Auburn football suffers lifeless loss to Georgia as Bryan Harsin's slide continues

ATHENS, Ga. — It's been a few games since Auburn football's on-field display aligned with its results.

The Tigers snatched victory from the jaws of defeat against Missouri two weeks ago. Last Saturday, they outgained LSU 438-270 and somehow lost.

The outcome was never in doubt Saturday as No. 2 Georgia overwhelmed a clearly inferior Auburn team, 42-10 at Sanford Stadium. The Tigers totaled 258 yards and gave up 502. They were bullied at the line of scrimmage. They trailed a respectable 14-0 at halftime but could do nothing to prevent their third loss in four games.

The defeat leaves Harsin with a sub-.500 record as head coach on the Plains. While an expected blowout at the hands of the defending national champions might not be the final straw for the beleaguered coach, the uninspiring performance surely did little to move the needle in his favor.

This time, Auburn doesn't even start fast

The Tigers averaged 3.5 yards per play in the first half. Even that paltry figure seemed something of a miracle.

Auburn (3-3, 1-2 SEC) has skilled receivers, and with the success Missouri had in attacking Georgia's cornerbacks last week, a similar strategy might have been the Tigers' best shot. That idea dissipated quickly. Quarterback Robby Ashford missed low, high and in every direction, completing just 8 of 23 first-half passes and 13 of 38 for the game. To be fair to the redshirt freshman, he spent most of the afternoon running for his life.

Ashford's scrambles were Auburn's only source of consistent offense to start the game. Even those came at a cost. After the Tigers crossed midfield for the first time, Ashford (nine carries, 52 yards) dashed up the middle on third down and had an easy conversion in his grasp. Instead, with no outside interference, he dropped the ball. The Bulldogs recovered.

Defense does what it can — but can't do everything

Auburn's defensive backs started strong, as Donovan Kaufman and DJ James made solid tackles in space to force the Bulldogs to punt on their first two drives. But Georgia (6-0, 3-0) realized its aerial attack was going nowhere and, being Georgia, simply began running the ball down the Tigers' throats.

While Stetson Bennett missed more open receivers than normal, the Tigers proved that holding LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels to 3.3 yards per attempt was no fluke. Their secondary, and defense as a whole, has evolved into a unit that will keep the whole team competitive, but only to a degree.

Auburn needed to take advantage of turnovers to have any shot, and got one in the third quarter when Marcus Bragg jarred the ball loose from Stetson Bennett and Colby Wooden recovered. But it didn't make a difference. Auburn had to settle for a 29-yard Anders Carlson field goal.

In Tigers' first road game, environment proves to be their enemy

Staying in manageable second- and third-down scenarios was crucial if Auburn wanted any chance of moving the ball. It more or less did the exact opposite.

The Tigers were away from the friendly confines of Jordan-Hare Stadium for the first time. Sanford Stadium was raucous. Auburn was frequently backed up toward the end zone — closer to the screams from the red-and-black faithful. The resulting combination led to eight penalties in the first half and 10 for the game, six of which were false starts.

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Bryan Harsin goes bold — and it doesn't pay off

Late in the first quarter, Harsin opted for a fake punt on fourth-and-6 with the Tigers at their own 34. John Samuel Shenker got 3 yards before being tripped up. Georgia scored on the ensuing drive and again on its next.

While it was already clear Auburn wasn't going to consistently move the ball by traditional means, the decision shifted momentum after the Tigers' defense had held the Bulldogs off the board on their first three possessions.

Jacob Shames can be reached by email at jshames@gannett.com, by phone at 334-201-9117 and on Twitter @Jacob_Shames.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn football hammered in lifeless loss to Georgia