Auburn had another thrilling game on its hands in its nonconference finale, this time escaping disaster against Georgia State with a 34-24 come-from-behind win.
After the game, Auburn coach Bryan Harsin addressed the media via Zoom. The first-year coach as fiery as he discussed his team’s win and the Tigers’ impending decision at quarterback after LSU transfer T.J. Finley delivered off the bench in the second half against Georgia State.
Here’s a look at everything Harsin said:
BRYAN HARSIN
Opening statement…
“They found a way to win. I was proud of those guys for doing that. A lot of credit to Georgia State. Those guys played extremely hard. I thought from an offensive standpoint, very difficult with that style of offense and how they play, especially the speed, to replicate that in practice. We had to make some adjustments and guys had to play fast consistently throughout the game. We did that. We were able to make some good adjustments in the second half. It was good to have Zakoby back in there as well.
“Defensively, I thought Georgia State did a great job, really against the running game. We knew that they would tackle and play hard and move, but they did an excellent job. They were very well coached, very well prepared for this game. We had opportunities we capitalized on at the end and I was proud of our guys to find a way to finish.
“Special teams were huge in this game. That really to me was probably the biggest thing as far as momentum goes. Anders kept us in the game with the field goals. Not ideal. You want to score touchdowns, but he did make his field goals. And the block baby Caylin Newton was huge as far as momentum goes and gave us a chance to put points on the board and create momentum. Those are things that we did positive. Those are things we practiced that we’ll continue to work on. At the end of the day, it’s not pretty. We have to learn fro this as far as things leading into this game that we know we can do better. Learn from what happened in the game, apply it to next week and then know that we found a way to win. I think there’s something to be said for that too. It’s not pretty, it’s not perfect but you found a way. To me, that says a lot about this team. That they’ll keep playing for four quarters. We were able to come out in the second half and play better football than what we did and now we’ve got to take that into conference play.
“One of the things I think from a preparation standpoint for all of us, is it has to continue to get better. We have finals every Saturday, not just quizzes. There’s things that we have to do from a preparation standpoint that I think are really important and I know our players and coaches do as well. We have just got to get better at those things, and we will. I know all the guys in the locker room and the staff that we will. Those will be things that we focus on because we see where we can be so much better in certain areas and certain moments, in critical moment of the game. The one thing that you never can really replicate is how to find a way. You can only get that from a games. You can only get that from live experiences and going and getting someone else and having real competition out there. And we did. So it was exciting at the end there to get that done and make those plays to kind of momentum to finish the game out like we did. I’m proud of our guys for sticking with it, the sidelines and everybody making sure that they’re into the game and trying to help their teammates do whatever they can to win. We’ll build on that. We’ll learn from the things that we didn’t do well. We’ll go back and work on Sunday. We’ve got to go out there and make sure we’re playing chess and not checkers and we get ourselves better prepared each day. I know the guys want to do that. I can see it and I know that we’re making strides. We’re not there yet perfectly but we are getting better at it. As long as we keep that mindset, we’ll be a better football team when we go play again against LSU.
On missed opportunities for touchdown passes…
“Yea, it’s a big factor if you’re going to miss touchdowns. And again, it’s hard for me to say why without watching film. I can see it out there like you do. I can see it live. I know that play. I know the look. If we didn’t connect on it, there’s a reason why. If it comes down to just the fundamentals, we can work on that. But if we’re getting a chance to have those types of plays — which are explosive plays, which we need and we’ve talked about it — we do need to find a way to get that done. We need to be a team that can create some explosives. We’ve been able to run the ball somewhat effectively in the games that we’ve played.
“Now, because of that we need to find a way to get some big plays down the field and create some explosives. Those are opportunities that we need to connect on. So I’ll know more as I go back and study it. But every guy on the offensive side and in that locker room knows we need to hit those, and those are emphasized. It’s something that every team tries to hit explosive plays. We’re trying to stop it on defense. But when there’s an opportunity to make that play, that’s what you have to do. It just goes back to, ‘How do we get that done?’ We’re obviously not as good as we need to be at making those things happen. We’ve got a lot more work to do so that we can make those plays when the opportunities come up.”
