- SPECIAL TEAMS. Auburn's special teams were a complete disaster outside of punter Steven Clark. Senior kicker Cody Parkey could not kick the ball out of the end zone like he normally does and missed a chip shot field goal. Auburn got a roughing the kicker penalty. Auburn players fumbled three different kicks and were extremely fortunate to get them all back. Auburn allowed Florida State to run a successful fake punt for a first down that literally turned the entire game around. This might have been the worst blunder of the day as everyone I know saw it coming. I was texting the series before "watch for the fake!". It was obvious they were going to try it and I do not know why we did not just play straight defense with one guy back on 4th and 5 or less. Finally the special teams gave up the big kickoff return for a touchdown late in the second half. The Auburn special teams have been so good and helped win so many games this year. I was shocked at how bad they were in this game. They just did not seem prepared.
- FIRST DOWN. There were several key first down plays where Auburn ran the ball with Florida State completely selling out to stop the run. Coach Malzahn has said all year long Auburn has a "run/play action" offense. Auburn should have done a lot more play action plays on first down. It was obvious Auburn was not going to be able to drive all the way down the field consistently without making the Noles pay for all out run blitzes on first down. Yes Auburn had some big runs on first down but had TEN first downs where they ran the ball for 2 yards or less. Auburn should have called play action passes on more than half of those and would have 3 or 4 more huge plays. The coaches got too conservative here.
- HOLDING! This new trend of the refs trying to keep games more entertaining by not calling holding is beyond ridiculous. First on Sunday the refs single-handedly kept the Packers in the game against the 49ers by not calling one of the worst holding plays I have ever seen. The Packers lineman literally grabbed a 49ers defensive lineman and pulled him off of Aaron Rogers allowing Rogers to make a huge play and keep them in the game (I was cheering for the Packers too). Then in this game NOT ONE HOLDING PENALTY WAS CALLED ON FLORIDA STATE. Yes on a team that threw the ball 35 TIMES not one holding penalty was called. I hate to complain about the refs but this has to be said. DEE FORD WAS LITERALLY DRAGGED TO THE GROUND AT LEAST THREE TIMES IN THE GAME. The refs make just one or two CORRECT holding calls that might have killed a couple of Florida State's drives and Auburn wins. Yes they missed a facemask and a horse collar on Auburn but they also missed a few non-holding calls against Florida State that balanced that out. That has nothing to do with not calling blatantly obvious holds. It undermines the integrity of the game.
- TACKLING. After all that is said, at least make Florida State go the length of the field to win. Instead Auburn lets a short slant go for 50 yards and that pretty much did it. An Auburn defender again knocked another Auburn defender off the ball just like the 99 yard pass Bama completed. You just cannot give that to them. You have to make them earn it.
Auburn played good other than these breakdowns and again should have won the game. Tre Mason had almost 200 yards rushing. Quarterback Nick Marshall had an up and down day. He threw for 200 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for another one but he also threw a critical interception that led to a Florida State touchdown and seemed to make some bad reads running and passing in the second half of the game. Overall though Marshall played a good game. The Florida State defense is definitely one of the best Auburn has played all season but the offensive line held their own. Again if Auburn just would have attempted a few more play action passes I think it would helped these guys out a lot and won the game.
The Auburn defense played their guts out. They did so well in the first half before losing some steam in the second half. I thought the coaches got too conservative in the second half. Auburn blitzed successfully in the first half and should have done more of it in my opinion. Again though it sure makes it hard when our best defensive player is getting held on every passing play. My only real complaint with the defense is the one big play on the final drive.
I will look back on this season with great affection but this one will stick in my craw. Younger Auburn fans just do not understand how hard and how many things have to go right to get in this position at the end of the year. Auburn has been hosed so many times. Auburn will have many more great teams in the coming years but we might not be back in this position for a long time. You have to capitalize on your opportunities when you get here especially when you get a 21-3 lead and just have so many other opportunities to win the game.
With that said, my hat is off to the 2013 Auburn Tigers. They are this generation's "Amazins". They brought Auburn back from the worst season ever and won the SEC championship and played for a national championship. That may be the most amazing accomplishment in Auburn football history. They did the impossible. I will never forget taking my younger son to the Georgia game and seeing "The Miracle at Jordan Hare". I will never forget taking my older son to the Iron Bowl and seeing the "Kick Six" and the overwhelming celebration after the game. It is still great to be an Auburn Tiger. WAR EAGLE.
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