That is not the way I expected that game to go.

So many questionable decisions. The Tigers had so many opportunities to either take control of the game, or get back into the game, and they couldn’t capitalize.

It took Sean Clifford’s best game of his life to put Penn State on top of Auburn 28-20. In the end, Auburn’s receivers couldn’t step up, and Nix missed some throws downfield. The offensive line wasn’t the issue. In fact, I’d argue they played well. There’s a lot of fingers to be pointed around.

Here are my five losers from Auburn’s heartbreaking loss to Penn State.

Shedrick Jackson

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Jackson had an abysmal night. He could not get any separation on the outside and Nix continued to look his way. He had eight targets and he hauled in two of them for a total of six yards. It was not ideal.

The coaching staff

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Here are some of the miscues from the coaching staff tonight.

Auburn took a timeout to call a fade pass, a statistically poor call, especially on fourth down. Not only was it wasted on the play call, but it was wasted because of the ensuing drive by Penn State. The Tigers could have used that timeout. Auburn kicked a field goal on fourth and one with two of the best running backs in the country. There were no halftime adjustments from the defense. Auburn ran zone, did not blitz, and allowed Sean Clifford, a slightly above average to mid-tier quarterback in college football, complete 28 of 32 pass attempts.

I am genuinely confused by some of the calls that this staff made on Saturday night.

The pass rush

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I said it multiple times this offseason. The most important unit in this game was the defensive line, and their ability to rush the passer. The defensive line produced one quarterback hurry, no sacks. Sean Clifford completed 88% of his passes. Auburn needed desperately to put pressure on Sean Clifford, and they weren’t able to all night long. It was a disappointing showing that I believe cost Auburn the game.

Bo Nix

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Nix made two throws that were almost intercepted, but outside of those two throws, he was not horrible. My biggest complaint was the downfield accuracy. Demetris Robertson was wide open for touchdowns three different times, and all three times Nix failed to put the ball in a location where Robertson had a chance to make a play. In a game like this, you can’t leave points on the field like that. I’m impressed that Nix did not turn the ball over, but again, touchdowns were left on the field.

Derek Mason

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What was that? No seriously, what was that? How do you continue to drop into soft zone coverage time and time again after watching Sean Clifford tear you apart? What sign do you need? When do the adjustments come? Don’t tell me they came in the second half, because Clifford went 10 for 10! Where was the pressure? Where were the blitzes? Is this all Mason had to offer in this game? I knew the secondary might be an issue heading into this game but this was atrocious. Auburn had so many opportunities to get in this game again and it was squandered by bad play calling. This is not a good sign moving forward. What will Georgia do to this team? LSU? Ole Miss? Alabama? Throw Mississippi State in there as well, because all their offense does is complete short passes. I truly believe this Auburn defense is better than 28 of 32 with no pressure. Mason needs to make some major adjustments.