AUBURN | It was another first-half struggle for Auburn’s defense against New Mexico Saturday night.
Auburn had four penalties on defense that totaled 58 yards including two pass interferences, gave up a number of explosive passing and running plays and struggled to get a hand on quarterback Devon Dampier.
The second half was a different story as the Tigers turned a tight 17-13 halftime lead into a 45-19 win.
“I thought we were not very good on defense and I think D.J. (Durkin) would agree,” said AU coach Hugh Freeze. “We’re not playing the ball well. We had too many penalties. Didn’t contain him very well and people got behind us and they converted too many long plays, long distances.
“But again, we found a way to win the game and we’ll certainly take that. I thought we looked kinda tired it kinda seemed. So we’ll have to talk about all that tomorrow. I know D.J. and his staff will certainly try to fix all of those issues before we face another very mobile guy next week.”
The first interference penalty came on a 3rd and 19 at New Mexico’s 41-yard line, which led to Lobos’ first touchdown three plays later. The second came on a 2nd and 18 at the NM 46-yard line, which led to their only second-half score five plays later.
Auburn’s defense also allowed five passing plays of 15 or more yards and eight running plays of 10 or more. New Mexico finished with 448 total yards.
“We had too many penalties,” said cornerback Champ Anthony. “We were just playing with a lot of emotion out there. We’ve got to learn to control the emotion and play with controlled anger. But I’d rather turn us down than turn us up. I just love that about my boys.”
While Auburn’s defense didn’t have a sack and had just one tackle-for-loss, it did record its first two takeaways of the season.
Safety Jerrin Thompson swiped a ball away from a receiver at the end of the first quarter, which led to a field goal five plays later. The second came on a 4th and 5 on AU’s 25-yard line midway through the third quarter when Antonio Kite stepped in front of a Dampier pass and returned it 19 yards.
Hank Brown would throw a touchdown pass three plays later that gave the Tigers a 31-13 lead.
“We worked that all practice. We knew we were getting it,” said Anthony. “He played outside leverage, played the ball perfectly. I wanted him to score on that. But I’m just proud of him for taking that from the meeting room to practice and to the field.”
After giving up 293 yards in the first half, AU held the Lobos to 155 in the second. With conference play starting this week, Anthony knows the Tigers need to start putting together more complete performances.
“We have a good coaching staff. We get adjustments, we get them fast and we get them good. Every time we adjust, we just play a little better. We do have to start faster on our side. Preaching that to the guys right now,” said Anthony.
Auburn (2-1) opens SEC play next Saturday against Arkansas. Kickoff at Jordan-Hare Stadium is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. CT on ESPN.
