Auburn 34 Arkansas 3. The Auburn offense under Gus Malzahn continues to find new ways to test us. This last Saturday even in a 34-3 win they manage to stink it up so bad that it ruins any joy gotten from a big win score-wise. I mean it is bad enough watching some of the horrific offensive performances we have seen in tough losses the last few years (2015-16 Georgia, 2016-17 Clemson, seemingly any game against LSU) but now these terrible performances are not only causing losses (LSU) but ruining wins. Again as I have said many times on this blog... I HATE THIS OFFENSE.
I find myself, as the title of this post indicates, so TIRED of watching the Gus Malzahn offensive system and completely UNINSPIRED after watching this latest offensive performance. It is of course compounded by the absolute demolition machine currently running in Tuscaloosa. The Tide seemingly have their strongest offense under $aban while Auburn continues to sputter under Malzahn. A bunch of senior offensive linemen, a very good defense and SEC MVP Kerryon Johnson got Auburn a big win against Bama last season but the teams seem to be going in opposite direcitons this season and that always makes things harder.
That leads into the Good, the Bad and the Ugly this week...
THE GOOD
The Auburn defense was good but Arkansas' offense this season is definitely one of the worst SEC offenses I have ever seen. They are awful and I mean AWFUL. I actually cannot believe they were able to rip off the few big plays they did. The have no line, they have no quarterback, they have no receivers, etc... The only player I saw that looked remotely decent was running back Rakeem Boyd. He had 8 carries for 66 yards and an 8.3 yards-per-carry average. Every other player was awful, uh why did they not get this guy the ball more? It was a good job by the defense though, you hold a team even one as bad as this under 300 yards total offense and you have done a good job.
The Auburn defense was good but Arkansas' offense this season is definitely one of the worst SEC offenses I have ever seen. They are awful and I mean AWFUL. I actually cannot believe they were able to rip off the few big plays they did. The have no line, they have no quarterback, they have no receivers, etc... The only player I saw that looked remotely decent was running back Rakeem Boyd. He had 8 carries for 66 yards and an 8.3 yards-per-carry average. Every other player was awful, uh why did they not get this guy the ball more? It was a good job by the defense though, you hold a team even one as bad as this under 300 yards total offense and you have done a good job.
The special teams though were the highlight of the night. They blocked two punts and Noah Igbinoghene took a kickoff 96 yards for the touchdown. Ryan Davis had 84 yards on two punt returns and Anders Carslon appears to have gotten on track under 50 yards. I mean that is just a monster night on special teams. It is good to see our special teams back being "special" after a couple of off years. Kudos to coach Larry Porter. He appears to have come in and done a great job. Decent special teams are something everyone takes for granted. Nobody notices until you stink it up and bad special teams usually lose games.
THE BAD
There really is no way around it now. Auburn's offensive line is just not that good. The sunshine pumpers continue to hold out hope. They say it is not too late, they can still come together. Heck I saw ol' Phillip Marshall on Auburn Undercover writing about how many stars each lineman had and try to prove they really are awesome no matter how bad they look on the field. You know that is desperation from a guy that has always expressed his dislike for recruiting rankings. I think these guys are really having to close their eyes and shut out reality to keep writing that stuff. The harsh facts tell a different story...
There really is no way around it now. Auburn's offensive line is just not that good. The sunshine pumpers continue to hold out hope. They say it is not too late, they can still come together. Heck I saw ol' Phillip Marshall on Auburn Undercover writing about how many stars each lineman had and try to prove they really are awesome no matter how bad they look on the field. You know that is desperation from a guy that has always expressed his dislike for recruiting rankings. I think these guys are really having to close their eyes and shut out reality to keep writing that stuff. The harsh facts tell a different story...
I read this stat this morning and I think it speaks for itself:
"Against the 119th-ranked defense in the country, Gus Malzahn’s offense was held to 225 yards (and UNDER 100 yards RUSHING). Its average starting field position was the Arkansas 49-yard line. It managed only 17 offensive points through three quarters."
"Against the 119th-ranked defense in the country, Gus Malzahn’s offense was held to 225 yards (and UNDER 100 yards RUSHING). Its average starting field position was the Arkansas 49-yard line. It managed only 17 offensive points through three quarters."
