very well be a top-15 or top-10 team in college football right now. However, they are far from it due to the lackluster play-calling and costly mistakes.

Ultimately, the program is in an extremely bad position. The Auburn Family continues to show up and sell out Jordan-Hare Stadium, even in the midst of one of the worst stretches in program history. But unfortunately, this team and coaching staff consistently find ways to disappoint.

If Freeze is fired this season, which most – if not all – fans are in favor of, a coaching change will undeniably impact Auburn’s recruiting. However, although success on the recruiting trail is important and essential to competing, it doesn’t matter if Auburn can’t win football games – especially with the elite talent currently on the Tigers’ roster.