Auburn May Have a Fixable Explanation for Its Defensive Collapse Against Florida

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The Auburn Tigers defense had a difficult night against Florida on Saturday.

And although the 24 missed tackles are going to get most of the attention, I don't think that tells the entire story of what went wrong in the Tigers 44-39 loss.

There were communication problems, defensive misalignments, and explosive plays that Auburn simply couldn't afford to give up.

And some of those issues showed up at the worst possible times.

Xavier Atkins and Da'Shawn Womack were credited with five apiece of those 24 missed tackles.

That's a concerning number, especially considering Auburn's tackling wasn't particularly clean against Baylor, either.

But the Tigers weren't just missing tackles.

They were also struggling to get lined up correctly.

"There were some misalignments," Alex Golesh said afterward. "They did a good job with some unbalanced stuff that we didn't adjust as well as we needed to."

That's something I think deserves more attention. And it might mean this is an easier problem to fix.

Florida offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner found ways to put Auburn's defense in difficult situations, and the Tigers didn't consistently have answers.

The Gators finished with 262 rushing yards, and Jadan Baugh accounted for 162 of them.

But one of the most frustrating plays of the night came when Auburn had Florida facing third-and-20. Duke Clark scored a rushing touchdown.

Auburn had an opportunity to get off the field and potentially force Florida to settle for a field goal before halftime.

Instead, the Gators scored seven points after three missed tackles on the same play.

And that wasn't the only explosive play that hurt Auburn. Florida also connected on a double pass and scored on a 45-yard fourth-down play.

Those are the kinds of mistakes that can completely change a football game. And they did. There is certainly something important to take away from how Auburn responded afterward, however.

Elijah Melendez made it clear that the defense wasn't pointing fingers at the offense, even after the Tigers struggled to move the football early.

"This whole team is a family, offense and defense, and we never go against each other," Melendez said.

Golesh echoed that sentiment, saying there wasn't any finger-pointing in the locker room.

That's encouraging, and definitely a breath of fresh air when comparing it to postgame conversations last season with the old coaching staff.

There is no doubt that Auburn is going to face adversity throughout the SEC schedule, and the players have to stay together when things aren't going well.

But being united doesn't fix missed tackles or blown assignments. Auburn has to communicate better, get lined up correctly, and finish plays when it has opportunities. Alex Golesh said the staff "coached the heck out of it and turned the page." Let's see if that has any glaring fixes right away this Saturday against Vanderbilt.

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