Good gosh it was hard watching even that. I literally wince now every time I see Auburn make a first down and then have to watch Gus do that idiotic hurry-up motion to watch us run up the middle EVERY STINKING TIME. It cost us a national championship and it makes me mad every time I have to watch it. I guess with all the upsets we see around college football Auburn cannot take for granted blowing anybody out but man it is still hard to watch. I have said it before and I will say it again, Gus Malzahn never uses these games to get better at passing the ball. He never has and he never will. He just bludgeons the outmanned opponent running the ball and again he does it EVERY STINKING TIME. He got what he wanted last night with 467 yards rushing.
Can we get anything out of this game? I will say the pass Bo Nix threw on the flea-flicker was very nice. I have seen that pass thrown a little late or underthrown many times because the quarterback does not want to mess it up. It is not as easy as it looks. Jarrett Stidham missed one of those last season. Nix though released it at the right time and hit Eli Stove in stride. It was a beautiful pass. I liked seeing Joey Gatewood get some good playing time. He was of course just running the ball and not practicing what he needs to practice most but hey at least he got out there. I guess it is good that the offensive line can blow Kent State off the ball and the running backs can make big plays.
The team had better have enjoyed it because the preseason is over. Auburn's entire conference schedule lays before them with only a bye week and a game against Samford on November 23rd as the only breaks. It starts next week with the biggest game of the season at Texas A&M. As I said last week I think it will determine if Auburn can have a good season or another Music City bowl or worse season. The offense is what it is. Auburn will try to run the ball and hope for a few big play-action pass plays. The defense will try to improve against the pass after taking a bit of a step back allowing Kent State to pass for over 200 yards. The biggest question on defense though is if Derrick Brown is OK after an injury last night and will he be full speed against the Aggies. He is not replaceable.
I guess this would be a good time to look around the conference and do a little analysis but there is not a whole lot to say there either. Bama, Georgia and LSU look far ahead of everyone else. Auburn and Florida are in the top ten but Florida just lost their starting quarterback Felipe Franks for the season and Auburn has a true freshman quarterback. Bama, Georgia and LSU all have veteran quarterbacks that are playing extremely well. Back to Florida, I never hope anybody gets hurt but you cannot ignore the fact that it could really help Auburn IF they can win against Texas A&M. Overall though since Bama has LSU at home it sure looks like it will be Bama and Georgia in Atlanta again...
Auburn though really does have to take it "one game at a time" from here on out. Auburn at Texas A&M is not only a big game in my opinion, it is by far the biggest game in the Southeastern Conference next week. Right now it is #8 Auburn at #16 Texas A&M and it will be on CBS at 2:30pm as the game of the week. I will also say this is not just the game of the week or just a critical game for Auburn 2019 season. I think this game could also have a huge impact on Gus Malzahn's career at Auburn. It is all on the line next week. The preseason is definitely over.
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