Third down misery

AUBURN | It there’s one statistic that defines Auburn’s struggles on both sides of the ball and is probably one of the most frustrating to the players and coaches, it has to be third downs.

The Tigers are just 12th in the SEC converting 36.4 percent of third downs on offense. Defensively, AU ranks sixth holding opponents to 32.2 percent third down conversions, but has struggled mightily the last two weeks

Not surprisingly, Auburn lost both games.

“They made the plays and they made some third down and long plays,” said Auburn coach Gus Malzahn of Tennessee converting 10-of-19 third downs. “We had trouble getting off the field which is really uncharacteristic.”

It was uncharacteristic for this defense until the last two conference games when Mississippi State and Tennessee combined to convert 17-of-36 third downs (47.2 percent). Volunteer quarterback Jarrett Guanantano was 11-of-14 for 188 yards and a touchdown on 3rd down.

It was a different issue against the Bulldogs, who rushed 27 times for 229 yards, an average of 8.5 yards per carry, on first down, setting up a lot of second- and third-and-shorts.

Offensively, a lack of a running game and subsequent poor performance on first down has put AU in a lot of third-and-longs, which haven’t gone well. The Tigers were 3-of-14 on third down against MSU and 9-of-16 against UT, but just 3-of-9 on 3rd and 5 or longer against the Vols.

“I think our offense is hurt sometimes when we get behind the chains,” senior wide receiver Ryan Davis said. “It kind of sets us back. It's definitely hard to call plays for, like, third-and-long. That puts us as an offense in a bind as well. The more positive plays we get and the more we get rolling and get into rhythm, I think it'll be better for the offense.”

This week’s opponent, Ole Miss, is fourth in the SEC converting 43.0 percent of third downs on offense and 12th allowing opponents to convert third downs at a 39.2 percent clip.

Kickoff at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium is scheduled for 11 a.m. CT on ESPN.