AUBURN | The main Achilles heel for Auburn popped up in a big way on Saturday. Penn State defenders spent so much time in the backfield that they might now have squatter rights.

T.J. Finley and Robby Ashford found themselves running for their lives snap after snap as the visitors racked up the quarterback hurries, sacks and tackles for a loss like a kid collecting candy on Halloween. Tank Bigsby and Jarquez Hunter had to make plays despite the holes never opening up. And we saw the Auburn offensive line for what they are: bad.

Yes, the much-maligned offensive line that has been a problem for several years couldn't block anyone. When they weren't getting beat by a Penn State defender, they were committing inexcusable penalties and false starts, something that shouldn't happen in your stadium.

All offseason and during fall camp, the talk was about the fact that so many veteran guys on the O-line were coming back, giving them a chance to be better than they have been in the past. We were told they had buffed up and were determined to make it one of the offense's strengths.

If you didn't see the falsehood in last week's way-too-close victory over San Jose State, the Nittany Lions exposed the fact that this bunch just can't get it done. Look at the stats: six sacks, 11 tackles for a loss and nine quarterback hurries. Penn State made it look easy on Saturday. Lord have mercy on what will happen when Auburn travels to Athens to take on No. 1 Georgia in three weeks. Heck, Missouri and LSU might make life miserable for the Tigers' offensive line.

This mess doesn't all fall on this coaching staff. The lack of recruitment for quality offensive linemen has been a running storyline, starting with Herb Hand and Gus Malzahn in 2016. As good coach as he might be, Will Friend was handed a short deck with this bunch. But he and this coaching staff did nothing to help improve this group, bringing back a bunch of super seniors while striking out in the transfer portal.

But this is about what happened on Saturday. Auburn's offensive line was manhandled in every way, and, let's face it, it was a surprise to hardly anyone. The Tigers were embarrassed in Jordan-Hare Stadium, which happens extremely rarely. There was no push or blocking, and nothing from this group showed any improvement – only regression against a big-time opponent.

The offensive line being a weakness has become the norm, and there are no signs it will get better soon. Opposing defenses are chomping at the bit for their chance to do exactly what Penn State did. Don't expect the result to be any different.