Head coach Bryan Harsin and his staff are moving past week three's blowout loss against Penn State and are back to the drawing board for the upcoming game on Saturday against Missouri.
The emotions are running high after last week’s devastating loss, and that seemed to be one of the biggest focal points of Monday's press conference, along with refocusing the team and putting in a good week of practice.
The tone used by Harsin when answering the media’s questions was one of direct frustration. He did not welcome addressing the outcome of the game with Penn State and the issues the team faced during the game. In his opening comments, Harsin stated that the energy and focus were where they needed to be on Saturday, and the team needs to "flush out" the last game and move on to Missouri.
This was a term not only used by Harsin when asked about the Penn State game, but by the players as well. Senior Austin Troxell spoke on the matter of how the team will address the emotional component this week.
“We just got to flush it. Learn from it," Troxell said. "Wrestled with it yesterday, watched film, correct it on the field. You got to learn from (the loss) and flush and move on."
Harsin and the players have to move on mentally because their next game starts off SEC play. Questions about the last game were briefly answered and turned into how they can change looking into the future through this week’s practice.
A question was also asked about the mentality on the team after tight end John Samuel Shenker brought it up post-game on Saturday.
This question was not received well by Harsin. He moved the question away from mentality and turned it into a question about the decision-making on the team.
“There were mess ups, all right. There were things we didn’t do correctly. That’s the execution piece,” Harsin said.
Any time a question was asked about weak spots from the game, Harsin emphasized the team fixing all of that at practice starting this Tuesday.
Harsin also emphasized the fact that outsiders only see one day of the week: game day. And while that is the most important test, he said that the team has been making major strides during practice. And the obvious issues have been watched and fixed by the coaching staff.
After a disappointing performance from both the offensive line and quarterbacks, Harsin said that the lineup is not set. At practice this week, the players will continue competing for a spot.
Harsin was asked about the status of quarterbacks Robby Ashford and T.J. Finley after they both suffered hard hits and were seen grabbing parts of their bodies during the game on Saturday.
“They’re good. They’re good,” Harsin said.
Auburn looks to right the ship in a Tiger showdown this weekend, as Auburn takes on Missouri in its homecoming game at 11 a.m. CST on homecoming week. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.
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Lily has been with The Plainsman for three years and started out as a Sports Writer before becoming the Operations Editor. She graduates in May of 2024 and is from Washington, D.C.
