The Auburn Tigers hosted the Penn State Nittany Lions at the Jordan-Hare Stadium only to lose big time in front of their own fans. Auburn football absorbed a disheartening 41-12 defeat. It was the Tigers' first loss of the 2022 college football season. Here are some takeaways from Auburn's loss to Penn State in Week 3.

Ouch. Auburn football received a beating at the hands of Penn State on Saturday afternoon. It was an amazing atmosphere, with a level of pregame enthusiasm Jordan-Hare hadn't felt in over a year. The Tigers came into the game confident after starting 2-0 in 2022, but they were met by a similarly unbeaten rival. Overall, the team's enthusiasm was squandered by their own poorly executed efforts on the field.

To be honest, there's not much positive to take away from this one, at least, not in the heat of the moment. Still, let's take a look at four takeaways from Auburn football's disheartening Week 3 loss to Penn State.

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4. Give Tank Bigsby the ball more

How can a team in 2022 enable its best offensive standout to carry the ball only nine times? It's ridiculous. Sure, the offensive line may be struggling big time, but failing to find inventive methods to get your greatest player touches in favor of searching elsewhere (which has proven disastrous) is just not going to work.

Star Auburn RB Tank Bigsby had 11 total touches in the Tigers' home-field humiliation at the hands of No. 23 Penn State. The junior running back gained just 39 yards on nine rushes and another 38 yards on two catches.

The Tigers passed the ball 38 times despite not knowing who their starting quarterback would be. They ran 36 times with the ball. Only 25 percent of those rushes came from Bigsby, widely regarded as the SEC's most explosive running back. In fact, both Auburn quarterbacks (T.J. Finley and Robby Ashford) had the same number of carries or more.

To make matters worse, Penn State freshman Nick Singleton ran for 124 yards.

Why only 11 touches for Tank, who can surely live up to his name, right?

3. Tigers turnovers are a thing of ugliness

Against Penn State, Auburn football turned the ball over four times. Both quarterbacks threw interceptions, Finley fumbled three times and lost one, and WR Shedrick Jackson fumbled before the half ended.

The Tigers didn't need to shoot themselves in the foot four times against a top-25 opponent. No matter how good the home-field advantage is, if protecting the football is a problem, winning will be incredibly difficult.

Interceptions, poor on-field decisions, and fumbles are all the result of poor coaching. Occasional turnovers occur. But four in one game? That's just insane. More on the coaching later.

2. Auburn football's offense was a mess

Auburn football's current offense is perhaps worse than what former coach Gus Malzahn was running in 2020. The main issue, of course, is the inability to work past weaknesses or at least achieve some kind of consistency with the talent on the roster.

On first and second downs, the play calling was plain awful. There was no semblance of identity.

In the preseason, head coach Bryan Harsin stated that the offensive system desired balance, but that the Tigers would be a run-first team that controlled the tempo of the game. As mentioned above, Auburn was unable to run the ball well.

The two-quarterback system is also ineffective. It destroys momentum and pace.

To be honest, Auburn's quarterbacks aren't receiving much assistance from their offensive line. Penn State ended with 11 sacks and 11 tackles for loss. Still, when opponents don't fear your passing offense, it's much simpler for them to wreak havoc in your backfield. T.J. Finley finished with 11-of-19 passes for 152 yards and an interception. Robby Ashford took over in the third quarter and completed 10-of-19 passes for 144 yards, nearly half of which came in garbage time on the game's last possession.

Neither team had the ability to consistently stretch defenses vertically. That made it much more difficult for the Auburn attack to find open space. Given the kind of defenses the Tigers will face once SEC play begins, Saturday's performance was concerning. Auburn fans have to wonder if Texas A&M transfer Zach Calzada will actually join the fray soon.

The bottom line is that changes must be made. Something will have to give soon, which brings us to the last takeaway.

1. Bryan Harsin shaking in his boots?

During SEC Media Days, Bryan Harsin encouraged the media to simply watch his team's performance this season.

Well, everyone has been paying careful attention. Fans and media have seen Auburn football's product on the field deteriorate throughout the first three weeks of the season. Following a humiliating loss to Penn State, the next question is: when do the supporters begin to turn away?

Look, who knows what will happen versus Missouri next week? In October, the Tigers will face LSU, Georgia, Ole Miss, and Arkansas. November is slightly more manageable, but only by a hair. It's reasonable to ask how the squad we saw against Penn State wins six games and makes it to a bowl game. In all likelihood, that won't happen.

Assuming that's the case, what are the possibilities of Auburn coach Bryan Harsin returning in 2023? What are his odds of finishing the season? Fans can't overlook what almost occurred during the offseason or the fact that the athletic director who hired Harsin has left the organization. Harsin is in one of the most competitive seats in the country, and this win would have gone a long way toward giving him some time. Even a competitive loss may have instilled some confidence. That didn't happen, and the Tigers may not even finish 2022 with the same head coach calling the shots from the sideline.