There are moments in everyone's life when you must stand up and prove yourself, or you will get left behind. For athletes, it happens at every level they play, and, for many, failure is staring them in the face from six feet away.

Payton Thorne is on the verge of his most pivotal moment in an Auburn uniform this Saturday. After a lackluster 2023 season, the quarterback is once again under scrutiny for his ability to lead the Tigers' offense. His recent performance, a disappointing 21-14 loss to Cal, was riddled with misthrows, bad decisions, and a subpar 14-of-27 passes with four interceptions to just one touchdown. This is not the level of play expected from a fifth-year senior in his second season in a system, and it's certainly not what Hugh Freeze and his offensive coaching staff will accept.

On Saturday, the Auburn head coach said he hoped they were further along. On Monday, he was asked about that statement, and Freeze was blunt with his answer: "Us not executing the offense from the quarterback position."

While Thorne is doing everything right on the practice field, he isn't transitioning that over to the games. With all of the responsibilities he now has with this offense, he has to show he can execute all of it when it matters. Against a veteran Cal defense that isn't precisely what Auburn will face in the coming weeks against Oklahoma and Georgia, he looked like a first-time starter who was thrown into the fire with absolutely no training given.

This isn't the first time Thorne did this, but it was his first this season after all of the talk about him improving in his second year.

How he responds against an overmatched New Mexico team will tell the future of not only his Auburn career but of the quarterback room for the rest of the season. If he goes out there and struggles in the first quarter, Freeze will have to pull him and put in someone else who can possibly ignite the offense. The time for Thorne's struggles has run out, and Auburn will have to look at someone else to be behind center for the betterment of this year's team.

While everyone is clamoring to see what Hank Brown can do, he also has limitations. Sure, he's calm and poised in the pocket, but when that breaks down behind this not-so-great-at-pass-protecting offensive line, where will he go? Brown isn't exactly fleet of foot, nor does he have much experience having to scramble. But if Thorne isn't the answer, and he proved last week that he might not be it, you have to go with someone else.

Fifteen minutes will decide Thorne's future. It's do-or-die time.