On what he was thinking during fourth-down play and the position Bo Nix was in…
“I probably can repeat what’s going through my mind on that last play there. I was excited. You could see as he broke. And I went right to the QB as we got pressure, and he was able to escape. It’s fourth down and goal, and you have to make a play. You’ve got to give your receivers an opportunity to make something happen. And he did. He popped, we scored the touchdown, and then we were able to convert the two-point conversion, which was huge. And we need to be really smart in that situation, as far as — I didn’t ask him what he thought about being backed up. I saw the punt. They did a great job on special teams in that situation.
“For Georgia State, that’s as good as you could’ve gotten from your punt team, to pin the offense back like that, and to make an offense that hadn’t been really explosive in the game go the entire distance of the field to find an opportunity for them to score. The odds were against us, based off what I’d seen in the game and probably what Georgia State felt like. So we overcame that, and we moved the ball down the field. Shenker’s catch was huge. That was a big, explosive play, and we were able to make some things happen. I thought we managed the clock well. We had a few timeouts to be able to use in case we didn’t, so we could run it and maybe do some things because of the timeouts. “But TJ did a good job. He operated. We work that drill every single week. Now, we don’t work it necessarily from the minus 2 all the time, but he was able to go operate. Really in that situation, it’s just about winning the game. It’s not about what had happened in the game; it’s not about any of the other things that happened through all the quarters and the time that we play. That’s just, ‘Hey, let’s go make one play at a time. Let’s go move the ball down the field. Let’s put ourselves in a position to win this game.’ And that’s exactly what we did. And we were fortunate enough to find a way to win the game and make a play at the very end. And, you know, Georgia State had fought extremely hard, and I thought they came out there and they whooped us in a lot of ways. In a lot of ways. And I think that’s something that everybody in that locker room knows. But we did win. We did win. At the end of the day, that’s the goal of the game, but there are certainly things that we know from this game that we have got to improve on. So it’s not just about, ‘Hey, we won, and we’re excited about that.’ We’ll take it. You will never be unhappy about a win. But we also know there’s a lot of things that come with that as we move forward that we have to work out.”
On decision to switch quarterbacks…
“Well, you saw the same thing I did. We weren’t really doing anything. We had played every running back. We had played every wide receiver. You’re not going to switch your offensive line out. And I made the decision to change and try to create some type of momentum at the quarterback position for the offense, and so that was my decision. That was my decision. That was something that — I tell our quarterbacks all the time, control what you can control. I’ve coached that position for a long time I played that position, and you can only control what you’re doing on the field. And guys around you have to make plays. “That’s the one thing about the quarterback position. You get way too much credit and way too much blame. And I made the decision to make a change and to see if we could just create some momentum, and we did. And it worked in our favor.
“Bo has worked very hard and practices hard and does all the things we ask him to do. We just didn’t have really a lot of things happening for us that were going our way in this game, and sometimes on offense, that’s how it goes. Sometimes playing that position, that’s how it goes. Sometimes you need somebody to come in there and step up and be able to just have some fresh eyes out there and just go make some plays. And that’s what happened in the game, but we’re going to come back and work on Sunday with Bo and TJ and the guys on this team. We’re going to get better. “I expect from both those guys to come out there and work hard and do all the things that we’ve been doing and listen to Coach Bobo and listen to the things that we did with the offensive group, and make sure that we’re getting better at that. But Bo was right there cheering on his teammates. And that’s how it goes sometimes. So that was my decision, and both those guys were fighting hard to win this game. TJ was able to be in there at the very end and get it done.”
On T.J. Finley’s performance…
“I thought he was great, for the most part. We didn’t go and score 80 points — we won the game — but there were things in there too. TJ, really everybody on the offensive side. There were opportunities for us to be better. And I think no different for him, but he was there in the last drive, and he found a way to win. He made the throw. We made the catch. “But, he was there on the last drive and he found a way to win. He made the throw, we made the catch, and taht was big for our football team to be able to do that. So I’m proud of him. TJ has worked hard. TJ’s always locked in. TJ’s out there every day doing everything we asked him to do, so that preparation showed up tonight where he was able to get it done. Like everybody else on this football team, it wasn’t pretty and it wasn’t perfect, but it got done. And we know — like, we all want it to be perfect. We all want these perfect games and these perfect stats and all that, but damn, you’ve got to find a way to win — that’s exactly what he did. Give him the credit. Give him the credit. There’s plenty of things, and that’s my nature as a coach to try to fix and make things better, but damn, the guy won the game. And other guys around him did too; it ain’t just him. Other guys stepped up. Smoke had a pick at the end of the game. That helped seal it. I mean, there’s some things that we did that other teams don’t do and they lose the game and our guys could have folded. So from that standpoint, I’m proud of him and he played damn good to go out there and get it done.”
