Auburn football suffered their first loss of the Bryan Harsin era in Happy Valley this weekend as Penn State escaped with a 28-20 win to move to 3-0 on the season. There were plenty of opportunities for the Tigers to win the game, but costly mistakes down the stretch prevented the Tigers from getting the Top-10 win on the road.
After two wins against Akron & Alabama State; many questions about Auburn football were answered, but many new questions arose after this weekend’s game.
The Tigers’ offense was able to establish the rushing game behind Tank Bigsby’s impressive performance, but the passing game left much to be desired at times throughout the game. The defense played well at times, but coverage breakdowns and a lackluster pass rush ultimately doomed the Tigers.
Here is Fly War Eagle’s report card for Auburn football this weekend:
Quarterbacks: C
Bo Nix played much better than some of his previous road starts as the Auburn QB, but he was still inefficient at times and failed to deliver on the deep ball multiple times. Nix completed 56% of his passes (21/37) for 185 passing yards, but only averaged 5 yards per attempt for the night and that is never going to be enough to knock off a Top-10 team on the road.
Nix was effective in third-down situations though, which kept the Tigers in this game down the stretch. Nix was 8/11 for 100 yards and created 6 first downs for the Auburn offense, which helped the Tigers stay on the field.
If Nix could have found a way to push the ball down the field, then this grade could be much higher than it currently sits, but the third-year starting QB has yet to show he can bring his A-game away from Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Running Backs: A+
The best positional unit of this weekend was easily the running backs, which was led by Tank Bigsby’s third consecutive 100-yard rushing performance of this season. Tank Bigsby was touted to be the best RB in College Football by Pro Football Focus this preseason and he has absolutely lived up to the hype this year.
He carried this Auburn offense for large stretches of the game and should be the focal point of the offense moving forward in the season. Jarquez Hunter has emerged as a viable #2 RB option for the Tigers and I do not see a defense that is equipped to shut down this Auburn football rushing attack.
Hunter has become an absolute star in this offense over the past two weeks and followed it up with an impressive 63 yards rushing while averaging over seven yards per carry. Hunter might have had the highlight of the night as well on a hurdle on Auburn’s final push to tie the game late in the fourth quarter.
JARQUEZ HUNTER 🔥🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/THFAhs4NoD
— Zach McKinnell (@zachmckinnell) September 19, 2021
Wide Receivers: D+
This WR corps showed why many experts were skeptical of their potential entering the 2021 season as Auburn only had one player gain more than 30 yards this weekend in Happy Valley. Kobe Hudson was the only WR on the roster that seemed to create any separation, as he led the Tigers with 66 yards receiving on 4 catches for the night. Hudson’s fumble early in the 3rd quarter proved to be costly for the Tigers as it led to Penn State taking a 21-10 lead, which they never surrendered.
Demetris Robertson (5 catches for 23 yards) and Shedrick Jackson (2 catches for 6 yards) were the only other Auburn WRs with over 2 catches in the game, which is going to be a major issue for the Tigers as they move into their SEC schedule.
The Tigers must have some younger targets emerge and I’m wondering what happened to Ja’Varrius Johnson because coming out of spring he was tabbed to be a top WR, but only mustered one catch for three yards last night. The Auburn wide receivers greatly underperformed and must improve if the Tigers want to be competitive the rest of the 2021 season.
Tight Ends: A
The Tigers have promised to use TEs in their offensive scheme for years now, but this year has finally seen the promise come to fruition. John Samuel Shenker led the Tigers with five receptions for 62 yards and at times seemed to be the only viable option for Nix down the field.
The tight ends also did an outstanding job in the run-blocking aspect of the game against Penn State, in which Luke Deal was the highest-graded run blocker for the Tigers this weekend. Harsin expects a lot from his TEs in this offense and Deal and Shenker have answered the calling early this season for the Tigers.
Offensive Line: C+
The offensive line did not allow a sack this weekend, which is a major feat considering how this unit has played away from Jordan-Hare over the past few seasons. The only thing missing for this unit is consistency because they absolutely imposed their will on Penn State on their 15-play, 75-yard drive in the 3rd quarter; but there were times where the Penn State defensive line controlled the line of scrimmage in this game.
The highest grade for an Auburn offensive lineman this weekend was Brandon Council with a 61.4 PFF blocking grade and the average for the entire OL was only 55.0, which has to improve against elite talent coming up on the schedule.
Defensive Line: C-
The Tigers’ defensive line failed to generate any pressure on Sean Clifford this weekend and that might be the most concerning aspect of this weekend’s game. Clifford was not sacked, only hit three total times, and the Tigers only generated pressure on eight plays the entire game.
The reason this grade is not lower is due to the outstanding performance in the rushing game, in which the Tigers only allowed 84 rushing yards and held Penn State to an average of 2.5 yards per attempt this weekend.
Marquis Burks was an absolute force on the inside of this defensive line and had one of the highest grades for a defensive lineman for this weekend with a 95.1 by Pro Football Focus. If this defensive line can figure out this pass rush, then Auburn football could have one of the best defensive lines in the country.
Linebackers: C+
The Auburn LBs had a rough day overall, starting with Owen Pappoe’s injury in the 2nd half and then Zakoby McClain being ejected after a controversial targeting call in the fourth quarter. Chandler Wooten played outstanding when he was thrust into the game with 10 tackles this weekend and was arguably the MVP of the defense down the stretch.
The execution in coverage for the LBs was abysmal at times, in which the LBs allowed 16 catches on 17 targets for 182 passing yards on Saturday night. Sean Clifford and this Penn State offense created mismatches across the board and the TEs took advantage of the poor coverage of this LB unit.
Defensive Backs: F
This defensive backs unit was absolutely atrocious on Saturday night and allowed Sean Clifford to complete almost 90% (28/32) of his passes this weekend. Clifford went 12/12 in the 2nd half and the Auburn secondary had no answer for this Nittany Lions’ passing attack. Roger McCreary was the only defensive back that looked remotely impressive with his 1 INT performance, but he also only allowed 28 yards on Saturday night.
Smoke Monday looked lost all night in coverage and had 2 costly coverage busts against Theo Johnson & Jahan Dotson, which led to Penn State taking the lead in the first quarter. Dotson picked this secondary apart for 10 catches on Saturday and had a catch on almost every single starter in Auburn football’s secondary this weekend. If the secondary does not show improvement moving forward it could signal a long 2021 season for the Tigers.
Special Teams: A
The special teams continued to be one of the strengths of this Auburn football team. Anders Carlson made both of his FG attempts, which were both 40+ yards, and is becoming almost automatic when he takes the field.
The punting game was solid as well, in which Oscar Chapman punted 4 times with a 48.5-yard average and pinned Penn State inside the 20-yard line twice. The special teams for Auburn football are not a concern and have been consistent for most of the season.