The 2023 Auburn football season has had its ups and downs, but the Tigers' defense remained consistent until Saturday. The unit's performance against the New Mexico State Aggies was not up to the standard the Tigers had set this season.
The Tigers allowed a total of 414 yards of offense to New Mexico State, including 213 rushing yards. For reference, Auburn had just 213 total yards on the day. The Tigers' defense struggled to get off the field, giving up six third-down conversions in 12 tries.
This allowed New Mexico State to have long, sustained drives. Three Aggie touchdown drives took over five minutes. Auburn's 19-game streak of forcing a turnover came to an end against the Aggies as well.
The Tiger defense was unable to stop Aggie quarterback Diego Pavia, who ended the day with 201 passing yards and three touchdowns.
The Auburn offense struggled to stay hot with the Aggie offense keeping possession for most of the game. The proverbial backbreaker was when the Aggies capped off a 16-play, 83-yard drive with a fourth-and-goal touchdown pass. After this, many Auburn fans headed toward the exits as the Aggies took a 17-point lead with 8:42 to play.
Keionte Scott led the Tigers in tackles with seven, six of those being solo tackles. Elijah McAllister had Auburn's only sack of the night.
Saturday's defensive performance was a far cry from the previous weeks' performances. In the previous three games, Auburn's defense allowed 15 points against Vanderbilt, 13 against Mississippi State and 10 against Arkansas. In those outings, all Auburn wins, the defense dominated the game and helped the Auburn offense with short fields.
It was different against the Aggies, however, as New Mexico State put up 31 points – the second-most points Auburn has given up this season.
Auburn's defense was also maligned by penalties. Auburn had nine penalties on the night, four of which were on the defense. The Tigers committed two pass interference penalties in the opening drive, aiding the Aggies as they took the early lead.
Another wrinkle that hurt the Auburn defense was the Aggies' usage of backup quarterback Eli Stowers. Stowers was a running quarterback and had nine carries. The Aggies utilized the jet motion and Stowers either handed it to the motion man or kept it and ran.
This seemed to confuse the Tiger defense at times and added a layer to an already difficult offense to stop. Stowers also caught a touchdown pass for the Aggies.
The Auburn defense has had success for the majority of the season, with a strong performance against Georgia and a three-game stretch that saw promise from the Tigers. However, things came to a crashing, unexpected end for the Tigers with New Mexico State dominating Auburn in all phases of the game.
Auburn never led in this game. Auburn dominated each of the three meetings with the Aggies before this one. However, on Saturday afternoon, the tables were turned, and the Aggies dominated Auburn.
The Auburn defense will need to find its footing, and do so in a hurry, as it will face a resurgent Alabama offense that struggled early in the season, but has caught fire in the later half. Auburn will look to limit Jalen Milroe and the Crimson Tide offense.
Auburn's defense lost to New Mexico State because of a balanced offensive attack, and the Crimson Tide will likely look to recreate what the Aggies did today.
After Saturday's performance, Auburn will have to regroup and get ready for the Iron Bowl. If the Auburn defense can get back to the way they were, they could look to limit Alabama. If the Tigers play like they did against the Aggies, however, it could be a long night for the Tigers.
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TP is a senior from Montgomery, Alabama, majoring in journalism. He started with The Plainsman in fall 2022.
Twitter: @tp_hammock
