No. 24 Auburn improved to 3-0 on the season for just the 52nd time in program history on Saturday, taking down South Alabama 31-15 at Jordan-Hare Stadium in the process.
But the Tigers certainly won’t walk away brimming with confidence, namely on the defensive side of the ball.
Just one week after the best defensive performance in 40 years, Auburn gave up 310 yards of total offense against the Jaguars. But the main problem still lies in the Tigers’ secondary.
South Alabama quarterback Bishop Davenport, who ranked 10th in the nation in both completion percentage and passing efficiency coming into Saturday’s game, completed 69% of his 26 pass attempts for 170 yards and two touchdowns. While the stats don’t necessarily jump off the page at you, Auburn’s secondary showed glimpses of its disastrous Week 1 performance against Baylor.
“Defensively, we’ve got a lot to work on. South Alabama gave us tough looks with 12 personnel and movements. And they’ve got a really good running back. We’ve got to get off the field more on third down, third-and-long,” Freeze said.
South Alabama started the second half by converting on five consecutive third-down attempts, averaging 5.4 yards per play on third down. It finished 7-of-16 on third down and 3-of-4 on fourth downs. This came as a result of an array of missed tackles and self-inflicted wounds.
A plus for the Tigers is that they forced two takeaways, making them +3 in turnover margin on the season. The second turnover came on a strip sack from freshman defensive end Jared Smith as South Alabama was knocking on the door and threatening to make it a one-score game in the fourth quarter.
“We did force two turnovers and protected the ball offensively, so we finished plus-two in the turnover margin,” said Freeze. “Jared Smith gave us a spark as a true freshman. But a lot to work on, on both sides.”
Additionally, after holding Ball State to -3 rushing yards last week, Auburn relinquished 140 yards on the ground. It’s the most that the SEC’s leader in rush defense has given up this season. On the plus side, the Tigers held South Alabama running back Kentrell Bullock to 57 yards, making it the first time in three games – dating back to last season – that he did not surpass the century mark on the ground.
Simply put, Auburn must improve before it takes the field against Oklahoma in a week’s time. South Alabama was no pushover, and it showed that on Saturday. But if Auburn wants to put the country on notice next week, it simply cannot allow the potent threat of John Mateer and the Sooners’ offense to live in the middle of the field, much like the Jaguars did on Saturday.
“Give credit, again, to South Alabama. But we’ve got to fit the run better,” said Freeze. “They had some things that you worry about, and they’re going to score some points this year. They have a really good running back and quarterback.
“There’s no question we can play better than we did today. The standard is that we should do that (strive to play better) each time out. And I’m not sure anyone would say that that was the standard to which we have to play to win games.”
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