Auburn Football: Grading the No. 24 Tigers Performance Against Samford

This past Saturday appeared to be a quick and easy win for the Tigers for Homecoming week. The 7-4 (4-3) No. 24 Auburn Tigers hosted the FCS 6-5 Samford Bulldogs. The game turned out to be anything but an easy win for Auburn.

Auburn struggled early and often against the Bulldogs, leaving fans stunned at the lack of playmaking that the Tigers showed. Auburn only came away with 14 points in the first half, attempting a multitude of passing plays that were utter failures.

There was a severe lack of execution on both sides of the ball for the Tigers, with the game being a lot closer than the final score indicated. Looking back at the weekend that was, here are the grades for the Tigers performance against the Samford Bulldogs.

Quarterback: D

Clint Moseley struggled consistently against Samford, looking inefficient and inaccurate. During the first half, there was one big play that led to a passing touchdown for the Tigers, but outside of that one toss, Moseley looked bad.

He finished the game 13-of-20 for 167 yards and one touchdown, but he was far from consistent. There were numerous overthrows that occurred with Moseley’s accuracy looking very suspect. There were also a multitude of wide open receivers that went unnoticed time and again.

Moseley didn’t seem to be very comfortable in the pocket despite the level of competition that was faced, which puts a lot of concerns and questions at the feet of the offensive line. Moseley did make one big play with his feet, scampering 22 yards for a rushing touchdown, the first of his career.

Auburn has the biggest game of the season coming this week, as the No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide will be coming to town looking for redemption from last season’s loss at home to the Tigers. If Moseley is looking to be a legendary quarterback and lead the Tigers to an upset victory this week, his play must improve drastically.

Running Backs: C

The rushing attack for Auburn looked spotty in the first half, but finished with a moderately successful day. The Tigers were able to drum up 248 yards on the ground, but there was a lack of big plays and execution.

Michael Dyer finished with 30 carries for 157 yards and one touchdown. Onterio McCalebb was able to add 48 yards on eight carries, while Kiehl Frazier was able to add 28 yards of his own. The majority of those yards all came in the second half.

The backs looked very lackadaisical to start the game, but came alive in the second half, as the Tigers went to a more traditional type of offensive look. For the first time in Malzahn’s tenure at Auburn, the Tigers ran the majority of the offense from under center, lining up in the Ace, and offset it for much of the second half.

Changing the scheme allowed for the Tigers to pound the ball downhill at the Bulldogs defense, putting Michael Dyer in a role he seems to be suited for: a downhill attacking running back.

Auburn needs to lean on its running game against Alabama this coming week. How the Tigers were able to get their guys in position to be successful this past week may be the strategy the Tigers coaches look to this coming Saturday. No matter what the formation, the rushing attack has to be more consistent.

Receivers: C

The Auburn receivers were constantly open on Saturday. It seems absurd that their efforts only garnered 167 yards of passing offense. Grinding their way to finding open field went unnoticed time and again with the most output coming from Quindarius Carr with two catches for 59 yards.

Despite the appearance of finding open spaces in the defense the receivers lacked execution in the outside running game with a severe lack of execution with their perimeter blocking. The Tigers have been downright bad on the outside blocking which has hampered their ability to take runs to the outside.

Auburn has to take leaps forward across the board at the receiver position if they look to challenge the Alabama secondary. It will be a challenge that closely resembles the game they played earlier this season in Baton Rouge. Hopefully the Tigers have a better showing at home against the Crimson Tide. 

Offensive Line: F

The offensive line has been atrocious at times this season. Most recently, a terrible showing came against the Samford Bulldogs this past week. A game that should have been dominated at the line of scrimmage by Auburn was the exact opposite. Auburn couldn’t find a way to get good push and open rushing lanes for the backs.

