Simply put, while Auburn topped New Mexico 45-19, head coach Hugh Freeze wasn’t thrilled with how his defense played on Saturday night.
“I thought we were not very good on defense,” Freeze said in his postgame press conference. “And I think DJ (Durkin) would agree.”
Auburn’s defense, led by first-year defensive coordinator DJ Durkin, allowed New Mexico to tally 448 yards of total offense — 291 through the air and 157 on the ground.
And according to Freeze, there’s a few factors to blame.
“We’re not playing the ball well. We had too many penalties. Didn’t contain (New Mexico quarterback Devon Dampier) very well and people got behind us and they converted too many long plays, long distances,” Freeze said.
The game as a whole was riddled with penalties. Between the two programs, 25 were committed for a total of 200 yards. Of those, four were committed by the Auburn defense for a total of 58 yards.
Meanwhile, New Mexico quarterback Devon Dampier, at times, looked like he came right out of a video game as he continued to extend plays with his legs before finding one of his pass catchers.
Dampier finished the night having passed for 291 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions on 22-for-44 passing.
And while those two interceptions — one by Jerrin Thompson and one by Antonio Kite — were defensive highlights for the Tigers, Auburn’s secondary struggled for the second straight game as it gave up five passing plays of 20-plus yards.
“A lot of the explosives they had were mental busts on our end,” Thompson said. “There was nothing they did that was special. We had a good scheme. We just have to play harder and make the plays that come to us.”
Auburn’s already-thin secondary was a bit thinner on Saturday night as starting cornerback Kayin Lee didn’t play against New Mexico as he nurses a calf strain. Starting in his place against the Lobos was junior Champ Anthony, who tied Thompson as Auburn’s leading tackler with six tackles.
Nonetheless, Freeze’s opinion on Auburn’s secondary was very similar to last week.
“We’ve got to play with composure and poise and play the ball better than what we’re doing,” Freeze said.
Fortunately for Auburn’s defense, though it was giving up chunk plays, it performed well when its back was against the wall, only allowing the Lobos to find the end zone twice.
And according to Thompson, much of that is credit to the Tigers’ defensive line.
“When our D-line is holding the line of scrimmage well it’s hard to do anything,” Thompson said of Auburn’s red zone defense. “I give all of the credit to our big boys up front holding it down and allowing us to play tight coverage on the back end.”
Coming off two straight performances that left plenty to be desired, Auburn’s defense will have to dial in this coming week as the Tigers prepare to open SEC play against Arkansas — a team that also boasts a mobile quarterback in Taylen Green.
“There’s no question that their quarterback is very, very mobile,” Freeze said of the Green and Razorbacks. “He’s a dual threat guy so we’re gonna have to have a better plan and play better for sure next week.”
