Alex Golesh's Reaction to Auburn's Blowout Win Says Everything About His Standards
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Auburn beat Southern Miss by 35 points Saturday night, and Alex Golesh sounded like Auburn had lost.
Maybe that's exactly what you want from Auburn's head coach right now.
In fact, it is. It's just that the Auburn Tigers fans aren't used to hearing it from the person running their program.
The Tigers finished with 613 yards of offense, rushed for 343 yards and held Southern Miss to eight points in a 43-8 victory. Auburn did exactly what it needed to do against an opponent it was supposed to beat.
But Golesh wasn't interested in celebrating the final score.
"I was just so beyond disappointed in the sloppiness," Golesh said. "I don't care what the score is. I don't. That's what I just told these guys."
Not being satisfied with results that should be better is exactly how Auburn gets back to being a contender in the eyes of the fans across the country.
Auburn had 10 penalties for 73 yards. There were holding penalties that erased opportunities, multiple drops, a Jeremiah Cobb fumble in the red zone, a Southern Miss touchdown drive filled with missed tackles late in the first half, and a 2 pt conversion try that was brutally defended.
Southern Miss wasn't good enough to make Auburn pay for all of it.
"If the standard is that and that's what it looks like, then we got we we're going to have a really really really long season," Golesh said. "We have to have a sense of urgency on cleaning this up."
Golesh isn't judging Auburn based on whether it was good enough to beat Southern Miss. He's judging Auburn based on whether what he saw Saturday will be good enough to win SEC football games.
And he already knows the answer.
"We got a long way to go if we're going to win SEC games here," Golesh said.
Of course, there were plenty of positives.
Byrum Brown looked considerably better. Auburn established the running game. Andre Jordan Jr. intercepted two passes, including a pick-six on the first play, and the Tigers were able to get plenty of younger players on the field.
Auburn also won 43-8.
That's not something we should completely ignore, but Golesh has spent months talking about standards, process, and accountability. Saturday gave him an opportunity to show what that actually looks like after a comfortable win.
He didn't blame his players, either.
"That's on me beyond anybody else," Golesh said. Something he's done for two games now.
Now all eyes turn to conference play as Auburn hosts Florida.
And if the Tigers want to start SEC play with a win, the sloppiness Golesh saw against Southern Miss can't follow them into Saturday.
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