College football media reacts to Missouri fumble saving Bryan Harsin’s job (for now)

Auburn head coach Bryan Harsin’s job was saved after a costly mistake by the Missouri Tigers in overtime.

The Week 4 game between the Auburn Tigers and Missouri Tigers was a must-win for head coach Bryan Harsin. After a disastrous first season, Harsin’s seat in Auburn was hot. In fact, heading into the game against Missouri with a 2-1 record, The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman reported that there was “a really good chance” of Harsin getting fired if he were to lose on Saturday.

Auburn took a 17-14 lead in overtime following a field goal, but it looked like Missouri was heading for a walk-off. On second-and-five, running back Nathaniel Peat ran up the middle and ran for the end zone. But as he reached for the plane, Peat fumbled it, and Auburn recovered in the end zone to secure the victory.

College football media reacts to Bryan Harsin seemingly saving his job

Members of the media reacted to Harsin seemingly saving his job after Missouri fumbled just prior to reaching the end zone.

Auburn took a 14-0 lead in the first quarter on touchdown runs by Tank Bigsby and Robby Ashford. But in the second quarter, Missouri tied things up at 14 points apiece after touchdown runs by Cody Schrader and Brady Cook.

There were absolutely no points scored by either side in the third and fourth quarters, hence why the need for overtime.

On third-down situations, Auburn successfully converted on just three out of 16 opportunities. The offense gained a total of 217 yards on the day, as compared to Missouri’s 312.

Harsin was hired by Auburn just last year after spending the previous seven seasons coaching the Boise State Broncos. The first season with Auburn ended with the team finishing 6-7, and losing to the Houston Cougars in the Birmingham Bowl.

There was a ton of turnover on the roster and coaching staff after one year with Harsin at the helm. There was even an investigation into the football program, but Auburn ultimately opted to retain him at its conclusion. Harsin’s future only got more cloudy once Allen Greene resigned as the university’s athletics director.

Harsin has seemingly avoided getting shown the door this week. It will be interesting to see what happens next week after the team plays the LSU Tigers (if nothing happens prior to that game).

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