Why Philip Montgomery’s play-calling not Auburn’s biggest issue on offense

Hugh Freeze and the Auburn Tigers are set to host No. 1 Georgia this weekend, and judging by the way his offense has performed to this point this season — it could be a long afternoon inside Jordan-Hare Stadium.

AuburnLive’s Justin Hokanson joined On3’s Andy Staples to discuss Auburn’s offensive struggles, and whether or not new offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery is to be blamed for the Tigers’ slow start.

“After the Cal game, he said that was an ugly game and said that he thought the gameplay was good and that a couple of play calling was good. After Texas A&M, he said to go watch film — they had receivers open,” Hokanson told Staples. “There were inopportune turnovers at Col and inopportune penalties at A&M. I don’t think think it’s a worry about Montgomery.

“There are so many other things going wrong with Auburn’s offense. Turnovers, penalties, arrant throws — there are so many other issues that you can’t put it all on Montgomery.”

The biggest question mark for Auburn’s offense remains under center. All three quarterbacks Payton Thorne, Robby Ashford or Holden Geriner, made appearances during Week 4’s 27-10 loss to Texas A&M, but the trio combined for a head-scratching 9-of-23 passing for 56 total yards and no touchdowns.

Ashford was arguably the most productive with eight carries for 25 yards, but Thorne led the way with 44 passing yards compared for Ashford’s single completion that totaled four yards.

That’s the second time this season Thorne finished with under 100 passing yards in a single game. The first came during the 14-10 victory over Cal — which wasn’t pretty — but a victory is a victory. Thorne threw a total of 14 passes that totaled 94 yards to go with two touchdowns and an interception. Then during the following week against Samford, threw and ran for a combined 405 total yards.

Whether Freeze and Montgomery can figure out who the right guy is under center, or if they let Thorne work through his struggles remains to be seen. Still, with game week rapidly coming to an end, Auburn doesn’t want to be left scrambling at the one position where consistency is a necessity for the entire unit.

Kickoff between the Tigers and Bulldogs is set for 3:30 p.m. ET live on CBS. Georgia has opened as a 14.5-point favorite heading into the matchup, per Vegas Insider, despite playing inside Jordan-Hare Stadium.