Don’t sleep on QB Payton Thorne: a look into stopping the Auburn offense

At this point in the season, the LSU football defense has struggled to stop just about anyone from passing the ball. The Tigers are now set to face off against Auburn, and conversely, they haven’t exactly had a lethal passing attack. Still, coach Brian Kelly is aware of quarterback Payton Thorne and thinks stopping him could be critical in this week’s matchup.

Despite unimpressive stats, Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne is a more than capable passer

So far in 2023, Auburn has thrown the ball for just 781 yards, compared to 1,010 yards on the ground. Additionally, starting quarterback Payton Thorne has only thrown four touchdowns compared to his four interceptions.

At first glance, one may believe a passing game like that wouldn’t be much of a threat. However, Thorne is a more than capable passer and could make any defense pay if needed.

“Payton Thorne has thrown for over 6,000 yards in the Big Ten,” coach Brian Kelly said on the Auburn starting quarterback. “So, it’s a bit misleading in terms of their statistics relative to throwing the ball.”

In his three seasons with Michigan State, quarterback Payton Thorne showed plenty of good and bad. However, there’s no denying his productivity overall.

SPARTANS WERE ROLLING IN SOUTH FLORIDA 👀

Payton Thorne tosses 4 TDs as Michigan State takes down No. 24 Miami, 38-17! pic.twitter.com/S6JyiXY5ZM

— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) September 18, 2021

He threw the ball 864 times for 6,501 yards and 49 touchdowns with the Spartans. His biggest downfall was the turnover issues, having thrown 24 interceptions while completing 60.9 percent of his passes.

Notably, one of his favorite targets with the Spartans was Keon Coleman, a current Florida State wide receiver who caught nine passes for 122 yards and three touchdowns vs. the Tigers in week one. He and now Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne combined for 798 yards and seven touchdowns for Michigan State in 2022.

“They can throw the football. And, if you’re not on your coverage, they’re capable of being very productive,” Kelly continued. “They choose not to throw the football. So, I think that’s the big difference. I think there are some team that are not capable of throwing the football and are not productive. They can throw the football, so they keep you balanced from that perspective.”

Stopping Auburn’s passing game could be key in today’s matchup

When looking at Auburn offensively, they’re by far a run-first team – and they’re good at it. Through six games, they’ve run the ball 209 times for 1,010 yards and 12 touchdowns, averaging 4.8 yards per carry.

Jarquez Hunter runs over a Georgia defender and into the end zone #WDE

pic.twitter.com/uI7Mbw8P82

— Power of Dixieland (@PwrofDixieland) September 30, 2023

When looking at Auburn offensively, they’re by far a run-first team – and they’re good at it. Through six games, they’ve run the ball 209 times for 1,010 yards and 12 touchdowns, averaging 4.8 yards per carry.

What makes them so dangerous when running the ball is that they have several ball carriers to focus on. They’re probably three deep at running back and have two quarterbacks more than capable of running it themselves.

Still, if you zero in on the running game too much, quarterback Payton Thorne is more than capable of taking advantage of a vulnerable LSU football secondary.

“Now, let’s face it; they’re certainly a run-first team, but you have to defend the pass,” Kelly told the media on Thursday. “You can’t just say, ‘Oh, they’re not gonna throw the football against LSU.’ They’re gonna do everything necessary to win the game. So, we have to defend the pass; we have to obviously defend the quarterback and the quarterback run, which puts you in a very difficult situation defensively because it’s hard to do both. And that’s why this offense is a really good offense.”

It will be curious to see how coach Brian Kelly and the Tiger defense fairs against this offense. It’s by far a step down from their recent challenges of Ole Miss and Missouri. If they continue to struggle, particularly in stopping the passing game, it could bode poorly heading into the rest of 2023.

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