Game 12 Review: Just BETTER

Auburn 26  Bama 14.  You grow up Auburn, you grow up cheering for the underdog.  You grow really identifying with David in the whole David vs. Goliath story.  It is just part of Auburn.  It still is and always will be and it was still a factor the last three weeks as Auburn was an underdog to both Georgia and Bama.  However last night Auburn was Goliath, Auburn was the stronger team.  It has happened before like in the late 80s and early 2000s but not during the $aban era other than his first year in 2007.  Auburn delivered $aban two absolutely gut-wrenching losses in 2010 and 2013 on great comebacks but last night Auburn was just the better team beating the #1 undefeated 11-0 Crimson Tide.

I have to say I have never seen a year like this or a coach do what Gus Malzahn has done although I have to say this season does closely resemble the 1989 season.  Both teams were trying to find their indentity early in the season and struggled losing two tough games but flipped that proverbial switch somewhere along the way and finished super strong beating an undefeated Bama team.  However this season does stick out for how bad Auburn looked in their tough early losses.  After the LSU game I could not even imagine this ending.  I am not sure even now knowing all I do about sports how a team could look that bad and then play this good.  It is simply amazing.

I do not take back anything I have wrote about Gus Malzahn.  He has looked that bad the last three seasons and in those early losses this season.  I can only consider the evidence before me and as I wrote after the LSU game, the mountain of evidence was massive against him.  It looks now that the LSU game finally got him to change enough to allow this team to grow and improve and become the team we have seen the last three weeks.  It was not a huge blaring change but a subtle one.  You saw an extra pass here and there, a play against his entrenched tendencies, not going quite as conservative late, etc...  He is still maybe the most stubborn man I have ever come across but evidently blowing that LSU game and the fallout from it finally got through to him.

Gus Malzahn has now completed the test that separates good solid long-term coaches from shooting stars like Gene Chizik and Terry Bowden.  Those coaches were great and the perfect match for one single season but faltered soon after.  Malzahn like Coach Dye and Jordan before him has now had great success, faltered and then built it back up again and is on the cusp of being the second coach in modern Auburn history to win the SEC multiple times.  However let me stop there and say that Auburn will have a big challenge beating a very good Georgia Bulldog team twice in a month.  It will certainly not be easy but man it is going to be a fun week looking forward to the biggest Auburn vs. Georgia game of all-time.  Auburn vs. Georgia for the SEC Championship in Atlanta.  It just does not get any better than that.

My oldest son and I on the field!

THE GOOD
The Auburn fans especially the students have really brought it against Georgia and Bama.  They created a real home field advantage that rattled both teams including Bama's two botched snaps.  Jordan Hare Stadium is usually not included among the loudest toughest stadiums to play in but in these last two big games no stadium has been tougher or louder.  I feel extremely fortunate to have been in the stadium these last two games and soak up this unbelievable atmosphere.  I think the defense is the catalyst.  It is hard to keep that fervor when your defense is bending every drive and the other team is scoring a lot even if your team is winning.  That brings us too...

THE GREAT
I knew the Auburn defense was good early this season.  I commented there was something special about them several times early in the season.  They had chemistry, leadership and energy.  You could just feel it.  They were very good against Georgia but Georgia had a freshmen quarterback playing his first big SEC road game.  The Auburn defense was great against Bama.  They shutdown the Bama juggernaut and the reigning SEC Offensive Player of the Year in Jalen Hurts.  I has been a long time since an Auburn defense has gone toe-to-toe with a great Bama team and won this decisively.  They held the Tide to 3 for 11 on third downs and shut out them out in the first and fourth quarters.

Also great this day was the Auburn offense.  Quarterback Jarrett Stidham was simply spectacular going 21 for 28 for 237 yards plus rushing for 50 yards and a critical touchdown.  Auburn fans have seen all season the flashes of how good this guy is and he then put it all together at exactly the right time in the biggest game of the season.  He made great throws and he made great decisions on when to throw it away and when to run.  Right now, Jarrett Stidham is the best quarterback in the SEC.  There is also a good argument that Kerryon Johnson is the best running back in the SEC.  He did it all Saturday running the ball, catching the ball and even throwing the ball in the signature play from this great Iron Bowl victory.  It had to have been one of the greater single play calls in Auburn history. 

