The four biggest problems Auburn football needs to fix coming off its bye week

AUBURN — While Bryan Harsin remains coach, Auburn football is still in a precarious position.

The Tigers (3-4, 1-3 SEC) entered this week's bye on a three-game losing streak. While they'll have extra time to prepare for their Oct. 29 game against Arkansas (11 a.m., SECN), there's much they'll have to overcome if they want to turn their season around.

Many of Auburn's problems are that of the bigger-picture sort — recruiting, uncertainty, the fallout from February's internal investigation into Harsin — but here are the four biggest on-field problems the Tigers will need to sort out.

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Offensive line woes

A poor offensive line can sink any team, no matter how deep it is at other positions. On offense, the issues don't end with Auburn's offensive line, but they begin there.

Per Football Outsiders, the Tigers rank 111th nationally in line yards per carry — a measure which gives the offensive line full credit for rushes between 0-3 yards and half credit for rushes between 4-8 yards. They're also 117th in stuff rate, meaning that over one-fifth of their rushes have been stopped at or behind the line of scrimmage. Passing-wise, they've allowed 18 sacks, the third-most in the SEC.

Auburn is on its third center of the season, Brandon Council, after injuries to Nick Brahms and Tate Johnson. Council moved from left guard three games ago, meaning the Tigers had to shuffle the rest of their offensive line. They did so again against Ole Miss to adjust for the injured Alec Jackson and Austin Troxell.

The Ole Miss performance was Auburn's best, by far, of the season. Killian Zierer, Jeremiah Wright, Council, Kameron Stutts and Brenden Coffey paved the way for 34 points and a 179-yard outing for Tank Bigsby, who got space to run free for the first time in weeks. Only time will tell if the Tigers have found something that works.

Run defense

What appeared to be only a minor issue through the season's first five weeks has skyrocketed in urgency. The Tigers gave up 292 yards on 39 carries to Georgia and seven days later, Ole Miss gained 448 yards on 69 rushes. Auburn hadn't given up that many yards on the ground in at least 20 years and likely far further back.

The gashings by the Bulldogs and Rebels have caused the Tigers' season stats to plummet. Per Football Outsiders, they rank 121st in line yards per carry and 123rd in stuff rate. Opponents have gained over four yards on half their carries against Auburn.

The Tigers' average of 204.4 rushing yards allowed is the 12th-worst figure in the country.

Turnovers

Auburn has hemorrhaged possessions without stealing back many of its own. Nationally, the Tigers are dead last in turnover margin, having forced five turnovers and given up 16.

"That’s just a recipe for an unsuccessful team if that doesn’t change," Harsin said on Wednesday's SEC coaches teleconference. "That’s an area that we’ve emphasized. We haven’t quite seen the results of that yet. We have to take care of the football."

Auburn has lost six fumbles but has committed 19 in total, another figure which ranks at the very bottom of the country.

Utilizing wide receivers

The Tigers rank at the bottom of the SEC in just about every passing category. Their offensive line issues, as well as Robby Ashford's inaccuracy, have limited their ability to maintain a consistent aerial attack, but so has inconsistent wide receiver involvement.

Just 53% of Auburn's receptions and 62% of its receiving yards have gone to its wideouts. Both those figures rank 13th in the conference, ahead of Georgia (though the Bulldogs have two potential first-round picks at tight end in Brock Bowers and Darnell Washington). It took until the fifth game of the season for a Tigers wideout to score a touchdown.

Without a vertical threat, Auburn will continue to be hard-pressed to move the ball against quality opponents, as teams can stack the box against Bigsby and Jarquez Hunter. Ja'Varrius Johnson, Koy Moore and Shedrick Jackson need more touches on the outside, and Ashford will have to get the ball to them.

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: Four biggest problems Tigers need to fix after bye