Payton Thorne breaks down what led to interception for frustrated fans

Auburn Tigers quarterback Payton Thorne threw a disastrous pick-six late in the game against the Oklahoma Sooners. It’s a play that he has since defended his decision-making on.

Since then, Thorne broke down the play in detail, explaining what led to the interception. In doing so, he shared with frustrated Auburn fans why the decision to throw that football made sense at the time.

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“Yeah, it doesn’t make any sense,” Payton Thorne said. “Like why the hell would you do that? I agree with that.”

Turnovers have been an issue for the Auburn offense, particularly its quarterbacks. For his part, Payton Thorne has thrown six interceptions on the season. As a team, the Tigers have a turnover margin of -11, which is 132nd in the country. Naturally, it’s become a major concern for the team moving forward this season.

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“But with the play that was called and what we talked about doing against that defense, like I said, they were in a Cover-0 look, we had empty, no running back in the game. So, we had five offense linemen for the fans who know how to do math…Then we got the double mug look, so both backers were lined up in the A-gap. So, you had to do something with the protection there. The plan going into it was I’ve got my quick, intermediate route. I would like to see the free hitter, which was the boundary end. So, I slid it to the field, all five of our guys, because as a quarterback unless you’re on the move you don’t like not being able to see who’re the guys that can hit you,” Thorne said.

“So, my first read is that mug backer, and if he shows that he’s coming, which both guys when I clap and catch the ball, both show that they’re coming. We have a choice route to the boundary that can go in or out. Now, I’ve got to find that guy to know, okay, did he break in or out…He wins inside. I throw it to him and my eyes can’t go in two different directions. So, when I checked to see if he was coming I had to slide to the left too because I’ve got the free hitter from the end who was coming. I’ve got to get that ball off.”

It was late in the fourth quarter When Payton Thorne threw his interception against Oklahoma. It cost the Tigers the lead and they wouldn’t get it back. However, Thorne maintained that’s a credit to the Sooners’ defense.

“Throw it, get hit, and I hear the crowd. So, I was like, ‘Crap, I don’t know what happened.’ I get up and obviously, he had done a really good job. They had a good call on He did a good job of coming up, put hands on our offensive lineman, showed me he was coming, and then dropped out,” Thorne said. “So, it was well executed by those guys and I look back on the play, and I did what my plan was and what we had talked about in the week. And like I said, it’s just a tough situation, and it stinks. I did have the thought of checking our three receivers but the play clock was really running low. So, I just decided to leave the call on that we had.”

Ultimately, it was a bit of deception that cost Auburn. Payton Thorne saw the linebackers start to blitz, which made him assume that they wouldn’t be in coverage. It was well-executed and a good defensive play call.

“That was the call. The call was that they take a step forward to show that they’re coming and then drop out. So, like I said, it was a good call in that situation. What was it, third and five? We were up and on the fringe of field goal range. They had loaded the box on the first two downs to stop the run to keep us where we were at. I was thinking, third and five, there’s a good chance they’re coming after me to try and get a sack and get out of field goal range. So, they were doing it on purpose. They showed it and dropped out,” Thorne said.

“He did stumble a little bit because he has to take his steps and get hands on. I’m sure that’s what they’re coached to do, and then they get out. So, it stinks.”

Payton Thorne and Auburn will look to bounce back and snap a two-game losing streak in a tough road environment next week when they travel to Athens to play Georgia.