Everything Bryan Harsin said following Auburn's loss to Georgia

Harsin took full responsibility for Auburn's loss on Saturday.

Lance Dawe | Oct 9, 2022

Everything Bryan Harsin said following Auburn's loss to Georgia /

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Auburn Tigers

Auburn (3-3, 1-2 SEC) took in on the chin in Athens on Saturday, losing 42-10 to the No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs (6-0, 3-0 SEC).

None were more openly responsible for the loss than Auburn head coach Bryan Harsin.

Here is everything Harsin had to say following the huge loss.

Opening statement...

“Yeah, disappointed. Really good football team we just played, Georgia, all the way around. We knew that going into the game, and physical as well. I think that was a big part of the game, just the physicality of it. That showed up, really, in the second half. I thought our guys, in the first half, defensively in particular did some good things, but the second half, just the physicality of Georgia, that showed up. Then, penalties were big in this game as well, and that seemed to be a factor that hurt momentum.

“Guys are disappointed. The challenge is: How do you take this football game—and we’ve been saying this—learn from it? What are the things we’re going to do moving forward before he head back on the road again and go play against another good football team? So, it continues to be a challenge every single week. Our guys know that. How we respond to that is going to be the key for us. All credit to Georgia. Those guys, well coached, really good players. Those guys, they play with confidence at home, and I thought we handled some of the environment well at times, but the false starts—whether that was because of that or not, we’ll go back and look at the film and evaluate that. So, questions.”

The fake punt in first quarter...

“Yeah, we were (trying to create a spark), and that was the look too. That was something that we actually had happen to us earlier in the year, and that was something we felt like was going to be the right opportunity. They presented that the first time we kicked it, came out, checked it, and that was the look. I don’t know exactly what happened; obviously, there was a one-on-one somewhere that we didn’t win, but absolutely (we did) try to create a spark to continue the drive. We knew tonight was going to be a challenge offensively with their defense, so any positive yards we could get and extension of drives, that was a chance for us to do that, in that field position as well, because they weren’t going to be in safe; they were going to give us a chance with that look, and they did give us the look. They out-executed us in that moment right there, but overall I thought we had a good design for that opportunity.”

Team preparation leading into the game...

“Well, looking now, not good enough. I mean, obviously, when you look at the game. That’s what you can evaluate. That’s on all of us. It starts with me, and every single one of us. You have to self-assess, is what you have to do. What did you do well? What didn’t you do well? You know, we try to address all those things every week as they happen, before we get into the game. Because you know when you get into a football game, those things you do in practice or things that don’t go well in meetings or some of the details, whatever it might be, you try to address them right there. That’s why you practice, and you talk about, ‘Hey, look, these are some of the things we have to correct before we get into the game, because certainly our opponent is going to try to take advantage of that if we don’t do those things.’ So, every single week it’s a challenge to get yourself prepared and ready. Not because of lack of effort, not because of lack of those guys wanting to go out there and be successful; I don’t think anybody’s not focused and trying, but at the same time, it’s football, and whether it’s scheme, whether it’s a fundamental — whatever it might be — that’s the challenge every single week. You got to take advantage of that in your preparation to try to correct that before you get into a game. But there’s plenty of things Georgia did as well.

“They're a good football team. We knew there was going to be ebbs and flows in this game; we knew there was going to be momentum changes, and that we had to endure that while we were in this game. We talked about those things. It was just too much throughout the game. Some of the big plays they made in the second half, the score got out of hand at that point.”

Second-half issues...

"I don't know. We have to work on that. That remains to be seen. I wish I could sit up here and tell you. Until we actually go out there and prove it, it's just a matter of us going back and looking at those things, which we have. It's a continuation of us needing to get better at it. I need to look at everything that we're doing — everything we're doing on a Sunday and a Monday and a Tuesday. Just our preparation, every single thing that we do. If it's not working, you don't want to go back and continue to try and do the same things over and over and over again. There's a process; there's a plan. But it has to be better. It starts with me; it starts with what we are actually doing, how we're practicing, how we're emphasizing all the things that show up in every single one of these games. You want a different result; every guy in that locker room wants a different result. In order to do that you have to evaluate: 'What are we doing?' You have to self-assess, and then we've got to go back to work. The key is, when you do self-assess and you do decide this is the plan moving forward and this is how we're going to get better, you have to go out there and really attack it every single day.

