Five things Auburn football needs to do to turn things around

Auburn football is very quickly taking a turn for the worse.

Following a blowout loss to Penn State on Saturday afternoon, Bryan Harsin has begun to take an extreme amount of heat - something he should be familiar with after the fiasco with the boosters and athletic department back in the spring.

As of right now, the season feels lost. Apathy has officially set in for the fanbase. It took three games.

Recruiting is down. The roster is thin at key positions. The quarterback performance has been underwhelming.

Nothing seems to be heading in the right direction. And yet, there is there is still an SEC gauntlet laying out before the Tigers.

How can Auburn turn things around? Here are five things the program needs to do in order to salvage what is quickly turning sour.

Stick with one quarterback

The dual quarterback system isn't working.

TJ Finley and Robby Ashford have combined to complete 58.5% of their passes for 676 yards (225.3 yards per game), two touchdowns, and six interceptions.

It's been an awkward, slow, crippled system that lacks tempo or consistency. Switching out Ashford and Finley at random intervals with Ashford eventually finishing the game has not been effective.

Choose one guy and stick with him. If Finley is going to continue to throw interceptions, go with Ashford.

Hire an athletic director

Get someone official in place. Whether that be the interm Rich McGlynn, or someone else. Find ways to establish stability within the program.

Establish an offensive identity

Everything that Auburn has tried to do on offense looks hard. The struggles were fully on display during the few trips the offense made into the redzone. There's no creativity. It's like a watching a fish out of water - constantly gasping for air before slowly choking because of its own inabilities and limitations.

In this day and age, offense should not look this difficult to execute. Not with the talent the Tigers have on roster.

Auburn can't pass block. They can't run block well, but at least they have tools that can maybe work well on the ground. Switch things up. Focus on running the ball like Harsin said Auburn would before the beginning of the season. Use your best player.

If the offense is going to be bad, find the one aspect of the scheme that is the least concerning and execute within it.

Cut down on the turnovers

The Tigers currently have a -8 turnover margin, which is good for 130th out of 131 FBS teams. They are one of four teams that have yet to force a turnover (Fresno State, Notre Dame, Temple), and one of 18 teams to have eight turnovers or more.

Stop putting your quarterbacks into situations where they have to make dangerous passes. The offensive line isn't going to hold up long enough to set up downfield throws. Make it simple. Emphasize easy, quick reads and ball security.

Recruit, recruit, recruit

Execution off the field is just as important as on it. Establishing a foundation when rebuilding a program starts and ends with recruiting.

Auburn is currently 13th in the SEC in the 247Sports recruiting rankings.

At this point, salvaging the class is pretty much wishful thinking.

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