It was a play that has been three years in the making.  I think Kerryon has been doing the "wildcat" play for Auburn that long and has never thrown the ball out of it.  It was a perfect call, perfect throw and perfect catch.  After that Kerryon continually pounded the Bama defense getting those tough positive yards inside.  He finished with over 100 well earned yards rushing.  He walked off the field injured but as the crowd chanted his name you knew he was still one of the MVPs this day.  Now every Auburn fan out there is hoping Kerryon can play next week, Auburn will certainly need him.  I have to also give a shout out to the new single season catches leader in Auburn history, Ryan Davis.  His 11 receptions in this game are Auburn's Iron Bowl record and with 69 catches this season, Davis broke Darvin Adams' single-season record of 60 in 2010.

Of course behind every great performance by a quarterback and a running back is a good offensive line playing their guts out.  This Iron Bowl was no different as the Auburn offensive line battled a great Bama defensive line all day and held their own.  It was like I read somewhere else this morning, this was a game played in 4 and 5 yard increments.  There were big plays but the majority of the game was a "mano a mano" battle in the trenches which Bama usually thrives on but Auburn won this day.  To put it in Pat Dye's terms, Auburn was more than "man enough" to take on the Tide.  This was readily apparent on both sides of the ball.  It also shows the one thing Gus Malzahn and his staff has done right the last few years and that is recruiting.  In the shadow of the greatest recruiting machine of all time run by $aban at Bama, Auburn was able to bring this team together.

TOOMERS



THE BAD
I hate to say anything negative after that game but I have to call out the refs.  You cannot do it when you lose or it is sour grapes so I will say it after one of Auburn's bigger wins.  What were these guys doing?  They would not call pass interference even when a guy is getting tackled before the ball gets there.  They call that deflection that hit the ground a touchdown catch for Bama. It was of course reversed but come on that was an easy call.  They then completely mess up the fourth down botched snap play.  Yes Auburn had 12 men on the field but Bama was not set and had multiple people moving.  It was a simple illegal procedure call.  The botched snap and 12 men made no difference because illegal procedure is a dead ball foul.  That is an easy easy call, again what were these guys doing???

THE SEC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
The Deep South's oldest and best rivalry will now be center stage in the 2017 SEC Championship game.  Auburn and Georgia fans have been waiting a long time for this.  It seemed many times that this would happen but it never has.  I know when this game first started I thought it would happen way before now but finally after 26 games here we are.  It also will be the first one of these in the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.  It should be an unbelievable atmosphere and game.  It will be the first to have a playoff spot on the line for both teams.  It is a playoff and championship game for both teams.  I think it will also be the first to feature a rematch of teams less than a month after the first game.

Auburn beat Georgia up pretty good two weeks ago and Georgia made a lot of mistakes.  I certainly expect a much closer game where Georgia cuts down on its mistakes.  The Bulldogs preparation for Georgia Tech will also certainly help against Auburn as well.  There is also the matter of Kerryon Johnson, Auburn would certainly not be as good without him.  That will be the biggest question going into the game.  However Georgia cannot escape one fact, freshman Jake Fromm will have to beat the best defense in the country for the Bulldogs to win.  On the other side, the Georgia defense will have to shut down the best quarterback in the conference.  It is tough to win a rematch but it is also tough to beat this Auburn team right now.  Let the build up begin...

Game 11 Review: The Stage is Set AGAIN

Auburn 42  Louisiana Monroe 14.  Yes, once again this post is late and yes once again it is due to soccer tournaments!   It is hard to cover all these sports in one weekend.  Luckily this game was a snoozer that next to nobody cared about.  It was just a necessary step this weekend for Auburn and Bama to get to this week and the big showdown in the Iron Bowl.  So here we are, for the second time the Iron Bowl will decide the SEC West champion and possibly a lot more.  The stage is set again for another monumental game in this epic rivalry.  While I prefer the Georgia game to this hate fest, there is no getting around how big this game and how great this rivalry is when both teams are good. 

