Alex Golesh didn’t need the film to know Auburn had a rough night against LSU’s front. The numbers told the story all by themselves.
Auburn quarterback Brown was buried seven times, and LSU piled up 12 tackles for loss in a game where the Tigers’ offense spent far too much time in survival mode. Brown rarely had room to operate, and when he did try to create something with his legs, there wasn’t much space to work with.
There were moments when Brown held the ball longer than Auburn wanted. There were also plenty of snaps where the protection simply broke down around him. After the game, Brown kept his comments measured, but the production on the field painted a much harsher picture.
“Nothing out of the ordinary,” Brown said when asked about the pressure on him. “I’d have to go back and watch the film to truly see.”
Seven sacks is hard to brush off as routine, and for Auburn it matched a season high. The offensive line has been a problem before, but this was one of the clearest examples yet of how much strain the unit can put on the entire offense.
Golesh said the breakdowns will require a closer look when he studies the tape.
“I‘ve got to figure it out from a film standpoint: Why, at times, are we holding onto it?” Golesh said. “You saw the plan, where we got three-out a couple of times rather than four, to try to protect on the edges.
“I thought that was a huge key to the game, to be able to neutralize the edges in the pass-rush world. When we were protecting with six, it didn’t look pretty. Tried to get more out, and ended up not being able to hold up in pro on the edges.”
One of the biggest issues was a straight-up matchup problem. LSU edge rusher Princewill Umanmielen repeatedly beat Auburn tackle Jacob Strand on the left side, and that was the kind of one-on-one loss Auburn couldn’t afford.
Umanmielen entered the game tied for second nationally in sacks with eight. Strand, meanwhile, has been one of Auburn’s more inconsistent linemen this season. That gap showed up fast.
And the issues didn’t stop with pass protection. Auburn’s ground game never got rolling either.
The Tigers finished with 67 rushing yards on 35 carries, a 1.9 yards-per-carry average that jumps to 4.1 if sack yardage is removed. Even then, the backs themselves combined for just 32 yards on 11 carries.
In Other News...
Former Auburn Assistant Back In Spotlight After NCAA Tampering Findings
Wes Flanigan, a familiar name to Auburn fans from his time on the Tigers staff, is back in the spotlight after NCAA findings tied to his stint at Ole Miss. Now on Georgia Techs basketball staff, Flanigan was cited for violating tampering rules after impermissibly contacting a players advisor when that player was not in the transfer portal, a reminder of how closely the NCAA is still watching the gray areas around roster movement.
The case also brought penalties for Ole Miss, which was hit for failing to disassociate a booster connected to an earlier football infractions matter, leading to probation and a fine. Flanigans punishment included a two-game suspension, recruiting restrictions and a one-year show cause order, and he served that during the 2024-25 season. [Read more 🡒]
Auburn Fans Need To Prepare For A Very Different LSU Gameday
Auburn is asking fans to brace for a noticeably different game-day feel when LSU comes to Jordan-Hare Stadium, with construction around the venue forcing the athletic department to rethink how people move in and out. Auburn Athletics has rolled out a set of operational changes aimed at improving pedestrian flow and easing congestion, including encouraging fans to use all available entry gates and follow specific routes around the stadium.
The biggest change for many longtime regulars is Tiger Walk, which has been moved to roughly 2.5 hours before kickoff as part of the adjusted pregame routine. The broader backdrop is the Jordan-Hare North Project, a major capital development that started in 2026 and is slated to run through spring 2029, so this is not a one-off inconvenience but the start of a longer stretch of temporary gameday tweaks. [Read more 🡒]
Auburn's Georgia Momentum Just Ran Into A Bigger SEC Concern
Auburn came out of its upset over Georgia looking like a team that had finally found some traction, but the mood shifted quickly at Jordan-Hare Stadium. LSU rolled to a 38-17 win and handed the Tigers their largest defeat since earlier in the 2023 season, a jarring setback after a stretch that had begun to suggest Auburn might be turning a corner in SEC play.
The biggest issue was the way LSU moved the ball, especially through the air, as quarterback Sam Leavitt threw for 387 yards and three touchdowns. Auburn had problems on both sides of the ball, struggling to slow the Tigers offense while also finding little rhythm in the run game, and the loss dropped Auburn to 4-3 overall and 2-3 in the SEC with more questions than answers than they had after the Georgia win. [Read more 🡒]