ATHENS | There might be a gift basket and thank you card waiting from Kirby Smart for Bryan Harsin when he arrives back in Auburn.

The Auburn coach absolutely gifted a struggling Georgia offense its first touchdown of the game by calling a fake punt that was far from succeeding in a scoreless game. It might have been one thing had the Tigers been in better field position, but this was at Auburn's 34-yard line.

And, even if John Samuel Shenker picked up the first down, what would the Tigers do with it anyway? Robby Ashford found himself scrambling for his health on most snaps, and the offensive line was committing more false start penalties than any amount of push down the field.

The momentum Auburn's defense had as the Dawgs struggled to get anything going with the ball was gone. Seven plays later, Kenny McIntosh waltzed into the end zone to give Georgia a 7-0 lead.

It put the Tigers' defense in a bad position. Before the call, Georgia had put up a measly 57 yards of offense and punted three times. Stetson Bennett, who looked like an All-American in the season-opener against Oregon, had no rhythm, and the running game was non-existent.

The sleeping Bulldogs were now awake, and in a game where points came at a premium, it was a costly decision. After the Georgia touchdown, Auburn's offense took the field and ran three plays for -1 yards, punting it back immediately.

It was a flustering call in a season that is becoming more and more disturbing. It also raises many questions. Did Harsin think it would work? Did he think it needed to be done because of the offense's ineptitude? Or was it just a big ol' "screw it, I'm likely getting fired anyway" moment for the coach?

The scoreboard might read 42-10 as the Bulldogs continued their domination of the Tigers in humiliating ways. Still, Harsin put his team in the worst possible position to stay around and be competitive. By the fourth quarter, Auburn's defense was worn out, showcasing that as Bennett – yes, Stetson Bennett – outran the Tigers for a 64-yard touchdown. Maybe they, too, saw the writing on the wall and were done with it.

I'm not sure what happens in the next 24 hours, but it could be the decision that finally puts a closure to an era that Auburn fans will want to erase from their memory. It wasn't as if it was the only thing that cost the Tigers the game, but when you enter a game as four-touchdown underdogs in a hostile environment, basically gifting the home team a short field and newfound energy is never the right choice.

As oft-quoted from Dodgeball, "It's a bold strategy, Cotton. Let's see if it pays off for 'em."

It didn't work for Harsin. But, of course, almost nothing has in the past 22 months.