There is really not much to say about the Louisiana Monroe game.  The team was flat and there was probably no avoiding that but everything ended up looking right by the end.  Kerryon turned in another good performance.  Jarrett Stidham despite a few mistakes had a another good day and his favorite targets, Darius Slayton and Ryan Davis, once again did most of the work catching the ball.  The offensive line was solid and well as the defense although watching Jeff Holland go down was simply terrifying.  A couple of other defenders got dinged up as well.  The only casualty right now appears to be Tre' Williams which stinks but hopefully it is not any worse.  That was pretty much the only thing I cared about in this game outside of getting the win was injuries.

Initial thoughts on Iron Bowl... I am a little disturbed from surfing different Auburn sites.  It just seems a lot of Auburn fans seem to think that because of great wins in 2010 and 2013 that some mystical forces are guaranteeing an Auburn win.  It just does not work that way.  Auburn won in 2010 because of a good team and the greatest quarterback in Auburn history.  Auburn won in 2013 because of an incredible playmaking offense and opportunistic defensive and special teams play.  It was not mystical forces.  This year's Auburn offense despite their stat padding against the dregs of the conference is not as good on offense as the 2013 team at that point.  Also other teams now know all of Malzahn's tendencies especially Bama defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt who started Malzhan's downfall stopping Auburn's 2013 offense in the second half of the national championship.

The good thing is the defense is miles ahead of the 2013 defense.  However this defense has shown over the past two seasons it is susceptible to the big pass play against good teams.  Auburn has just been lucky not to play many of those.  Jalen Hurts for all his detractors is a playmaker, a lot like Nick Marshall.  He has not lost one game except for the national championship game where the defense let him down as he has put Bama back on top.  The guy is a winner.  I would much rather face Bama's backup.  It is unbelievable the complaining I hear from Bama fans about this guy.  He is on his way to maybe becoming the winningest quarterback in Bama's long and storied history.

Bama's offensive line and running backs are as good or better than Georgia and their wide receivers are better.  The Auburn defense as good as it is will have their work cut out for them.  On the other side, Bama's defense is a little down due to injuries.  However people are also taking this too far.  The Bama defense might not be it's usual juggernaut self but it is still very good.  You also have to look at the Gus Malzahn factor.  People are completely overreacting to the Georgia game.  As I wrote, that was the perfect situation for Auburn and while the offensive coaches called a better game they still made mistakes in the red zone that resulted in field goals not touchdowns.  Auburn feasted on Georgia mistakes to blow the game open.  I do not believe Bama will make those mistakes.

Prediction?  Auburn is good enough to beat Bama at home.  I believe that.  However right now unfortunately if I have to pick I just do not think Malzahn has changed enough to beat Bama.  He is still not balanced enough despite the yardage totals.  Auburn pads those passing stats by making every jet sweep a pass and all the swing passes that are basically runs.  Even in the Georgia game, Jarrett Stidham did not do many straight drop back passes. 

I believe straight passing is the only way to beat Bama outside the rare exception like the 2013 team.  I do not believe all of Auburn's motion and misdirection will work against Bama.  Basically in my gut I still do not believe in Gus Malzahn on offense.  It will take more than the Georgia game to get me to forget the Clemson and LSU games and three seasons of terrible offensive plans and play calling in big games.  I hope I am wrong.  I will be there to find out.  It is time for the IRON BOWL.

Game 10 Review: THE PERFECT STORM

KERRYON JOHNSON

32 carries for 167 yards rushing

2 catches for 66 yards and a touchdown

NICK CHUBB

11 carries for 27 yards

 

Auburn 40  Georgia 17.  My last words on my late last post on Friday were:  "This game really sets up well for Auburn.  The Tigers even with Malzahn are due to play well against Georgia.  Georgia is a running team with a freshmen quarterback coming to Jordan Hare.  AUBURN IS THE UNDERDOG even though they have a very good team.  I mean this is the perfect storm..."  I certainly did not see an Auburn blowout win coming but this really seemed like the perfect situation for the Tigers in a really big game.  That definitely turned out to be the case as the Auburn coaches and players took advantage of this great situation and did their best job of the season and annihilated the Georgia Bulldogs.  This Tiger storm washed away a lot of frustration and heartache against Georgia in one glorious night.  No mater what happens in two weeks this game mattered, a LOT.