In the second half, there was a distinct change in strategy, as the Tigers shifted to the Ace and offset I formations. In doing this, the Tigers were able to push the line better than before, as less pulling technique is involved. It seems that with injuries and lost experience, including Brandon Mosley at some point during the game, the Tigers have lacked proper technique to seal the outside rushing lanes.

There was also a lack of protection in the passing game. The Tigers tried time and again in the first half to put the ball in the air, but either Moseley ran around for no reason or the Tigers were simply unable to protect against a Samford squad that plays its every Saturday football in the FCS.

There have been a litany of injuries that have the Tigers on the outs, especially now that Christian Westerman and Gergory Robinson are redshirts and unable to contribute. Being thin and inexperienced on the offensive line is not a good scenario for the Tigers heading into Iron Bowl week. 

Defensive Line: F

Jeremiaha Gates is a freshman running back for the Samford Bulldogs. He has rushed for one 100 yard game so far in his short career with the Bulldogs, and it just happened to come this past Saturday against the Auburn Tigers.

Auburn didn’t record a sack in the game against the Bulldogs, either. Auburn looked like the FCS for much of the first half, and even moving into the third quarter, the Bulldogs were pushing around the Auburn defensive line.

Auburn has had times of greatness this season on the defensive line just like their offensive counterparts, but this past week was an appalling performance from some very talented players. This week, they must get together and come up with a plan of aggression against the veteran Crimson Tide offensive line, or it will be a long afternoon in Jordan-Hare.

Linebackers: C

The linebackers were somewhat effective this past week against the Bulldogs, but there were some missed tackles and assignments that made the Tigers defense suffer. The linebackers were able to cover up the middle of the field decently, but I wouldn’t list this as an overwhelming success.

Eltoro Freeman and Daren Bates had good days, but the Tigers were unable to stop the Bulldogs rushing attack for most of the game. It became apparent that the Tigers were not in position at times, while others missed tackles.

Jake Holland was on the field in his most extensive work this past Saturday since obtaining an injury midseason, but he also had a less than impressive game. There was more than one opportunity for Holland to make a play and he didn’t. Auburn needs to maximize their efforts this week in preparation for Alabama or the Crimson Tide offense will pile up the points. 

Secondary: C

The Auburn defense was able to pull down two interceptions against the Bulldogs this past Saturday and held the Samford offense to 189 yards through the air. Twenty-eight of those came on a trick play. The Tigers were able to keep Samford at bay for the majority of the game, forcing them to find yards on the ground.

Auburn played the Samford offense well, not allowing for any breaks in coverage, but that was nothing that anyone didn’t expect. Auburn lost a leader in the backfield last week, as T’Sharvan Bell fell to a season-ending injury. It didn’t appear to be that much of a factor, but his leadership will be missed in the coming weeks.

There were plays that were made by the Tigers, but nothing appeared to be spectacular.

Special Teams: B

The Tigers didn’t make any big plays, but they didn’t allow any to happen, either. The special teams play was efficient, but there was no game-winning kick or punt return for a touchdown. The Tigers did have a long kickoff return in the second half that went for over 60 yards.

The Tigers have relied on their kicking game to provide field position swings and points throughout the season. Look for the kicking game to be a big factor for Auburn this coming Saturday. 

Coaching: F

The Tigers looked ill prepared and sluggish this past Saturday against Samford. The coaches looked like they had given the Tigers another week off to rest before the Alabama game. There was a severe lack of execution that occurred across the board and the Tigers looked downright bad at times.

The coaches only excuse for how bad the Tigers looked has to be the fact that they were looking ahead to Alabama and had prepared all week as thought the Bulldogs would lay over. Samford was upset minded and brought constant pressure on the Tigers from the start of the game.

Auburn did add a unique twist in the second half with dropping back to old school style running football, but the Tigers still had a lack of control and leadership, which is ultimately going to fall at the coaches feet. The efforts from every person involved with the program must get better this week if the Tigers want a chance to spoil the title hopes of the Crimson Tide.