Turnovers are killing AU's chances to win

Visibly shaken and understandably upset, Quentin Groves blamed the loss on himself.

Shortly after the scoreboard flashed triple zeros to make Auburn's 19-14 loss to Mississippi State official, Groves, the Tigers' senior defensive end, said that upon his shoulders, this loss shall rest.

Of course, that is not true.

Groves, just like every player wearing orange and blue, had a small part in a loss that sent shock waves through a program that for so long has been so good.

On Sunday, Groves continued to chastise himself. He said he lined up wrong during Mississippi State's game-winning drive in the fourth quarter when the Bulldogs converted a third-and-12 with a draw play at the heart of the Auburn defense.

Expecting a pass, Groves aligned outside the tight end — much too wide, he said.

"I was being selfish," said Groves, who is just two sacks away from becoming Auburn's all-time career sack leader.

"I was thinking, 'Let me get wide so I can pass rush.' I lined up too wide. It hurt the team."

Bulldogs running back Chris Ducre shot over center for an 18-yard gain.

Three plays later, it was Mississippi State that had the lead in a game it entered as a two-touchdown underdog.

Groves' mistake did cost Auburn. There's no denying that, but it never should have come down to that third down.

True freshman quarterback Kodi Burns tossed an interception to put the Bulldogs in prime scoring position. Groves' miscue happened a few plays later following that turnover.

The defense can't bail out a sluggish offense every game. During the past two contests, the defense has bent as far as it could. It finally broke.

"We've been beating ourselves," Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville said. "We could have won all those games if we'd gone out and played within ourselves and not made mistakes."

But you did. And you paid dearly.

Back-to-back, five-turnover games is something no defense can handle. Auburn is ranked 118th out of 119 teams with 12 turnovers.

So, where does Auburn go from here?

The first task is tackling the quarterback quandary.

Auburn's quarterbacks — senior Brandon Cox and Burns — have accounted for nine (two fumbles, seven interceptions) of those 12 turnovers. The other three fall in the fumbling hands of redshirt freshman running back Mario Fannin.

Burns and Cox should both play Saturday against New Mexico State. Burns has shown his keen ability to run the option, but that involves pitching the ball. He said after the Mississippi State game that some of his pitches were poor, saying, "The running backs made good plays."

Uh, oh. How long will that continue to happen?

Cox was pulled because he has thrown two interceptions in each of the first three games. That can't continue. And although Burns' strong arm surprised many Saturday, he floated that interception up like a punt.

About Fannin: The young tailback showed amazing promise the past two games, but he fumbled twice against South Florida and again against Mississippi State.

After an injury to Tristan Davis and the suspension of starter Brad Lester, Auburn has no one else to backup Ben Tate. Fannin must play, and he must hang on to the ball.

"Personally, it's frustrating," Fannin said.

"You just got to keep pressing and keep praying everything will go right."

Believe me, there are plenty of others praying for you to hold on to the ball.

New Mexico St. at Auburn

Saturday
6 p.m.
pay-per-view