On Saturday night, Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze practiced only at LSU’s Tiger Stadium wearing an Ole Miss logo on his chest.
As head coach of the Rebels from 2012 to 2016, Freeze went 0-3 at Tiger Stadium.
After a 48-18 loss to Brian Kelly’s 22nd-ranked LSU Tigers (5-2, 4-1 SEC) on Saturday night – the most points Auburn has ever allowed to LSU – Freeze is now 0-4 in Death Valley .
In his first year as head coach of the Auburn Tigers (3-3, 0-3 SEC), Freeze is also winless in the SEC and has never had Auburn play anything remotely respectable on the road.
Here are the takeaways from Auburn’s third straight loss of the season.
Auburn’s stage fright on the road was evident early on
Before Saturday night’s game in Baton Rouge, Hugh Freeze and the Auburn Tigers had not put together anything remotely resembling a full road game.
Auburn was slow to awaken when it traveled west to Berkeley, Calif., in Week 2 and fell on its face at College Station on Sept. 23.
And everyone assumed that a night game at Tiger Stadium would do LSU no favors for Auburn as it wanted to get rid of its away game woes. But boy, Auburn’s start Saturday night couldn’t have gone any worse than it did.
After winning the coin toss and electing to defer, the Auburn defense held off the explosiveness of Jayden Daniels and the LSU offense, allowing the Bayou Bengals to put together a four-play, 75-yard drive, which ended with a 29-yard touchdown pass to Malik Nabors.
When Auburn’s offense took its turn on the field, the performance mirrored that of road games of the past: ugly.
Auburn’s first offensive attack never materialized before it was halted by a false start as Payton Thorne and Co. started their first drive right in front of the LSU student section.
Just two plays after the false start, Freeze was forced to call a timeout to avoid another pre-snap penalty, but his offense nearly turned the ball over after the timeout when center Avery Jones sent a snap to Thorne that obviously had not called for the snap when the ball bounced off his hands.
Luckily for Auburn, the botched snap was recovered by running back Jarquez Hunter, allowing Auburn’s Oscar Chapman to turn the field over.
Auburn’s defense forced Daniels and LSU to settle for a field goal on their second possession – a victory given the strength of the LSU offense.
However, giving up points – no matter how few – still spells trouble when wearing the same uniforms of a struggling offense.
On Auburn’s second possession, Thorne and the Tigers covered just two yards in three plays before being forced to punt the ball again.
While LSU rushed for 141 yards and scored 10 points on its first two drives, Auburn gained eight yards and had to punt twice on its first two drives.
If you combine Auburn’s first two offensive drives in each of its three road games this season, you get just 33 yards of offense, five punts and one fumble.
Not exactly the starts a team wants when playing in opposing territory.
Jayden Daniels and LSU’s offense is as advertised
Freeze continued to support LSU’s offense in the days leading up to Saturday’s game in Baton Rouge.
“I think up to this point – and I haven’t watched the future opponents, so nobody… anyone is going to use it as bulletin board material – but up to this point it’s the best offensive personnel I’ve seen in this league up to this point “,” Freeze said of Daniels and company during his Monday morning press conference.
And against Auburn on Saturday night, the LSU offense performed exactly as advertised: a well-oiled machine that could burst into flames at any moment.
Daniels, who Freeze believes is more than worthy of being included in the Heisman conversation, had his way with the Auburn defense.
Using his legs, Daniels managed 93 yards. However, it was Daniels’ ability to extend plays with his legs and make late throws that truly spurned the Auburn defense.
Through the air, Daniels went 20-for-27, good for 325 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.
Malik Nabors lived up to the hype of being LSU’s leading receiver, recording six catches for 89 yards and a touchdown.
Meanwhile, LSU running back Logan Diggs threw the ball 18 times for 97 yards and a touchdown.
Auburn’s quarterback rotation returns in Baton Rouge
If Auburn fans thought Freeze and the Auburn offense had finally put the quarterback rotation on hold, they were wrong.
Two weeks ago, Thorne played the vast majority of snaps against No. 1 Georgia, while backup quarterback Robby Ashford played a much more passive role against the top-ranked Bulldogs.
The one-quarterback approach differed from what the Auburn offense had used up to that point, as Thorne and Ashford each got a handful of meaningful snaps in each of the four games leading up to the Georgia game.
But Auburn’s two-quarterback rotation returned against LSU, as both Thorne and Ashford shared center duties Saturday night against the No. 22 team in the country.
As has been the case in every game this season, Thorne was Auburn’s starting player, but Ashford got some action, especially in the red zone and early in the second half.
Used primarily for his athleticism, Ashford rushed for 19 yards, while Thorne also added 19 yards on the ground.
Together, the tandem ultimately ended Auburn’s six-game streak of failing to pass for more than 100 yards against FBS teams, while Thorne and Ashford combined for 154 yards and a touchdown.
Thorne was Auburn’s leading passer as he went 12 of 23 for 102 yards.
Meanwhile, Ashford added 52 yards on a 3-for-4 passing attempt, including a big 39-yard pass and a 3-yard touchdown pass – both going to tight end Brandon Frazier.