Game 5 Review: A BIG First Step

Auburn 41  LSU 7.  In a day of upsets around the country the Auburn Tigers played their finest game so far this season and absolutely destroyed the Tigers from LSU.  The buzz was in the state of Mississippi and people always quickly dismiss Auburn opponents but this was a big big win.  Les Miles has absolutely owned Auburn since arriving in Baton Rouge.  Auburn’s only wins against him were barely edging him in 2006 and having to have one of the greatest single game performances in Auburn history by Cam Newton to win in 2010 (and even that one was too close for comfort).

 

LSU has been Auburn’s nemesis for as long as I can remember.  They were the only team to beat Sullivan and Beasley twice (putting huge dents in those great seasons).  They are the only team to beat the 1972 Amazin’s.  They gave Auburn what I consider the worst loss in the program’s history in 1988.  They helped keep Auburn out of Atlanta in 1995 and 1996 in heartbreaking fashion.  They gave Auburn their only SEC loss of the season and once again kept them out of Atlanta in 2005.  Finally they were the only one to beat last year’s team in the regular season.

 

Enough was enough.  The word is Gus Malzahn asked the players in the locker room before the game who had beaten LSU.  Only fifth year senior Jeffrey Whittaker could raise his hand.  Malzahn asked them the same question after the game last night and there were a lot more hands in the air.  This was a big game for Auburn outside the rankings and all of that.  This was a statement game and a statement was made.  Regardless of what happens this season, this was a big win.

 

THE GOOD

Well just about everything was good on this night.  It started with the Auburn crowd.  It appeared to me that this was one of those games where there was just a buzz in the air.  The TV commentators even noticed it and the players certainly fed off of it.  Jordan Hare Stadium does not get the hype of some other places but it is one of the toughest places to play in the country and Gus Malzahn has still not lost there as a head coach.

 

The next big thing was Bama going down to Ole Miss as the game started.  It set the stage for a perfect Auburn Saturday.  The defense came out strong holding LSU to a three-and-out to open the game and then the offense “unleashed hell” after that.  Auburn went down the field and started the scoring with a field goal and after that would score four touchdowns before half time.  The defense would completely stymie the LSU offense other than one lucky pass.

 

LSU would finish the game 0-13 on third down conversions.  Their starting quarterback would finish 3-of-14 for 58 yards.  The Auburn D would hold LSU to only 138 yards rushing and less than 300 yards of total offense.  Yes I think it was a bad decision to start a freshman on the road against a top five Auburn team but this was an outstanding defensive effort.  I think Nick Ruffin had the statement play of the night blowing up LSU wide receiver Malachi Dupre.  He got penalized for targeting and tossed from the game but in this case it was worth it.  LSU has been the more physical team way to many times in this rivalry but not this night.

 

The only thing better than the Auburn defense this night was the offense.  Quarterback Nick Marshall finally returned to form and put up an all-time individual performance with over 100 yards rushing with 2 touchdowns and over 200 yards passing with 2 touchdowns.  Marshall’s versatility was unbelievably overpowering in this game.  Auburn was much more balanced as everyone including this blogger has been begging them to do.

 

The biggest story apart from Marshall was the return of Sammie Coates who had four catches for 144 yards and a touchdown.  Everyone has been waiting for Coates to get better and make an impact and he finally did.  Cameron Artis-Payne had another 100 yards rushing as well and I also liked getting him involved as a receiver.  On top of all that we were also reminded how good Jeremy Johnson is as well as he threw maybe the prettiest pass of the game off a reverse flea-flicker type play.  Johnson came off the bench and hit Coates 50 yards down field all the way across the field.

 

THE BAD
The bad this week is the fact that Mississippi State looks like the real deal as Auburn heads to Starkville this next weekend.  State dominated Texas A&M (although not on every snap as coach Dan Mullen so modestly put it) right after whipping this same LSU team last week in Baton Rouge.  Quarterback Dak Prescott looks like the real deal and the closest player to Cam Newton I have seen since Cam.  Prescott like Marshall was brilliant through the air and on the ground.

 

Coach Dan Mullen has worked patiently at State and this year his work seems to have finally borne real fruit.  His team does not look like a good team for State but a top ten contender.  It is going to be a real slobberknocker this coming weekend in Starkville.  State’s defense has also looked like the real deal as most of the yards and points they have given up the last two weeks have been with a big lead.

ESPN Game Day has already stated they will be there as this next weekend’s showdown looks like the biggest game of the week by far.  It also looks like the biggest game ever between Auburn and Mississippi State.  I think Auburn has more talent overall but State has the homefield advantage and that “team of destiny” tag this season.  I see this game as being just about a pick’em.  After this weekend’s other games the winner will have sole possession of top spot in the SEC West.

THE UGLY
The ugly this week is the scenes in Eugene, Norman and Tuscaloosa as some of the media’s biggest darlings went down.  For all the grief Auburn got for an ugly win at Kansas State the bottom line was they won in a huge trap game.  Oregon would sure swap places as they got trapped again on Thursday night falling to Arizona for the second year in a row.  Gary Patterson looks like he has TCU back rolling and the win over Oklahoma has them back in the national picture.

Finally the Ole Miss defense and senior quarterback Bo Wallace plus his receivers came up big in one of the biggest games in modern Ole Miss history.  The Rebels slayed the biggest dragon on their schedule taking out Bama in Oxford with the whole country watching.  Unfortunately Bama is not near dead yet but they definitely took a hit dropping that one.  They will have no more margin for error the rest of the season.

THE LAST WORD
I stated last week that the top contenders in the East were now Georgia and Missouri.  That became even more true this week as South Carolina went down again as did Tennessee.  Kentucky got a huge win against South Carolina and I think they might grab another big win or two but I think it will be Georgia or Missouri that wins the East.

Tennessee coach Butch Jones just cannot get a break.  He desperately needed to break Tennessee’s decade long losing streak to Florida and had the perfect opportunity against a bad Gator team but came up short.  It might be a season wrecking loss for the Vols.  I think Florida fans would have rather seen Tennessee win as well as the victory might help embattled Coach Will Muschamp survive another season.

The SEC West looks like it will be an unbelievable battle.  Either Auburn or Mississippi State will go down this next weekend and the winner will have a long way to go.  Every team really has to go with the ultimate cliché and take them one at a time.  This next weekend it is the Tigers vs. Bulldogs in as I said above the biggest game of the week and in the history of the series.  Will Auburn win another big one or will Mississippi State take their biggest step yet into the running for a championship?