Auburn vs. Cal Report Card, It's Ugly for the Offense

Auburn did not come out on top against Cal obviously, but how did the team do in specific areas?

Auburn Tigers wide receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith (5) and quarterback Payton Thorne (1) celebrate their touchdown vs. the California Golden Bears. / Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Auburn Tigers were unable to sweep the home-and-home series against the Cal Golden Bears, dropping the second game 21-14 at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday after being victorious in Berkeley, Calif. a year ago.

Auburn struggled to get out of its own way against Cal, making a significant amount of errors that ultimately resulted in the loss including five turnovers.

How did Auburn’s specific position groups perform against Cal?

Quarterback: F

Payton Thorne did not have his best day. It was arguably the worst performance he has had in an Auburn uniform.

Thorne went 14-of-27 for 165 yards and one touchdown but threw four interceptions. His field vision was not strong as he missed open receivers multiple times.

“Obviously, no matter how a turnover happens or occurs, you don’t want those, so we’ve got to do a better job of protecting the ball, and that starts with me,” Thorne said. “I touch the ball every play, so we’ve got to do that and like you said, head back to the drawing board a little bit. You know, we aren’t going to abandon our offense, but we just have to be sharper.”

Thorne was the only quarterback to work for Auburn against Cal, but there is a chance of redshirt freshman Hank Brown having opportunities to show what he can do leading up to the New Mexico game next week.

Offensive line: D

Part of the blame for Thorne’s struggles can be pinned on the little protection he had to work with.

Cal managed to record three sacks and five tackles for loss, obviously forcing numerous turnovers as well.

“We struggled to protect him (Thorne) tonight, a lot” Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze said. “We had guys running wide open and really struggled to protect. It hurt when ‘Too Tall’ (Izavion Miller) got banged up.”

Wide recivers/tight ends: C

Auburn had no shortage of open wide receivers. Some wrong routes were ran but the unit did a decent job overall.

Cam Coleman led the Tigers in receiving yards with 53, Coleman, Rivaldo Fairweather, KeAndre Lambert-Smith and Robert Lewis each had two catches. Lambert-Smith made Auburn’s only touchdown catch of the day.

Running Backs: D

Auburn did not have much success on the ground as its offensive line play struggled in that area as well.

Jarquez Hunter led the Tigers in rushing with 68 yards off 12 carries. Thorne ran for 43 yards off 15 carries and had a touchdown on the ground.

Auburn had 121 yards on the ground off 30 carries which comes out to four-yards per carry. The unit will hope to have a more productive day against New Mexico.

Defensive line/linebackers: B

Auburn’s front seven had a solid performance. The Tigers recorded eight tackles for loss and two sacks, both sacks and three tackles for loss belonging to Keldric Faulk.

Stopping Cal’s ground attack was a top priority for Auburn and it succeeded. The Golden Bears were held to 101 yards off 33 carries, averaging 3.1 yards per attempt.

Defensive secondary: D+

Cal quarterback Fernando Mendoza had his way in the first half. His one incompletion came from a ball he threw away at the end of the half. 

Auburn’s defensive backs tightened up in the second half but got picked apart badly in the first half. Mendoza finished 25-of-36 with 233 yards and two touchdowns. 

Additionally, the Tigers are still looking for their first interception of the 2024 season.

Special Teams: B

Towns McGough went 2-of-2 on PAT attempts but missed his one field goal attempt. Oscar Chapman had four punts, averaging 45 yards per attempt and his long was 54 yards.

Keionte Scott’s two punt returns had a net gain of four yards. The Tigers did not attempt a kickoff return.

Auburn will look to get back in the win column against New Mexico next week at Jordan-Hare Stadium.