 

Where do you start?  I will start with my walk to the stadium.  There were Georgia people everywhere and by time I had reached my seat I had just had enough.  I had enough of stupid losses to inferior Georgia teams the last two seasons.  I had enough of the blowouts to Georgia like in 2014, 2012, 2011, 2007, 2006 and 2003.  I had enough of the close losses like in 2002, 2008 and 2009.  Since blowing out Georgia in 1999, our only wins have been in 2000, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2010 and 2013.  In the last 17 years, our only two convincing wins were by two of the best teams in Auburn history in 2004 and 2010.  The others were in overtime or on the last play of the game.  I mean we only have six wins in 17 years against these guys, only six!  ENOUGH WAS ENOUGH.  The mantra started weeks ago...  BEAT GEORGIA.  BEAT GEORGIA.  BEAT GEORGIA.

 

The pregame at Jordan Hare was amazing.  It was another one of those rare games where something was in the air, you could feel it.  Georgia was coming in undefeated and #1 in the country.  The flyover was incredible and the eagle soared within 15 feet of my seat.  It was so loud by kickoff...  the stage was set... I was feeling good...  and then Georgia drove it right down our throat for a quick touchdown and 7-0 lead.  I was shocked.  I just did not see that coming.  I did not see Jake Fromm hitting that pass on the first drive.  I knew we were better than that and we were.  Georgia would not score another touchdown till the game was decided.  After that drive the Auburn defense rose up and turned in a performance that will become legend.  They held the #1 Georgia Bulldog rushing attack, the best in the SEC, to 46 YARDS (!!!???!!!), 46 YARDS ON OVER 30 CARRIES. 

 

After that opening drive, the Auburn defense thoroughly dominated the Georgia offense.  The defense also had four sacks and held the Bulldogs under 250 total yards.  It was a thoroughly dominating performance from top to bottom, from the line to the secondary and back.  This defense is a special group.  They have chemistry and leadership.  "The Sensei" Jeff Holland and Marlon Davidson leading the line, DeShaun Davis and Tre Williams leading the linebackers and Tray Matthews and Carlton Davis leading the secondary.  There are a lot more leaders and playmakers I am leaving out on all those units as well.  The guys started the season on fire and have rarely let down.  They certainly did not yesterday and put up their finest performance of the season.  They will give Auburn a chance in two weeks.

 

Auburn just has a unique history of running backs.  Frankly it is amazing.  Through the years they just keep coming, in my lifetime...  Joe Cribbs, James Brooks, Lionel James, Bo Jackson, Brent Fullwood, James Joseph, Stacy Danley, James Bostic, Stephen Davis, Rudi Johnson, Carnell Williams, Ronnie Brown, Kenny Irons, Ben Tate, Michael Dyer, Tre Mason, Kamryn Pettway and now...  Kerryon Johnson.  You saw the talent the last two seasons but he was held up by freak injuries and Pettway stole the show last season.  This season as people left and Pettway got in trouble and then got hurt it all came down to Kerryon.  Everyone including me kept thinking another injury would get him and that he was just not meant to be the every-down-thirty-carry type running back.  Well we were wrong.  Look at the line for the game:  32 carries for 167 yards rushing plus two catches for 66 yards and a touchdown.

 

Kerryon was amazing.  He is just such a smart player.  He did such a good job selling that he was blocking before flaring out on that last touchdown.  He also does as good a job at reading his blocking as any running back I have ever seen at Auburn.  He followed the Auburn offensive line and they led the way for him dominating in the trenches.  The line did a great job especially considering the constant shuffling having to be done due to injuries.  Jarrett Stidham completes the package with his continual improvement at quarterback.  This guy is good.  He will always be under utilized in the Malzahn offense but he still stands out.  With all the team's success, I have still seen a few "what-ifs" about Sean White the last two seasons.  I do not understand it, a fully healthy Sean White is just not near the quarterback Stidham is.

