Defense, Discipline, and Disappointment: Auburn’s Game of What-Ifs

In Game 1 of a crucial four-game stretch, Auburn came up short on the road against Oklahoma. Officiating, quarterback play, the defense, and special teams all fell short of what was needed in this loss. I won’t dwell too much on the refs—SEC officiating has been inconsistent for a long time, and it seems unlikely that’ll change soon. Teams just have to play through it at this point.

Jackson Arnold’s stat line (21-of-32 for 220 yards, one touchdown, no interceptions) looks decent at first glance, but it’s misleading. There were at least three occasions when wide receiver Cam Coleman had blown past his defender, only for Arnold to misplace the throw. On two of those “catchable” underthrows, Coleman still made the catch—but with better placement, both could’ve been touchdowns. Then there was the worst of all: an overthrow in the end zone when Coleman was wide open. That kind of error can’t happen in big games. Auburn isn’t good enough to overcome it.

Arnold was also inconsistent with his internal clock—if he has one. The offensive line deserves some blame for the pressure, but Arnold held the ball too long on several plays. Oklahoma tied a school record with nine sacks of him. I’ll add that Hugh Freeze, in my opinion, did not run the ball enough with his running backs. Alston and Cobb combined for only 13 rushing attempts—especially Cobb, who seemed to be finding his form in this game. Not running the ball enough was heavily discussed last year, and it hasn’t changed.

Coming into this game, many around the country had John Mateer at the top of their Heisman ballots—and maybe he still is—but the Auburn defense stifled him much of the game. Mateer could not escape the pocket as much as he normally does, which is a credit to Auburn’s rush discipline in staying in their lanes. Oklahoma’s rushing attack was stifled all four quarters, totaling only 32 rushing yards, but when it mattered most, the defense couldn’t hold. Auburn took a 17-16 lead with 7:08 remaining, but Mateer led Oklahoma on a six-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to go up 22-17. Regardless, the defense deserves much of the blame—they were in position to close it out and secure a win and couldn’t.

The Tigers have to move on from this game, since these are the kinds of contests that can ruin a season. There is no hiding from it: it was a demoralizing loss for the Tigers, who came in with tons of confidence. The good news for Auburn moving forward is they have plenty of opportunities to notch some impressive wins: playing at Texas A&M next weekend, then having a bye week, followed by UGA and Missouri at home the next two weeks. The bad news is that those are three really good football teams on the schedule—but ultimately, that is life in the SEC.