Auburn quarterback T.J. Finley completes a circus throw to Kobe Hudson against Georgia State on Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium. (Credit: Todd Van Emst/AU Athletics)Todd Van Emst/AU Athletics
Let’s just say the versatility of toilet paper came in handy for Auburn fans during the Tigers’ 34-24 victory against Georgia State on Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium. There were tears. There were cheers. There might have been a few accidents along the way.
Oh, and maybe the SEC’s replay officials had toilet paper over their eyes there at the end of the game. Better than toilet paper for brains like last week at least.
Win or lose, right or wrong, any time Auburn needs help from SEC officials amid a 98-yard desperation drive to beat a Sun Belt opponent, there are going to be a lot of questions. For example, where was Auburn’s defense in the first half, hanging out with the ghosts of Kevin Steele and Gus Malzahn?
Another: How exactly is Auburn going to survive its schedule in the SEC if it needs a miracle fourth-down touchdown throw to beat Georgia State? Next up on the playbill is LSU and then it’s goliath Georgia and then it’s resurgent Arkansas and then it’s score-at-will Ole Miss and then Texas A&M. Pass the toilet paper, in other words.
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Like old times, Auburn football is still very much a drunken sailor stumbling along the water’s edge a month into the season. Two things are soberingly certain, though. One, this is not a good football at the moment, and, two, Bo Nix is no longer the entrenched starter after being benched in favor of backup TJ Finley.
Finley’s performance on the final drive of the game leads us to the biggest question of all. Who’s Auburn’s starting quarterback before its journey into the SEC’s canyon of death? Auburn coach Bryan “Hair on Fire” Harsin wouldn’t commit to either Nix or Finley in the coach’s post-game news conference, but it’s hard to imagine Finley not getting the nod against LSU after leading the comeback.
Harsin repeatedly praised Finley, saying at least twice that the transfer from LSU did a “damn good job.”
He certainly has a live arm. Some of Finley’s throws looked like they were shot out of a cannon. After running around with the game in the balance, his final heave actually found a receiver.
“We all want to have these perfect games and perfect stats,” Harsin said, “but, damn, you have to win the game.”
“Bo was right there cheering on his teammates, and that’s how it goes sometimes,” Harsin said.
It’s not time to bash Bo Nix, who has won plenty of games for Auburn, including the 2019 Iron Bowl as a freshman. It was obvious, though, that Nix was making some of the same mistakes against Georgia State that affected Auburn’s offense last season. He simply wasn’t accurate, missing open receivers in the end zone, and when Nix lost his confidence that’s when Auburn’s offense went into a shell.
“You saw the same thing I did,” Harsin said. “We weren’t really doing anything.”
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It would be easy to kill Auburn after its scare against Georgia State, and pile on, and it would all be valid criticism of course. Harsin’s reputation as a master of preparation is worth questioning, and that defense looked absolutely lost until linebacker Zakoby McClain rejoined the team in the second half. He was suspended in the first half for an awful targeting call against Penn State.
It’s going to be a difficult season for Auburn, but something impressive happened on a wacky day in Auburn that can’t be overlooked. Auburn’s new coach made the right call that won the game for the Tigers.
“That was my decision,” said Harsin, who then pointed out that he has coached quarterbacks for a long time and he was a quarterback, too. Sometimes, Harsin said, it’s worth having “some fresh eyes out there.”
All eyes are on Auburn now because it took bravery to do what Harsin did. Nix is a legacy quarterback, and Harsin made the tough call — but the right call — to bench him. Not sure Malzahn would have had the guts to do that.
It’s going to take hard work for Auburn, but Harsin now has something to build upon. Malzahn was smart, and that helped Auburn make its own luck (and make Malzahn a ton of money). Harsin is fearless, and maybe that’s worth more.
Joseph Goodman is a columnist for the Alabama Media Group. He’s on Twitter @JoeGoodmanJr. His first book, “We Want Bama: A season of hope and the making of Nick Saban’s ‘ultimate team’,” will be released on Nov.9.
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