Auburn was far from great defensively on Saturday against Jacksonville State, and many would say they were far from good.
Despite the struggles throughout the game, however, Auburn’s defense stepped up when it mattered to help the Tigers defeat the Gamecocks, 27-20.
Auburn gave up 438 yards of offense against the FCS school, trumping the 405 yards it gave up in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game against Louisville.
The biggest problem for the defense, however, was getting off the field on third down, as the Jacksonville State offense converted six of its nine third-down opportunities in the first half.
“I think early in the game…I really felt like third downs were really the key to the way the first half unfolded,” Malzahn said. “We had trouble getting off the field.”
Auburn especially struggled to defend the pass.
Jacksonville State quarterback Eli Jenkins threw for 182 yards in the first half against a depleted Auburn secondary.
Safety Tray Matthews did not play because of a shoulder injury, cornerback Joshua Holsey was injured in the first quarter and cornerback Blake Countess was ejected in the first half for targeting. The losses forced Auburn to play true freshmen Jeremiah Dinson, Carlton Davis and Tim Irvin in the secondary.
Malzahn attributed some of the struggles defending the pass to the inexperience, but he also gave Jenkins credit for making tough throws.
“Those guys are getting better and better,” Malzahn said of the young players in the secondary. “There’s nothing like game experience and (Jenkins), give him credit, he made a couple of throws on the sideline that not many people can make. … When they make a play, they make a play.”
While the youth may have contributed to some mistakes, senior cornerback Jonathan Jones said the defense feels confident in the young players’ abilities moving forward.
“We know we have young guys, and when we put them in they’re going to step up and make plays,” Jones said. “Especially down the stretch, (they were) able to come up with some pass breakups and help us out. We’re definitely going to need them.”
Jones also said there was a lack of defensive energy in the first half, which resulted in some big plays.
“I don’t think, in the first half, we came with as much intensity as we should have,” Jones said. “You can blame it on a lot of factors, but at the end of the day we have to show up no matter who we’re playing or what time.”
Show up, they did, even if a bit late.
Late in the fourth quarter, with Auburn driving to tie the game, running back Roc Thomas fumbled the ball at the Jacksonville State 13 yard line, and the Gamecocks recovered with 3:06 left to play.
The Auburn defense forced a three-and-out, including one of three third-down stops in the fourth quarter, that led to the game-tying drive.
In overtime, the defense gave up a pass interference penalty to give the Gamecocks a first down, but a sack on third down and a pass breakup on fourth down sealed the victory.
“Down the road, we can learn a lot from this game,” said safety Johnathan Ford. “The biggest thing is we stayed together and played and fought hard for this W.”
Auburn will travel to Baton Rouge to face LSU at Tiger Stadium next week.
Senior linebacker Kris Frost has complete confidence that Auburn will play much better in Death Valley than it did against Jacksonville State.
“We know that (defensive coordinator Will Muschamp) is going to get us right,” Frost said. “We completely trust in his philosophy. … We know that we’re going to get better next week.”
Malzahn said the things his team experienced in a close game at home will help them as they go into a hostile environment.
“We faced major adversity at home,” Malzahn said. “We had a lot of new guys on the field late in the game, counting on them to help us win the game. As far as that experience of winning games late, that’ll help us later on.”
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