The Auburn Tigers are getting ready for their home opener against Southern Miss this week. Head coach Alex Golesh feels there is a lot to work on after Saturday’s nail-biting victory over Baylor, but he was pleased with the way his team finished the game. “Overcoming giving up a 4th down. Overcoming giving up a touchdown. Just playing the very next play,” Golesh said on Monday.
Auburn offensive coordinator Joel Gordon seemed displeased with his offensive unit’s overall performance on Saturday, but he did give them credit for executing when the game was on the line and both starting guards left the field with injuries on the same play late in the fourth quarter. “What you saw was those guys when they needed to put a drive together, they stood in it together and they rose up,” Gordon said.
Late in the game and needing a score to take the lead, the Tigers featured quarterback Byrum Brown running the football. Taking out the five sacks that Auburn surrendered to Baylor, Brown had 16 rushing carries on the afternoon, which was more than any of the Tigers’ running backs. Starting running back Jeremiah Cobb only had 12 carries. That is not the ratio Gordon is looking for going forward.
He told the media on Monday that Cobb has to be the prominent runner. “There’s got to be better balance there…Cobb’s gotta touch it…he’s a special player. He’s a great teammate. He’s the definition of what an Auburn Tiger should be,” Gordon said.
Although Auburn scored its go-ahead touchdown in two tight end, or twelve personnel, Gordon felt that formation, on the whole, was not an effective one for the offense on Saturday and could figure less prominently in the coming weeks. He spoke to reporters about his unit’s struggles out of that formation, “we did not function like an offense at all. We had a holding penalty. We take a sack on 2nd and 20…we should get better there. That’s only going to make our offense better.”
Looking ahead to Saturday’s match up with Southern Miss, Golesh talked about the Golden Eagle offense and the challenges it will present to Auburn’s defense. He said USM has a good quarterback as well as an explosive running back. Golesh feels USM will look to run the same up-tempo offense that Baylor ran.
Auburn holds an 18-5 record against the Golden Eagles. The Tigers last played Southern Miss in 2018, when the Tigers walked out of Jordan-Hare Stadium with a 24-13 win. Kickoff on the Plains is set for 6:45 p.m.
Auburn Undercover is an independent Auburn sports media company covering Auburn athletics, recruiting and insider news.
