AUBURN, Ala. – The Auburn Tigers (1-1) lost to the California Golden Bears (2-0) Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium. The Tigers turned the ball over five times, leading to two Cal touchdowns.
The Tigers started the game with a drive reminiscent of the offensive production a week ago, culminating in a Payton Thorne passing touchdown to KeAndre Lambert-Smith. The Golden Bears answered with a strong march down the field. Fernando Mendoza did not throw a single incompletion, finishing with a beautiful pass to the back corner of the end zone that was reeled in by Nyziah Hunter.
The Golden Bears broke the tie with a touchdown early in the second quarter and led for the rest of the game.
The Tigers’ defense looked apathetic to start the game, not being able to stop Cal’s passing attack. Mendoza was 19-21 with 205 yard through the air at the half. Auburn’s defense flipped the script after halftime, limiting Mendoza to 6-15 and just 28 yards. Their run defense was equally impressive, but finally broke when Jaivian Thomas took advantage of a big hole and broke free for a 32-yard touchdown run, ultimately the difference in the game.
Edge rusher Keldric Faulk led the Tigers with eight tackles, two sacks, and three tackles for loss. After the game, he reflected on the difference from the first half to the second. “We got will,” Faulk said. “And with will, you can do anything… we not backing down… no matter how much we down.” Faulk brought some positivity to the postgame press conference. “A loss is something you can learn from. If you don’t learn from it, it’s pointless… we actually learned from that loss.”
Four of the Tigers’ five turnovers were interceptions thrown by Payton Thorne. In stark contrast to his game last Saturday, he did not look at ease in the pocket, and it showed, especially in the second half. Coach Hugh Freeze talked postgame about assessing Thorne’s performance. “We’ll have to watch the film first,” he said. “We struggled to protect him tonight… we struggled to protect for sure, so I’d rather watch the film and talk about it Monday.”
Protection was poor at times, and it was made worse when right tackle Izavion Miller left the game after getting “banged up.” Thorne was sacked three times, and was pressured on nearly every passing attempt in the second half.
Jarquez Hunter’s fumble on Auburn’s first drive of the fourth quarter led to Thomas’s game-sealing touchdown. “I missed the block on that,” said Auburn tight end Luke Deal, talking about looking inward after a loss and not playing the blame game. “He has nothing to hang his head about. He’s a great back,” he said of Hunter.
Turning it over five times is never a game-winning formula. Coach Freeze will need to focus on ball security this week, as the Tigers now have a turnover ratio of seven to zero, having forced none through the first two weeks.
Auburn hosts New Mexico next Saturday, looking to right the ship before SEC play begin