"You take games like this — when you lose, it should hurt, it should burn, it eats at you. It's something that fuels you as you go back into your practice and your preparation for everybody. In the film room, in the coaches' meeting rooms and all that, are we giving our guys the best chance to be successful? Then when we get on the field, are we doing those things so that when we go out there and play, we're not going to have some of those mistakes that showed up in the game today."

Defense getting worn down...

"A little bit. I thought our defense has played well — they have all season long in a lot of ways. And then it's just not enough. At some point, you have to put some points on the board; you've got to even the game out, keep it close and give some hope. Our guys on defense, a little bit — they started to run the ball, and that was a factor in the game. That's what you don't want to let happen. You want a game where you want control of the run, and try to balance the offense out a little bit. When the score is getting to what it is, you know the team is going to run it, and you know they're going to give you lots of different looks. They can kind of have their variety of plays they want to attack with. It's a lot of different things you have to defend. When the score is closer and the game is tighter and all that, then teams will probably go back to what they think will work for them. Our defense has played hard. I thought the run Stetson had, that was big. That hurt. That big, long quarterback draw that he hit, that was a big, explosive play that turned into a touchdown. When you're talking about yardage and explosive plays that become touchdowns, that's really the one that hurt us the most on defense."

Injuries on both sides of the line of scrimmage...

"Yeah, we had a lot. I can't tell you exactly their status right now, but I know on the offensive line, we lost a few key starters. On the defensive line, you know, guys were banged up and coming out. So that's been a little bit of an issue this season, is some of the injuries, having some of our key players out, and I think that's one of the keys to being a successful team throughout the year, is if you can avoid the injury bug a little bit. And things happen in football, unfortunately. Guys come out, but that's where your depth really shows up, when you've got some guys. And there were guys on the offensive line, they didn't really get many reps this week, but they're in tune with what we're doing. And so, as a backup player, you've gotta be able to come in there, and against a really good football team, you're not getting all the same amount of rest, but you've got to go step up and that's what you're asking guys to do.

"And I believe this, too — not just the players that come in, the other guys have to elevate their game, too. Guys that have been playing, guys that have been out there. Everybody knows when somebody goes down, those guys that were your key players that are still healthy and are still out there playing, they've got to elevate themselves, but the injuries certainly become a factor throughout the season. We're at the midway point right now. Every team is dealing with injuries, and that's where your depth shows up. That's where those guys that aren't getting as many opportunities, when they do get it, to go in there and and try to continue with the game plan and the things that we thought would work for us in the game. We've got to keep executing that. We can't change everything because of injuries, and everybody knows that. We've just got to be better at it."

Robby Ashford's fumble, Auburn's overall performance...

"Yeah, I don't know what happened on the — I mean, the ball came out. I think, I don't know if he just dropped it or somebody knocked it out. I was kind of watching something else. I just saw the ball come out. So, either way, it's a turnover. And those are costly, and that's been something that, you know, everybody knows that, too. No one's trying to put the ball on the ground. You want to take care of it. But that becomes a big factor in games. I think we were even tonight in the turnovers. I think we got one, they had one. Overall performance, I'll go back and look at it. He competed. You know, he had plenty of things that he had to work through tonight as well. I mean, they got pressure on us, which we knew that they would do, alright? Because they're good upfront; make good decisions, take care of the football, those type of things. Put us in position where, hopefully we have some manageable third downs. So that's not really on him.

"First and second down, we've got to be in manageable third downs. I think we're in quite a few third-and-10s tonight. And that's hard. You know, that's kind of where the defense has the — well, the defense has the advantage, alright? When you're third-and-10, third-and-11. You want to be more third-and-4, third-and-5. And we were the one that Jarquez got. I think that was a third-and-4. We were able to get the ball in his hands quick, good throw, and it was on their sideline, but Jarquez obviously made a spectacular play to get down the sideline and score, but you want to be in those more manageable situations for him. Early in the game, I thought when guys were covered, he utilized his legs and did some really good things running the ball. And we knew that would be an advantage for us. We knew that could hurt their defense, if they covered everybody and Robby was able to take off and go get some scramble yards with his legs, and he did that tonight."

