In one of the worst losses of the Gus Malzahn era, the Tigers were bested by Tennessee, 30-24 on Saturday. And after reports of attrition within the Tigers locker room lingered all week long, Jarrett Stidham provided more reasons for frustration.
The redshirt junior quarterback tied a career-high for turnovers with three, with two leading to Tennessee scores.
After fumbling inside his own 15 en route to a Vols scoop-and-score touchdown, the fans had seen enough. Stidham returned with the offense to the sounds of boos throughout Jordan-Hare Stadium. Small contingents of the crowd chanted for backup quarterbacks Malik Willis and Joey Gatewood to be thrown.
On the sidelines however, Stidham’s teammates had his back.
“Obviously, if you’re a quarterback you’re going to be loved up one moment and hated the other,” Auburn H-back Chandler Cox said. “He doesn’t deserve the hate he’s getting because it’s us as 11 guys on the field not executing. He’s trying his best.”
Stidham and the offense started hot, orchestrating their longest drive of the year (14 plays in 5:16) against a Power 5 opponent on the game’s opening possession. The Tigers converted three third downs — equaling their 3-for-14 mark from last week’s loss at Mississippi State, and scored on a Cox toss play.
After Anthony Schwartz’s blazing speed beat the entire Tennessee secondary to put Auburn up 17-10, the Tigers next six drives ended with either a punt, fumble or missed field goal.
“I’m going to watch the film,” Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn said when asked about changing out quarterbacks. “We’ll have a plan moving forward, whatever that is, to get better. Bottom line is we’ve got to get better and we’ve got to get better as a team. I’m very disappointed with our performance.”
Malzahn said he thought the team would play better after a solid week of practice. The fans in orange and blue likely weren’t expecting to be on the sour end of Tennessee’s first win over the Tigers since 1999, as well.
“We've got to get better, and you can't keep doing the same thing every week,” Malzahn said. “Two weeks in a row, we've turned the football over, we didn't make the plays when we had to.”
Stidham still passed for 322 yards and two touchdowns but was required to attempt the most passes in his Auburn career (45).
At this point last season, Stidham was tearing SEC defenses to shreds. Through seven games this season, he has seven touchdowns to four interceptions.
But he’s still the offense’s leader. He still trots out with Deshaun Davis and Ryan Davis as team captains before the game. And, in his own words, he still isn’t ready to call it quits.
“Every day, I’m going to go to work and get better, and I’m going to keep fighting for those guys in that locker room,” Stidham said. “That’s what it’s completely about for me. I don’t care about the future, I don’t care about the past, I don’t care how great or bad I did last year or how I’ve done up to this point. I’m going to continue to fight for my teammates.”
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
Nathan King, senior in journalism with a minor in business, is The Plainsman's sports editor.
