Quotes of Note: Auburn coaches, players on hard fought loss to No. 7 Alabama

Auburn scored first but was never able to regain the lead in Tuscaloosa, losing to No. 7 Alabama, 27-49, in the 87th Iron Bowl.

The fight was there, though.

Both teams scored in each quarter of the game, Auburn just was not able to take down the Tide. The Tigers will finish with a losing record for the second year in a row, the first time since the 1998-1999 seasons.

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Sophomore Jarquez Hunter led the team in rushing yards with 134, marking his third straight game this season with 100+ rushing yards. Quarterback Robby Ashford followed Hunter with 121, averaging 7.1 yards per carry, marking his second career 100-yard rushing game. This is the first time Auburn has ever had three consecutive games with two 100+ yard rushers.

For the seventh time this season, Auburn loses the turnover battle and this one included huge momentum changers. In the first quarter, Hunter fumbled the ball from running into his own teammate and was unable to recover. Later in the second quarter, the refs incorrectly concluded that Keionte Scott muffed a punt return. The ball was recovered by the Tide, but the drive would have been a three-and-out from Auburn’s defense. Each resulted in Alabama touchdowns.

On the defensive side, Owen Pappoe caught an interception with just six minutes left in the ballgame on Auburn’s own 17 yard line, stopping what seemed like another Tide touchdown.

The Auburn broadcast features interviews from assistant coaches and players. Let’s hear from them.

Secondary Coach, Zac Etheridge

Coach’s thoughts on defensive performance

“I thought they came out and played hard. I thought our guys were ready to go out there and play. Hats off to Coach Saban’s staff and his team. They’re a great football team and there’s a reason they’ve been on top of college football for a while. We knew the task at hand, we challenged our guys. They (Alabama) came out, they executed early in the first half, got a lead on us, but as things started to settle down, our guys started to settle down and we started to play great football in the second half. But, they did a great job and they came out on top today.”

What caused the turnaround during the back half of this season

“It’s about believing in each other. Coach Lac does a great job of leading this program and leading us. He got those guys to believe in each other, just play Auburn brand football. Those guys, we just asked them to go play relentlessly, play free, just go swarm the ball. Those guys have actually come in everyday and try to get better and they just poured into each other…We made history tonight. We made history with Coach Lac and we’re going to rally off that and make sure this program is back on top.”

Offensive line coach, Kendall Simmons

After playing in Iron Bowls, what it’s like to coach in one

“Extremely stressful, because you know that the pre snap penalties were killing you and against a team like that, you need to be on par. You don’t need to get behind the chains. The guys did a good job. We ran the ball well. Once we got behind, it gave them the opportunity to kind of bring the heat… They’ve done a great job overall by taking advantage of all of our mistakes and that’s what a good team is supposed to do. I think it’s a learning experience for us overall, what we have to do to continue to get better…”

The reason behind the false start penalties

“You know what, the movement, they’ve seen a lot worse than what Alabama was doing. Georgia was all over the place. Mississippi State moved a lot. Even San Jose State, when we played them, they were really moving a lot. So I don’t really think it was that. I think it was just a combination of, it might’ve been a little bit of jitters and just wasting to really go… If we can get them to quiet down, that helps us stay in front of the chains. So, I don’t know.”

Quarterback, Robby Ashford

Thoughts on first Iron Bowl and end of the season
“It was just great to be out there, a dream come true… I just kind of took it all in and just knew I had to go give whatever I could to my team. Win or loss, I was not going to stop playing ‘til that clock hit triple zero. I’m just proud of this team, just proud of this fight…”

“…I’ve been hurt since the second half of Missouri and there’s been weeks where I haven’t been able to throw in practice, because my shoulder is so swollen or I couldn’t move it… I knew I had to do whatever I could to be able to go out there on Saturday and give it all for my guys. I’d play for anything through them. The injuries I feel like I had to overcome after each game was just a battle…”

Contributing to making history with three consecutive games with two rushers with 100+ yards

“That’s great to be a part of. Kind of just how this year went, with the running game, just got better and better over time. A lot of people, they can say whatever, but they don’t know what I was going through with my shoulder… Just to have those running backs we have and just to know I can, even when I’m not on my best passing game, I can still try and contribute in the run game just to help the team. It just means a lot…” 

Looking towards next season

“… I’m excited to see how 2023 season goes. I mean, it’s only up from here. I can tell the Auburn family this: We’re coming in next year and we’re coming to compete for an SEC championship and a national championship. We’re not settling for anything less and we’re not going to stop until we get it.”

Linebacker, Owen Pappoe

Speaking on Alabama’s offense, including Bryce Young

“All credits to them, they’ve got ballers at every position… They didn’t really do anything different that we saw on film, we just had to do better and win our one-on-one battles, which we struggled in. Credits to them, they played a great game.”

“You’ve got to account for him, (Young) too. I know he doesn’t run the ball much, but he’s still pretty elusive and can be a threat for his legs when he tries to.”

Looking back on the season, his final in an Auburn uniform, what Pappoe will remember

“Just the fight and the perseverance that this team has displayed. We’ve been going through crazy things since January. Just how close we stuck together, how much closer we’ve gotten through all the crap that’s been going on outside of Auburn. I’m really just going to be proud of this team and the way we fought.”