Auburn suffered yet another dreadful loss this Saturday, losing a game it led for much of the second half to No. 16 Missouri, 21-17.
The Tigers offense went dormant for the final 20 minutes of the contest, while a tired defense failed to shut the door on what would have been a season-altering SEC road victory.
The Tigers did show some bright spots, specifically on the defense end, in the loss but just 286 yards of total offense failed to move the needle on the road. Here is a look at the players and units that affected the game in positive, and negative, ways. Here are the winners and losers from Auburn’s loss to Missouri.
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Running back Jarquez Hunter continued to be a bright spot in an otherwise disappointing season for the Auburn offense. Between highlight plays, angry runs, and key third-down conversions, Hunter stamped his name all over this game. The senior finished with 85 all purpose yards in the contest, helping the Tigers move the football in an otherwise inconsistent offensive effort.
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Freshman kicker Towns McGough continued an unfortunate first season as a Tiger on Saturday. After it looked like starter Alex McPherson had an opportunity to return this week, McGough was forced into action again and missed a key field goal late in the third quarter. The miss gave the home team some key hope, and momentum, that Missouri would turn into an 8-point scoring drive just three plays later, and eventually a 21-17 win.
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Auburn’s flashy new receiving core carried plenty of hype coming into the season. That hype came with plenty of expectations, and while much of those expectations have been met, freshman receiver Malcolm Simmons continued to exceed his own on Saturday. The first-year Tiger made a massive impact in Columbia, catching 4 passes for 29 and perhaps most importantly disrupting a Luther Burden III punt return, leading to a muff and an Auburn touchdown.
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After going into the halftime locker room deadlocked at a field goal a piece, Auburn controlled much of the second half, until the Tigers didn’t. After Payton Thorne connected with Cam Coleman on a long touchdown to put the Tigers ahead, the Auburn defense forced a quick Missouri punt, leading to a muff and special teams touchdown to give Auburn a 14-point lead. Unfortunately things spiraled for Hugh Freeze’s team from there, as the offense failed to anything but leave its defense out to dry after a Towns McGough missed field goal.
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With the Auburn offense sputtering for the entire fourth quarter, the defense, specifically the Tigers linebackers, stepped up in a major way. Eugene Asante, Jalen McLeod, and Dorian Mausi Jr. disrupted the Missouri backfield throughout the games final frame, combining for 2 important sacks on the Tigers antepenultimate and another on Missouri’s game winning drive. The trio finished the contest with 19 tackles, 4.5 sacks, and 4 tackles for a loss.
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Other than a long completion to set up a touchdown late in the third quarter and a key pair of conversions on the game winning drive, Missouri’s highly-touted passing attack struggled to do much of anything against a lackluster Auburn secondary. Kayin Lee, Jerrin Thompson, and the Tigers defensive backs were able to stymie Missouri’s high powered attack throughout most of the afternoon. Unfortunately tired legs proved too much to overcome on the game’s final drive.
