Can Auburn's Offense Turn the Tigers' Season Around?

AUBURN, Ala.- With the idle week for the Auburn Tigers coming to a conclusion, Auburn's offense is hoping the work put in this week will lead to a turnaround moving forward.

In the last two games, the Tigers are averaging 13.5 points per game, have given up 15 total sacks and have failed to effectively establish the run while simply being ineffective through the air.

Auburn Tigers on SI breaks down what the offense needs to do moving forward to turn the season around.

Get the Ball Out

Auburn's pass protection has been abysmal with 21 sacks through five games. For reference, Payton Thorne was sacked 26 total times last season.

In the last two games alone, Jackson Arnold has been sacked a whopping 14 times with nine against Oklahoma and five against the Aggies. The reasons for the sacks is a mixture of Arnold holding the ball slightly too long or abandoning the pocket in an attempt to scramble and some of them being the offensive line getting beat. 

Fingers could also be pointed towards the offensive play calling. Auburn has essentially abandoned the run game in their previous two outings. Hugh Freeze has vowed to change the rushing attack amidst offensive struggles, but that will have to be seen on the playing field, rather than his words. When you only pass the ball, it gives the defense an opportunity to pin their ears back and get after the quarterback.

“We've got to commit to running the football again, more so, and trying to, even if it's a two-yard gain or a three-yard dirty run, that just keeps us ahead of the chains,” Freeze said. “But you also want to be balanced, and so it's a very fine line.”

Get Cam Coleman Involved

Phenom sophomore wide receiver Cam Coleman was almost completely taken out of the game against the Texas A&M Aggies. He consistently lined up as the outside receiver with a safety over top to help the cornerback.

The play calling felt as if it was essentially hoping that Coleman would have a one-on-one opportunity on the outside for a deep shot, but the Aggies completely took that away. Rather than continuing to be predictable and putting Coleman in the same spot every play, Freeze should look to get creative and move Coleman around to different parts of the field. That could mean coming in motion or lining up in the slot. It makes the defense’s job easy when you know where Coleman is going to line up every play. 

Freeze emphasized the need to get the former five-star more looks offensively.

"I'd love to give him five a game down the field, but if they've got a safety rolled over the top of him, that's just not realistic, really," Freeze said. "And we're getting some of that. But again, 100% we have to do a better job of getting him somehow, some way, opportunities."

Take What the Defense Gives You

The identity of Auburn football is the ability to run the football. When you sway away from this identity, you lose ball games.

As mentioned earlier, the Tigers have completely abandoned the run game in the previous two outings. Against Texas A&M, Auburn only rushed for 52 yards. Actual running backs only received eight carries throughout the entire game. Jeremiah Cobb averaged 4.7 yards per carry and Damari Alston averaged 5.0 yards per carry, yet they were not getting consistent carries.

Rather than taking what the defense is giving them, for example when the Tigers faced the Baylor Bears week one and they played two high safeties the entire game (like A&M did) they ran the ball consistently because Baylor was committed to stopping the passing attack.

The Aggies were also committed to stopping the passing attack, and Hugh Freeze and offensive staff fell right into their play. If the offensive playcalling committed more to the running game, it would have opened up opportunities in the passing game, rather than just trying to force a passing attack that quite frankly, just isn’t there. 

Coming off of their bye week, the Tigers have a golden opportunity to put on display what they worked on during the idle week when they take on the Georgia Bulldogs next Saturday evening at Jordan-Hare Stadium. 

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