Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, LA isn’t an easy place for visiting quarterbacks.

That lit-up yellow “Welcome to Death Valley” sign behind the south endzone seems to stare down from its upper deck perch for all the years of offenses that have been beaten down on the field below. And even in a year where this No. 22 ranked LSU team isn’t quite the group of so-called killers the stadium’s nickname may imply, it still caused a struggle for Auburn’s already hapless offense.

Hugh Freeze and Auburn’s staff had a bye week to find answers at quarterbacks and on this offense. Yet nothing seemed to change.

Though, in the small moments when Auburn’s offense found any momentum in the first half where it was ambushed by a far superior LSU offense to an eventual 48-18 loss, that spark came largely from backup quarterback Robby Ashford.

So, with the margin at just a two-score game at halftime, still fully within reach, head coach Hugh Freeze had Ashford start the second half — the first time Freeze has done that all year.

He too believed Auburn’s offense looked its best with Ashford at the helm.

“Well, his package worked really in the first half,” Freeze said after the game. “We were only two scores down to start the second half, so you want to start with the good stuff. I felt like that was our best option.”

Ashford proceeded to lead Auburn to one of its better drives of the game, going 55 yards down the field on eight plays and ultimately resulting in a field goal. Auburn was all suddenly within 10 points of LSU.

Ashford started Auburn’s next drive, before starter Payton Thorne came back in on a third down play. After that, Thorne started Auburn’s remaining drives. Ashford came back in for spot roles including throwing a touchdown pass to tight end Brandon Frazier.

Yet it’s this kind of stubborn quarterback back-and-forth Auburn has devolved to so many times this season despite Freeze frequently speaking on how much he doesn’t want it. Freeze’s responses to questions about Ashford largely involve some comment about how Ashford has a role and a package within the offense, but how he must also balance that with making sure he doesn’t disrupt a rhythm for Thorne.

However, this rotation in Baton Rouge mimics what Auburn has done in its two previous road games — each leaving Auburn with question marks at quarterback.

In the first half, Auburn came out with Thorne and leaned heavily on throwing the ball — where Auburn has been dreadful all season long. The passing was largely still dreadful in the first half. Auburn had the same slow start it has had in each of its road games this season.

Auburn’s first two drives were both three-and-outs and netted negative 8 total yards. They included a botched snap, a costly penalty and a burned time-out because Auburn couldn’t line up right on its first possession after a bye week.

“We just never found any consistency, so it’s disappointing, for sure,” Freeze said.

But it seemed Auburn was committed to continuing to shove the square of its passing game into a circular hole. Thorne had six straight incompletions at one point in the first half. Ashford’s small sparks on offense were enough of an improvement to give him that second-half start.

It appeared at first that Thorne had been benched for a second-straight SEC road game, but then he came back. He came back briefly against Texas A&M for a third down play where he nearly turned the ball over, but then wasn’t seen again that day.

The return to Thorne at LSU didn’t appear to make much sense at first. But he did find success when Auburn began to use a more up-tempo offense later in the second half and completed seven of eight passes between the end of the third and the beginning of the fourth.

Thorne became the first Auburn quarterback to pass for more than 100 yards against a Power 5 opponent this season and it was the first time Auburn passed for more than 100 yards against a Power 5 team since late October of last season, nearly a full calendar year ago.

Thorne’s final stat line rested at 12-23 passing for 102 yards. Ashford was 3-4 for 52 yards and a touchdown. Both quarterbacks had five carries and Thorne ran for eight more yards.

So, Auburn again leaves a road game with quarterback questions. Does it continue with the up-tempo offense that Thorne had more rhythm with? Or does it expand Ashford’s role to give him more opportunity to find a rhythm at all?

Thorne still appears Auburn’s safe choice, but Ashford the more dynamic. It’s the same debate that has lingered after every game of inconsistent quarterback play. And Auburn is yet to have a consistent option.

As Freeze begins his trip back to Alabama tonight, the Tiger Stadium overhead flood lights turned off around 90 minutes after the game. One light remained: Those words that loomed over Auburn still shone yellow.

Matt Cohen covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @Matt_Cohen_ or email him at [email protected]