Coming off a bye week, there was a belief that Auburn would come out sharp against Missouri, having two weeks to recover and prepare.
The opposite happened. Auburn once again looked flat, but Missouri had the same problem.
The game that ensued was one filled with miscues, missed opportunities and drama, and once again Auburn folded, losing 21-17.
Here are three takeaways from the game:
Offensive dysfunction
Auburn’s first half performance looked like a comedy of errors offensively.
Poor blocking, missed throws, fumbles, penalties and questionable play calling held Auburn to just three first half points. The Tigers moved the ball at times, but the aforementioned issues kept them from sustaining and finishing drives.
The issues continued into the second half and brought back the familiar feeling of Auburn failing to make the most of game-changing opportunities.
When the defense held Missouri to a field goal, maintaining a two-possession lead for Auburn, the offense responding by driving 63 yards and missing a 30-yard field goal.
The puzzling part was the decision to throw the ball three times in a row after having first down at the 10-yard line on a drive that included runs of 10, 11, and 15 yards and runs on eight of the nine previous plays to set up that field position.
Outside of a 47-yard touchdown pass from Thorne to Cam Coleman, Auburn’s offense could never really figure it out.
Bend don’t break defense until the end
For all of Auburn’s early offensive struggles, the defense did a great job of keeping the Tigers in the game.
One of the biggest factors that led to Missouri‘s offensive problems was an injury to its starting quarterback. Brady Cook left the game on Missouri‘s first drive with an ankle injury and didn’t return until the final minute of the third quarter.
The black and gold Tigers moved the ball at times with backup Drew Pyne in the game, but most of it was on the ground as Pyne struggled to find consistency in the passing game.
Similar to Auburn, Missouri had opportunities with good field position and drove the ball into Auburn territory, but had to repeatedly settle for long field goals, two of which were missed.
Things seemed to change for Missouri when Cook returned to the game, connecting on a 78-yard pass on the last play of the third quarter to set up a two-yard touchdown on the next play.
At the end of the game, Auburn did break and a 95-yard touchdown drive by Missouri gave it a 21-17 lead that the home Tigers never lost.
Another game given away
Auburn had control of a game and multiple chances to win, but lost. Does that sound familiar?
If it does, that‘s because Saturday’s loss to Missouri is far from the first time it has happened this season. It was a similar story to Oklahoma where a late pick-six turned the game around late.
Losses to Cal and Arkansas were games where Auburn had its chances to win, but turnovers cost the Tigers the game.
It wasn‘t just turnovers against Missouri. Sure, a first-half fumble didn’t help, but the issue on Saturday was much bigger than just one thing.
Auburn showed an inability to finish, an inability to actually win a game where it had been given the chance to do so.
Even worse for the program, it doesn’t come as a huge surprise.
Peter Rauterkus covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @peter_rauterkus or email him at [email protected]m
