Trying to make sense of Auburn’s ill-fated trick play against LSU - AL.com

Bryan Harsin’s reputation as a play-caller was built upon some of the most memorable trick plays in recent college football history, but it was an ill-conceived gadget play that could be the lasting image of his tenure at Auburn.

Facing second-and-goal at the 10-yard line and trailing by four early in the fourth quarter at home against rival LSU, Harsin and offensive coordinator Eric Kiesau dialed up an ill-fated trick play that not only cost Auburn a scoring opportunity but appeared to be flawed from its conception.

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The play: A wide receiver pass off a sweep to Koy Moore that was designed to find Camden Brown behind the defense. The result: An off-balance pass by Moore under pressure that was intercepted by LSU’s Harold Perkins Jr., thwarting Auburn’s best scoring opportunity of the second half in a 21-17 loss at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

“We were trying to get (Brown) to slip through and sneak out the back,” Harsin said. “…I don’t know exactly what happened. It’s on the other side of the field. Obviously, it was a turnover that was not good. But we’ll look at that play. You know, that was part of our gameplan, going into this week. We practiced those things. We executed a few of them. If it doesn’t work initially, you make a good decision, right?

“Don’t make a bad play worse. And I know our guys are trying to do that. And some guys did tonight, as well. They turned some plays that were negatives into positives. That just happened to be a negative, and it was a big turnover in the game.”

The second-year coach said the trick play was one of a few that Auburn installed in practice last week ahead of its divisional showdown with LSU. Auburn already ran one successful trick play in the first half against LSU — a reverse pass out of the Wildcat that resulted in a 25-yard reception for Omari Kelly late in the second quarter. On this one, according to Harsin, Moore had two options on the play: Find Brown behind the defense, or “if it wasn’t there, throw it away.”

Every other skill-position player on the field — tight ends John Samuel Shenker and Luke Deal and running back Jarquez Hunter — blocked for Moore as the play flowed to the right side of the field. Brown, who split out wide to the right of the formation, was taken out of the play early and “locked up” by LSU’s defense after the snap. He was never able to get open or create separation with his route.

That eliminated Moore’s first read on the play. The problem? If Moore had gone with the second option after failing to find Brown, he would have been flagged for intentional grounding and a loss of down.

Though Moore was well outside of the tackle box when he attempted his pass, under NCAA rules (Rule 7, Section 3, Article 2) a player can only throw the ball away without being penalized if he is the “player who controls the snap or the resulting backward pass and does not relinquish possession to another player before throwing the forward pass.” Because Moore did not initiate the play and take the snap, and instead gained possession off a handoff from quarterback Robby Ashford, he is not permitted to throw the ball away in that situation.

If he did, it would have been a loss of down and a spot foul — which, in this case, would have pushed Auburn back to about the 20-yard line for third-and-goal.

It would have been an unenviable spot to be in, especially after having first-and-goal from the 5-yard line and a chance to go ahead early in the fourth quarter. Of course, it would have been preferable to the actual result — an interception that marked the first of three fourth-quarter turnovers for Auburn in a game it lost by four points.

“It didn’t work,” Harsin said. “At the end of the day, it didn’t work. And there’s answers for that. Obviously, we don’t want a turnover, but that happened. It was unfortunate.”

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.

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