Auburn Tigers quarterback Byrum Brown did not have the best debut to start his tenure on the Plains, but his leadership on the field is impactful enough that the offense emerged from game one with a win and full confidence in their quarterback.
Brown was sacked five times and threw three interceptions in the season opener against the Baylor Bears, but the offense continued to fight tooth and nail without getting frustrated and giving up, which was likely a key factor in managing to pull off such a close win.
According to wide receiver Jeremiah Koger, who played with Brown last season at USF, Brown's attitude and determination kept the offense focused and motivated.
"You know, with your starting quarterback, if he's going, we're going," Koger said. "Like to see him making mistakes and what not but he's not dropping his head, that tells everybody else, 'ok, he's up, we're up.' If he's not down, what are we down for? We gotta keep going with him."
There was a particularly tough situation for the Tigers at the beginning of the fourth quarter. The defense had a massive fourth down stop against the Bears, and then the offense hit the field and Brown immediately threw his third interception right over the middle, handing the ball right back to Baylor.
The Auburn defense was able to hold the Bears to a field goal, but it meant that the game was tied 10-10 as the offense hit the field again. It took only 10 plays for the Tigers to drive down the field, score a touchdown, and regain the lead.
Koger was asked by the media what it says about Brown that, even after throwing his third pick, he was able to march the Tigers downfield to the endzone.
"That just says a lot about his character," Koger said. "You do something like that—throw three intereptions—to bounce back from that without letting it get to you, that says a lot about you. He's a dog, he's got that next play mentality, and he's going to do whatever it takes to win."
A quarterback with a winner's mentality is something that the Tigers have been missing for several years, and a massive takeaway from the win over Baylor should be that this team has the ability to persevere and win in close games. It wasn't pretty, but it's on to the next.
The Tigers will face Southern Miss in their home opener this weekend.
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