Five losers from Auburn football's win over Mercer

Here are five "losers" from Auburn's game vs Mercer.

Auburn secured a 42-16 rout of the Mercer Bears on Saturday night following a lengthy lightning delay in the third quarter.

The Tigers accomplished what they set out to accomplish. We've got plenty of things to work on - it wasn't perfect, and there's a lot of things we have to get better at," Auburn head coach Bryan Harsin said following the game.

If the Tigers won, and won big, why are there losers from the game?

Well, take a look at our five "losers" below.

The quarterback room

Eric Starling/Auburn Daily

This could be misconstrued, so let's break this down to avoid confusion.

TJ Finley opened the game against Mercer, and looked good doing so. 8-of-9 passing, one touchdown. His throws were on time and accurate.

Things were going well.

After a hot start, Finley collapsed, finishing 1-of-5 while throwing a pair of interceptions, both of which were simply bad plays.

Robby Ashford, who had stepped in on the fourth play of the game for an 8-yard rush, saw moments with the offense during drives but did not start a drive until Finley's second interception early in the third quarter.

Both QBs had their moments. Bryan Harsin has proven in the past that he can make a two-quarterback system work, and it looks like that is what he is going to try and do this season.

The reason we have the room pegged as a loser from the game is because of the emotional reaction Saturday's game sparked from the fanbase. Twitter has already shared its thoughts on the QB competition. Harsin (unsurprisingly) said in yesterday's press conference that TJ Finley will continue to be the starter.

Pressure will continue to be applied to the room because of the two Finley turnovers and the relatively split time both Ashford and Finley will (supposedly) have in the offense. Fans will have to learn to trust and support the staff and their decisions until they have proven they cannot be trusted.

Instead of jumping to conclusions about Finley, Ashford, or anything to do with the quarterback room, how about we wait and see how it goes against Penn State, and until then, root for the team to perform well instead of throwing hate towards players who don't deserve it?

These are people. Some of them still kids, no less. Address concern where concern lies, but don't overblow things.

The fanbase's emotional stability

Eric Starling/Auburn Daily

The pulse of the fanbase seems to consistently be... emotionally unstable. Even non-conference games against FCS opponents have to spark some kind of controversy, don't they?

We aren't saying that things shouldn't be discussed, or there's an objective opinion to always have about the Tigers. Finley threw two interceptions, and Harsin pulled him (something we haven't seen an Auburn coach do in a while - pull a player from the game when he isn't performing). However, things have tended to get out of hand when a backup quarterback (typically a dual threat) steps into a game and plays decently.

Recent examples include:

2014 - Jeremy Johnson vs Arkansas

2016 - John Franklin III (the weakest example, but an example nonetheless)

2017 - Malik Willis (the entire season)

2018 - Malik Willis/Joey Gatewood (the entire season)

2021 - TJ Finley vs Georgia State

Considering three of next four games are probably going to consist of a decent amount of stressful, tightly-contested football, the quarterback completion will continue to be the highlight of every outing in the minds of the vocal part of the Auburn fanbase.

Once again, let's wait for some more results before we jump to conclusions.

Bo Nix

© John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Former Auburn QB Bo Nix was 21 of 37 passing for 173 yards and two interceptions during Oregon's 49-3 loss to Georgia on Saturday.

Some are calling Robby Ashford and Bo Nix a trade of quarterbacks between the Tigers and the Ducks. We have no comment either way.

Auburn fans, interpret this as you will.

Auburn's ESPN FPI ranking

Eric Starling/Auburn Daily

The Tigers were No. 11 in the preseason ESPN FPI rankings. after a 26-point victory, Auburn plummeted to No. 27.

... thanks, ESPN?

Mercer's points per game average

Eric Starling/Auburn Daily

The Bears have an efficient, diverse offense that will cause problems for a lot of teams in the So-Con. They have explosive playmakers at all levels, and should put up some high numbers this season.

However, Auburn's SEC-caliber defense got the best of the Bears on Saturday.

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