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Dressed in a striped white and navy polo shirt featuring Auburn’s logo, Bryan Harsin watched from the suite level at Camping World Stadium as the program he was set to take on ended his season against Northwestern in the Citrus Bowl.
Much like he did last week, when he was away during bowl preparations, Harsin took a step back to assess his new schedule and formulate his plan to reshape the Tigers in his image.
“When we go to the other side, what do we do to move forward?” Harsin said on joining ABC’s broadcast team for a live segment in the first half of the year. “We’re going to start building on what we want to be.”
On Friday, Harsin saw firsthand the difference between what Auburn is now and what the former Boise State coach wants him to be. The Tigers ended their tumultuous season disappointingly, falling to the 14th-seeded Wildcats, 35-19, in Orlando, Fla.
“The most important thing is that when it comes to our players, as coaches, the coaching staff, that’s not their case,” said defensive coordinator and interim head coach Kevin Steele. “Like every other team in the country, their lives were turned upside down in March. They fought like champions. The season was obviously the same for everyone. It was difficult for everyone across the country. Then we added that they had lost their head coach – or, we lost our head coach to Coach Malzahn. This has been added. These are not excuses; what it’s to say how resilient these young men are and how much they love Auburn and they love to fight. They did everything they asked them to do. “
The loss sent the Tigers down to 6-5 this season and 2-5 in their last seven bowling games since coming within 13 seconds of a national championship in 2013. That BCS title game at the Rose Bowl seven years ago seemed like a distant memory for that Auburn program, and a reminder of all the work Harsin needs to do to bring the Tigers back to his stated goal of competing for the championships.
“We have a lot of work to do, but that’s what excites me and why Auburn was so well suited,” Harsin said during the match.
This work for Harsin began in earnest once the final seconds passed against Northwestern. His immediate goal will be to assemble his inaugural team in Auburn. Whether this will include relics from the Malzahn era remains to be seen. Several of Auburn’s assistant coaches have contracts that will expire at the end of this month, while some are still under contract for one or two more years.
Steele, who has two more years on his three-year contract, said after the game his future had yet to be discussed and it was up to Harsin and the administration to decide what to do next.
As for the fieldwork that needs to be done, Friday’s loss to Northwestern highlighted the biggest area Harsin needs to address in building his new schedule.
Auburn’s offensive line – playing without starting right tackle Brodarious Hamm for Game 2 – was a glaring weakness in the Citrus Bowl. The exhausted unit, which suffered from years of lack of recruiting and insufficient quality depth development, struggled to get any sort of push up front against Northwestern, while left tackle Alec Jackson was responsible for three false start penalties.
Auburn, who did not have star rookie Tank Bigsby, ran just 61 yards on 26 attempts and clearly didn’t trust his ability to set the run. The Tigers’ two available runners, Shaun Shivers and DJ Williams, had just 15 total carries and 31 rushing yards, with a rush of less than 5 yards. Auburn only handed the ball to his backers three times in the first quarter and seven times in the first half.
“We came out in this game and we struggled a bit in the first half offensively,” said Steele.
While Auburn’s defense had its own issues, particularly in the first quarter when Northwestern quarterback Peyton Ramsey shredded the secondary, the unit mostly found their feet before suffering from the short-field defense. late.
Harsin will continue his assessment of Auburn’s program in the coming weeks, but it is clear that if he hopes to make the Tigers compete at the championship level again, the focus will need to be on offense, starting with the line of scrimmage.
“I’m not going to lie, the only thing you have to do here is recruit,” said senior defensive end Big Kat Bryant. “You know, it’s just plain and simple…. I really think he has the right coaching philosophy to lead this team to one day win championships. I really believe it.
Tom Green is an Auburn Beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.
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