What went right, wrong for Auburn against Washington

Opening a season against a top-10 opponent at a neutral site with as many key holes to fill as Auburn did is no small task.

The Washington matchup came with some obvious miscues that are expected in an opener, but Auburn also showed promise in many areas that should have Tiger fans excited for the rest of what the season has to hold. 

Here are a few things that went right and went wrong for Auburn against Washington:

What went right:

- Bend-don’t-break defense:

Arguably the best aspect of the Tigers’ play on Saturday was their ability to stop Washington from reaching the end zone once crossing the 50-yard line. 

In a SB Nation article by Richard Johnson, he states that Washington’s 16 points came on six trips inside Auburn’s 40-yard line for an average of 2.7 points per trip. That is well below the national average from last season at 4.4.

Auburn made big play after big play with the defense’s back to the wall. Especially in the third quarter when, according to defensive coordinator Kevin Steele, the most important play of the game occurred as Nick Coe sniffed out a speed option try on 3rd and goal that forced a fumble and an Auburn recovery. The turnover was huge for Auburn as Washington would have taken the lead and the momentum would have been all Washington. 

Washington would eventually take the lead early in the fourth quarter after a short-yardage field goal attempt clanked off the uprights and in. But the field goal was a win for Auburn as the play before on 3rd & 13, Washington had a sure-fire touchdown with Andre Baccellia standing alone in the back of the end zone. Darrell Williams – the one who recovered the fumble earlier in the red zone – managed to get a hand on the ball and force three instead of seven. 

- Noah Igbinoghene experiment

The receiver-turned-corner was one of the biggest storylines of the offseason for the Tigers. Steele and other coaches raved about his pure natural talent and quick learning ability to the new position, so much so, that Igbinoghene was announced as a starter for the season opener. 

Washington knew that Igbinoghene was new to the position and so, they targeted him time and time again with not as much success as anticipated. 

"I expected to be targeted as a wide receiver moving from cornerback," Igbinoghene said. "They probably didn't think I was going to be as good as I was today. I was ready for it.”

Igbinoghene was ready for the challenge as he led the team in pass deflections (2), both of which came on passes to the end zone.  

- Mounting the comeback

In recent years under Malzahn, the march down the field, game-winning drive has not been something the Tigers have been known for. But the stigma was broken on Saturday when Auburn put together a 10-play, 76-yard touchdown drive, highlighted by a 21-yard sideline catch from Jarrett Stidham to Darius Slayton and a 10-yard “Boobee” Whitlow touchdown run to take the lead. Both players and coaches raved about how overcoming adversity was something that was constantly being discussed among the team. 

“We've been talking about overcoming adversity. You look at last season, we didn't win hardly any, if any, close games, and we knew this was going to be a close game. We knew it would come down to the end,” Malzahn said. “Even when it didn't look super at times, they just kept believing and just willed us to win and found a way to win.”

What went wrong:

- Penalties

Auburn committed 12 penalties on Saturday, the most since 2014 against Ole Miss, when the Tigers committed 13. Dating back to 1996 record books, the most Auburn has committed in a game is 15 in 2002 against Florida. 

Last season, Auburn was one of the best teams in the nation when it came to penalties per game with an average of 4.4 per game. 

When asked about what Auburn needed to work on going into the next game and the rest of season, Malzahn said, “Yeah, like I said, I think the penalties. That's real uncharacteristic. I thought last year we were either leading the league on one of the leaders in penalty yards. We had some uncharacteristic things happen that we've got to clean up. I think there was one big punt return that was really tough.”

- Settling for field goals

Auburn had seven trips inside Washington’s 40 and only came out with 21 total points to equal out to three points a trip – only slightly better than Washington. Five of those seven made it inside the 15-yard line where the Tigers totaled 18 of their 21 points for an average of 3.6 points per trip, only slightly better than a field goal a trip. That is not a winning strategy if the Tigers are planning on competing for a SEC title and playoff appearance.

- Allowing explosive plays

Auburn plays a lot of man coverage along the outside and with that, there is always a chance to allow big plays through the air. Jake Browning is known for being one of the more accurate quarterbacks in the country and displayed that ability on Saturday. Browning hit his receivers five times for gains of 20 yards or more. He only completed 18 of 32 of his passes but threw for 296 yards, averaging 16 yards a completion. 

Jamel Dean was on the receiving end of a few of those explosive plays and stressed the fact that the secondary has a few things to fix before entering conference play.

“We can work on having tighter coverage and actually looking for the ball when we get downfield. It is just still embedded in me to still look at my man the whole time,” Dean said.

Regardless, Auburn pulled out the win and displayed the resilience to win a game against a top-10 opponent not at Jordan-Hare. This is good news as Auburn still has to go on and play Mississippi State, Georgia and Alabama on the road this year. The Tigers kick off their home opener against Alabama State at 6:30 CST on Saturday.