Auburn vs LSU: 5 Things We Learned from the Loss vs. LSU

Auburn was walloped by LSU today in the 45-10 loss in Baton Rouge. The Tigers from Auburn searched for breath often as the Bayou Bengals smothered Auburn on both sides of the ball. Auburn entered the game looking as if they could stay competitive, but early penalties hurt their efforts.

Auburn started a new quarterback this week with Clint Moseley taking the reins with the hope being that Moseley would be able to provide enough spark for a stagnant Auburn offense. That hope was diminished after halftime.

What Moseley did accomplish was gain confidence by playing his heart out. Moseley took on a lot in this game facing a relentless pass rush, but he stayed the course and attempted to make plays until the end.

Auburn showed that they are far from title form this season, which was no surprise. Looking back at the loss, here are five takeaways from the Bayou. 

Offensive Line Has Problems

Losing senior Jared Cooper last week to a season-ending injury hurt the Tigers. No one could have predicted just how bad the Tigers would miss Cooper. Chad Slade, his replacement, has been anything but good in his place.

The Tigers have four other offensive linemen that have played all season so losing one shouldn’t make for the absolute dismemberment that occurred today. Auburn lacked any level of intensity on the line struggling to find running room and struggling in pass protection.

Clint Moseley had a decent day through the air for the Tigers finishing 12-of-20 with 145 yards. He made some plays with his feet as well but spent most of the day on his butt. If the offensive line could hold their blocks better, the Tigers may have been more efficient on offense. 

Moseley Was a Good Change

Clint Moseley was added to the starting rotation this week at quarterback for Auburn. He came in at halftime against Florida and led the Tigers decently well earning himself his first start this week at LSU.

Barrett Trotter was Moseley’s predecessor at the position, but he consistently struggled as of late appearing to digress every week. Moseley came in this week and looked every bit the part of a gamer as he struggled to find time but made some plays with his legs and found players downfield. Any type of out-of-the-box play is new from the quarterback position for Auburn this year and warmly welcomed.

Moseley is the best fit for the Tigers at quarterback, and it shows. If Auburn wants production from the quarterback, they need to allow Moseley time to develop and find his game.

Auburn’s Defense Is Better, Not Good Yet

Auburn looked much improved this week on defense in the first half, but they are still a long way off from being special. The Tigers have improved every week on defense but still battles penalties and youthful mistakes against LSU.

Auburn has a long way to go to make their defense better. Auburn has shown the ability to stop the run consistently and has had good performances from the linebacker position. The biggest struggle that Auburn has and will continue to have is spotty coverage in the secondary.

Allowing receivers to make it past the last line of defenders is a problem that has to stop. Auburn also has to continue to grow their pass rush. Auburn played decently well on defense as a whole, but LSU made more plays when it counted.

Auburn Lack’s Offensive Identity

Auburn has been a fast attack no huddle offense under Gus Malzahn, until this season. There are a number of reasons that the Tigers have not been effective on offense, but one that has been a consistent theme this season is a lack of identity.

Auburn has been fast paced at times, others they have tried clock management. Either way, the Tigers seem to be confused as the game roles on as to which pace to move at. The Tigers need to either be all for ball control or all for no huddle. It is apparent that it is impossible to be consistent trying to mix both philosophies.

Auburn can’t continue with this lack of identity. Auburn faced LSU with a plan for ball control but lost their grip early falling down by two scores. A mix of play-calling gaffes and lack of execution continued to put the Tigers behind the eight ball. Consistency is the only answer for a better producing offense.

Play-Calling Is Too Conservative

Practices for Auburn have been closed since the beginning of the Gene Chizik era. What that has done is closed off the insight into what goes on in the practice and why certain decisions are being made. One of the biggest questions has to be why the Tigers are maintaining such a conservative approach to offense this season.

Auburn has some very talented skill players and has the ability to make plays after the catch and carry. The most glaring issue has been addressed with the offensive line play, but at the end of the day, taking shots downfield will help divert some of the pressure placed on the line and the quarterback.

Auburn has continued to call running plays on long downs and has appeared to avoid big-play opportunities so that they don’t put too much on the shoulders of their quarterback. At some point, the conservative calls have to go out the window if Auburn wants to put some gas in the tank and drive the Auburn train to victory in the future.