If you were to walk around the Auburn campus on any given day, you would likely overhear a conversation about one man: Auburn football’s Payton Thorne. Most Tiger fans don’t like him or his contributions to the season this year -- understatement of the year right there -- but a shocking new look into his analytics may provide insight into the kind of player head coach Hugh Freeze has found himself with.
Many would argue that the most important stats for a quarterback are passing yards, touchdowns, and interceptions. Thorne, surprisingly, isn’t nearly as bad as the Auburn fans would have you think in any of these categories.
Starting with passing yards, this season, Thorne has 2,111, firmly planting him as the sixth-best passer in the SEC. Additionally, the Illinois native has a staggering 142.2 passer rating against top 25 teams, putting to bed the argument that he’s unable to perform against high-tier opponents.
In terms of touchdowns, Thorne has 18 this season, which (despite how this season has appeared) puts Thorne at sixth all-time in a single Auburn season -- with two games left to play, the quarterback just needs four touchdowns to tie for second all-time. Also, for what it’s worth, Thorne has more passing touchdowns than Alabama’s Jalen Milroe, who’s been on Heisman watch all season.
Let’s no longer ignore the elephant in the room, though: interceptions. If you’ve spoken to any Auburn fan this season, undoubtedly they’ve referenced Thorne’s innate ability to forget what team he’s on and throw to the opposing safeties.
But, Thorne has seven; less than UGA’s Carson Beck and LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier, both of whom command powerful teams in the SEC. Not to mention the fact Thorne has only thrown interceptions in four games, only once throwing more than one (that Cal game was atrocious).
All of this isn’t even to mention the fact that Thorne was awarded a spot in the Davey O’Brien Great Eight this week, an award dedicated to recognizing the eight best quarterbacks in the nation each week.
Where I think Thorne's issue truly lies is the timing of his interceptions. In situations like the loss to Oklahoma, despite Auburn having led the whole way, the Tigers began to feel the Sooners' momentum creeping back. In this situation, the last thing the team needed right there was a big play from the Sooner defense, but Payton Thorne all but gift-wrapped one to them.
Thorne is nothing short of a controversial topic among Auburn fans. That much is simple. Many believe he is unfit for the starting job, and groaned when he was announced the starter Saturday after last week’s quarterback drama.
Whatever the case may be, Thorne’s stats are surprisingly solid, so maybe the Michigan State transfer deserves more grace.