Auburn Fans Are Not Going Easy on QB Payton Thorne

Auburn Tigers quarterback Payton Thorne's performance against Cal warranted criticism, but naturally some people take it too far.

Auburn Tigers quarterback Payton Thorne walks off the field after a four-interceptions performance in a 21-14 loss to Cal. / Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK

The world of college football can be quite unforgiving.

One aspect of this hard truth is the passionate fans, some of the most hardcore in the world, not taking it lightly on players who let their favorite team down.

Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne did not have his best performance against Cal, tossing four interceptions and missing wide-open targets throughout the game.

Former SEC quarterback Aaron Murray’s breakdown of Thorne’s outing caused many Auburn fans who supported Thorne after the game to reconsider.

In an interview with The Next Round, Thorne mentioned an unusual way fans went after him.

“In today’s world they come at you in all different angles,” Thorne said on The Next Round. “The social medias, they’ll hit you on Venmo, all types of stuff. So, you just have to block it out.”

The requests on Venmo, an app used to transfer money, were not to give Thorne money.

“They’re definitely not sending cash,” Thorne said with a laugh. “It’s funny, when they lose money, they want the money back, but when they win money on a parlay, no one’s ever saying they want to pay the money.”

The SEC is home to some of the most intense fanbases in college football and Auburn is no exception. The expectations to perform well are high, and they will not tolerate less for long.

Nothing gets the attention of fans like their team dropping a game that it was expected to win, particularly if it was a home game. If fans believe that the competition was inferior, as they would in this case, that only adds gasoline to the fire.

However, the advent of social media has given fans a direct line to players and exposes some of the worst fanaticism among the fanatics.

Thorne and the rest of the Tigers will aim to right the ship against New Mexico at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. CT and the television broadcast will be carried by ESPN2.