Sloppy But Successful: Auburn vs Kansas State Review

Sep 18, 2014; Manhattan, KS, USA; Auburn Tigers head coach Gus Malzahn looks at the scoreboard during a 20-14 win against the Kansas State Wildcats at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports

5. Tempo

The Auburn offense is known for their pace through production of plays. This all starts on first down. The Tigers failed to gain more than three yards on first down until the end of the fourth quarter. First down plays are vital to the Auburn offense, because of the momentum that it brings. Continuing to have successful play calls on first down is how to take any confidence out of the defense.

Another factor that worked against the tempo for Auburn was the lack of third down conversions. Auburn finished 10-for-18 on third down, but lacked a conversion until the tail end of the first half and failed on their first five attempts of the game. This was mainly due to failed pass attempts. Auburn failed to have success with tempo, which is a staple of the Tigers’ offense.

As mentioned before, Auburn had six penalties that harmed them in the end. Two of the penalties were pass interference calls that put Kansas State in great field position. Other penalties included holding calls and a kick that went out of bounds towards the end of the game.

Tempo is a game-by-game process and takes momentum to keep it going. It was tough for the Tigers to build on any momentum because of other factors that will be addressed in the following pages.

In the end, Malzahn will group these men together and continue to build on the failures of the week before, just like last year.