The Auburn Tigers (3-3, 0-3) fell in heartbreaking fashion to the Georgia Bulldogs (5-1, 2-1) at home following a complete second-half collapse on Saturday night. This meltdown culminated due to many factors, such as a dysfunctional offensive attack, an inability to prevent the Bulldogs from converting third and fourth downs, and numerous penalties at inopportune times.
The Tigers’ first half was stellar, scoring a touchdown on the game’s opening drive and proceeding to go up 10-0 in the second quarter after a 25-yard field goal made by Alex McPherson. “I thought it really looked efficient, balanced. Man, we’ve just got to find a way to sustain that for four quarters,” stated Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze in his post-game press conference, referring to Auburn’s execution in the first half.
Auburn was on the brink of going up 17-0 following the two-minute timeout, but a controversial call by the officials determined that the ball was fumbled and recovered by the Bulldogs before crossing the goal line. This eventually culminated in a 29-yard field goal, leaving the score at 10-3 going into halftime. The Tigers never truly recovered from this momentum shift.
Auburn’s offense looked the most alive it had in weeks during the first half, consisting of 130 rushing yards and 107 passing yards. Quarterback Jackson Arnold performed notably well, completing 14 of 19 passes and rushing for a touchdown. As if a switch had flipped, however, Auburn had 40 yards of total offense in the second half, with Arnold completing only 5 passes on 12 attempts for 30 yards. Additionally, Cam Coleman led the team in receiving, hauling in seven catches for 70 yards throughout the game, helping to bolster the offense despite its struggles.
The Tigers’ time of possession only made up 7 minutes and 53 seconds during the second half, contributing to their defense tiring out. Perhaps most notably, the Tigers went 0 of 6 on third down, paling in comparison to a perfect 5-of-5 during the first half. Conversely, the Bulldogs went 5 of 11 on third down and converted a crucial fourth down, improving from a first half in which they went 0 of 4 on third down conversions.
The Tigers also committed 11 penalties for 90 yards, contributing to the Bulldogs’ takeover. This is the third straight game that Auburn has committed double-digit penalties, a number that they did not reach a single time last season. 35 yards worth of these penalties were committed during Georgia’s final drive of the first half, allowing the Bulldogs to get into field goal range. As opposed to previous weeks in which Auburn struggled with pre-snap penalties, most of these penalties were offsides calls and personal fouls, making up 10–15-yard losses. These penalties allowed the Bulldogs to continue marching down the field and killed the momentum that the Tigers attempted to build.
The Auburn Tigers will attempt to win their first conference matchup of the season against the Missouri Tigers on October 18, 2025, in Auburn, Alabama. This game will air on ESPN, with kickoff slated for 6:45 PM CDT.
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Braden is a freshman majoring in Aviation Management. He started with the Plainsman in fall 2025.
