Auburn’s offense has spent five games asking Byrum Brown to carry too much of the load, and that has to change before Georgia walks into the picture.
Brown’s numbers tell part of the story: seven touchdowns, seven interceptions. The turnovers have drawn heat, and offensive coordinator Joel Gordon didn’t dodge that reality when he said, "We got to make better decisions with the football. That's the number one thing that's got to be fixed," Gordon said.
That’s fair. But it also feels like Auburn has left Brown too exposed.
Per Pro Football Focus, Brown has averaged 3.16 seconds to throw this season, which is a long wait behind an offensive line that has had trouble holding up in pass protection. If Auburn wants better results, Joel Gordon needs to make the job simpler.
Get the ball out faster. Give Brown cleaner reads.
Put the playmakers in positions to create after the catch instead of forcing the quarterback to sit in the pocket and absorb the punishment.
Chas Nimrod and Keshaun Singleton have already been among Auburn’s most productive offensive pieces, so finding ways to get them the ball quickly should be part of the plan. That’s especially true if the Tigers are going to keep Brown from having to solve everything himself.
The run game needs the same kind of help, and that’s where Omar Mabson comes in.
There’s been talk about getting Mabson and Jeremiah Cobb more carries, but Auburn needs more than a simple volume increase. Alex Golesh said the Tigers have to get the rushing attack going earlier, and he made it clear where he stands on Mabson: "I think Omar has continued to earn the right to play," Golesh said. "It's more so getting the run game going in general, especially early in the game."
That should push Auburn to think outside the usual script. The Tigers haven’t consistently opened lanes between the tackles, so giving Mabson screens, quick checkdowns and designed touches in space could be a way to spark the offense while easing the burden on Brown.
His quickness getting to the edge has stood out compared to Cobb, and that kind of juice matters. Once one of the backs starts making things happen, it can create more room for the whole offense, including Brown.
And Brown still needs to be part of the threat on the ground. He rushed for 107 yards against Tennessee, and that kind of production forces defenses to keep him in mind every snap. That can open things up for Auburn’s backs and create a little breathing room in a system that badly needs it.
The point is simple: Auburn cannot keep putting the same pressure on its quarterback and expecting a different result.
Gordon has had two weeks to sort through the issues. Now Auburn has to show whether it can actually adjust in time to give Brown and the backs a real chance against Georgia. If it doesn’t, especially with all that film and preparation in hand, then the conversation shifts to a much bigger kind of change.
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All of it is arriving while the basketball program is already under a brighter spotlight after an exhibition loss to Florida State, with questions lingering about how the team is playing and where the coaching staff fits into the picture. And with Benko also in the mix in connection to Auburns business operations and NIL efforts, there is a lot more than one bad night pushing the conversation around the program right now. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Fans Have Every Right To Be Furious About Week 7
Week 7 is setting up as one of those Saturdays SEC fans circle on the calendar, only to realize they may spend most of it flipping between screens. Auburns trip to Georgia is in the same kickoff window as Alabama at Tennessee and Missouri at Ole Miss, creating a crowded slate of high-profile games that will all get going at once. For viewers, its the kind of scheduling jam that turns a big day into a constant compromise.
The loudest complaints have centered on Missouri at Ole Miss, which many around the league felt deserved a bigger national stage than the SEC Network. For Auburn fans, the overlap matters too, because their game at Georgia is part of the same traffic jam of attention, and there will be no easy way to keep up with everything else happening elsewhere in the conference. It is the sort of weekend that leaves fans arguing less about matchups and more about who decided they should all be watched at the same time. [Read more 🡒]