For the second straight year, the Auburn Tigers enter their game against the Georgia Bulldogs coming off a bye week. Through the first five games, Quarterback Byrum Brown has thrown seven touchdowns and but has also thrown seven interceptions. The latter number is second worst in the SEC. He shared with the media today what he saw on film during the bye week, hoping to cut down on the turnovers during the second half of the season.
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“There were sometimes I might have forced one and something else was wide open. We watched it. We corrected it. We’re on to this week,” Brown said.
One thing that would certainly take pressure off of Brown, and the entire offense, would be getting off to better starts in games. That will require being able to run the football and getting ahead of the chains on first and second downs. Both players and coaches have repeatedly stressed the importance of picking up the first 1st down of a series to get the offense going.
Starting tackle Stanton Ramil spoke to that issue again today, “[T]hat’s when we are at our best when we can get to tempo and we can get rolling. We’re in better shape than the defense and we can just go go go…be violent as hell. Be physical as hell. Just as fast as hell. That’s going to be the emphasis.”
Another issue that has limited the Tigers’ offensive explosiveness is inconsistent perimeter blocking. Sophomore wide receiver Christian Neptune addressed that issue today, “[T]hat’s where I have fun. If you can’t block it you can’t play. That’s really what KB (receivers coach Kodi Burns) says. Making sure the guy across from you feels you is really the point we are trying to put on film.”
Neptune also shares punt return duties with fellow receiver and special team’s standout Bryce Cain. Neptune said the Tigers used the bye week to correct issues in the punt return game that have cost the Tiger offense field position in the first half of the season. There have been several occasions that Auburn’s punt returners have fair caught a punt around and even inside the five yard line. “We implemented a drill to where we can practice on letting the ball go or when to field it. We did the right things. I believe in Bryce and I to make the right decisions,” Neptune said.
Saturday will present another tough road environment for the Tigers. Auburn has been working on several silent snap counts in order to prevent a repeat of Knoxville two weeks ago, where pre-snap penalties put the offense in a hole before it even got started. The offensive line has also been working on shoring up their communication against a Georgia defensive line that often stems before the snap.
“We have to able to move on the run. Everyone’s got to be super dialed in. We have to know this like the back of our hands so that the stemming isn’t going to mess with us at all,” Ramil said.
Concerning the snap count, Brown added “We worked on it today in practice. We’re going to continue to work on it tomorrow in 3rd down period, things of that nature. Getting everyone on the same page. Being one cohesive unit.”
The feeling around the program seemed positive after today’s practice. The players Auburn Undercover spoke with feel the team is better equipped to play on the road this weekend now that they have a road game under their belt.
“Obviously we came up short this past week. Seeing what we can improve on and really just go out and execute,” Neptune said. “We’re working on it with everything we can being in these loud environments. Coming in here, crowd noise, making it so we have to communicate at a very high level,” Ramil added. “We just didn’t execute the last Saturday, so I think we are prepared,” Brown concluded.
Auburn’s last win against a ranked opponent came at home against Texas A&M in 2024. Their last win against a ranked opponent on the road came all the way back in 2021 against Arkansas. The Tigers hope to end both those streaks and, more importantly, Georgia’s nine game win streak in this series on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. central at Sanford Stadium.
Auburn Undercover is an independent Auburn sports media company covering Auburn athletics, recruiting and insider news.
