If there’s one thing to nitpick for Hugh Freeze after Auburn’s win over New Mexico, it's the performance his defense put on display.
The Tigers’ defense allowed 448 total yards of offense, with 291 of them coming through the air as the backend of the defense got carved up by the likes of Devon Dampier and the Lobos passing attack early in the game.
“I thought we were not very good on defense, and think DJ (Durkin) would agree.” Freeze said postgame. “But thought we looked kind of tired, it kind of seemed, so we’ll have to talk about that tomorrow, and I know that DJ and his staff will certainly be trying to fix all of those issues before we face another mobile guy next week.”
The elusive quarterback in Dampier was able to escape the pocket with ease all night. The Tigers’ front seven struggled to get him on the ground and didn’t record a sack with only one tackle for loss on the night.
“We didn’t contain him (Dampier) very well. People got behind us and they converted too many long plays, long distances,” Freeze said.
But, just like a week ago, Auburn made a few defensive adjustments coming out of the half and was able to hold the Lobos potent pass-game to under 100 yards in the half. The Tiger’s took a bit of a “bend, don’t break” approach as the Lobos worked their way inside the red zone six different times, but scored on just two touchdowns and two field goals.
“Just more consistency,” defensive back Champ Anthony said. “We came out in the second half and played our butt off. I just want us to come in and destroy people from beginning to end. I love our team, but we need to start faster.”
Making matters worse for an already young secondary, starting cornerback Kayin Lee did not take the field and adjacent starter Keionte Scott went down in the second half after a collision with Austin Keys.
The highlight of the night for a defense that had not forced a turnover yet this season were two interceptions caught by Jerrin Thompson and Antonio Kite. Thompson’s in particular was an extraordinary catch where he caught the ball off of the New Mexico’s receivers helmet.
“A lot of guys were doing their jobs,” Thompson said. I wouldn't have done it without Eugene (Asante). He put pressure on the quarterback and made the guy throw up something and I just made a play with the ball.”
The Tiger’s will aim for improvement throughout the week of preparation as athletic signal-caller Taylen Green suits up against the orange and blue in a week with conference play beginning with Arkansas.
“I’m happy for our kids, our staff and our fans, that they leave Jordan-Hare (Stadium) tonight with a win. But there’s a lot to improve on for sure and we’ll have to get cleaned up. It feels better to leave here with a win all the time and we’ll take it.”
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Logan Fowler is a Senior from Sumiton, Alabama and is majoring in journalism. He joined the Plainsman in Spring 2024.
You can follow him on X (Twitter) at @loganffowler
