Takeaways From Auburn's Loss to Georgia

Saturday, the Auburn Tigers fell to the Georgia Bulldogs, 20-10. Despite a strong first half, the Tigers’ offense sputtered out in the second half, and it was all downhill from there for Hugh Freeze’s squad. 

Georgia scored 20 unanswered points, responding to Auburn’s 10, and Auburn just couldn’t get enough going on offense or defense to hold off the Bulldogs. Amidst a 3-3 season, and Hugh Freeze’s seat getting even hotter, all we can do is examine the takeaways from this game.

It’s a Game of Momentum

Auburn fans, analysts and even many Georgia fans agree: officiating was a struggle in this matchup. At the end of the first half, Auburn tried to run the “brotherly shove,” as it’s become known in Philadelphia, on the one-yard line, but after review, it was ruled that Arnold had fumbled before breaking the plane of the end zone. 

Regardless of what one believes about whether the play was an Auburn touchdown, a fumble, or a Georgia scoop and score, it’s undeniable that this chain of events significantly altered the momentum of the game, and Auburn never seemed to be able to get over it.

Football, like most sports, is a game of momentum, and the Tigers allowed the officiating and the Bulldogs to dictate the momentum for the entire second half, despite holding it in an iron fist for 28 minutes of the first half. If the Tigers want to turn this season around, they’ll need to have a short-term memory for plays like that. 

It seemed as if every errant call made the game more about officiating for the Tigers than the actual football being played. As such, many will blame the officiating for the Tigers’ loss, but the momentum is always up for grabs. They’ll have to work on seizing it when the opportunity is given.

Second Half Struggles

The Georgia matchup marked the second straight game in which the Tigers have been held to under 100 yards in the second half. Worse, the Tigers went their first half, averaging 5.2 yards per rush and dominating possession, 21:48 to 8:12, to their second half, in which they averaged just 0.9 yards per rush while being utterly dominated in time of possession, 22:07 to 7:53.

The Tigers had one three-and-out in the first half, and three straight three-and-outs in the second. Defensively, it was the opposite: the Tigers forced the Bulldogs into back-to-back three-and-outs in the first half, then crumbled in the second half, not even forcing one. 

The formula seems to be simple: the team thrived in the first half, setting the tone with a long, nearly eight-minute drive, and averaged nearly five minutes a drive (the kneel “drive” to end the half notwithstanding), so the defense was able to rest, stay fresh and dominate.

In the second half, it was the opposite: the Tigers had just one drive that lasted over two minutes, with multiple lasting just over a minute. The defense tired out due to constantly having to be on the field, and Georgia was able to dominate on offense.

Simply put, the Tigers need to make a habit of generating longer drives. If the shorter drives were quick scores, that’d be different, but they’re not. Perhaps it’s a playcalling issue, or maybe it’s an execution issue or anything else, but the Tigers will need to figure out how to come out as strong in the second half as they’ve made a habit of doing in the first.

Offensive Line Improvements

Credit where it’s due: the Auburn offensive line didn’t seem to be an issue in this game. There were only two holding penalties on the offensive line against Georgia, one of which came when Izavion “Too Tall” Miller was forced into the game due to an injury, playing out of position.

Amidst the Xavier Chaplin news, it’s certainly reassuring for Auburn fans that, though he was the only player to false start for Auburn, he only did it once. 

Additionally, Jackson Arnold was only sacked once, which proved to be a clear step in the right direction for the Tigers. 

Especially when compared to the struggles of the last few weeks, the Auburn offensive line appeared far from the deciding factor in this game. They assisted well in the pass game, but also in the rushing attack, which has been a foreign concept for the Tigers over the last few weeks, so steps are clearly being made in the right direction on all facets of the offensive line’s play.

The loss to Georgia marks the Tigers’ third straight loss this season, all of which came in games within reach, and all of which came against top-10 opponents. Though this loss isn’t season-ending for the Tigers, it likely knocks the team out of any potential playoff contention, while increasing the pressure on Jackson Arnold and Hugh Freeze for the rest of the season.

The Tigers will have yet another ranked team to square off against next week, when the Missouri Tigers come to Jordan-Hare Stadium. The game is set to kick off at 11:00 a.m. CDT.

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