The Tigers entered the game against Mississippi State hoping to get their season on track and right the ship offensively in a pivotal SEC West matchup.
Instead, the Auburn offense had its worst performance of the season, and the Tigers found themselves all but removed from the playoff picture.
Auburn has struggled on third down all year, and this game was no exception. On this play, the Tigers have a third-and-1 and should have about a plethora of plays in order to pick this up.
Auburn decides to go with a run, which, by itself, is fine. However, the play is blown up so quickly by Mississippi State that I am not even sure what type of run this is. The offensive line all blocks straight ahead with fullback Chandler Cox serving as a lead blocker.
Cox has an uncharacteristic whiff, but ultimately that does not matter. The reason it does not matter is because Mississippi State’s middle linebacker goes completely untouched and tackles Auburn running back Asa Martin short of the first down.
I am assuming that one of Auburn’s linemen was going to help with a double team initially then work his way up to the middle linebacker, but against a high level defense, there is no time for that. Mississippi State has the play read all the way, even stacking the box with three linebackers before the play. A little misdirection would have gone a long way here.
Had Auburn brought Cox in motion or motioned a receiver, or run a quick pass or play-action, it would have had a higher chance of working. Instead, Auburn ran the most obvious play possible, one that Mississippi State was expecting and had lined up to counter.
Auburn’s offense did find some rhythm later in the first half. On this play, Stidham has to make the choice between throwing a screen and handing the ball off.
Stidham begins the play by staring at the receiver. This causes the defense to realize the play is a RPO, which is actually good thing. Mississippi’s State’s defense is essentially frozen in place, waiting to see what Stidham is going to do. This allows Marquel Harrell and Calvin Ashley to easily make their blocks, and Stidham hands the ball off to Auburn running back JaTarvious Whitlow, who bursts through the hole for an easy 13-yard gain.
Building on that play, Auburn would later run a trick play. The Tigers lined up in the Wildcat, handing the ball to a player on an end around, who then pitched it to Stidham. The play worked perfectly, just like it did last season against Miss State, and Auburn receiver Darius Slayton was as open as one can ever hope to be in college football. Stidham than overthrew him by a 5-plus yards.
Little mistakes like that plagued the Tigers all night. Auburn receivers and running backs dropped multiple easy passes, muffed punts and a fumble on the 1-yard line all contributed to Auburn losing the game.
Auburn would find success with running counters and weak-side runs. On this play, the whole line and Cox block to the right. Stidham also stares to the right, and the entire defense crashes down.
Whitlow then fakes going right, and cuts to the left, gaining an easy 13 yards. Creative plays like this worked often, with Mississippi State being unable to read them correctly. It was when Auburn tried to run basic plays that Auburn was stuffed, and this would lead to Auburn not scoring a single touchdown all game.
The drive would be killed when Auburn ran a questionably designed screen pass.
Auburn threw a screen in which the right side of the offensive line leaked out to serve as lead blockers and Stidham is supposed to back up and throw the ball before getting sacked. On this play, it's pivotal that Stidham can get rid of the ball, as the offensive line intentionally lets two defensive linemen by. That makes it all the more odd that Davis runs a slow-developing screen.
He initially takes off and acts like he is going deep before coming back for the screen. Stidham is running for his life the whole time, and the rest of the defense not chasing Stidham is able to recognize what the play is in this time and react accordingly.
Had this been a screen to a running back, or even a screen to Davis with him going for the screen right away, it might have worked. Mississippi State is too athletic and talented for this type of play to work against.
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