What's wrong with Auburn quarterback Jeremy Johnson?

BATON ROUGE, La. — What happened to Jeremy Johnson? No one – including Auburn's coaches – seems to have the answer.

On Saturday, as LSU rolled past Auburn, the junior quarterback's struggles continued. He threw a first-half interception – six in three games – and it could easily have been more.

He was erratic in both throws and decision-making. His performance might have been summed up in an odd fumble when he was trying to throw and the ball slipped out of his hand backward. He recovered. But as the high expectations for both Auburn and Johnson have cratered in just the first three games, July seems like a long time ago.

That's when Johnson was one of Auburn's player representatives at SEC media days, fueling hype that included talk of the Heisman. But in sending him to media days, it was clear Auburn's coaches thought the growing hype was warranted.

Coaches don't tend to bring first-year starters to media days, especially at quarterback. This signaled something different about Johnson, and there seemed to be reason. A former Mr. Football in Alabama high school, he had been the buzz of insiders' talk at Auburn for two seasons, but had waited patiently behind Nick Marshall. In the 2014 season opener against Arkansas, with Marshall suspended for the first half, Johnson was 12-of-16 for 243 yards and two touchdowns. He completed his first eight attempts.

Before the season, the betting web site Bovada listed 10-1 odds for Johnson to win the Heisman. If it seems crazy now, go back to the obvious confidence from Auburn's coaches.

"I believe he will do everything he can to make us as good as we can be," Gus Malzahn said in July. "We have a lot of confidence in him."

Johnson played better in the second half against LSU, when the game was out of reach. What's the confidence level surrounding Johnson now? That's probably not a question anyone wants to answer.