SZVETITZ COLUMN: Tiger defense couldn't get it done

Auburn found the switch.

Lights off. Lights on. All it took was the No. 6 team in the country to come in.

… Oh, yeah, the defending national champions. Lights out.

There was a dim chance, but the bigger, more physical LSU Tigers made sure to cut the power chord when it mattered, handing Auburn a tough SEC loss, 26-21.

How tough was it? Auburn’s vaunted defense didn’t even have an answer.

Maybe they didn’t pay the light bill.

Nah. They just got tired and out-muscled. Something that happens to even the best defenses in SEC games like this.

And in games like this … well, let’s just let Paul Rhoads tell us.

“You don’t stop the run, you don’t win a football game like this,” the first-year Auburn defensive coordinator said. “This is a team that’s capable of getting in a rhythm and when they do, they get you back on your heels.”

And the Auburn defense was on its heels for the entire second half, giving up 293 yards in the final two quarters. A humbling feeling, considering this is a unit that has been on its toes for the season’s first three games.

This was supposed to be a defensive battle … 6-3 to go along with the 3-2 win from last week. Two very good defenses showing their might. Right?

It happened early for Auburn. But not often.

Giving up 3 points in the first half — to go along with just 105 total yards — was about as good as you could ask for if you’re Rhoads.

Giving up 14 consecutive to start the third … not so much. Giving up 26 total when you came into the game giving up and average of 5.0 … ugh. Giving up 178 yards on the ground and 398 total … double ugh.

“We didn’t stop the run,” Rhoads reiterated. “We gave them confidence. You can’t give a team like that confidence. We did and they fed on it.”

In a rivalry like Auburn vs. LSU, the hungriest team is usually the winningest team.

Simple as that.

“It was our fault,” Auburn junior cornerback Jerraud Powers said. “… We did not stop the run and you’re not going to win a game like this if you do not stop the run.”

Sounds familiar.

Here’s something that doesn’t.

Auburn’s offense turned a corner. Really. The thinned out spread got a little bit thicker Saturday, as Tony Franklin and the offense seemed like it was getting in a groove.

Maybe it was the coaches’ box, where Franklin spent the game, instead of being on the sideline. Maybe it was his offense finally started clicking.

Maybe it was a little bit of everything. But whatever it was, it had the Tigers in position to win the game with 6:40 to go.

That’s right. Auburn’s offense, despite the defense giving up 17 consecutive points, made enough plays to win the game.

The offense bailing out the defense. Say what?

No, it’s true. Auburn’s offense flipped the script. The same one Franklin tossed out after last week’s baseball game in Starkville.

But it wasn’t enough.

LSU ran away with it.

Lights out.

MIKE SZVETITZ is sports editor of the Opelika-Auburn News. He may be reached at mszvetitz@oanow.com or 737-2513.