Auburn's regular season has drawn to a close. It's been a bit of a roller-coaster ride, given that Auburn started 1-2, reeled off six straight wins, and dropped its final two SEC games to finish at 8-4. The Tigers undone by an ineffective offense, fell to No. 1 Alabama in the Iron Bowl Saturday night. Here are some notes from the regular-season finale in Tuscaloosa.
Quarterback conundrum
Similar to the season opener against Clemson, the Auburn quarterbacks situation was puzzling. Sean White wasn't healthy enough to start Saturday, so Jeremy Johnson got the nod to start the Iron Bowl for the second year in a row, and just like last year, he was limited in how much he was able to throw. Johnson finished 4-13 for 34 yards, and the offense couldn't do much of anything in the first half.
John Franklin III came in later during the second half, and he was able to spark the offense to life a bit. He threw a 55-yard pass to freshman Eli Stove and broke off a few nice runs. However, he still couldn't guide Auburn into the end zone. It's clear that when White is in and healthy, this is a completely different Auburn team. Without him, the Tigers become one-dimensional and against a defense like Alabama's, it's a recipe for disaster.
Freshmen are the future
After the game, coach Gus Malzahn emphasized how young of a team Auburn has, and how bright the future is. Based on the production Saturday night — and the entirety of the season, really — by freshmen, it is indeed bright. Eli Stove led Auburn in receiving with four catches for 87 yards, including that 55-yard bomb from Franklin. He was frequently the recipient of sweeps, and although he wasn't able to turn the corner and get upfield much, his speed poses a problem for defenses.
And if not for Daniel Thomas on defense, the game might've been much worse. He picked off Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts twice, once on a good undercut on a throw against the sideline, and another that Hurts threw directly to him. He stepped up big for Rudy Ford, who exited with an injury.
Carlson keeps climbing
This marks the second game where Daniel Carlson accounted for every point Auburn was able to score, along with the 18-13 win over LSU back in September. He was 4-of-5 on Saturday, with his only miss being a 52-yarder that hooked to the left. That's just his fourth miss this year, and only the second miss that wasn't blocked or tipped at the line of scrimmage.
He's as sure of a thing as there is in college football, and without the Groza Award finalist, the Tigers would be in a much bigger hole than they currently are. Including his four kicks Saturday night, Carlson has made 26 on the year, which are the fourth-most in SEC history. His 67-of-81 mark for his career is the best in Auburn history, and he's second in scoring in program history; his 347 points are just behind Wes Byrum's 363.
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