The Auburn Tigers lost to the Cal Golden Bears 21-14 at home. Cal’s offense was efficient at moving the ball up and down the field and their defense played fast and confused Payton Thorne multiple times. The Auburn offense looked atrocious for a majority of the football game after an incredible start. However, the team had five turnovers and a -5 turnover margin. Despite that, Auburn was able to keep the game close. The future is still bright for Auburn, but things need to change fast to salvage their image and continue their recruiting prowess.
A Back and Forth First Quarter
The first quarter started off with Auburn driving 75 yards down the field and scoring on a controversial, yet incredible play by wide receiver Keandre Lambert-Smith.
Payton Thorne delivered a strike to KeAndre Lambert-Smith for a 15-yard touchdown to open the scoring yesterday.
Impressive pitch and catch. @KLambertSmith 💯 pic.twitter.com/ZN3axTwMMJ
— Vince Wolfram (@vincewolfram15) September 8, 2024
The hopes for the offense were high after this play. Unfortunately for the Tigers, Cal matched that by driving down the field for their own touchdown. Quarterback Fernando Mendoza completed a pass for 19 yards to Nyziah Hunter to cap the first drive. Auburn’s next drive ended with a turnover on downs.
Auburn Loses Momentum
The second quarter started in the middle of a Cal drive where the Golden Bears took over from a turnover on downs. Fortunately for Auburn, they were not able to capitalize on the drive and it ended with a missed field goal. However, here is where the problems started for Auburn.
The next drive was a one-play interception by Thorne. It would be the first of his four interceptions on the day. Cal was able to quickly capitalize off the turnover on the next drive by scoring another touchdown. This time, Mendoza found Hunter for a second time from 13 yards out.
On the HUNT 😤@nyziahHunter3 with his second TD reception of the day. #GoBears | #ALLIN pic.twitter.com/EFyplzTzHb
— Cal Football (@CalFootball) September 7, 2024
Auburn and California then traded punts in the following four drives. Auburn’s last drive for the half ended with a missed field goal from Towns McGough.
Second Half Woes
California started the second half with the ball, but their first drive ended in a punt. The teams traded punts for the following four drives until Payton threw his second interception of the day. Luckily for Auburn, California was not able to capitalize on this turnover as their next drive ended with a missed field goal to start the fourth quarter.
However, Auburn gave the ball right back on their next drive when Jarquez Hunter lost fumble after an 8-yard loss. This time, Cal was able to capitalize on an Auburn mistake.
Cal scored a touchdown giving the Golden Bears a 21-7 lead after running back Javian Thomas was able to break a 32 yard touchdown run.
He's called The Jet for a reason 💨@JaivianThomas with a 32-yard TD.#GoBears | #ALLIN pic.twitter.com/ZypGWN4tgm
— Cal Football (@CalFootball) September 7, 2024
Auburn tried to keep the game close, driving down the field on their next drive for 75 yards. Payton “Vanilla Vick” Thorne was able to cap the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run, but that is where Thorne’s success drastically ended.
Thorne would end the game by throwing two more interceptions, icing the game and allowing the Golden Bears to end the game as victors 21-14.Â
Postgame Thoughts
Turnovers, specifically the interceptions, foiled the Auburn football team. This performance was bad enough that we may not see Thorne start another game. Head coach Hugh Freeze said that he would have to go back and watch the film to review Thorne’s performance before making a decision.
Hugh Freeze says he's got to go back and watch the film when asked about assessing Payton Thorne and the direction AU will take at QB. #auburnfootball @thewarrapport
— Mike G. (@mikegittens) September 7, 2024
As discussed in an earlier article, coach Freeze needs to have a quick hook with Thorne. The quarterback struggled mightily in Week 2 against a better defense. Unfortunately for Thorne and Auburn, they don’t play Alabama A&M every week, so Freeze may need to go with the unknown of Hank Brown, Holden Geriner, or Walker White as starting quarterback of the football team.
Thorne has shown who he is and what he is capable of. Unfortunately, it is not good enough. Especially with the schedule that Auburn has this year.
