Three things learned, two questions, one prediction after Auburn's bewildering loss to Cal

AUBURN -- What was that? Let's start by at least giving the Auburn defense credit for bouncing back after a rough first half. They did their job in the second half, outside of allowing a long touchdown run. That unit wasn't great, but they showed promise. There were good signs along the defensive line, good tackling for the most part, and while the secondary had their struggles in the opening 30 minutes, a few more plays were made in the final 30, so that was encouraging. But offensively, whew. There were missed throws, fumbles, tempo, then no tempo, poor pass protection, mixups in route running -- you name a mistake and the offense likely made it. Poor first down execution led to longer third downs than desired. The running game started to click some in the second half, only to be undone by sacks when the Tigers decided to pass the ball. And each half had its own separate offensive strategy it seemed, neither working very well. There is no excuse. There isn't a variable that impacts the efficiency on offense that isn't in a better position this year compared to last. Yet, like last year at Cal, we saw an Auburn offense barely get two touchdowns on the board. Hugh Freeze, Derrick Nix and Kent Austin have all been together before and the terminology is the same. Payton Thorne returned and does have an understanding of the offense. There are weapons to utilize, there's no question about that either. What happened on Saturday is, like oftentimes is the case, probably a combination of a bunch of mistakes that we don't always see in real time. The film will tell the tale and I'm curious to hear what Freeze says on Monday. But no matter who you slice it, there are no excuses to be made. There are no complaints about lack of talent or whatever else. Cal's defense isn't the '85 Bears and there is no reason Auburn's offense should have looked that anemic in week two at home. Let's get into three things learned, two questions and one prediction after the loss...