Why Auburn only had 40 total yards in the third quarter...

"I wish I had the answer for that. Alright? I really do. If I did, we would fix those things. I think part of the struggle is you're playing good teams. Part of the struggles are some self-inflicted things that we've done to ourselves. And the key to having a successful game is being consistent throughout the game, and whether at the end of it, the score is in your favor or not, you want to have some type of consistency. And I think that's the biggest challenge for us right now. The most frustrating thing is we're not. You know, we do some really, really good things at times, and then, you know, we just have some things that hurt us. And the consistency piece, that's the key, right. And as you watch teams, and why they win, they're consistent. And they keep themselves in the game, they keep it close, and then your last six, five minutes of a game, when you're in a close football game, that's where you got to go make some plays, if you're behind. That's where you got to go execute. You’ve got to put your guys in a position to be successful in those moments, but you’ve got to give yourself a chance by being consistent to be in those moments in games. And even if you're ahead, too, you know, you’ve got to you got to continue to keep playing well, because teams can come back on you and, and find ways to win.

"I just think our consistency, I just think we're too up and down throughout games and that's what we have to clean up. And that's really the challenge is just knowing that we can go execute these things and also putting our guys in the position to have a chance to be successful as well. So it's a combination of, we have to do a better job coaching, and put them in better positions to be successful. And then we’ve got to go out there and make those plays when we have an opportunity to do that. We'll be more consistent with that."

What Auburn did well against Georgia's offense early in the game...

"Yeah, I think we played hard. I do. I think our guys up front, just watching our D-line, I thought we played hard up front, and so we were able to slow some of the run game down. I thought in the back end when they did throw it—You know, they were throwing a lot of quick throws today, some screens. They had a couple boots that were successful that snuck out and No. 0 had a big play to his right, to Stetson’s right. But overall, I thought coverage was pretty good. I thought the front was pretty good. The big play was Stetson’s draw play that he hit. You know, that was the one that really opened it up. But overall, I mean, still, in a game like that, I mean, that's a good offense that you're playing against. They've obviously shown they can be explosive, they’ve got a lot of really good players at skill positions. Their O-line — I think that O-line has played this entire year together. Right? And that's one area — those guys, they've stayed healthy up front. Those guys are good.

"So, you know, we did some good things, just not enough. But I also think at the same time, you know, we put them in a tough field position when we didn't get the fake. We also, on offense, you know, we’ve got to be able to move the ball enough to create field position. Even if we're not scoring, getting the ball out there to the plus-40 plus-50 and so on and trying to keep them more backed up in those situations, too. You’ve got to play a field position and I think that was a factor in the game as well."

Auburn's penalties...

"Yeah, yeah, it's freaking frustrating. It is. It's frustrating as hell. And you don't know why. I mean, that's one of the things too, it happens, like it's not changing in the game. And right or wrong, you can argue it all you want. But it's not going to change the outcome right there in that moment. So you’ve got to respond to that. And, you know, we've been saying it too: first and 10, second and five is different than second and 15. Right? First and 15. So, against really good teams, you start getting behind the chains, it's the advantage to the defense. Alright? And then even, you know, on the defensive side as well, I mean, some costly penalties to right, where we have a chance to make a big play, and we might have an offsides or something that way. So, you know, that goes back to we’ve got to play more clean. And, you know, before I get too deep into that, I mean, you go back and watch, I mean, why was it a penalty? Was it a penalty? You know. How are we playing? You know, was it one of those that, you know, from just a technique standpoint, we were just poor on it? Or was it lack of discipline?

"But anytime that you're trying to create momentum, penalties are going to hurt you in those in those ways, where it hurts momentum. And, you know, that was just too much. I think we had 10 tonight. You know. And then we had, I think, eight in the first half. So it's just too many, alright, to put yourself in a position to create the momentum that you need. And in games like this, and on the road, you need to have momentum. You’ve got to find ways to give your team a chance to go out there and sustain some drives, create some field position and have some momentum in a game like this."

Auburn travels to Oxford, Mississippi to take on the No. 9 Ole Miss Rebels this Saturday. Kickoff is at 11 a.m. central.