Auburn's Poor Clock Management in Oklahoma Loss Raises Bigger Concerns

The Auburn Tigers lost a game to the Oklahoma Sooners that they dominated throughout.

Auburn Tigers 27-21 loss to the Oklahoma Sooners was a failure on many fronts. / Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Auburn, Ala. – Auburn had all of the momentum and was on its way to victory. Jalen McLeod sacked Oklahoma quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. on fourth and 10. The Tigers offense took over up 21-10 with 11:43 remaining. On the first play of the possession Jarquez Hunter reeled off a 22-yard run down to the Oklahoma 33-yard line.

Auburn pegged the ESPN win predictor at 97.4% after Hunter's run.

From there on Auburn mismanaged its way to a 27-21 loss. Despite being on a 21-3 run with statistical dominance and a defense that was playing well, Hugh Freeze’s Tigers found a way to lose.

Following Hunter’s run, Payton Thorne threw incomplete on first down on a pass intended for Robert Lewis that was nearly picked off. It looked to be a called RPO (run-pass option). On the next down Thorne threw incomplete for KeAndre Lambert-Smith. It also looked like an RPO, and Thorne was expecting Lambert-Smith to run a hitch. Lambert-Smith ran a go.

Now it's 3rd and 10. The clock is stopped after having run just 34 seconds off the clock, and Auburn burns a time out after two-poo play calls.

“I’ve got to make sure he understands the situation better,” Freeze said of Thorne. “We should have had runs there. I’ve got to be clearer with him on what we’re trying to do at that moment in the game.”

One way to make sure Thorne understands the situation better is to remove the PO from the RPO. There never should have been a pass option in a situation where Auburn needed to chew up clock, and the running game was effective.

It’s hard to tell what’s most alarming about the sequence of events. That Thorne nearly threw an interception on first down? That he and fellow senior Lambert-Smith on second down weren’t on the same page on the route? That Thorne, playing in his 46th college game, chose to throw the ball in that situation... twice? Or the fact that it wasn’t made clear from the sideline that Freeze wanted Thorne to hand the ball off?

The third down play call was also a failure. Hunter ran up the middle for no gain. That set up for a Towns McGough 51-yard field goal attempt. McGough, a freshman filling in for Alex McPherson, had already missed from 31 (on a penalty play) and 27 yards to end the first half. He missed the 51-yard attempt as well. (The end of first half sequence was also mismanaged from the sideline from a clock perspective).

“Run the football, milk the clock, and take as much clock off as we can up two scores,” Freeze said of what should have happened in that sequence. “Obviously that possession stands out for sure.

“We should have had 10 more points in the first half if we execute also,” he added. “That position, and those, not getting points, are things that I’ve got to do a better job making sure the kids get points in those situations. Those matter in games like this in this league. Then when you do get a two-score lead protecting the football and running the clock is a priority. We didn’t handle it very well, so obviously I’ve got to coach it better.”

Freeze was right about the last part, given that Thorne was unaware of Freeze’s intentions to run the ball in that situation.

On Oklahoma’s second play following the missed field goal Hawkins connected with J.J. Hester for 60 yards. Two plays after that the Sooners put it in the end zone. They failed on the two-point attempt, and Auburn got the ball back up 21-16 with 8:32 remaining.

On third and four with just over four minutes left, Auburn went to an empty set. Oklahoma showed blitz, and linebacker Kip Lewis dropped into coverage. Thorne threw it right to him, and Lewis gave the Sooners their first lead since 7-0.

Auburn entered the game last in the NCAA in turnovers. Turnovers have been the reason for Auburn’s 2-2 start against teams of lesser talent. On Saturday versus the Oklahoma, Freeze’s Tigers made it 55-plus minutes of action without a turnover, and still found a way for a turnover to beat them.

“We’ll go back to work and try to correct, and put him in better situations where we can finish a game off like this,” Freeze said of Thorne.