Auburn football almost beat Georgia with a dysfunctional offense. Can Hugh Freeze fix it?

AUBURN — Dating back to last season, Auburn football has thrown for fewer than 100 yards in six consecutive games against Power Five opponents.

That's not exactly a winning formula, though it nearly was against No. 1 Georgia on Saturday.

Auburn never trailed the Bulldogs until the fourth quarter and actually had a chance to either tie or go for the win after Georgia scored a go-ahead touchdown with 2:52 remaining. The Tigers got to their own 48-yard line before their last drive stalled out and ended with an interception on fourth down. Georgia won, 27-20, in Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Two quarterbacks saw the field for Auburn, and both did damage with their legs. Payton Thorne started and finished with 107 sack-adjusted rushing yards, including a 61-yard scamper in the first quarter that set the Tigers up to score the first points of the game via a field goal.

Backup Robby Ashford played sparingly, and he had 33 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

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But neither could do much through the air. Thorne completed 10 of his 19 passes for 82 yards and Ashford attempted just one throw, which was caught by transfer running back Brian Battie for six yards. Battie, who hauled in three balls, was Auburn's second-leading receiver. Only transfer tight end Rivaldo Fairweather was better as a receiver, as he connected with Thorne four times for 44 yards.

"I thought he did some good things in the run game," coach Hugh Freeze said of Thorne. "We had a couple plays where I thought he had some people open. I know there were two plays in the first half where he did not − he's got to know where he's hot at.

"He's smart enough and sharp enough to know that, and we missed two of them that I know caused sacks."

Freeze's critique of Thorne needing to know "where he's hot at" is in reference to the quarterback understanding when and where a blitz is coming, and what route he needs to target to get the ball out of his hand as quickly as possible.

Thorne, who threw for more than 6,000 yards in his two years as a starter at Michigan State, must tap back into what worked with the Spartans, no doubt. But Auburn's issues reach far beyond him or Ashford or whoever is lined up under center.

The main issue is the Tigers lack an offensive identity. During the aforementioned games in which Auburn threw for fewer than 100 yards last season − contests with interim head coach Cadillac Williams in charge − the Tigers averaged 274 rushing yards per game.

It wasn't a pretty offensive showcase with big plays and fireworks, but Auburn knew what it was good at. And leaned into it.

The Tigers began to lean on their run game against Georgia, tallying 219 yards, and it nearly worked. Auburn could upset some teams it isn't supposed to beat if it has a repeat performance on the ground and couples it with a more competent passing attack.

It's up to Freeze and offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery to make that happen during the open week.

"I definitely feel like we’re a run-first offense, for sure, but I mean, we’ve also got a good pass game," Battie said. "Something is missing right now that we’ve just got to get to connect. We’ve got the athletes. We’ve got the quarterback. We’ve got the arm.

"Something’s isn’t clicking, and we’ve got to get something going here pretty soon in order to be the offense that we want to be."

Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on Twitter @rich_silva18.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Hugh Freeze must fix Auburn football's offense during open week