 

Much of the success for the Tigers this year has been because of the huge upgrade at quarterback.  Stidham just gives that next dimension to the passing game.  He is good on the short and long throws.  He is strong and accurate.  He needs to get a lot faster on his reads but unfortunately he will not learn that under Malzahn.  The coaches obviously called a better game than usual against Georgia.  They absolutely burned the Bulldogs on the two reverse screens for touchdowns.  Those were brilliant calls.  The most glaring error that continues to kill Auburn in the red zone is not throwing on second down.  They continue to wait for third down when they have to pass.  If they want to turn around their touchdown percentage in the red zone, they have to throw early and not wait till third down.  Put the ball in Stidham's hands.  He is your guy.

 

Luckily most of the mistakes were made by Georgia.  The Bulldogs are a very good team but their weak schedule and Auburn's play forced them to make a lot of mistakes.  They looked amazing on the first drive and then the bottom fell out.  Jake Fromm missed a wide open touchdown pass, they committed numerous dumb penalties and turned the ball over on a muffed punt to start the second half.  Their defense held them in it and the Bulldogs had a chance to make it a two point game at the half.  Georgia was in business at the Auburn 26 yard line with 22 seconds left and no timeouts.  The only play especially when you are down is to take two shots in the end zone and then kick the field goal.  Georgia head coach Kirby Smart decided to run up the middle???  That had to be have been one of the dumbest calls I have seen this season. 

 

Georgia missed the field goal after the dumb call and Auburn was up 16-7 at the half.  Jarrett Stidham would take it in for the touchdown to close the drive after Auburn recovered the fumbled punt.  Ryan Davis would take it to the house on the next drive burning an obvious Bulldog blitz.  Kerryon would burn them later over pursuing again.  I then got to watch two of the best signs that maybe Gus Malzahn is changing a little.  They had nothing to do with the game and everything to do with a change of mindset.  First, Gus challenged a generous spot for Georgia late in the game when it was well in hand.  That is a change in mindset.  Next backup quarterback Malik Willis was allowed to pass on last drive of the game with all the subs in.  Those two seemingly insignificant events spoke volumes to me.  I hope they are signs of change.

 

My final thoughts are on the amazing atmosphere before, during and after the game at Jordan Hare.  I have already talked about the pregame and it was amazing but it just kept getting better as the game went on.  The crowd was awesome and the students were incredible.  I have not seen the students that into a game in a long time.  I also loved Auburn bringing back a little "Soulja Boy" as payback for Georgia's little dance party in 2007.  Great job to whoever had that idea.  It has just been so long coming against Georgia that I think everyone enjoyed every minute of it.  Of course there is only one place to go after an Auburn win of this magnitude and that is Toomers.  My Dad, son and myself headed to Toomers immediately following the game and I saw something I have never seen before and I have been to a lot of games.  It seemed the entire stadium was heading to Toomers, everybody!  The scene when you got to Toomers was just as amazing.  The masses seem to cover the entire block as the Auburn family celebrated the biggest win on the plains since the Kick Six.

 

This one is now in the books and again no matter what happens in two weeks, it was a deeply significant win.  However the Iron Bowl is the Iron Bowl and this will be the second one to decide the SEC West Championship.  My early thoughts are Bama is a little bit better than Georgia on offense.  I am not sure they are better on defense but I think they will be coached better.  You would think Kirby Smart knows Gus pretty well but he made some mistakes I do not think Bama will make.  Auburn on the other hand is as good as the Tide and will be at home.  Bama is suffering a bit like Georgia from a ridiculously easy schedule.  Auburn has had some easy ones as well but has been to Clemson and had to travel to Baton Rouge where Bama's close win over Mississippi State was by far its toughest game of the season. It is shaping up to be another great one and I can only hope it all turns out like this win for the ages over a #1 ranked Georgia team.

