Auburn and head coach Hugh Freeze are experiencing defeat after defeat, seeing a fourth consecutive loss come in the form of a blown 11-point lead against No. 19 Missouri.
The feeling is not just being seen in the win and loss columns, but in multiple facets of the game, especially on third downs.
As in many of Auburn’s recent losses, the lack of finishing drives and converting on third downs came back to haunt it on Saturday.
Auburn saw numerous opportunities to keep drives going on third downs, especially on their final drive of the third quarter which ultimately turned out to be a 13-play, 63-yard drive.
However, on the final portion of that drive with goal-to-go at the Missouri 22-yard line, Auburn was unable to find the end zone on a crucial third down with a dump off to Jarquez Hunter. He was tackled at the 12-yard line, setting up a field goal for freshman kicker Towns McGough.
The failed conversion turned out to be detrimental, though, as McGough missed the field goal and kept the Auburn lead at 11, giving the ball back to Missouri and star quarterback Brady Cook, who returned from injury on the ensuing possession.
The orange and blue Tigers went four-for-14 on third down on the day, not executing well in crucial spots.
Freeze mentioned how well Missouri’s defensive line has played, but also acknowledged that it is no excuse for not making the offensive gains that needed to happen, even despite some inexperience.
“That was a really good material, old-school experienced defensive line,” Freeze said. “We knew it’d be tough to hold up all the time against them if we couldn’t stay balanced. They got after us when they had to.”
Unfortunately for Auburn, this theme has been consistent for a large portion of the 2024 season. Freeze’s squad currently sits 13th in the SEC and 73rd in the nation in third down percentage, only converting on 39% of its chances.
The offense came up empty-handed on its first three drives of the game, two of which resulted in three-and-outs and the other ending in a 32-yard field goal from McGough, a possession that Auburn could have easily ended in stronger fashion.
Its first conversion came on the fourth offensive possession, when KeAndre Lambert-Smith caught a seven-yard pass to convert. However, two plays later, Payton Thorne fumbled and turned it over on a quarterback run.
Auburn’s other critical failure on third down came in the later stages of the fourth quarter, when after forcing Missouri to punt from its own end zone, it lost three yards on the way to another three-and-out.
Many third-and-long distances were the result of poor yardage on second down, as six plays on second down gained no yards or lost yards. Despite this, third downs were a struggle as they have been all season.
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Tyler Raley is a senior from Birmingham, Alabama, majoring in journalism. He joined the Plainsman in the spring of 2022.
You can follow him on X (Twitter) at @traley34.
