Auburn dropped its SEC opener to Florida 44-39 under the lights of a sold out Jordan Hare Stadium Saturday night.
Following the game, several players spoke on the loss and what’s next for the team after its first defeat of the season. Here are some quotes of note from a variety of Auburn players.
Quarterback Byrum Brown on how the game played out:
“I feel like we played to the very end. Gotta execute on certain plays here and there. Played as a team, and ultimately just gotta clean up a few details.”
Brown on what’s next following the loss:
“You learn from this one. Lick your wounds tonight. Go in tomorrow. Learn from it. Watch the film. Be super critical, and then it's on to the next opponent on Monday. So just learn Sunday, and then on to the next one.”
Linebacker Elijah Melendez on Florida’s success on third and fourth downs:
“Really just beating ourselves. I feel like they didn't do anything special. We were just misaligned, not urgent enough, but we were playing hard. Just a little misaligning, a little bust for sure.”
Melendez on the missed tackles:
“I couldn't really tell you, for real. I think we just played hard as a unit, and we stayed connected. I couldn't ask for nothing more from my teammates but to play as hard as they can. Missed tackles and busts, that's going to come. We've just got to clean it up and go harder in practice, for sure.”
Safety Eric Winters on the defensive struggles:
”We just weren't executing. I feel like we were put in the right positions and in the right spots. It just comes down to us executing.”
Wide receiver Chas Nimrod on starting each half flat on offense:
“Obviously that’s not what you want as a team to come out and start, but nobody flinched. We all just needed to settle down. Once we did that we were good. It’s frustrating, but that’s something we have to work on as a team throughout the rest of the season. We have to be there from the start.”
Offensive lineman Cole Best on the game:
“As a whole, I think there’s a lot that needs to be cleaned up. I thought there was way too many missed assignments. We say all the time, we'll coach the heck out of technique and fundamentals and footwork, but like, if we can't be on the right bodies, you don't give yourself a shot. So I thought, as a whole, guys need to know their stuff better, Obviously, never know the full story till you watch all the tape, but man, I thought too many times getting beat, too many times on the wrong bodies and we live and die on the idea that this program, every program will go as the offensive line goes, and if we're not airtight up front, then you don't stand a chance. As a leader of this group, it's 100 percent on me.”