Game 9 Review: Missing In Action

Auburn 42  Texas A&M 27.  Well everyone I am sorry for this late and pretty much non-existent post.  The boys soccer team I coach had a big tournament this weekend and we won.  It was a tough run as they had to win 4 games over two days this weekend.  It was a lot of fun and I am extremely proud of them but...  I completely missed the Texas A&M game.  I have gone back and watched the highlights and there is no doubt it was a big win and made Amen Corner a playoff once again.  Unfortunately the LSU game just continues to stick in my craw but Auburn still controls their own destiny to get to Atlanta. 

The GOOD is Gus Malzahn's recruiting at Auburn.  Auburn beat Texas A&M because they were a better team.  Jarrett Stidham is a damn good quarterback and he threw some beautiful passes against the Aggies.  He finished 20 of 27 for 268 yards and 3 touchdowns.  That is a great day.  The coaches have gotten off their duffs and thrown a few more passes the last few weeks.  Of course the big test will be this weekend but it was nice to see Stidham in that 25 to 30 pass range.  The offensive line did a great job of protection after a slow start and some changes.  That was the key and it will definitely be a big key this coming weekend.

Kerryon Johnson is also very GOOD and is just a man.  The guy is a playmaker and has come through big for Auburn this season.  He finished with 145 yards rushing plus 5 catches and a touchdown.  He will face his greatest tests the next two weeks and Auburn will be counting on him for some big plays however like I said above, the offensive line will determine a lot of that.  Darius Slayton had 99 yards receiving and Ryan Davis had 80 yards.  These two have become the go-to guys at wide receiver and they too will be pushed to their limit the next two weeks.  They will be bumped, grabbed and simply held a whole bunch against Georgia and Bama.  I hope they are up to it.

The defense did a GOOD job holding the Aggies to under 350 yards.  These guys continue to go to work and keep grinding even though a lot of guys are nicked up.  I think these guys match up well with Georgia.  If Georgia beats us, they will have earned it.  They are very good but they are a run-first team with a freshmen quarterback coming into Jordan Hare.  I look for our defense to make it hard for them.  The only really BAD thing other than a slow start by the offense was the Auburn kickoff coverage team allowing another long return.  The Tigers simply cannot afford to give Georgia or Bama great field position or points on bad special teams play.

The only UGLY thing I have seen this week was this announcement: "(Jay) Jacobs will serve as athletics director emeritus upon his resignation, a title provided to the outgoing athletics director by Leath."  I mean ARE YOU KIDDING ME???  It finally looks like we are going to get rid of this boob but now after the basketball program has died and multiple scandals have blown up they are going to give him ANOTHER JOB AND TITLE???!!!???  Probably more money???  This literally makes me PHYSICALLY SICK.  How much can one person leech off of one institution in a lifetime???  It is just flat out ugly.  The best article I have seen on Jacobs is from Kevin Scarbinsky of al.com.

He absolutely nails it with this quote:  "How will Jacobs the athletics director be remembered? As the smiling, backslapping, down-home, all-about-the-family former football walk-on who wore his faith on his sleeve? Or as a scheming, backstabbing, keep-it-down-home, all-about-himself manipulator whose public professions of faith masked his ability to throw people under the bus to consolidate his own power?"  UM I WILL GO WITH OPTION B!  The guy is a backstabbing, keep-it-down-home, all-about-himself manipulator whose public professions of faith masked his ability to throw people under the bus to consolidate his own power.

Oh well it is time to try and forget Jacobs for a weekend and forget Gus Malzahn and this offense will be back next season.  Auburn has a chance to knockoff #1 Georgia if Malzahn can keep his head out of his ass and just call a half decent game.  Unfortunately after Clemson and LSU this year and the LAST TWO GEORGIA games, I have serious doubts.  However this game really sets up well for Auburn.  The Tigers even with Malzahn are due to play well against Georgia.  Georgia is a running team with a freshmen quarterback coming to Jordan Hare.  AUBURN IS THE UNDERDOG even though have a very good team.  I mean this is the perfect storm...