Auburn’s decision at quarterback could define season

Following a 24-14 loss to Arkansas on Saturday, the Auburn Tigers find themselves with a quarterback controversy. 

Payton Thorne entered the year as the Tiger’s starting signal-caller before being benched following a four-interception game against California. 

Auburn then turned to redshirt freshman Hank Brown. Brown led the Tigers to victory against New Mexico, tossing four touchdowns in their 45-19 win. This would not be the case in Brown’s first start in an SEC game as he struggled to take care of the ball, throwing three interceptions in a half of play. 

Down 7-0, head coach Hugh Freeze opted to roll out Thorne in the second half to try and give the Tigers a spark. Thorne had a solid outing, throwing for 213 yards with two touchdowns and an interception, though it ultimately came in a losing effort. 

Which quarterback will get the start this week against No. 21 Oklahoma is still up in the air, with Freeze stating in a Monday morning press conference, “It’s going to be a battle this week…to figure out who can master the plan against all these fronts that were gonna face at Oklahoma.”