For Auburn linebacker Eugene Asante and tight end Rivaldo Fairweather, life looked a lot different this time last year.

Asante said it himself late Saturday night after Auburn’s 14-10 win over Cal at California Memorial Stadium in Berkeley, Calif.

“I played on the scout team last year,” Asante told reporters following the game.

Meanwhile, Fairweather was in Miami playing in Conference USA with the Florida International Panthers – a very different brand of football than what’s played at Auburn and in the SEC.

On Saturday night, both Asante and Fairweather’s lives landed them in the hills of Berkeley, where they didn’t dress in Auburn uniforms to sit the bench but played crucial roles in the Tigers’ surviving a whacky “Pac-12 After Dark” matchup to improve to 2-0 on the season.

Last season, Asante played just four games for the Tigers.

“It was a big reflection piece for me,” Asante said just before the start of the 2023 season. “Last year I was very upset within myself in terms of… I just didn’t get on the field. I really don’t know why that was.”

All the while, Asante was also navigating the grieving process after losing his father last February.

To say Auburn’s 2022 season was difficult for Asante would be an understatement.

But all throughout the Tigers’ fall camp, Asante’s name kept coming up – partly for his “Let’s work!” catchphrase that could be heard anytime you were around the Auburn football program, but also because he was making glaring strides towards being a major factor for the Tigers this fall.

Both – but especially the latter – of those reasons were put on display Saturday night.

Asante led the Tigers’ defense on Saturday night, meaning Asante essentially led the unit that won the game for Auburn as the defense continually bailed out its sputtering defense against Cal.

With 12 total tackles – nine solo – a sack and a pair of quarterback hurries, Asante was Auburn’s defensive stat leader.

“What a night he had,” Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze said of Asante. “I don’t know how many tackles he had, but he was in on a lot. He played really, really hard.”

Asante’s quantity of plays was impressive, but it was the quality and the timing of Asante’s plays that was the difference maker Saturday night.

Asante made five stops on third down – two of which led to Cal settling for field goals but only making one.

While the Auburn offense, which tallied just 94 passing yards, neglected to sustain drives, a lot was asked of the Tigers defense – from being on the field for a majority of the game to being thrown in less-than-desirable field positions.

But instead of focusing on the negative of the situation, Asante chose to notice the opportunity in the challenge – not just the challenge itself.

“I think the biggest thing is in the midst of chaos, there’s opportunity. Everybody sees this chaotic scene, but there’s an opportunity to put water to the fire and cover our brother’s backs. We are our brother’s keeper,” Asante said. “That’s the biggest thing, just not being frustrated. Not being disappointed. But just going out there with a positive mindset and just playing play after play.”

Being your brother’s keeper means believing that eventually your brother will come through for you.

And though it took three and half quarters, Asante’s brothers on the offensive side of the ball finally came through, with Fairweather leading the way.

Trailing 10-7 with just more than 11 minutes to play in the fourth quarter, Payton Thorne and the Auburn offense started its drive on the Tigers’ 27-yard line.

After taking a sack on second down, Thorne and the Tigers found themselves eyeing a pivotal 3rd and 17. Fortunately for Auburn, Thorne was able to connect with Fairweather on a 28-yard pass play – good for a catch that wasn’t just Fairweather’s second of the night, but his second ever in an Auburn uniform.

In the moment, it felt like Fairweather’s 28-yard grab might be the most important catch he’d make all night.

But then Auburn found itself inside the Cal 5-yard line — fresh out of a timeout — with just over six and a half minutes to play and still needing to find the endzone to take the lead.

“We actually were leaving the huddle and were gonna go 12 personnel and go in to block it up. And I just said, ‘Nah, I want to go 13 and give Rivaldo a chance here.’,” Freeze said, recalling Auburn’s timeout. “I had just seen Rivaldo do that too many times in practice. The last thing was I told Payton, ‘Just make sure it’s catchable, and he’ll make a play.’ And he did.”

Like Asante, Fairweather was another guy we heard a lot about during fall camp.

With a 6-foot-4, big-bodied frame, Fairweather presents as a mismatch nightmare for opposing defenses. Auburn’s defensive backs experienced that firsthand throughout fall camp as Fairweather became known for “head tapping”, which refers to a receiver reaching over the head of a defender and coming down with a catch.

“Rivaldo, that’s his favorite when he’s head-tapping somebody,” said Auburn receiver Cam Brown in mid-August.

And lucky for Fairweather, he had an opportunity to do his favorite in-game, reaching over the head of Cal defensive back Jeremiah Earby and hauling in a 5-yard touchdown pass that ultimately served as the game-winner as Auburn white-knuckled the 14-10 lead down the stretch.

“Me and Payton, we do that every day — after practice, before practice, before we’d even start the season,” Fairweather said of the touchdown catch. “That’s what we do, man.”

Fairweather’s pair of clutch grabs were the perfect display of why Freeze and Auburn’s coaching staff prioritized the former FIU tight end when he landed in the transfer portal.

Those same pair of catches were also the perfect display of why Fairweather chose to come to Auburn.

“That was a big reason I came here, because I trusted Coach Freeze to put me in the best position for my future. And see, that’s what we’re doing, man,” Fairweather said. “We trust all of them. You’ve just got to keep trusting the coaches and keep making plays.”

It’s probably hard for guys like Asante and Fairweather to look back and remember what their lives were like this time last year.

The specifics?

Asante appeared in Auburn’s Week 2 game against San Jose State on Sept. 10, 2022 but didn’t record a single stat.

Meanwhile, Fairweather and the Panthers took a 41-12 beating at the hands of Texas State in a game that saw Fairweather start at tight end for FIU, but only record one catch for 11 yards.

So yeah, life’s different for No. 9 and No. 13. But hopefully they don’t mind because they might want to get used to life looking this way.