AUBURN | Jerrin Thompson has experienced a rebuilding project.

In Thompson’s second season at Texas, Steve Sarkisian was hired and the Longhorns went 5-7 in 2021. A year later, the Texas was 8-5 and last year 12-2.

Thompson sees a lot of Auburn in that ’21 team that lost five games by eight or less points and blew a 38-20 halftime lead against Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry.

They also led Oklahoma State, Baylor and Iowa State at halftime before losing all three.

Sound familiar?

“This season reminds me a lot of my sophomore year,” said Thompson. “Someone has to win, and someone has to lose. At the end of the day, you just keep trying to grind and get better and be the one not to lose. It's way more fun when you win.”

Auburn hasn’t experienced much fun this season. The Tigers are 2-5 overall and 0-4 in the SEC with four consecutive defeats, which include blown 11-point, fourth-quarter leads against No. 21 Oklahoma and at No. 19 Missouri.

“It feels like our kids are playing really hard. And pleased to see that and proud of them for that. And they played well for the majority of the game Saturday. But we’ve got to figure out how to finish,” said AU coach Hugh Freeze.

Part of being able to finish is the players having a belief in themselves and their teammates in crunch time. It’s in those critical moments that the Tigers have failed over and over again.

“There's just so much being held back, and a lot of guys aren't letting go and playing free,” said Thompson. “I think that's the biggest thing. There's not a lot of looseness out there, and not guys just having fun. There's a lot of uptightness.

“We're in a tough spot, trying to win games. It's just one thing about college football: You've gotta get over that hump. You've gotta keep going. Every week is the same mission, the same journey, same practice. You've just gotta keep going. It's just the process of playing college football.”

Auburn will try to get over the hump Saturday at Kentucky. Kickoff at Commonwealth Stadium is scheduled for 6:45 p.m. CT on SEC Network.