Is Payton Thorne playing today vs. Alabama? Latest injury updates
By Josh Yourish
Everything was headed in the right direction for Hugh Freeze and the Auburn Tigers. They won three straight SEC games over Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, and Arkansas, but last week was a big step back.
The Tigers not only lost to New Mexico State 31-10 at home, but they may have also lost their starting quarterback. Payton Thorne went 15/19 for 148 yards and a touchdown but left the game wearing a boot on his right foot.
Payton Thorne is wearing a boot on his right foot. Not sure any injury notes here, just an observation
— Matt Cohen (@Matt_Cohen_) November 20, 2023
This week, leading up to the Iron Bowl, the most important game on Auburn’s schedule, the junior quarterback is listed on the injury report as questionable with that foot injury. This injury could really hurt Auburn’s offense which comes into the matchup ranked 89th overall, but 20th in rushing yards per game.
A lot of that rushing production comes from Thorne, who has run for a career-high 463 yards and three touchdowns on 110 attempts. His production would be even more impressive without the 24 sacks he has taken, also a career-high.
Alabama is 29th in rushing defense and 22nd in passing D. Thorne has thrown for 1,580 yards while completing 64.9% of his passes in his first season with Auburn. He has 14 touchdowns to seven interceptions.
Thorne’s passing stats have been somewhat underwhelming, but still, Hugh Freeze’s first year at Auburn is looking like a success. He brought the team back to a bowl game, but to really ensure that he’s a fit back in the SEC, he’ll need to beat Alabama. Maybe not this season, but a competitive game would really go a long way for his job security ahead of a crucial offseason for team-building.
The same goes for Thorne who needs to show enough to keep his job into 2024.
Payton Thorne injury status:
Thorne is listed as QUESTIONABLE with a foot injury.
