Takeaways: Auburn gets bullied by New Mexico State

Here are some takeaways from Auburn's 31-10 loss against New Mexico State.

The Auburn Tigers suffered their worst loss of the Hugh Freeze era. 

New Mexico State came into Jordan Hare Stadium and beat Auburn in every aspect of the game. Auburn falls 31-10. 

Auburn paid New Mexico State $1.85 million to come to Auburn. The Aggies got paid and left with their ninth and biggest win of the season.

Here are some takeaways from Auburn's loss against New Mexico State.

Where was the team from the past three games?

Auburn's offense developed an identity over the past three games. The team we saw on Saturday night operated like the offense we saw against Cal earlier in the season.

It would be easy to argue that Auburn's strength of the team is their running backs. On Saturday night, the offense went with more runs by quarterback Payton Thorne than Jarquez Hunter. Thorne ran the ball 17 times. Jarquez Hunter, who has been running like the best back in the SEC, had 8 runs on the evening. 

New Mexico State wanted it more

There was a lot of talk this week about Auburn being focused on New Mexico State. It's pretty clear that wasn't the case. New Mexico State was able to line up and beat Auburn in all three phases of the game.

At the half of the SEC Network broadcast, sideline reporter Taylor Davis shared that Freeze discussed the "Care Meter" for his Tigers needed to go up. They did not respond that way.

Auburn got bullied on both sides of the ball

The Auburn Tigers were pushed around on both sides of the ball. Auburn's offensive line did a poor job protecting Payton Thorne and most of Auburn's rushing game came from Thorne scrambling later in the play.

Auburn's defense lacked push up front. New Mexico State ran the ball on all three downs and the Tigers never really provided any resistance against them.

New Mexico State's play upfront allowed them to dominate the time of possession - 38:50 to 21:10. 

Freeze: 'There's nothing positive I can say about tonight'

This loss crushes any sort of momentum

The three-game winning streak will quickly be interrupted by "But New Mexico State-" this offseason when discussing if Freeze's first season on the Plains was a success. With this loss, a 6-6 season is the most likely option with the Iron Bowl looming, it becomes tougher to point to Freeze's first season at Auburn being a success on the field. Maybe the momentum on the recruiting front can create some buzz over the next few weeks.

Recruiting pages to bookmark

2024 Auburn Tigers Commitment List and Evaluations

2025 Auburn Tigers Commitment List and Evaluations

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