On rotating the receivers…
“Well, I think from the previous game, who’s going to go out there and do some things on the field that are going to help us be more explosive? Didn’t happen. We had opportunities, so, you know, back to the drawing board. We’ve got to — we’re running the ball and there’s some things that we’ve been able to do, but you’ve got to balance this thing out. We know that we have to have those guys at the wide receiver position — we’ve got to find ways to make plays. Our quarterbacks, like we said before, we’ve got to find ways to put the ball in their hands. You know, sometimes you don’t always have to throw it deep to have an explosive play. There’s a chance you can take a little simple five-yard hitch, and if you want you can make somebody miss and go rip off an 80-yard run; like, that’s OK too. And that’s, you know, things that we talk about with our offense; like, there’s got to be some explosion that comes on the perimeter. We’re looking for that.
“We’re looking for that in this offense, and, you know, as a play caller when it’s there — the difference in calling plays when you hit one of those and you don’t hit one of those are massive. It changes everything and the momentum of what you’re trying to do. And so, our guys know that, but we have got to find ways to make plays on the perimeter and be able to run the football. If you get a one-on-one matchup, we’ve got to win. We’ve got to win. It doesn’t always have to be a deep ball; it can be, like I said, an easy catch and go make something happen with it.
“So, the reason why we’re playing so many different personnel groups is we’re trying to figure out what’s the best combination? Who’s going to get their opportunity. Every guy on that field wants their chance; well, here you go. Here’s your chance; do something with it. You know, we’re going to continue to do that. We’ll keep playing until we really figure out who gives us the best opportunity to be explosive and to make some of those plays consistently.
“And there were some good things. I don’t want to take that away. There were some good things tonight from that standpoint, but we’re going to get better at it. We’re going to get better at it, and that’s what we want; like, that’s what we’re looking to do on offense is to provide more balance in being big plays, run game, you know, other opportunities to get first downs and some dink-and-dunks but being efficient with that. Ultimately, from an offensive standpoint, way too many field goals. That’s not going to win a ton of games if that’s the formula. And we have a great kicker; he’s one of the best in the country if not the [best], and we have got to put that ball in the end zone when we get down in the red zone. Part of that is, we can also score from the minus-30-yard line if we want to, and you can run it in for 70 yards. So we’ve got to be able to do that, too.”
On what he saw from his team in the second half…
“Well, they responded in the second half. It wasn’t — we got in the locker room. There was adjustments made, but there was also players like knowing that we didn’t play to our standard. Which I think a lot of it has to — again, I’m going to go back to Georgia State. I think a lot of it has to do with them. Yes, I know what it’s supposed to look like from everybody’s perception [Harsin gave finger quotes around perception] with Auburn and Georgia State, and I knew that Georgia State would play hard for three-and-a-half hours. That’s the one thing you’ve got to understand: for three-and-a-half hours; like, you don’t have time to go out there and just figure it out. You already got to know going into that game. If you’re trying to figure it out — and we were a little bit today.
“So the second half was, we got two quarters of our best football, and we better go out there and play like that. And I saw guys do that; not everybody, but I saw guys do that. So, that gives you a lot of hope and it’s encouraging to see that happen with our team, but you want to take that now and not have to play just two quarters of football. You want to play four; you want to play a complete game, and we’re going to be playing complete games. Every game we play, that’s just the reality of it. We had one a week ago.
“So, I saw fight. I saw fight in the Penn State game, though. It’s not like those guys didn’t fight. It’s not like there’s lack of courage or guys flinched, just got to get better at playing football. We gotta just play good football. I don’t have that concern necessarily that guys flinch or they don’t have courage or they’re not going to fight, we just gotta get better at football. We’ve got to prepare better, we’ve got to coach better, I’ve got to do a better job of getting everybody ready every single day. Upholding the standard, because it matters. If you don’t uphold the standard on a Tuesday, it affects you on Saturday. And, everybody in our building, academically, from a football standpoint — there’s yet to be a week that we’ve just had everything go just like it’s supposed to. Show up on time. Go to class. Do the things that we’re supposed to do. Have all the things right from a coaching standpoint.
