Last weekend, the Tigers had a disappointing finish in Jordan-Hare Stadium against Cal losing 21-14. However, they could find a way to bounce back this Saturday at home again against the New Mexico Lobos.
The Lobos are coming off a loss against No. 20 Arizona 61-39 in Tucson, AZ. Despite giving up 61 points, quarterback Devon Dampier gave New Mexico a good offensive performance with three touchdown passes and two rushing touchdowns.
A good offensive performance was something that the Tigers lacked last weekend, which is something they will need heading this Saturday if they’re going to beat the Lobos.
“First of all, we aren't talented enough yet to play bad and win,” Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze said. “And I know everybody doesn't want to hear that. The way we're choosing to build this is to try to develop young men, and obviously, if you follow recruiting, we're starting to get our roster to be better, but we can't play poorly and win, particularly [with] five turnovers.”
Quarterback Payton Thorne never gave the offense a lot of rhythm after the first drive, as he only threw one touchdown, while throwing four interceptions. Jarquez Hunter also had a fumble early in the fourth quarter, resulting the Tigers offense committing five turnovers.
“Don't turn it over five times, and I think we would've found a way to score enough points to win even though we played bad,” Freeze said. “But not when you're having, 3-and-out, turnover, 3-and-out, turnover, one-play, turnover, one play, turnover. You're not going to get in any rhythm.”
The defense was able to get a lot of critical stops at times but was not able to force Cal to turn over the ball. Defensive end Keldric Faulk led the defense to two sacks and eight total tackles.
"I thought defensively we played well enough to win the game even though the first half we gave up too many third downs. But some of those they made some good plays. But we controlled the line of scrimmage defensively," Freeze said.
Freeze was not in the greatest of looks after this devastating loss. He expected better before this game but was not able to get the results he wanted.
“Disappointing. You know, I thought, you know, would hope we were further along. I knew this would be a good test for us no matter what people said,” said Freeze. “They’re a very senior-laden football team and played extremely hard and they’re well coached.”
The pressure is on Thorne because if he causes any more costly turnovers this Saturday, then backup Hank Brown could take over and send him to the bench. Thorne could even fall to the second string going forward if he doesn’t improve himself.
Receivers KeAndre Lambert-Smith and Cam Coleman must also find a way to create separation from defenders and make effective plays to put points on the board for the Tigers. Tight end Rivaldo Fairweather must also step up and make catches to rumble himself into yards of gain.
Dampier is the ringmaster of the New Mexico offense, as he leads the Lobos this season in seven total touchdowns, with four touchdowns in the air and three touchdowns on the ground.
It is up to Faulk, Eugene Asante, and the rest of the Tigers defense to prevent Dampier from making plays and leading the New Mexico offense to scoring lots of points.
This weekend is homecoming weekend as many festivities will be going on, such as the homecoming parade and a pep rally on Friday. The Miss Homecoming winner will also be announced during halftime of Saturday’s game.
The Tigers will play the Lobos this Saturday, Sept. 14 at 6:30 p.m. CST. The game will be broadcasted on ESPN2.
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Albert Osorio is a senior from Hoover, Alabama, who is majoring in journalism. He joined The Plainsman in January 2024.
