The preseason was over, as important as it was. This was the game and it was the first one I have been truly excited about in awhile. Auburn started out on fire and took that early 11-0 lead. Everyone including me started thinking that there was no way State was taking us down tonight. Maybe all the sunshine pumpers who had already counted wins over the Mississippi schools plus Arkansas and Tennessee were right... or not. State stormed back and showed a lot of mettle on the road down double-figures. The rout quickly turned into an SEC slugfest with Auburn up 14-13 at halftime. It should have been 14-14 but Dan Mullen's ego overcame his good sense when he tried to match Auburn's two-point conversion with one of his own. Bad call coach.
State came out in the second half ready to go and drove down for a touchdown to give them a 20-14 lead. Auburn then took it right down the field but had to settle for a field goal and State stayed on top 20-17. The two teams then combined for nine consecutive possessions that ended with a punt, fumble or interception till the final drive of the game. It was excruciating to watch especially for Auburn who had the fumble and the interception. The hour was growing late and things were looking a lot like last year especially after State ran another four minutes off the clock and pinned us on our 12 yard line with less than two minutes left in the game.
I will admit it, I did not think these guys and especially Nick Marshall could do it. I pretty much gave up earlier in the quarter after Marshall missed a wide open Sammie Coates for a sure touchdown off the fake reverse. I thought maybe they could get in position for a field goal try but did not have a lot of confidence in that either. The stage was set... the "New Day" would truly dawn or last season would rear it's ugly head. The Auburn offense led by Nick Marshall then went the length of the field and scored the winning touchdown with seconds left in the game. Marshall was brilliant as was true freshman Marcus Davis and of course junior tight end C.J. Uzomah. This one might not go up there with many of the famous game-winning drives in Auburn history but it might be as significant.
It was significant for Marshall who overcame his early mistakes to join the 300-yards-in-a-game passing club at Auburn and lead a big-time game winning drive. Marshall has improved leaps and bounds from the season opener. He still has a long way to go but again accomplished something significant last night. It was big for true freshman Marcus Davis who out of nowhere has become Auburn's leader in receptions after three games. It appears Marshall and Davis are developing a connection. It was also nice to see the coaches get Quan Bray involved more this week.
Finally, it was great to see C.J. Uzomah back making plays. It was especially satisfying after somebody wrote last week: "I am also hoping that Malzahn is waiting to spring C.J. Uzomah on one of these upcoming big game opponents. Uzomah was another one of the only bright spots from last season. He is a very good receiver and playmaker that has not been used at all. Auburn was even throwing to Jay Prosch last night but Uzomah was nowhere to be seen. The coaches need to get him involved." I was hoping Malzahn would not let a playmaker like Uzomah go to waste and he did not. Great pass by Marshall, great catch by Uzomah. Touchdown Auburn.
This is a day to enjoy for Auburn fans but with a trip to LSU looming this week it is not a time for expectations to get out of hand. Auburn still does not have a good defense. Again, they are an improvement over the train wreck last year and 2011 but they have a long way to go to be a good defense. Auburn gave up another 400+ yards and another 20 first downs (19 to be exact) last night. Auburn could get no pass rush with four guys and let State shred them early with the read-option. I said last week Chris Davis was the biggest positive on defense and that sure looked true because Auburn missed him badly last night. I sure hope he will be back for LSU. State picked on his backup Ryan White a lot last night.
Auburn hit more of those dry periods on offense as well and while Marshall ended up with good stats for the night the Auburn rushing attack did not. The three-headed monster everyone including myself had been lauding got shut down. Auburn did not have one running back with even 50 yards rushing. State's big defensive line dominated the line-of-scrimmage much of the night. That does not bode well for LSU. There were also some crucial drops by Sammie Coates and Ricardo Louis that Auburn cannot afford in big games.
Auburn likely has little chance at LSU this coming weekend. LSU is not quite as strong as recent seasons but they still appear to have more talent than Auburn and a more experienced quarterback. Also Gus Malzahn's visits as an offensive coordinator to LSU in 2009 and 2011 were brutal beatdowns, 34-10 and 45-10. This will be another test for this team. Last year's team did fight in the few close games they had but absolutely quit as soon as a better team got rolling against them. Auburn has to reverse that trend as well and compete for four quarters even when they are outmanned. Hopefully this win has released Auburn to go down and play fast and loose in Baton Rouge.
Basically, anything outside a super-embarrassing blow out or crucial injuries happening next week should not ruin Auburn's season. The Tigers then have an open week to get ready for a more important game with Ole Miss at home. For now though, the streak is over and Auburn is 3-0 and 1-0 in the SEC. It has not been pretty but Gus Malzahn, his staff and the players finally proved it was a "New Day" in Auburn. The worst season ever has been laid to rest. It is a painful memory but not a relevant one anymore. Auburn will hit some serious roadblocks during this season but will also now hopefully grab a few more big wins.
It reminds me of the start of the book this blog is dedicated to. David Housel starts the book "Saturdays To Remember" with Shug Jordan's first game as head coach at Auburn against Vanderbilt in 1951. Like last year, Auburn had gone winless in the SEC (and overall) the year before Jordan got there. Like this game, Auburn's game against Vanderbilt was a tough but winnable game. Like this year, Auburn desperately needed an SEC win to stop a vicious losing streak and restore confidence. In very similar fashion Auburn won that game 24-14. Housel wrote "The famine was over" and then quoted a reporter from the Birmingham News, Zipp Newman, who said "you can call them Tigers again - and mean it."
I think that sums it up after this game as well. Auburn took a big step forward last night, the famine is over and now you can call them Tigers again - and mean it.
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