Alex Golesh Can't Blame Talent for All of Auburn Football's Problems

The Auburn Tigers losing to Ole Miss on Saturday wasn't necessarily surprising, but the way they lost was another reminder that Alex Golesh has some serious problems to fix, and not all of them have anything to do with talent.

Auburn suffered a 45-15 loss to Ole Miss, but the Tigers were still competitive into the third quarter before everything fell apart.

And that's what makes this loss so frustrating.

There's no question Auburn's roster still needs improvement.

Golesh inherited a program that has struggled for several seasons, and nobody should expect him to fix everything in his first year.

But how many times are we going to watch Auburn make the same mistakes?

Against Ole Miss, the Tigers committed costly penalties, made questionable decisions, and struggled to execute when opportunities presented themselves.

A special teams mistake left Auburn starting a possession at its own 1-yard line.

A penalty complicated a two-point conversion attempt and forced them to kick a field goal instead of fight for six points before halftime.

And Byrum Brown lost a fumble when Auburn had an opportunity to build some momentum.

Those aren't necessarily talent problems.

They're execution problems, and Auburn has to be better.

Following the loss, Golesh made it clear that Auburn's inability to finish was his biggest disappointment.

"That's the part that's making me sick is the lack of finish," Golesh said.

And he's right to be frustrated.

But at some point, Auburn needs to show improvement instead of continuing to talk about the same issues after every loss.

That responsibility doesn't fall entirely on the players, either.

Auburn's coaching staff has to find ways to eliminate mistakes and put its players in better positions to succeed.

Golesh made several changes to Auburn's offensive line against Ole Miss, and I think that's a step in the right direction.

But there are still questions about whether additional changes are needed. Every position on the offensive line has seen some sort of turnover except Cole Best at center. That conversation is well overdue.

The offensive line continues to struggle with consistency, Auburn's secondary has had problems in consecutive games, and the running game remains a major concern.

Jeremiah Cobb averaged around five yards per carry against Ole Miss but received just seven carries. Why isn't Auburn finding more opportunities for him?

I'm not suggesting Golesh needs to replace everyone who's struggling. He has to build a program, and some issues are only fixed on the field, but if something consistently isn't working, the coaching staff has to be willing to make adjustments.

Auburn still has Arkansas, Mississippi State, and Samford remaining before facing Alabama.

Those are three games the Tigers should have a realistic chance to win.

Getting a win this weekend would take care of another ugly streak that is starting to build against the Tigers. Auburn has allowed the Razorbacks to win the last two contests inside Jordan-Hare Stadium and has not properly defended their home turf in this rivalry since 2020.

But Auburn can't continue making the same mistakes and expect different results.

Golesh deserves time to rebuild this roster.

However, fixing pre-snap penalties, special teams mistakes, and poor execution shouldn't require several recruiting classes.

Those are things Auburn needs to improve right now.

And the next three games will tell us whether the Tigers are actually making progress.