Auburn’s offense looks for identity without Franklin

Tony Franklin is gone. The spread, allegedly, is not.

That’s about all that remains settled with No. 20 Auburn (4-2, 2-2 SEC) heading into the second half of what has become an already
disappointing season.

As for the rest? Well, as Tommy Tuberville said Thursday, the Tigers remain “a work in progress.”

It’s not where many predicted the SEC West preseason favorite would be 49 days before the Iron Bowl, heading into what has become a salvage-or-destroy game today against Arkansas.

But it’s something Auburn is ready to fix, Tuberville said.

“Considering the circumstances,” he said. “I think the mentality of the team is great. They understand the challenge they’ve got in front of
them.”

The challenge began when Franklin’s newly introduced, pass-happy spread never took off. One of the best defenses in the nation kept the
Tigers afloat, having their only real breakdown in a 26-21 loss to LSU, the defending national champions.

But then Oct. 4 in Nashville, Tenn., happened.

A number of Auburn’s offensive players left Dudley Field after the Tigers’ 14-13 loss not only confused as to why Tuberville and Franklin opted to stop pounding the ball on the ground, but also confused about the unit’s identity.

“Just getting away from what we were successful at in the game is just frustrating as a player,” center Ryan Pugh said Sunday. “But we have no control over that.”

Tuberville was quick to dismiss his players’ confusion.

“I want them to express their feelings, but they also need to understand, as we go through this, that the offense isn’t going to change with whatever we do,” Tuberville said Tuesday. “When it all comes down to it, everybody has got to be on the same page. That’s what you do when you have struggles.”

Less than 24 hours later, Tuberville turned the page and fired Franklin.

“I think sometimes when you get in a situation where things are not working, I think — there’s not any finger pointing — but everybody’s trying too hard and maybe doing too much,” Tuberville said. “I think the chemistry with coaches was good. Everybody was focused to win.

“For some reason we weren’t making steps forward each week.”

Even without Franklin, Auburn will move forward with the spread, Tuberville repeatedly said Wednesday and Thursday.

But that’s where all supposed certainty ends.

How watered-down the spread Auburn runs over the next six or seven games — who will see the bulk of the snaps at quarterback and how often it will deploy the old-fashioned, two tight-end formation that was so successful for one quarter against Vanderbilt — remains to be determined.

“We’re going to go forward,” Tuberville said. “We’re going to be positive about it.”

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