Interceptions and unforced errors are red flags for Auburn’s offense.
Auburn’s offense has thrown nine interceptions this season, split between two quarterbacks.
This season, the Auburn Tigers have a lot of high-level talent on the offensive side of the ball, but putting it to good use has been difficult thus far. With a strong receiving corps and one of the SEC’s finest running backs, the biggest question mark on their offense is at quarterback.
Auburn’s current starting quarterback is senior Payton Thorne, who has five years of college football experience. To date, he has passed for 1,238 yards and ten touchdowns. He has completed 77 of his 129 passes, for a 59.7% completion rate.
When Thorne began to struggle leading up to the Tiger’s matchup with New Mexico, head coach Hugh Freeze slotted in redshirt freshman Hank Brown. He showed promise against the Lobos, finishing with 235 yards and four touchdowns in the air, bringing the team to a 45-19 win. He came back down to earth the game after with a poor first-quarter showing against the Arkansas Razorbacks.
Interceptions were a recurrent theme throughout their dismal games. In the Tigers’ 21-14 loss versus California, Thorne threw four interceptions and one score. He had a game off against the Lobos, but his name was called again against Arkansas. In the first quarter, Brown, his backup, threw three interceptions.
Thorne took his position shortly after and rallied the Tigers to some extent, but they ultimately fell short. Thorne threw two touchdown passes and one interception in three quarters of play, but still lost 24-14. During the three-game span, both quarterbacks threw eight interceptions.
Despite their turnover issues, Auburn managed to keep their opponent within striking distance. They still lost those games, but if they could have avoided such mistakes, their results might have been different. Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz believes Auburn is prone to turnovers, but if they can’t force them, the game might be close.
“This Auburn team very easily could have a different record if they just cleaned up those turnovers,” he remarked. “So they have our full attention.”
Auburn has a lot of talent on both sides of the ball, and despite their turnover concerns, they are a squad that can beat excellent teams.
“I think Auburn is a very dangerous football team,” Drinkwitz said. “When you look at the statistics that they have on both sides of the ball, there’s really only one glaring weakness that they’ve had and it shows up in all their losses, which is turnovers.”
Thorne is quite adept of producing high-level passes, particularly to his preferred receiving target, KeAndre Lambert-Smith. He’s a dependable receiving target who is strong at the reception point and excels in jump ball situations, making the quarterback’s job much easier.
If Missouri can compel Thorne to make terrible throws, resulting in a turnover, they will have a clear path to victory. Missouri has not had the same turnover troubles, so reducing them on the offensive side of the ball will be critical.
