Finishing has been a point of emphasis this week for Auburn Tigers Head Coach Alex Golesh. He felt his team did not do enough of that against Ole Miss to win the game or even stay competitive in the fourth quarter.
Golesh knows the Tigers will have to finish more plays and finish more drives to beat an Arkansas team whom he feels does that well.
SUBSCRIBE TO AUBURN UNDERCOVER TODAY AND GET ACCESS TO PREMIUM CONTENT YOU WON'T FIND ANYWHERE ELSE
“I got a lot of respect for those guys, and we've emphasized that,” Golesh said. “We've emphasized just finish in general. But these dudes will go finish. They're fighting, they're scrapping. They're getting better and better, and that's what I hope we are doing.”
Golesh has talked about getting better week to week throughout the season. That has not occurred during the last two weeks.
“There's an intent right now that we are not in a place where we gotta be,” Golesh said. “I don't know if we're ever gonna get to a place like that. But gosh darn it, we're gonna keep chasing that.”
One specific area Golesh hopes to improve this week is the distance to go on third downs.
Golesh emphasized that they have not faced a third-and-short in two weeks, and said the goal is to always make a first down and that starts with success on the early downs.
“Whether it's a chunk or six, seven, eight yards to where now, second-and-short, you've got your entire menu, you can do whatever you want,” Golesh said.
Monday, Offensive Coordinator Joel Gordon spoke about trying to balance practice physicality with being fresh on Saturdays.
Golesh discussed how his team is navigating that as the season comes to its home stretch.
“We're at a point in our program where that's a really, really, really fine balance,” Golesh said. “We were a little bit lighter on time yesterday, kept the physicality in true mid-season form. And then today we went a little bit longer and added physicality. We gotta go and be a violent football team. And the only way you get there is by training that way. If we're gonna build an identity and we're saying that we are gonna be who we are, then you gotta practice it.”
Auburn will try to establish its physicality and rediscover its rushing attack against Arkansas on Saturday.
The Tigers have not rushed for more than 100 yards since their win over No. 1 Georgia, and it has directly resulted in two lopsided losses.
The Tigers and the Razorbacks kick off at 11:45 a.m. CST at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Nov. 7.
Auburn Undercover is an independent Auburn sports media company covering Auburn athletics, recruiting and insider news.
