Apparently it doesn’t matter when or where: When the Auburn Tigers and the Cal Golden Bears meet on the same field, the weirdest, craziest and sometimes ugliest football game will take place.

After Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze and the Tigers survived an ugly and adversity-filled game in the mountains of California last September, it was a very similar picture Saturday afternoon at Auburn’s Jordan-Hare Stadium.

This time, the Tigers couldn’t bail themselves out and survive the sloppiness, resulting in Auburn’s first loss of the season, while Cal escaped the cramped Jordan-Hare Stadium with a 21-14 victory.

Here are the takeaways from Auburn’s loss:

Auburn’s secondary defense on third down is a burden

Against UC-Davis in Week 1, Cal quarterback Fernando Mendoza threw for just 158 ​​yards, while the Cal offense completed just 2 of 13 passes on third down.

However, that was anything but the case on Saturday afternoon against Auburn at Jordan-Hare Stadium, as Mendoza surpassed his Week 1 passing total midway through the second quarter, finishing the day with 233 yards and two touchdowns on a 25-of-36 completion rate.

Meanwhile, Auburn made some much-needed defensive adjustments at halftime. It looked like Cal had left its third-down woes behind on the West Coast, as the Bears converted 7 of 10 third down attempts in the first half — including 4 of 4 to start the game.

Cal’s successful day in the air suggested that Auburn has a defensive line made up of inexperienced defensive backs.

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

“We still have a long way to go,” Freeze added.

Saturday’s performance against the Bears showed how far the Tigers’ reserves still have to go.

Slow running, pass protection and turnovers plague Auburn’s offense

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

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

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

After the halftime break, Auburn was more successful on the ground, running five consecutive running plays to help the Tigers advance from deep within their own territory.

Just as Auburn began to have some success on the ground, issues in pass defense and turnovers began to surface, preventing the Tigers offense from getting into rhythm when it needed it most.

In the third quarter, Auburn’s offense managed just eight yards through the air as Thorne completed 1 of 2 passes and made an interception.

Meanwhile, the Cal defense recorded three sacks in the third quarter, bringing down Thorne and losing 25 yards.

“We don’t protect the quarterback at all,” Freeze said during his interview with ESPN before the fourth quarter.

On Auburn’s first possession of the fourth quarter, the Tigers committed another turnover when Hunter dropped the football and gave it back to the Cal offense near the Auburn 35-yard line, leading to a quick two-play attack by the Bears.

Auburn finally reached the end zone for its second touchdown of the day in the fourth quarter when Thorne capped a 75-yard run with a two-yard touchdown.

However, during Auburn’s final two drives, the game was still within reach, but two interceptions by Thorne prevented the Tigers from closing the gap.

Auburn ultimately lost the battle for possession 5-0 due to Thorne’s four interceptions and Hunter’s fumble.

Keldric Faulk and Auburn’s defensive line are a silver lining

Last year on the West Coast, it was Auburn linebacker Eugene Asante who had his breakthrough with a 12-tackle performance against the Golden Bears.

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

One of the best scenes of the game came late in the first half when Faulk made two consecutive sacks for a total of 10 yards, forcing the Bears to punt the football and giving the Tigers offense another chance to reach the end zone before halftime.

In the second half, Auburn seemed to increase the pressure on the quarterback, which significantly slowed down Mendoza and Cal’s pass-happy offense – which was huge for the Tigers, whose offense was still working to get going.

Unfortunately for Auburn and its sold-out home crowd, Faulk’s performance and the effort of Auburn’s defense in the second half were not enough to make up for the Tigers’ poor offensive play on Saturday afternoon.