After a disappointing 6-6 season in which Auburn was picked by some to be a dark horse contender for the College Football Playoff, the Tigers saved their best win for last, taking down upstart Memphis, 31-10, in the Birmingham Bowl.
Auburn’s nightmare 2015 ended on a high note, but Tigers still have a QB problem
The Tigers beat a good Memphis team, but they didn’t solve their biggest 2015 issue.
Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports
It was a dominating performance in some ways. The Tigers’ ground game got going in the red zone, the special teams were impressive, with a long punt return and a blocked field goal and the defense was dominant against star Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch. It was Memphis’ lowest-scoring game of the season, and that’s a credit to an Auburn defense that was playing without former defensive coordinator Will Muschamp.
This is the kind of performance that can boost a team’s spirits going into the offseason after a particularly bad year, but even in the win, Auburn has a major issue heading into next year: it has no quarterback. Well, maybe the Tigers do. Punter Kevin Phillip threw the best pass of the day — this 37-yard beauty on a fake punt.
That was better than starting quarterback Sean White could do all day. White took over for early-season starter Jeremy Johnson in late September after Johnson failed to live up to preseason Heisman hype. They’ve battled all season, but neither was particularly impressive.
White won the starting job for the Birmingham Bowl and had a rough outing. He threw two interceptions, including a pick-six on fourth down.
He also missed easy throws like this one:
Johnson came in and provided a spark in the ground game, with a 17-yard run and a touchdown. However, he only threw one pass, and there’s no evidence that Auburn sees him as anything other than a change-of-pace quarterback.
The Tigers tried just about everything at quarterback. At one point, they had three different players take snaps on three consecutive plays. They also had wide receiver Jason Smith throw a pass that ended in an easy interception.
Nobody on the field for Auburn looked like a starter capable of competing in the SEC. The good news for the Tigers is that Florida State-turned-JUCO quarterback John Franklin III and four-star true freshman Woody Barrett will be coming to campus. So there will be a fierce competition.
However, the encouragement of a Birmingham Bowl win was another reminder that the Tigers will have to rely more on hope than proof at quarterback heading into 2016.
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