Reaction: LSU 45, Auburn 10

The worst-case scenario for Auburn entering its matchup with LSU was an embarrassing blowout loss. Well, that scenario was met.

Auburn held its own against the nation’s No. 1 team early, but the Tigers gave up two long touchdown passes in the final six minutes of the first half, and LSU completely dismantled the orange-and-blue Tigers in the second half. As lopsided as the final score was, Auburn really didn’t play a terribly poor game. It just so happened that Gene Chizik’s team met an LSU squad that was vastly superior in almost every aspect of the game.

After getting run over on the game’s opening drive, the Auburn defense bowed up and played well until two blown coverages allowed LSU’s lead to balloon from four to 18 points shortly before halftime. But frustrating penalties by Auburn defenders allowed LSU to extend drives on each scoring possession in the first half. In the second half, two turnovers directly led to 14 LSU points and shut the door on any slim chance Auburn might have had at making a comeback.

In what ended up being the most lopsided defeat of the Gene Chizik Era to date, Auburn wasn’t bad and even played well at times. But the Tigers were far from perfect, and anything other that a perfect game from Chizik’s team was going to likely end in disaster.

WHAT WENT RIGHT?

Gus Malzahn opened up the offense a bit, and Clint Moseley responded. Going into the game, we knew that if Malzahn called the same type of gameplan used against Florida, Auburn would have no chance at winning. Malzahn put his faith in his new starting quarterback, and Moseley, despite a very pedestrian final line, played pretty well. No. 15 completed 12 of 20 passes for 145 yards and threw one interception. Those numbers are far from great, but Moseley was facing an elite defense and was under pressure all day — he was sacked six times, you know. With Barrett Trotter’s poor play in recent weeks, Malzahn had seemed reluctant to put his quarterback in any position where a mistake could be made. Malzahn changed his tactics against LSU, and it will likely pay off in the future. It’s hard to imagine that Trotter would have completed some of the passes Moseley completed, and despite getting beat up all day, the new quarterback kept his composure and didn’t get rattled. Facing a defense the caliber of LSU’s in his first start should be a blessing for Moseley. The fact that he held his own shows that he should thrive against the lesser defenses he’ll face in upcoming weeks.

For about 25 minutes, the defense stood tall against LSU’s offense. Until LSU scored two touchdowns late in the first half, Auburn’s defense was playing well enough to win. Yes, LSU ran over the Auburn D on the first drive of the game, but Ted Roof’s bunch responded to that challenge well. LSU’s next three drives covered 27 yards and included two three-and-outs and three punts. Auburn was in position to stop LSU again when Jordan Jefferson fumbled a snap and was tackled for a loss on second and long, but a facemask penalty gave the purple and gold new life, and Jefferson threw a 42-yard touchdown pass two plays later. The defense gave up a quick touchdown on LSU’s first drive of the second half, and two consecutive Auburn turnovers that led to scored made the rest of the game a formality. But for most of the first half, it appeared Auburn, thanks mostly to its defense, would give LSU a 60-minute game.

WHAT WENT WRONG?

Auburn’s offensive line looked like middle-schoolers against LSU’s defensive line. Auburn was able to drive for a field goal on its second drive, but it was pretty obvious that the good Tigers were going to have big problems with LSU’s D-line all day. LSU manhandled Auburn’s offensive line, compiling six sacks, four more quarterback hurries and nine tackles for loss. LSU consistently blew up Auburn plays before they could get started, and Malzahn couldn’t come up with anything to get the offense moving. It wasn’t really Gus’ fault, though. Even when Auburn dialed up the occasional screen pass, a play that is specifically designed to turn a defensive pass rush to an offensive advantage, the Bengal Tiger defensive line got to the Moseley before an Auburn running back could get out of traffic and catch a pass.  In reality, as good as LSU’s front seven played, Auburn was never going to win that game.

Defensive penalties ended the game by halftime. When Auburn went into the half down 21-3, it was pretty obvious that the Tigers weren’t going to be able to win. The Auburn offense just isn’t playing well enough to score 21 points on a defense as good as LSU’s right now. The worst part about the deficit was that it could have easily been avoided if not for stupid penalties.