“Like, it’s just so many things that we can get better at. And that’s the beauty of it — we’ve identified it and we can and there’s not anybody in that building that’s against doing it, we just have to do them. And I love that. I love being in that environment where there’s that challenge. It’s not just the game, it’s the challenge of every single day trying to get everybody in that building — myself included — to do our job to the highest standard that we all agreed we would do it at. That’s the challenge day in and day out. I don’t see anybody on this staff or team that’s like, ‘No we’re not doing that.’ They’re like, ‘Alright, how do we do it?’ And just, we got to be intentional and more purposeful and we’ve got to make sure that every day we uphold the standards that we set for ourselves so that it shows up on game day and then we’re ready. And then we’re just in a game and we’re playing good football on Saturdays.
On how Bo Nix handled being benched…
“Hey, I mean, what do you expect? Like, he wants to be out there. I made that — that’s why I said I made that decision. So yeah, he’s probably pissed, which every competitor would be. You want to be out there on the field but that’s not what he could control in that situation, I control that. And so he supported his teammates, that’s what he can control. And that’s how any player that comes out of the game — like, you don’t want to come out of the game. But sometimes coaches make decisions and that’s the decision that I made in the game. Really, all Bo can do or anybody else can do is support your teammates which is exactly what he did. And to me, like, there’s more to that then a lot of people think. And then moving forward, like I said, we’re coming back to work on Sunday, Bo’s going to get himself ready, T.J.’s going to have himself ready, it’s going to be no different then what we’ve done other than the things that we have to work on as far as getting better.
“I fully expect those guys and everybody on this team to show up on Sunday for what we have to discuss as a team and what we have to focus on moving forward and then all of the stuff that’s going to make us successful like I just said. All the little things, day in and day out that matter, that make us a disciplined team. We’ve got some toughness, we need more discipline and I know that we can do those things. That comes from me, I’ve got to explain it better and be a lot more deliberate about what we’re going to accomplish every single day and what the goal is. And then believe every day that we’re going to be successful. Because these guys on this team, that’s the one thing, I love — especially after this game — being in the locker room. I love talking to these players and just listening to just their thoughts on the game and where they think we are and those types of things. Because it tells me they care, they give a crap, they want to show up tomorrow and they want to get better. “If there’s a guy on this team that I pull out, and he’s not pissed about it, I’m going to be worried. That’s how—you’re a competitor; you’re here to play. Coaches make decisions, and all you can do as a player is control what you can control. That’s how it always is, in my opinion.”
On handling quarterback decision for LSU game…
“I don’t have a gameplan like that. That’s not how it works. I don’t have a gameplan like that, and I don’t have to tell anyone what the gameplan is. Alright. I played it. I coached it. Those guys, the quarterback position, you get yourself ready like everybody else. Bottom line. You’re part of this team. Wide receivers, get yourself ready. DBs, get yourself ready. Specialists, get yourself ready. There’s no—I know everybody wants to make a big thing out of that. That becomes the storyline. The storyline is ‘get better.’ That’s the storyline. Auburn football: Get better, every single day moving forward. You’re playing chess, not checkers. Prepare yourself. Have yourself ready. Coaches, get better. Everybody improve, every single day. Be 1-0. However you want to say that. Be 1-0 every day, and then get yourself ready throughout the week so you can go cut it loose on Saturday and play really good football.
“That is the message. Period. I’m not getting into all that other stuff. So, that’s what they’re going to hear from me, and that’s what I’ll tell you all as well. I know what you’re asking, but like I said, that position and every other position on this team is going to hear about what we have to do to get better and how to go 1-0 on Sunday, and what that’s going to look like. And every coach is going to have a goal for his players, and they’re going to have a process for their players, and every coach is going to go through a checklist for he and his position group and his side of the ball, and we won’t miss a step. We won’t skip and we won’t miss anything. We’ll make sure we got things covered so that we’re ready for Monday. Then we’ll focus on Monday when it’s time.”
Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.
