Auburn’s first loss of the season came in an ugly showing on the road against Texas A&M.

While the Tigers’ offense had struggled two weeks prior against Cal, given all the oddities of that game, folks weren’t in a hurry to hit the panic button of any sorts.

But the loss to the Aggies on Sept. 23 forced head coach Hugh Freeze to be honest.

“Offensively, we’re searching,” Freeze said that Saturday afternoon in the media room of Texas A&M’s Kyle Field. “And we’ve gotta find answers.”

At the time, Auburn’s offense was searching for a lot – a solution to the weird quarterback situation, some kind of rhythm in the passing game, any type of identity as a whole and the list could go on and on.

But perhaps more than anything, the Auburn offense was left searching for swagger.

On the other side of the football, the Tigers’ defense had swagger. Whether it was in the team’s most vocal leader, Eugene Asante and his “Let’s work!” catchphrase, or it was Auburn’s defensive backs and their “turnover seatbelt”, the Auburn defense carried themselves with confidence.

“I think we’ve got to get more swagger on the offensive side,” Freeze said the Monday after the loss to the Aggies.

At the time, Freeze said veteran tight end Luke Deal was the Tigers’ leader on the offensive side of the football. Deal, who is in Year 5 in the SEC, has a firm grasp on how things can shake out as the season unfolds. As such, he’s able to maintain a positive attitude.

And as important as it is to have those optimistic leaders in a locker room – especially when a team is being faced with adversity – it doesn’t exactly replace having swagger. And Deal agreed.

“I think that’s going to be a big deal – just getting our swagger back,” Deal said Sept. 25 as the Tigers looked ahead to their matchup against No. 1 Georgia.

And that had to start with the quarterback spot.

Ironically, back in August, Deal mentioned the importance of having a quarterback with a bit of bravado.

“You always need a quarterback who’s got a little swagger in him,” Deal said.

For the longest time, the Tigers were set on using two quarterbacks in a funky rotation between junior Michigan State transfer Payton Thorne and sophomore Robby Ashford.

And between the rotation getting in the way of either quarterback getting into a rhythm on Saturdays and neither quarterback being able to feel secure in his role, the Tigers spent much of their season without a quarterback who had a “little swagger in him.”

But that quarterback rotation seems to finally have been squashed by Freeze, who has had Thorne take all but two offense snaps through the course of the last two games.

“I’d be lying to you if I said it didn’t feel better,” Thorne said Monday afternoon when asked how being Auburn’s main guy under center has helped his confidence.

Though Thorne’s growing confidence has been a key component to the Auburn offense’s success, it’s not a one-man show and he can’t be the only one to walk into a stadium with a bit of a prideful strut on any given Saturday.

Fortunately for Auburn, that hasn’t been the case.

“We played with some confidence and swagger last week, particularly the first half,” Freeze said Monday morning on the heels of Saturday’s 31-15 win over Vanderbilt.

The Auburn offense scored in two of its first three drives against Vanderbilt, with both touchdowns coming courtesy of running back Jarquez Hunter ripping off big runs against the Commodores. In the Tigers’ second play from scrimmage, Hunter scored from 67 yards out and then from 56 yards out in Auburn’s third drive.

And those kinds of plays certainly help an offense looking to play with a bit more swagger, Thorne says.

“Chunk plays, explosives — that gets you rolling and just if you want to look at the physical aspect of it, running down the field and chasing a big play, it gets your juices flowing a little bit,” Thorne said. “Playing with tempo, getting some big catches down the field and obviously Jarquez and the other guys getting some big runs, it definitely builds momentum — builds confidence.”

The week prior against Mississippi State, Auburn’s chunk plays on offense were courtesy of the Tigers’ passing game.

Thorne connected with Shane Hooks on a 27-yard touchdown in the first quarter, followed by a 45-yard touchdown pass to Ja’Varrius Johnson later in the first frame, helping Auburn put up 14 points in the first quarter.

“I don’t think anybody is going to connect on a deep pass and then be sad about it,” Thorne said following Auburn’s win over Mississippi State on Oct. 28. “It gets guys going and helps us gain momentum, which is good.”

Those big plays – whether through the air or on the ground – are a big part of his gameplan Freeze says.

While obviously having explosive plays have been a long-time predictor of offensive success, seeing how the Auburn offense has responded to them from a psychological perspective has been something Freeze has since considered.

“I think the more we are successful in doing that, the more confidence and swagger that our kids will play with,” Freeze said.