Welp.

That was gross — kinda awesome if you’re a true sicko – but Auburn’s 27-10 loss at Texas A&M revealed a few hard truths.

Put simply, the growing pains in Year 1 of Hugh Freeze can and will make your eyes bleed. If the offensive struggles at Cal were ugly, what happened Saturday in College Station was Buzz’s girlfriend in Home Alone. Woof.

We’re talking avant-garde football at its finest.

And the fact Auburn had a shot to make it a one-possession game in the fourth quarter only speaks to the abstract beauty of the college game. Just consider how bad this Tiger offense looked for the second and third quarters of this game.

Let’s just list the drives from that span so this is clear.

• 10 plays, 19 yards, punt
• 5 plays, 14 yards, punt
• 8 plays, 8 yards, FG

Now buckle up.

• 3 plays, -9 yards, punt
• 3 plays, 0 yards, punt
• 3 plays, 1 yard, punt
• 3 plays, -18 yards, punt

The first 13 plays of the second half netted -11 yards as Auburn was beginning to miss the comfort of home games with UMass and Samford.

Opening SEC play offered a taste of the reality Bryan Harsin left behind and before Hugh Freeze’s recruiting machine could begin to right the ship.

“Offensively we’re searching,” an exasperated Freeze said afterward in what qualifies as an understatement. “and we have to find some answers.

This is a Texas A&M defense that surrendered 451 yards (8.4 a play) two weeks ago in a 48-33 loss at Miami.

It was a defensive group that tallied six sacks through three games before recording seven against an Auburn offense with few answers.

The final Tiger yardage count landed at an even 200 — 30 fewer than the late-night escape from Cal two weeks ago but they were a long way from Berkley on Saturday.

Speaking of that, the 94 passing yards in that 14-10 win on Sept. 9 felt low before three Tiger passers combined for 56 at A&M. The 9-for-23 success rate included a long of 13 yards. Those 56 passing yards were the fewest for an Auburn offense since gaining just 37 in a 13-7 loss to Georgia in 2016.

“We just weren’t efficient at all at throwing the ball to open receivers when we had them, for whatever reason,” Freeze said. “It could have been pressure but we certainly were struggling with that aspect of the game and it resulted in a lot of negative plays.”

Notably, starter Payton Thorne overthrew three receivers early in the game — one appeared to be a walk-in touchdown had the ball been anywhere close.

Texas A&M, meanwhile, did its best to match the mediocrity before snapping back to form after halftime. After its first two drives stalled and led to field goals, the next three failed to yield a first down while gaining 8, 8, and 1 yard, respectively. Auburn’s defense was swarming and the Bobby Petrino experiment sputtering before Max Johnson replaced the injured Conner Weigman.

The LSU transfer completed 8 of his first 9 passes — two of which for touchdowns and the Aggies had all it would need.

But this goofy gift of a game wasn’t done delivering there.

No, Auburn’s lone touchdown was memorable both because it came from the defense and the fact Eugene Asante had to sprint to the left of Jimbo Fisher. And that’s notable since the Tiger linebacker ran between the Texas A&M coach and the sideline that should have contained him.

The 67-yard scoop and score offered fleeting hope when paired with Robby Ashford’s 11-yard run that was followed by Brian Battie’s 24-yard scamper. The Tigers got as deep as the Aggie 28 down 10 midway through the fourth but a sack, holding flag and a 2-yard loss on third-and-25 forced a punt from the A&M 48.

Three plays later, it was a three-score game and Auburn was cooked.

A brutal day for offensive efficiency took some of the air of out next week’s visit from Georgia. The top-ranked Bulldogs have been scuffing around offensively, but if Saturday’s action is any indication, it won’t take much next Saturday in Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Michael Casagrande is a reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ByCasagrande or on Facebook.