On LSU’s first TD drive, Auburn was called for an illegal substitution penalty on third and five. That gave LSU a first down, and the Bengal Tigers ran right down Auburn’s throat en route to an easy score. We’ve already mentioned the facemask penalty that led to LSU’s second touchdown. If Kenneth Carter wouldn’t have gone for the lazy arm tackle and grabbed Jefferson’s facemask, LSU would have been facing third and 15 from its own 35, and Auburn’s D would have had a great chance at getting off the field. Instead, LSU had a first down at Auburn’s 45 and Jefferson connected with Reuben Randle two plays later for the score. On the next drive, Auburn made a stop on third and five at the LSU 35, but pass interference gave the bad Tigers a first down at the good Tigers’ 48. Three plays later, Jarrett Lee hit Randle for a 46-yard touchdown pass nearly identical to LSU’s previous score.

Auburn’s secondary was very poor on the two touchdown passes, but Auburn should have already forced LSU to punt on both of those drives. If the score would have been 7-3 instead of 21-3 at halftime, Auburn would have had a much better chance at winning in the second half. Instead, Chizik’s team came out of the locker room shell-shocked, and LSU finished Auburn off in the first eight minutes of the third quarter.

Auburn lost the turnover battle. One of the things the Tigers absolutely had to do to win the game was not give LSU extra possessions and force a couple of Bengal Tiger turnovers. LSU never gave the ball away and two Auburn turnovers deep in its own territory led to two quick LSU scores. When Tre Mason fumbled away a kickoff and Moseley threw a pick-six, the game was already over. But those turnovers crushed Auburn’s spirit and allowed LSU to roll to a blowout.

Steven Clark picked a bad time to have one of the worst games of his career. The Auburn punter had been playing lights out in previous weeks, booming punts deep into opponents’ territory. Against LSU, Clark averaged just 35 yards on seven punts, and that includes one that covered 52 yards. Clark’s short kicks consistently gave LSU good field position. On the other hand, Brad Wing consistently pinned Auburn deep in its own territory. Auburn needed to win the field position battle to have any chance at pulling the upset. That didn’t happen.

THREE STARS

1. Daren Bates, LB — Bates continued his recent streak of strong play, compiling nine tackles and 0.5 sacks. Bates avoided the dumb penalties and, for the most part, missed tackles that have plagued him in the past and put together the best performance of any Auburn defender in Baton Rouge. The Tiger defense has shown huge improvement in the last few weeks, and Bates is the most improved of the bunch.

2. Clint Moseley, QB — His numbers weren’t impressive, but Moseley was fearless against a terrorizing defense in his first start. Despite constant pressure, Moseley continued to step up into the pocket and make good throws. In the end, he completed passes to six different receivers. His lone interception was ugly, but that was the only mistake he made. Moseley should be a big upgrade at quarterback for the rest of the season.

3. Cody Parkey, K — Parkey bounced back from a rough performance against Florida and connected on his only field-goal attempt of the day, a 42-yarder in the first quarter. At the time, Auburn was still in the game and needed to take advantage of any scoring opportunity. In a hostile environment, Parkey gave Auburn the points it needed.

WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?

The blowout in Baton Rouge leaves us with a strange but familiar feeling. Just as wins over Mississippi State, South Carolina and Florida didn’t make Auburn seem all that impressive, the loss to LSU doesn’t really make the Tigers seem too unimpressive. The SEC is very top-heavy this season. LSU and Alabama sit at the top, Arkansas is about a step behind those two and everyone else is at least two steps back. Auburn clearly isn’t as good as the top three teams in the league, but the Tigers might just be the best of the rest.

Auburn now sits at 5-3 overall and 3-2 in SEC play. Asking this team to upset Alabama in the season-ending Iron Bowl is a tall order, but the Tigers appear to be good enough to win every game before that matchup. Moseley is certainly an upgrade over Trotter at quarterback and should be good enough to get Auburn’s offense back on track.

Barring Auburn beating itself, the Tigers should pick up wins against Ole Miss and Samford. If Moseley can throw the ball as well as he has in the last game and a half, Malzahn’s offense should become the point-scoring machine Auburn fans have been missing. With the defense playing well, that should make Auburn a tough team to beat when the Tigers travel to Athens to face Georgia. A win on Nov. 12 will likely guarantee an eight-win regular season and a New Year’s Day bowl berth for Auburn. Before the season, many said those results would guarantee coach-of-the-year honors for Chizik.

It’s been frustrating at times, but Chizik has done a great job with this young team. A win at Georgia would be a nice prize in a rebuilding year. And if Chizik can lead his players to a three-game winning streak entering the home date with Alabama, who knows what can happen. The Crimson Tide will deservingly be big favorites, but a confident Auburn team playing at home would prove to be a tough challenge for ‘Bama.

Saturday was tough, but it wasn’t the end of the world for this team. With four games remaining, Auburn still has plenty of opportunities to make this a special season.