AUBURN—Auburn continued its trend of losing with a 27-21 loss to No.21 Oklahoma on Saturday in a game that will be known as “the one that got away.”
The Tigers fall to 2-3 on the season with the loss.
Here are the biggest takeaways from the game:
The interception
Auburn’s season has been plagued by turnovers thus far, and it continued with the only turnover of the day swinging the momentum in Oklahoma’s favor.
Payton Thorne got the nod on Saturday and had an impressive showing up until the last four minutes of the game. Thorne dropped back to pass and hit a wide-open Oklahoma defender for a 63-yard pick-six, giving the Sooners a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
That’s now 15 turnovers in five games and nine interceptions by Auburn quarterbacks in its three losses.
Defense couldn’t hold on
It was a stout defensive performance from the Tigers on Saturday until it wasn’t. Auburn gave up a 48-yard touchdown on Oklahoma’s first drive of the game but forced five straight punts after - three of them being three-and-outs.
The Tigers held the electric freshman quarterback in Michael Hawkins, Jr. to just 69 yards after his 48-yard run on the first drive, and Hawkins completed just 10 passes for 161 yards.
It wasn’t until late in the third quarter that the Sooners tacked on some more points, but they came with no trouble after that. They finished three of their last four drives with two field goals and a touchdown.
Where are the points?
If you look at the stats, Auburn’s offense had its way with a top-ranked Sooners defense, but the points didn’t follow.
The Tigers amassed 482 yards of total offense - almost 200 yards more than Oklahoma - with 338 of it coming through the air. Freeze mentioned earlier in the week that Oklahoma had only allowed one run of 10 yards or more all season, and Auburn had five on Saturday.
For Hugh Freeze and Auburn’s offense, the points are hard to come by.
Missed opportunities and bad special teams play
Auburn’s walk-on freshman kicker had a rough day kicking. After missing a 31-yard attempt to give Auburn a 10-point lead heading into the half, a flag on Oklahoma gave him a chance to redeem himself, but he missed again.
McGough, who won special teams A-Day MVP after a 60-yard bomb to end the scrimmage, missed badly on another 51-yard attempt in the second half. He left six points on the field.
Auburn was also stuffed on an early fourth-and-one attempt from the Sooners' one-yard line early in the game.
The Tigers will play their first game away from Jordan-Hare Stadium next Saturday with a trip to Athens to take on the Georgia Bulldogs. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. CT and will be aired on ABC.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email logan.fowler@1819News.com.
Don't miss out! Subscribe to our newsletter and get our top stories every weekday morning.
