Alex Golesh wants his team to remain consistent in their response, regardless of the result on the scoreboard.
He spoke on it after the big win over No. 1 Georgia, and spoke on it once more following Auburn’s 38-17 home loss to No. 18 LSU.
“I’ll find a way to make sure we respond because it’s the only option we’ve got,” Golesh said postgame. “I do believe we’ve got a bunch of dudes in there that will fight and figure it out. I told them they’ve got [Saturday] to feel some sort of way about it, to feel sorry for themselves. Then [Sunday] morning it’s a reset, no different than a good win. A tough loss the response has to be the same. We’ve had the highs of high so far. That would be the low of lows.”
It was a gut punch for Auburn, which entered the game with an energized fanbase eager to see the team that knocked off the No. 1 team a week ago go for another ranked win. Instead, LSU overpowered Auburn before halftime.
Did Auburn respond poorly to the win over Georgia? Or did LSU just get the better of Golesh and Auburn? Linebacker Elijah Melendez, who leads the team in tackles, pointed more to the lack of execution instead of a poor response.
“I feel like we actually handled it really well,” Melendez said. “I feel like we were over it, and we moved on to this next game. I just feel like we went out there and just didn't execute."
The focus now shifts away from LSU and on to Ole Miss.
“We soak in it [Saturday] and then flush it [Sunday],” said quarterback Byrum Brown. “Fix what we gotta fix and on to the next opponent. Same as it was last week. Just have to just execute at the end of the day.”
Historically, Golesh is rather successful following a loss. He’s 14-3 in games after a loss, including 2-0 this season with Auburn. If the Tigers are going to find a way to beat Ole Miss this upcoming weekend, it starts with holding the same standard within the coaching staff.
“Good win, bad loss, it's coached exactly the same,” Golesh said. “We give them their flowers when they deserve flowers. We criticize when it deserves criticism. I think that's who I am, and that's what I demand our staff is. It is as real as real gets.”
Auburn Undercover is an independent Auburn sports media company covering Auburn athletics, recruiting and insider news.
