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Auburn's 38-17 defeat to LSU at Jordan-Hare Stadium last Saturday was arguably its most disappointing outing of the season. The Tigers were thoroughly outplayed on their home field, marking the first time in a while that they had been blown out in such fashion. The game also kicked off at 11 a.m. CDT, the earliest start time of the season for Auburn, which had played its previous six games in the afternoon or at night.
On Monday, head coach Alex Golesh addressed the media ahead of the team's trip to Oxford, Miss., to take on Ole Miss. He explained that he had meticulously reviewed every aspect of the program's process since the loss to the Tigers, from Thursday all the way up to kickoff.
"I went back and dissected down, I mean, literally everything from Thursday to kickoff last week," Golesh said. "Man, like, where were we off? That's the thing that I think maybe puzzled me as much as anything because I thought leading up to kickoff, energy was really good. Intent was really good. So, go back and (be) uber, uber-critical."
Auburn's upcoming game against Ole Miss will be its second consecutive morning kickoff, though this one is scheduled for 11:45 a.m. CDT. Despite the later start, Golesh still examined every minute of the lead-up to the LSU game to pinpoint what went wrong.
"I think the understanding of how fast it gets here is the biggest piece," Golesh said. "Now, you're adding a travel component to it, too. It's just something that we have to, I don't want to say overcome, but we just have to get used to it."
Golesh noted that Auburn practices in the morning, so he may not have anticipated the early kickoff affecting his team as much as it did. Nevertheless, the Tigers must adapt quickly, especially with a explosive Ole Miss team waiting.
"It can't be about that. We have to be able to go handle it the right way," Golesh said. "But I dissected it down to a T and adjusted a little bit just to make sure our guys are locked in and focused. But ultimately, they have to go play and we have to go coach."
Golesh mentioned that he made minor changes to last week's process, including slight adjustments to the timing of pregame meetings and meals. Auburn will need any edge it can get this weekend, as the Rebels feature what is likely the best quarterback in the country in Trinidad Chambliss. Ole Miss is also coming off an emotional loss to Texas on Saturday, its second defeat of the season, and will likely treat the Auburn game as a must-win to keep its College Football Playoff hopes alive.
Regardless of what Golesh uncovered in his review, the Tigers must find a way to prevent another early start from affecting their performance against a dangerous Ole Miss team fighting for its postseason aspirations.