3 takeaways from the debut of Hugh Freeze at Auburn

2. It’s tough to truly evaluate the Auburn defense

The Auburn football defense looked stout on Saturday, but the quality of opponent and injuries rendered the result a bit questionable. On UMass’ first offensive drive of the game, the Minutemen drove 89 yards down the field in eight plays, ending the drive with a touchdown.

On the next offensive drive, UMass quarterback Taisun Phommachanh was clearly favoring his leg. For the rest of his time in this game, he was moving slower and wasn’t nearly as effective.

As a good defense should, Auburn football pounced, forcing turnovers and suffocating everything the Minutemen offense attempted to do. The next four drives lasted five plays or fewer, and UMass didn’t score that second touchdown until 8:50 left in the fourth quarter, at which point Auburn held a 52-14 lead.

At the end of the day, the Auburn defense did what it needed to do. They held UMass to just 1-of-9 on third down and just 301 yards of total offense. All you can ask of a team is to handle the opponent that is in front of them.

Until Texas A&M, it will be tough to get a read on what this defense is capable of. Even then, Aggie coach Jimbo Fisher has run much-maligned offenses during his time at College Station. The Tigers may have to their September 30th matchup at Georgia without having faced a truly effective offense. That will be a tall task.