Auburn’s offense didn’t look sharp from the jump in Saturday’s wild win at Arkansas, but it found its way back into the game by leaning into one thing Alex Golesh kept hammering all week: finish.
After last week’s blowout loss at Ole Miss, Golesh said the message around the program was simple. The Tigers had to close.
They had to execute. They had to stop leaving plays on the field.
“We’re being intentional in trying to play on tempo, trying to run the football, keeping us ahead of the stick a game plan standpoint was I wanted to finish, like finish this last third of the season with establishing an identity,” Golesh said. “I said it last week and I meant it, it’s been tough to run the football.
It’s been tough to be efficient on first down. And like, like stay with it.
Just stay with it.”
That patience mattered because Auburn’s opening stretch was rough. The Tigers gained 24 yards on their first 26 plays through the first six offensive drives, and the Arkansas defense had Auburn looking stuck. Golesh said the first six drives were “as bad as you can imagine.”
Even so, Auburn found a way to settle in. The Tigers finished with 353 yards of total offense and 26 points, with the running game doing the heavy lifting.
Auburn averaged just 1.1 yards per carry in the first half, then turned that around after the break with 5.3 yards per carry on 26 rushing attempts. Against an Arkansas defense that had been giving up 193.6 rushing yards per game, Auburn managed 167 rushing yards overall.
The shift showed up in the volume, too. Auburn had only one possession in the second half that didn’t end in a field goal, and the offense looked much more comfortable once the Tigers started leaning on the ground game.
“We were intentional in trying to play on tempo, trying to run the football, keeping us ahead of the stick a game plan standpoint was I wanted to finish, like finish this last third of the season with establishing an identity,” Golesh said. “I said it last week and I meant it, it’s been tough to run the football.
It’s been tough to be efficient on first down. And like, like stay with it.
Just stay with it.”
At the center of it was quarterback Byrum Brown, who had one of his best games in an Auburn uniform. Brown went 23-for-28 for 160 yards and two touchdowns, including a standout throw late in the fourth quarter where he evaded a sack and found Zeshaun Singleton on a scramble drill.
He was just as effective on the ground, finishing with 120 yards and one touchdown on 26 carries. Brown’s message throughout the game, Golesh said, was about staying calm and trusting the process.
“The message to him every single drive was just man, ‘It’s about to be your time, dude. It’s about to be your time.’
I told these guys coming out of half, I’m like offensively, we’re just about to get our swag back, man,” Golesh said. “You’re a big play away from getting your swag back, and he’s such a big part of that.”
Golesh also credited Brown’s poise when the offense was grinding through the early struggles.
“...I think our kids, at least resemble what you wanted,” Golesh said.
The coach added that the challenge now is for Auburn to build on this and carry the ability to finish into Star.
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