Auburn DL Keldric Faulk's Huge Day vs. Cal Wasted, but More to Come

Keldric Faulk's stellar performance vs. Cal emphasizes just how let down the Auburn Tigers defense was by the offense on Saturday.

Auburn Tigers defensive lineman Keldric Faulk had a big day in a loss to the Cal Golden Bears. / Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK

In football, the damaging fractures which can develop between a spluttering offense and a defense which feels it can hold up its end of the bargain are extensively documented.

After amassing a staggering 73-points only a week previously, the Auburn Tigers offense gave up five turnovers and put a heavy burden on their defense unit in the process.

During the chaos, defensive end Keldric Faulk really stood out for all the right reasons, especially in the second half when the Tigers D adjusted which helped them really hit their stride.

"I think that our communication in the first half was not as good  as it should've been," Faulk admitted post-game. "When we came out in the second half, we over communicated. We were in our right gaps. We covered our right man. We were honed in on our keys."

How Faulk must have felt seeing his quarterback Payton Thorne coughing the ball up at the most inopportune moments couldn't have been easy to stomach.

After all, Faulk made 8 total tackles, had three tackles for losses, and registered two sack against Cal in a losing cause.

Faulk is proving himself to be a real disruptive influence up front for Freeze. He's successfully marrying consistency and natural leadership traits to his game. and that could really set him apart.

"Keldric is one of the best leaders we have," Freeze enthused of his star defensive end. "He plays his heart out. He's one of the guys you can really count on when things get tough to hang in there and look for the right way out of it. He's a really good leader and really good young kid and obviously a very good player. All of those younger kid we're depending on for our future are watching him. He's a good one to watch."

As Faulk showed his range of skills, it could be suggested that if the offense could get back to clicking then the Tigers would be really cooking with gas. That being said, it's worth noting how the secondary gave up a hefty 233 yards through the air against the relatively-unheralded Cal quarterback, Fernando Mendoza.

Trouble is, just how entrenched Thorne might be in the doldrums after the shock defeat is going to have a massive bearing on things moving forward. Freeze didn't over react publicly to his quarterback's dismal day at the office in the aftermath of the game, but on Monday, he left the door open for a possible change.

Exactly how Freeze opts to micro-manage the situation is going to be critical after such a deflating reverse. Getting the offense back on track is now a real pressing concern, particularly because Freeze cannot run the risk of his defense getting overly frustrated, percolating some bad vibes throughout the Tigers locker room.

Lots to digest this week then, especially as the Tigers pick themselves back up and lick their wounds in preparation for a New Mexico team they should easily handle.