Auburn dominates Southern Miss

The Golden Eagles fell 43-8 at Auburn after a lightning delay pushed back kickoff. A pick-six on the opening play set the tone for a night filled with penalties and unforced mistakes.

Coaches take honest look

Head coach Blake Anderson, defensive coordinator Joe Bolden, and offensive coordinator Kyle Cefalo met with media two days later to examine what went wrong. Anderson didn't shy away from the problems.

“We failed miserably in that area; the environment flustered us.”

The moment got too big

Southern Miss prepared with crowd noise drills all week, but nothing could fully recreate Jordan-Hare Stadium. The sheer anxiety and nerves of the environment overwhelmed the team.

“It was loud, which we knew it was going to be. We tried to simulate that. But just the sheer anxiety and nerves of it got us.”

Opening play was doomed

Ethan Hampton's pick-six came from completely busted protection that let an Auburn defensive lineman come free. The play never had a chance to develop.

“The first interception was a completely busted protection. We turned the three technique loose right to the quarterback. Had a guy open.”

Game plan couldn't take hold

Southern Miss wanted to get the ball out quickly into space to attack Auburn's strong defensive front. The strategy worked in moments but couldn't build momentum.

Penalties pile up fast

Southern Miss finished with 11 penalties for 85 yards and was outgained 610 to 221. False starts, three personal fouls, and a busted coverage for an easy touchdown compounded the problems.

Too many unforced errors

Against Auburn, you must play your best ball. Southern Miss instead committed way too many mistakes they created themselves, not errors forced by the Tigers.

“In that type of game, you've got to play your best ball. There were just way too many unforced errors.”

Lessons to be learned

Coach Anderson said this is a game to teach from, not flush away. All the mistakes were fixable and self-inflicted, not things Auburn did to them.

“All those things are fixable. Those are not what Auburn did to us. Those are things we did to ourselves.”

Auburn exposed the problems

The environment revealed Southern Miss's weaknesses, and Auburn capitalized. Now the Golden Eagles must fix these issues quickly before the next game.

“What kind of game would it have been if we didn't do those things? You'll never know. You only get one shot at it.”

Week one versus week two

Against Alcorn State, Southern Miss was calm, organized, and disciplined. One week later at Auburn, everything fell apart. It was a learning experience, but a really crappy one.

“It's a learning experience. Just a really crappy one.”

Defense had its chances

Defensive coordinator Joe Bolden saw good moments early. Southern Miss forced Auburn into several third-and-long situations but failed to capitalize and finish drives.

“I thought what we did well early on in the game was we got them into some third-and-longs and created some chaos for them. We've just got to capitalize on those.”

Missed tackles increased

Southern Miss went from only eight missed tackles against Alcorn State to significantly more against Auburn. A busted coverage also resulted in an easy touchdown.

Bolden takes responsibility

Defensive coordinator Joe Bolden put the busted coverage on himself, saying it's ultimately on him for not getting his guys to execute properly.

“Ultimately, it's on me not getting those guys to execute.”

Effort wasn't the problem

Bolden believes his defense fought hard from the first play to the last. But effort and execution are different things. They need to execute at a much higher level consistently.

“I thought our guys fought from the first play to the last play, which was really good to see. But we need to execute at a much higher level and do it consistently.”

Offense lost its mind early

Offensive coordinator Kyle Cefalo said the team was excited and geeked up but lost its mind at the beginning. For many players, this was their first time on a stage like Jordan-Hare Stadium.

“We were excited. We were geeked up for the game, but we lost our mind there at the beginning.”

Excitement became anxiety

Players wanted to prove they belonged on Auburn's stage, but excitement turned into anxiety. There's no simulation for the environment at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

“There's no simulation for how great of an environment that was. But it did obviously affect us early.”

Offense finally settled down

Southern Miss put together a 14-play, 75-yard touchdown drive before halftime. Hampton got the ball out quickly, Mario Sanders made explosive plays, and Steven Robinson helped move the offense.

Good moments weren't enough

The film showed good plays, but not enough of them. Every time the offense built momentum, another mistake set them back. Getting started fast is what they need to focus on.

“You watch the film, and there's a bunch of good on there. But our inability to get started fast is something we really need to focus on.”

UConn comes next

Southern Miss returns home to The Rock to face UConn. The Golden Eagles will show what they learned from Auburn in this crucial response game.