The Auburn Tigers marched away from McLane Stadium on Friday night with their ninth consecutive season opening win, and the third straight under head coach Hugh Freeze after taking down the Baylor Bears 38-24.
And while the Tigers showed plenty of positives – highlighted by a potent rushing attack, led by quarterback Jackson Arnold – their defensive performance, particularly in the secondary, left much to be desired.
Secondary Struggles
The backend of the Tigers’ defense, full of playmakers and top-end talent, gave up a whopping 419 yards through the air. According to Justin Ferguson of the AuburnObserver, it was the first time Auburn gave up 400+ passing yards in a win since 2016. And, ironically enough, Freeze was the head coach.
“Yeah, I have to go back and talk to my strength staff,” Freeze said. “I thought we were a little tired. I don’t know if it was the heat or if we didn’t prepare exactly right for it, but I thought we looked a little sluggish, and to see us fight through that and find a way to get a win and against a good opponent to open the year, I think we can really build upon it.”
Missed Tackles and Big Plays
Time and again, the Bears found success on slants over the middle, breaking tackles and turning them into long gains. Missed tackles were a huge detriment to the Tigers on Friday night.
“I know we can play better than we did tonight,” Freeze said. “And so, we have to look at ourselves and the way we prepared them and kind of evaluate. I know we weren’t as fast as I’ve seen us be tonight, and I’ll take a hard look at that for sure. And to answer your question, you can still find a way to win and the resolve and toughness of our team and grit we can build upon.”
Baylor’s Passing Attack
319 of the Bears’ 419 yards through the air were on plays of 15 yards or more, as the Tigers gave up gains of 57 yards, 36 yards and a 33-yard touchdown. Tight end Michael Trigg was a problem for the Tigers over the middle, mismatching with linebackers and safeties throughout the night. He finished with 99 yards on seven receptions.
However, it was Kole Wilson that led the way, hauling in 134 yards on eight receptions. Two others – Ashtyn Hawkins and Josh Cameron – finished their nights with more than 50 yards, Hawkins with 70.
Third and Fourth Down Woes
Baylor was aggressive on third and fourth downs. Though the Bears converted just 33.3% on third down, third-and-long — a problem for Auburn a season ago — resurfaced Friday. Two of Baylor’s touchdowns came on fourth down: a four-yard score and a 33-yard heave on a broken coverage.
“Yeah, they certainly were aggressive,” Freeze said. “The book was pretty aggressive for both sides. I didn’t go along with it a couple times, but they were really aggressive. I think this league is probably more aggressive than ours a little bit in fourth down situations. But, you know, we’ll have to go study the tape. It’s hard for me to tell exactly. I mean we did not leverage the ball really well, in routes or in tackling, I didn’t think, and thought that hurt us several critical fourth downs.”
Ground Game Leads the Way
Pretty or not, a win is a win. It was Auburn’s first true road game to open up the season since 2002. The Tigers’ 38 points scored on Friday night were the most points in a road non-conference game since beating Florida State, 42-41, in 1984. Jackson Arnold’s 137 yards set a career high and was the second 100-plus yard rushing performance of his career. Additionally, Auburn’s 307 yards on the ground was more than any performance a year ago, excluding 326 against Kentucky.
“It was working for us,” Freeze said of the Tigers’ run game. “Our gameplan is multiple, because you really don’t know how people are going to play you, and they have different flavors every week. But that’s certainly what we felt like was our best option tonight with what we were getting,”
Finishing Strong
Even though the Tigers’ pass defense was abysmal to say the least, they still walked away 1-0 — and Freeze will take wins however they come. For Auburn, it had to feel good that this one came on the shoulders of the offense.
“We’re grateful that we could find a way to win against what I think is a very gritty, mature football team in Baylor. I hope they have a great year. I like Dave Aranda a lot and I thought their kids were gritty,” Freeze said. “But, when it was on the line, our offensive line leaned on them. We had that drive, that last one to put it away, was a 12-play drive for 75 yards that ate up about seven minutes and 16 seconds, I think. And, then, when we have to get a first down to win the game, again, they found a way to do it.”
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