Evidently, it doesn’t matter when and it doesn’t matter where: If the Auburn Tigers and the Cal Golden Bears meet on the same field, the weirdest, wonkiest and, at times, ugliest football game will be played.

After Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze and the Tigers survived an ugly and adversity-filled game in the hills of California last September, it was much of the same story at Auburn’s Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

This time, the Tigers couldn’t get out of their own way and survive the sloppiness, resulting in Auburn’s first loss of the season as Cal escaped the confines of Jordan-Hare Stadium with a 21-14 win.

Here are takeaways from Auburn’s loss:

Cal’s Third-Down Offense

Against UC-Davis in Week 1, Cal quarterback Fernando Mendoza passed for just 158 yards, while the Cal offense went just 2-for-13 on third down.

However, Saturday afternoon against Auburn in Jordan-Hare Stadium, that was all but the case as Mendoza eclipsed his Week 1 passing total by the midway point of the second quarter and finished the day with 233 yards and two touchdowns on a 25-for-36 passing effort.

Meanwhile, Auburn made some much-needed defensive adjustments during halftime, it was looking like the Cal had left its third-down struggles on the west coast as the Bears went 7-for-10 on third down in the first half — including 4-for-4 to start the game.

Cal’s successful day through the air pointed to Auburn having a defensive secondary made up of green defensive backs.

Just days before Cal’s visit to The Plains, Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze called the Tigers’ secondary his “biggest concern” during Auburn’s Tiger Talk radio show.

“We have a ways to go back there,” Freeze added.

Saturday’s performance against the Bears showed just how far the Tigers’ secondary has to go.

Auburn’s Slow Start

Auburn’s first possession of the game ended with a touchdown, and for much of the game that was it.

The Tigers opened the game with a 75-yard touchdown drive, which was capped off by a 15-yard touchdown connection between Payton Thorne and KeAndre Lambert-Smith.

Auburn was slow to establish the run game against Cal as its running backs rushed for just 30 yards in the first half — 27 of which came from a single Jarquez Hunter run late in the second quarter.

Coming out of halftime, Auburn found more success on the ground as it dialed up five-straight run plays to help the Tigers get from deep within its own territory.

Just when Auburn started finding a bit of success on the ground, pass protection issues and turnovers began to surface, hindering the the Tigers’ offense from finding any kind of rhythm when it needed it most.

During the third quarter, the Auburn offense logged just eight yards through the air as Thorne went 1-for-2 with an interception.

Meanwhile, the Cal defense tallied three sacks during the third quarter, bringing Thorne down for a loss of 25 yards.

“We’re not protecting the quarterback at all,” Freeze said during his interview with ESPN ahead of the fourth quarter.

Auburn’s first possession of the fourth quarter, the Tigers committed another turnover as Hunter fumbled the football, giving it back to the Cal offense near the Auburn 35-yard line, leading to quick, two-play scoring drive from the Bears.

Auburn finally found the endzone for its second score of the day in the fourth quarter as Thorne punched in a two-yard rushing touchdown to polish off a 75-yard drive.

However, with the game still within reach during Auburn’s final two drives, a pair of interceptions from Thorne kept the Tigers from closing the gap.

Auburn ended up losing the turnover battle 5-0 behind Thorne’s four interceptions and Hunter’s fumble.

Faulk’s Birthday Bash

Last year on the west coast, it was Auburn linebacker Eugene Asante who broke out against the Golden Bears with a 12-tackle performance.

On Saturday, it was sophomore defensive end Keldric Faulk who made the most of his 20th birthday with eight tackles, three tackles for a loss and two sacks against Cal on Saturday afternoon.

One of the best sequences of the game came late in the first half as Faulk dished out back-to-back sacks for a total loss of 10 yards, forcing the Bears to punt the football away and giving the Tigers’ offense another chance to find the endzone before the break.

In the second half, Auburn had seemingly cranked the dial on pressuring the quarterback, causing Mendoza and the pass-happy Cal offense to significantly slow their roll — which was huge for the Tigers, whose offense was still working to find some kind of spark.

Unfortunately for Auburn and its sellout home crowd, the performance of Faulk the second-half effort from Auburn’s defensive front wasn’t enough to offset the Tigers’ poor offensive play on Saturday afternoon.

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