Game 4 Review: Early Returns Are In

Auburn 28  Texas A&M 20.  As I have been saying the last couple of weeks I thought this game was really big for Auburn.  It had an election-night-type feel to it.  A definite decision was going to be made on this team.  Based on last year's game I felt A&M had the edge but I have to give it to the Auburn linemen on both sides of the ball.  They both dominated the line of scrimmage most of the day.  I thought last week that Derrick Brown would be a key factor in this game but I sure could not envision the terror he wreaked on the Aggies.  Brown had two sacks and three tackles for a loss.  He also made millions of dollars in that game because barring injury he will be a top pick in the NFL draft.  He was not alone either as the rest of the defense helped hold A&M to 56 yards rushing.

On the other side of the ball Prince Tega Wanogho and the offensive line led the way.  The signature moment was on Boobee Whitlow's eight yard touchdown run to effectively seal the game with eight minutes left in the fourth quarter.  On that play Tega Wanogho pushed his guy almost all the way to the end zone.  I was pretty impressed.  The offense had some great moments but also struggled at times as well.  However overall it was an extremely impressive win.  I think it will give the Tigers momentum going into another huge game in the Swamp in two weeks (if Auburn can take care of Mississippi State this week).  Finally it was big for head coach Gus Malzahn.  That was Auburn's first win on the road against a ranked team in a long time.

THE GOOD
This section is pretty easy this week.  Auburn looked well prepared and ready to play on both sides of the ball.  That is a big deal.  As I said above it definitely started in the trenches but the guys behind the line took advantage.  On defense the secondary again stood out led by Noah Igbinoghene's eight solo tackles.  These guys are bringing a lot of energy and you can never take for granted good open field tackling.  It is rare at every level of football these days.  The linebackers are not far behind and K.J. Britt is really showing he is the player he was hyped to be in the offseason.  He was second in tackles on Saturday and really seems to be playing with that reckless abandon that you like to see. 

On offense, Anthony Schwartz finally returned for real and made a huge impact on this game.  He got Auburn out to the big start it needed with his 57 yard touchdown run on the Tigers' opening drive.  He also had another big catch and run to help Auburn on another touchdown drive.  It was also good to see Malzahn and company finally call some of the plays us "dumb" fans have been calling for years.  First, hey great idea bringing in the "wildcat" quarterback in a running situation (2nd and goal) but then throwing to the blocking tight end.  I would have liked to have seen this play a couple more times the last six years.  Actually this play kind of got messed up and Joey Gatewood made a great adjustment and throw.

These thoughts go double for Auburn's next touchdown.  Bo Nix dropped straight back and threw a strike to Seth Williams on the SLANT.  Again good call and one just about every Auburn football fan who knows anything about the game has been asking for over and over.  The slant play is a basic passing play that should be used several times every game either for a quick strike or a fake.  It opens up so much.  First if you have a big strong receiver and you throw it right then it is almost unstoppable.  However if the defense overplays the slant the receiver can run the "sluggo" or slant-and-go route.  I believe I saw Bama score twice on that route this weekend when Southern Miss was trying to jump the route.  

Finally, I liked going to Whitlow to close it out.  That has worked well so far this season and later in the second half with a good lead is when you really want to go to that running game.  I also thought that running Bo Nix a few more times on the read option really helped the running game as well.  I do not want to do it a whole lot and get him hurt but in the Malzahn offense you really have to run the quarterback a few times.  Overall there is just not much to dislike in this game for Auburn on offense, defense or special teams.  There were some lapses and there are always definite places for improvement on both sides of the ball but going into a place like Texas A&M against a good team and getting a win like that is about all you can ask.

THE BAD
The bad is Auburn winning this game and showing it is a good team and getting momentum... and then looking at the schedule again.  It is simply not fair and completely ridiculous.  It is never fair in college football but at Auburn things just get progressively worse in that department.  Right now Auburn still has the #2, #3 #4 and #9 TEAMS IN THE COUNTRY TO PLAY (with two of those games on the road).  On top of that if somehow Auburn won the West they would have to play either the #3 or #9 team AGAIN like in 2017.  I have been very hard on Gus Malzahn but COME ON, nobody and I mean nobody, and yes I am including Nick $aban, is winning a championship against that schedule.

It all basically comes down to who you play from the East.  Auburn's goal every season is first to win the Western division.  At this point Auburn is basically competing with Bama and LSU to do that.  The schedule each team plays against the East becomes a huge part.  Bama plays two complete LOSERS this season in South Carolina and Tennessee.  There is no debate, both of those teams are terrible.  LSU plays Florida and Vanderbilt.  There is no debate, Vanderbilt is terrible.  Auburn plays Florida and Georgia.  You can nitpick Florida but they are miles ahead of South Carolina, Tennessee and Vanderbilt and that will be proven over the season.  Georgia has already proven they are one of the best teams in the country.  The schedule is just bad and will be too much for Auburn.

THE UGLY
I just read an article about what I was going to write about here.  There is only one thing I think you can write about it in this spot with the Mississippi State game coming up and that is the humiliating beat down State put on Auburn last season.  Nobody talked about it in the offseason but it was definitely one of the ugliest regular season conference losses I have seen.  It seems Gus Malzahn and I finally agree on something... "We are playing a very good Mississippi State team; a team that really just, bottom line, embarrassed us last year," Malzahn said.  "THEY JUST LINED UP AND WHIPPED US... THAT WAS A TOUGH ONE.""  

State rushed for almost 350 YARDS without the threat of a passing game and beat Auburn 23-9.  This vaunted defensive line that played so well this past weekend was ABSOLUTELY MAULED.  Malzahn went on and said there was nothing left to say, "THEY EMBARRASSED US."  Derrick Brown echoed Malzahn and said there was nothing left to say about it and that is was "time to go to work".  It is a rare occasion when the team and fans are in complete unison but it sounds like this week is one of those times.  The unfair scheduling and Auburn's championship chances will take a backseat this week.  This game coming up is about pride and redemption.

I do not "talk big" on this blog very often.  I think I spend much more time on where Auburn can improve in order to win a championship but not this week.  I think this is one of the rare times where I will say that State better watch out and they better come to play because I do not think we are getting the same old cliches or coachspeak this week.  For the first time in maybe his entire career I think Gus Malzahn is being dead honest talking to the press.  I will give Gus the last word here this week:  "It is a completely new year, but at the same time, when you have experiences, whether you are a player or a coach YOU REMEMBER.  AND WE HAVE GOT TO RESPOND."  This Saturday we will see the response.