An array of self-inflicted wounds and missed opportunities dealt No. 22 Auburn its first loss of the season, 24-17, at the hands of No. 11 Oklahoma on Saturday at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.
With the loss, Auburn falls to 3-1 on the season and is still searching for its first ranked road win since 2019.
Here are the biggest takeaways from the game:
Auburn never established a run game
It was paramount that the Tigers established their run game in the early goings, and that never happened on Saturday.
With Oklahoma’s strong suit being its pass defense entering this one, getting Damari Alston, Jeremiah Cobb, Jackson Arnold and even Eric Singleton, Jr. their touches out of the backfield would have certainly helped the Auburn offense alleviate some pressure.
Instead, Auburn ended the first half with -2 rushing yards, though the whopping seven sacks from Oklahoma skewed those numbers. Cobb finally broke loose in the second half with a 44-yard gain to set Auburn up for a golden opportunity to put some points on the board, but an array of arrant throws and a penalty gave way to an empty possession.
Coming into the game with the third-best rushing offense in the SEC, the Tigers finished with just 67 yards on the ground. On the flip side, Auburn’s defense stepped up in a big way and held Oklahoma to just 32 yards on the ground – its fewest of the season.
Self-inflicted wounds and missed opportunities (3rd qtr)
At the end of the day, Auburn shot itself in the foot one too many times.
The Tigers ended the night with a whopping 13 penalties for 85 yards, and they came at all the wrong times. In the last four minutes alone, Auburn committed its third special teams penalty of the night on a kickoff, ensuring the Tigers would start at their own 8-yard line. With the Tigers steadily moving upfield after a big third-down conversion, a slew of penalties – holding and false start – moved the Tigers back to their 13-yard line. Auburn then was unable to go the length of the field for a last-minute score.
It wasn’t just the penalties that cost Auburn a chance at a 4-0 start. There were plenty of missed opportunities mixed in. Arnold was unable to connect with Cam Coleman on a go-ahead score that was just beyond his outstretched arms – this was after he overshot Coleman for a would-be touchdown in the first half.
In the third quarter, after Cobb’s 44-yard run, Auburn then missed an opportunity at points on a badly missed 50-yard field goal, coming after missed throws and a penalty.
Atrocious effort from Auburn’s offensive line
In addition to Auburn’s porous run game, its offensive line was anemic in pass protection and allowed a whopping 10 sacks – a school record for the Sooners.
Oklahoma entered this one with the fifth-highest blitz rate in the nation, according to Pro Football Focus, and it stayed true to that on Saturday, continually making life uncomfortable for Arnold in the pocket.
R Mason Thomas, who sat out the first half due to a targeting penalty a week ago, tallied two sacks and delivered the dagger with a safety on Auburn’s last drive. Defensive lineman Jayden Jackson led he way with 2.5 sacks.
In addition, the Sooners tallied three quarterback hurries and 14 tackles for loss. Had Auburn not given up the 10 sacks, it still would have only recorded 111 rushing yards.
Auburn unable to overcome ‘game-changing’ calls
It certainly wasn’t the sole reason for the loss, but Auburn was dealt a few unfortunate blows due to missed calls on Saturday.
On Oklahoma’s first drive, Auburn forced a fumble and returned it for a scoop-and-score to go up 6–0 right off the bat. However, after review, it was overturned and Oklahoma connected on a 49-yard field goal.
Again, on Oklahoma’s last scoring drive, Auburn was set to force it into a second-and-long after a pass ruled incomplete on the sideline. Considering the same logic from the first quarter review, that the Oklahoma receiver never had possession of the ball – therefore it could not have been a fumble – the call was overturned, and put the Sooners in scoring position.
The one that will loom large in the minds of Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze and the Auburn faithful came on Oklahoma’s first touchdown. What seemed to be a blown coverage on a 24-yard pass ended up being an illegal play. Oklahoma wide receiver Isaiah Sategna III acted as if he was going off the field, but stayed on, and not a single Auburn defender knew.
The official NCAA rulebook states that “No simulated replacements or substitutions may be used to confuse opponents,” yet there was no review of the play.
The Tigers will travel to College Station next Saturday to take on No. 11 Texas A&M. Kick off is set for 2:30 p.m. on ESPN.
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