Brian’s Column: Auburn’s second half play calling is a glaring problem…..

The Auburn Tigers enter college football week 9 as one of 27 teams in the country with at least 6.5 yards per offensive play. The Tigers are also one of 29 FBS teams in the nation to allow 5.0 yards per play or less on defense this season. Only seven programs have accomplished both feats. The other six, Army, Indiana, Ohio State, Ole Miss, Penn State, and Texas, are a combined 36-4. Auburn is 2-6.

On the surface, it’s easy to point the finger at Auburn’s quarterback play, specifically Payton Thorne’s turnover issues, but the underlying problem lies in the second half inefficiency of an offense that displays a bland and uninspired scheme. Auburn’s last 8 non-desperation drives in the fourth quarter in winnable games (Missouri, Oklahoma) have yielded a grand total of 76 total offense yards. Of those 76 total yards, 48 have come from Jarquez Hunter on the ground. Another 10 have come from Payton Thorne quarterback runs.

Auburn’s offensive script, that has been critiqued by fans and experts throughout the season due to the lack of running the football, has tried to even itself out at the end of games by doing just that. Instead of using a variable set of plays in each half, or each drive, Hugh Freeze and the Auburn coaching staff has opted towards the often ineffective strategy of “throw, throw, and throw some more” in the opening stanza before shifting to a run heavy attack in hopes of clinging to a late lead when the game is often up for grabs.

Of the last eight of the aforementioned Auburn fourth quarter drives, five have started with a Jarquez Hunter run. Two of the other three have began with a Payton Thorne scramble caused by a break down either in protection, route-running, or scheme. The lone drive that Auburn ran a successful passing pattern, a 10-yard completion to tight end Rivaldo Fairweather, was stalled due to a 9-yard sack on the next play.

Teams are often going to run the football when ahead late in football games, but Hugh Freeze’s inability to generate creative ways to successfully move the chains in the fourth quarter is killing his football team. Jarquez Hunter’s ability can only carry the Tigers so far. This season, that has not been nearly far enough.

Auburn has seen the emergence of playmakers like Malcolm Simmons and KeAndre Lambert-Smith in the Auburn offense and continuously mis-used what could be two great weapons around the line of scrimmage. Both players have made sensational catches down the sideline on a plethora of occasions, but other than a handful of jet sweeps to Simmons, neither player has been used much inside of the numbers.

Even using the speedsters as decoys on wide receiver screens or mesh patterns could open up a large chunk of grass the for the Auburn backfield to operate. While Hugh Freeze’s overall offense has been efficient, Payton Thorne and company have been disastrously inefficient at the most inopportune times in 2024. The good news is that can be fixed. All it will take is a bit of creativity from the coaching staff.