3 Takeaways from Auburn’s narrow road win at Cal

Auburn football went on the road to Cal and secured a narrow win in Week Two. Their performance wasn’t pretty at all, but here’s what we learned from the sloppy victory.

1. That offensive performance was hideous

The Tiger offense was downright bad as a whole on Saturday night. It gained just 230 total yards and just 12 first downs through 60 minutes against Cal.

The running game was awfully average, gaining 136 yards on 38 carries, a mark of 3.6 yards per carry. That would be somewhat forgivable if not for three fumbles, one each from Payton Thorne, Damari Alston, and Jarquez Hunter. The facet of the game that is supposed to be this offense’s strong suit was woefully ineffective on Saturday night.

The passing game was downright bad. Payton Thorne threw for just 94 yards and gave the Cal defense no reason to respect the pass.

For 45 minutes, Auburn’s offense looked rough.

However, when they needed it most, they finally came through. Seemingly saving all their mojo for the fourth quarter, the Tigers put together a 10-play, 69-yard drive, capped off by a 5-yard touchdown pass from Thorne to Rivaldo Fairweather to take the lead with 6:31 remaining.

Plain and simple, this unit has to play better. The thing is, it likely will. This is just its second game under Hugh Freeze, and there are still countless kinks to be worked out.

For now, though, that was an offensive night to forget.

2. Eugene Asante is a pivotal piece of the Auburn defense

While the Auburn offense struggled mightily, the Tiger defense did everything that was asked of it on Saturday night.

It held Cal to fairly similar offensive numbers, just 273 total yards and an especially suffocating 2.8 yards per carry. Tailback Jadyn Ott, who spent the week leading up to this game lobbing shots at the Tigers through the press, gained just 78 yards on 20 carries.

Auburn also flustered quarterback Sam Jackson V, sacking him twice, holding him to 126 yards through the air, and forcing two interceptions.

This defensive effort was led by linebacker Eugene Asante, who was all over the field on Saturday night. The junior had 12 key tackles, a sack, and a pass defense.

While the Auburn football offense catches up, it is the defense that will have to carry this team to any early success it has this season.

3. The Auburn football brand has been reignited 

It’s been a dark couple of years for Auburn football. The controversy and rumors of booster power-plays and attempted coups surrounding Gus Malzahn’s exit was frustrating, and the Bryan Harsin era was downright embarrassing.

For a while there, Auburn football went from the chaotic, unpredictable SEC wild card to the laughingstock. On Saturday night, the Tigers took another step back towards its rightful position in the hierarchy of college football.

Sure, there were still some laughs to be had at the offense’s expense, but the Tigers went on the road and won a non-conference game against a Power Five opponent. That’s especially meaningful after the trash talk that was thrown their way by Cal tailback Jadyn Ott during the week. It was clear the defense was on a mission after that.

Ott wasn’t wrong. The Harsin teams did not perform the way Auburn teams should perform. But this is no longer Harsin’s program.

Auburn also traveled extremely well, especially for a game that was about as far away from Auburn, Alabama as you could get. For a fan base that has had plenty of reasons to be embarrassed in recent years, they showed out in droves in Berkeley.

It’s clear that the hiring of Hugh Freeze has lit a fire under the Auburn fan base. With a coach who has a track record of winning in this conference, the Tigers are no longer fighting internal battles or seeing if an out-of-the-box hire will work. Instead, the program is all in formation and headed in the same direction.

In Auburn, that is a tremendous sign.