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For Auburn football's offense, a historically bad win as pressure mounts on Bryan Harsin

AUBURN — Coach Bryan Harsin and Auburn football were blessed with good fortune in the SEC opener, a 17-14 overtime win Saturday against Missouri that required special teams intervention and an all-time unusual walk-off.

"Honestly, it was just a grimy game," quarterback Robby Ashford said.

Seconded. Now let's take your questions.

Q: Was this a worse win than that dreaded 3-2 game? (2008 vs. Mississippi State)

Related questions I received: "What the (heck) was that?" Or: "Is this like the end of 'Lost' where we realize we were dead all along?" Or: "Why? Why?!"

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Auburn averaged 4.44 yards per play in the infamous 3-2 win. Against Missouri, Auburn averaged 3.29 yards per play. As noted by the Auburn Observer's Justin Ferguson, it's the program's worst offensive efficiency in a win since the 2006 Cotton Bowl (3.18).

Auburn ran the ball on all 14 plays of its first possession, a 59-yard touchdown drive. By the end of the first quarter, running back Tank Bigsby had 10 carries, already surpassing his game total from the previous week.

Auburn took 47 offensive snaps after the first quarter. It averaged 2.74 yards per play.

The run game suffered the most. As it became clear that Auburn didn't trust Ashford to throw frequently, Missouri countered Eric Kiesau's one-dimensional offense. Excluding Missouri's four sacks, Auburn averaged 1.92 yards per carry on 24 rushing attempts after the first quarter. Bigsby only added seven yards on nine attempts (0.78 average) after the first quarter. (If you want to be mean and include sacks toward the rushing total, then Auburn actually averaged 0.39 YPC after the first.)

According to Pro Football Focus, Bigsby finished the game with 62 yards after contact. He had 44 total rushing yards.

The PFF run blocking grades for Auburn's offensive line weren't pretty either.

Kilian Zierer, LT: 47.1

Brandon Council, LG: 56.8

Jalil Irvin, C: 46.4

Kameron Stutts, RG: 57.3

Austin Troxell, RT: 49.3

John Samuel Shenker, TE: 49.3

When the Tigers ran outside of the tackles (23 attempts), they totaled 46 yards − exactly two per carry − despite fighting for 70 yards after contact.

So yes, this was worse.

INSIDE THE FINAL PLAY'I thought he was in': How much time can 1 yard buy Bryan Harsin on Auburn football hot seat?

REPORT CARDAuburn football and Bryan Harsin didn't deserve to beat Missouri. Our grades reflect that.

Q: How is it the media and fans' fault for (Auburn's) performance?

This is in reference to Harsin's postgame presser, when he was asked about "outside noise." The Harsin quote that ruffled a few feathers: "I think our biggest challenge is keeping our guys focused on what happens in our facility. ... That is − that really is − that’s our biggest challenge."

This has been a consistent refrain from him recently, shifting the source of Auburn's adversity to media reports and fan speculation. Obviously that's not true, or if Harsin actually thinks it is, then his skin isn't thick enough for the SEC.

But it's not like Harsin is the only coach who has ever said this. It's a cliché. We shouldn't read it as anything more than that.

My take on what "really is" his biggest challenge? Recruiting against Nick Saban and Kirby Smart, developing the quarterbacks he brought to Auburn and praying that he has mega-talented receivers and offensive linemen hidden on his roster.

Q: Who would hold the press conference for Harsin's dismissal?

Obviously depends on timing. There's no indication yet that Auburn is close to making a permanent athletics director hire. The university trusts interim AD Rich McGlynn's experience. If AU decided to fire Harsin before moving on to a new AD, I'm sure it would be McGlynn addressing the situation publicly.

New university president Chris Roberts was asked by the Montgomery Advertiser's Jemma Stephenson in May what his role will be in coaching decisions. "Well, football coaching decisions are the decision of an athletics director," he said. If that was his public stance, I imagine he would leave the talking to McGlynn.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: For Auburn football offense, a historically bad win after first quarter