Takeaways: Auburn gets the first SEC win of the Hugh Freeze era

Here are our takeaways from Auburn's most complete game of the season.

The Auburn Tigers finally found some rhythm on offense. 

Payton Thorne played the best game of his Auburn career in SEC play. His 230 yards through the air and 38 yards on the ground was exactly what Auburn needed to bounce back from losing their fourth game in a row a week ago.

Here are a few takeaways from Auburn's win against Mississippi State.

Auburn still struggled on third down

Third down has been a major weakness for Auburn this season. On Saturday, Auburn was 4-11 on third down despite a strong start. Auburn's early success on first down opened up a lot of the offense on later downs and the Tigers capitalized. In the second half, Auburn's offense really slowed down. 

Defensively, Auburn forced Mississippi State to 2-12 on third down and 2-4 on fourth down.

Quarterback play was a lot better

Everything seemed to move slower for Thorne on Saturday. It seemed like he had more time and he took what the defense gave him consistently throughout the game. Thorne also played a higher percentage of the game and was able to get into a groove. Robby Ashford played a more limited role than he has over the past few weeks.

Ashford had two rushes for eight yards and did not throw a pass.

Three key freshmen

Auburn started true freshman Connor Lew instead of Avery Jones due to an injury. He looked great. When looking at the three key freshmen on Auburn's roster - Lew, cornerback Kayin Lee, and defensive end Keldric Faulk. Those three players were all flips that took place after Freeze and his staff took over. All three of those players will be major factors for this Auburn program as it fights to get back to where it wants to be under Freeze. 

Auburn keeps generating turnovers 

A fourth-quarter pick by Zion Puckett was Auburn's 10th interception this season. Auburn's defense has forced a turnover in 17 straight games. 

The interception by Puckett stalled the Mississippi State offense at a part of the game where the Tigers needed to take momentum back in the game to maintain a two-score lead. The pick allowed Auburn to run some time off of the clock and punt to give the defense more time. 

A successful season is still on the table for Auburn

Of course, it depends on how you define success. Most people have Auburn going 7-5 or 6-6 before the season started. When looking at the next few games for the Tigers, Auburn plays winnable games against Vanderbilt, Arkansas, and New Mexico State. If Auburn plays like they did today, they have a real shot at rolling into the Iron Bowl against Alabama on a four-game winning streak.

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