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After Auburn Tigers’ hallmark win over Georgia, quarterback Byrum Brown finally found his way back onto CBS Sports’ Quarterback Power Rankings list.
However, after the Tigers’ brutal loss to LSU, he’s fallen right back out of the top 50.
It has been a rollercoaster of a season for Brown, who had one of the best seasons of any quarterback last year, passing for over 3,000 yards and rushing for over 1,000 yards while at USF, as well as accounting for 42 total touchdowns, the second-most in football.
When Brown first transferred to Auburn, there were quite a few concerns as to how his physical style of play would translate to the SEC, and so far, his play has been passable for the Tigers, with a few big-time performances and a few notably rough showings.
His performance against Georgia, for example, is a great look at just how good Brown can be when used properly in the right system, as he passed for 150 yards and a touchdown while rushing for a team-high 115 yards and a touchdown on the Tigers’ way to beating the No. 1 team in the country.
This performance earned him a spot on CBS Sports’ Quarterback Power Rankings list, but his tenure among the best in football was short-lived, as a 160-yard passing performance with just 21 rushing yards amidst a blowout loss to LSU was not enough to convince analysts that he still deserved a spot on that list.
Notably, Brown appears to have cleaned up the turnover issues he struggled with earlier in the season; though he threw seven interceptions through five games, he has not thrown an interception since the bye week, netting him a two-game turnover-free streak.
If Brown wants to find his way back onto this list, though, it will likely take a big-time performance against Ole Miss, whom the Tigers are scheduled to face off against this week. The Rebels will be without Kewan Lacy, which could mean the Rebels’ offense struggles a bit more, leading to more time and opportunities for Brown and the Tigers’ offense.
Barring a passing day for the ages, Brown will likely need another 100-yard rushing performance with at least one touchdown through the air and one on the ground if he wants to rejoin the ranks of college football’s best, a task that will not come easy against the 12th-ranked Rebels.
After such a big loss to LSU, though, it’s safe to assume that the Tigers are hungry to get back in the win column, and their quarterback has been one of the biggest reasons for their four wins so far this season, regardless of where he stands in national rankings.