I mean come on, you can alibi for the offense against Washington and LSU but against this Arkansas team at home??? The same Arkansas team that got smoked at home last week to NORTH TEXAS. An Arkansas team that is much worse than their teams the last two years that Auburn destroyed 52-20 and 56-3. It was an abysmal performance by the Auburn offense no matter how you slice it and as always it starts up front. The running backs may have missed some holes and Jarrett Stidham definitely missed some passes but again IT STARTS UP FRONT. The running backs were frequently met in the backfield or the line got no push. Stidham was pressured and sacked four times.
Actually it starts with recruiting and Gus has not done a good enough job on the offensive line. We have some decent guys but these are guys you plug in around some really good guys like Braden Smith last season. There is no outstanding player to build around this season and that is on Gus. We will see this on the defensive line as well next season. There is just a huge difference between a 4 star wide receiver or "athlete" and a top offensive or defensive tackle. Great tackles on the offensive and defensive lines are really where great teams start. Auburn just does not have the talent up front and will continue to be exposed against good teams this season.
THE UGLY
I made the huge mistake of turning on the Bama game this past weekend and watching a few minutes of it. I mean COME ON. Bama is so ridiculously loaded it is hard to believe. It is also hard to believe that while they might not cheat as much now there has never even been a dim light shown on the "rules-stretching" that has gone on during the decade building up to this team. Where are the sports journalists from all across the nation whose sole purpose in life was to find dirt on Cam Newton and at Ole Miss and other schools. They are nowhere to be found and it appears the entire national media will not be happy till Bama wins every game 100-0. I just do not understand it.
I made the huge mistake of turning on the Bama game this past weekend and watching a few minutes of it. I mean COME ON. Bama is so ridiculously loaded it is hard to believe. It is also hard to believe that while they might not cheat as much now there has never even been a dim light shown on the "rules-stretching" that has gone on during the decade building up to this team. Where are the sports journalists from all across the nation whose sole purpose in life was to find dirt on Cam Newton and at Ole Miss and other schools. They are nowhere to be found and it appears the entire national media will not be happy till Bama wins every game 100-0. I just do not understand it.
You then add to that Nick $aban's constant abuse of the media and scolding of his own fans and you really wonder why nobody in the national media will take a hard look at this guy? You instead see one puff piece after another worshipping at his altar. This is while just a few years ago you had the New York Times publishing a completely false hatchet piece on Auburn every few months. Every other program seems to rise and fall while Bama and $aban just cruise on and it seems like the ride will never end. It certainly is not going to end this season as you combine Bama's overwhelming talent with their underwhelming schedule.
THE LAST WORD
Auburn gets Southern Miss next week before going all conference games the rest of the year till Liberty between Georgia and Bama. The preseason is about over and everything will probably look a bit better against Southern Miss. I think Auburn can still probably sweep October in conference as well against State, Tennessee and Ole Miss. That is no guarantee but they all have their problems as well and even with Auburn's shortcomings they have more talent than those teams. The Mississippi games will definitely be tough especially on the road but the defense should give Auburn a good chance to win those games.
Auburn gets Southern Miss next week before going all conference games the rest of the year till Liberty between Georgia and Bama. The preseason is about over and everything will probably look a bit better against Southern Miss. I think Auburn can still probably sweep October in conference as well against State, Tennessee and Ole Miss. That is no guarantee but they all have their problems as well and even with Auburn's shortcomings they have more talent than those teams. The Mississippi games will definitely be tough especially on the road but the defense should give Auburn a good chance to win those games.
The bills come due in November with three tough conference games with each one getting harder. First up will be Texas A&M who appears to be much better than I thought almost beating Clemson at home and doing decent against Bama for much of the game before it got away. The home team has also never won in this series since Texas A&M joined conference. Auburn assumed home wins over the Aggies in 2014 and 2016 and came away disappointed both times so the Tigers cannot over look A&M again. Auburn will have to be much better than this past weekend to have a chance to beat the Aggies. I am just not sure how much better Auburn can get on offense. They have the month of October to figure it out if they can...
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