Auburn definitely came out rusty. I mean no matter what you do in practice you just cannot simulate game speed and intensity. It is why so many bowl games are so bad. You just lose your edge. Auburn had definitely lost that edge. You add to that fact that Jeremy Pruitt has pretty much owned Gus Malzahn and things looked scary early. It was Pruitt at Florida State who figured out Gus' offense first and prevented Auburn from winning the national championship since Gus would not adjust. It was Pruitt at Georgia that crushed Auburn and it's great offense the next season. It was Pruitt leading the charge the next two years at Bama helping beat Auburn. Gus finally got Pruitt in 2017 but Pruitt got back on track the next year leading the Vols to the upset over Auburn in 2018.
He fortunately did not follow that one up with another upset this year as Auburn woke up and with Tennessee's help took control of the game. Here is the good, the bad and the ugly from this weekend...
THE GOOD AND THE BAD
The good in this game was the collective effort to come back after an abysmal first quarter. Auburn got the ball shortly after the second quarter started down 10-0 and Bo Nix had thrown an ugly interception in the end zone on Auburn's last drive. Things were not looking good. However Tennessee made some critical mistakes and Auburn was good and opportunistic enough to take advantage of them. The first big play came when Bo Nix hit a wide open Anthony Schwartz in stride for an easy first touchdown. It was a busted coverage but Auburn has missed plenty of those in the Gus era so kudos still to Nix for recognizing it and making a good throw. The defense then forced a three-and-out and the Auburn offense drove back down and tied the game 10-10 on an Ander Carlson field goal.
The half ended 10-10. The Tigers then took the ball first in the second half and drove down to get another field goal to go up 13-10. Kudos to Shaun Shivers and D.J. Williams for tough running with Tank Bigsby hurt early. You have to also give the Auburn offensive line credit for their work as well. The game completely turned though on a big play by the defense... After losing the lead for the first time in the game the Vols romped back down the field literally running over Auburn. There were runs of seven, eight, nine and 21 yards. This looked like it was fixing to turn into a shootout until beleaguered Tennessee quarterback Jarret Guarantano tried to force the ball into the end zone... and Smoke Monday was waiting. Monday then took it to the house and completely turned the game around in the process.
The Auburn defense was not good statistically on the night. In fact they would be the bad on this night. Tennessee had 28 first downs, 242 yards passing and 222 rushing. That is pretty bad defense but even in the midst of a tough night they made the plays when it counted. There was Monday's game changing pick six, there was the only forced three-and-out when it was needed most and there were four sacks and six tackles-for-loss at key times in the game. Once again I saw the overworked Daquan Newkirk down late in the game and watched him battle back to his feet and stay in the game. These guys keep battling and on this night it may have been the difference between winning and losing.
The Tigers would then drive for another touchdown and field goal to seal the deal. Auburn is now at five wins with an excellent chance for a winning season and even seven wins. It is definitely a big deal in this particular season. Gus Malzahn has done some really bonehead things at Auburn but he has held things together this season and at least kept Auburn a winning program. I have been one of his harshest critics but whenever I watch Tennessee I back off a little looking at the disaster they have become. All of my life till this last decade Tennessee was a top-tier football program. They are not anymore and I just do not see a lot of hope for a turnaround anytime soon from what I saw in this game. I think the biggest reason is great coaches and programs at Clemson and Ohio State ruling UT's recruiting territory.
THE UGLY
The ugly is going to be next week when this group of Tigers heads to Tuscaloosa to take on the Bama demolition machine. The college football system as a whole has always been a joke. It has always been a rigged unfair popularity contest but things have now gotten worse with so many more teams and only a few able to stack the talent. I have actually heard Bama fans talking about their "tough" years over the last 30 years and they have had a few but everyone else has had more and nowhere near the number of good years. They have built a ridiculous recruiting advantage led by Nick $aban both above and below board. I am not sure they are better than when Auburn upset them last year but Auburn is nowhere near as good on the offensive and defensive lines which spells certain doom.
It is again going to get ugly and it will take a great effort to keep it from getting completely out of hand as $aban will be looking for payback for Auburn embarrassing him so bad last season tricking him into a game losing penalty. I truly believe Bama will display little sportsmanship and leave the starters in for at least one or two drives past when they would usually come out to get their revenge. The Auburn defense is just not near good enough to slow down the Tide. I just hope the offense can do some damage as Auburn will bring a decent offense to Tuscaloosa for the first time since 2014. It is years like this that make you extra thankful for huge wins like last year's Iron Bowl. That game gets more amazing and more special the farther I get away from it. Heck I might replay it rather than watching Saturday...
The ugly for me also is the way Bruce Pearl is treated by the national media and people in general. He is called cheater and cheater over and over yet the people who say that cannot tell you what he has done. Bryan Matthews on Auburnsports.com today said it best: "He lied to the NCAA about a BBQ 12 years ago and paid for it with a three-year show cause. A BBQ. One of his assistants committed a crime and paid a price along with two of his players. That's it as far as I know so spare me your Pearl outrage. IT'S UNBEARABLY PRETENTIOUS AND CONTRIVED." Bama is on year twelve of the greatest college football recruiting in the history of the world with no questions asked while Pearl is put down and Auburn is self-imposing a postseason hoops ban this year. I just shake my head.
THE LAST WORD
The sad thing is that the Auburn football players on both sides of the ball will put everything into the Iron Bowl. They will give it everything they have and I am not sure how much they will have left for next week against Texas A&M which this year is a more important game. Auburn had some key players injured against the Vols in Tank Bigsby and Brodarius Hamm. It would be a miracle if more are not hurt this weekend against Bama. This game will not only hurt losing it but it could be much more devastating if it hurts Auburn badly in their next two games. That is now how things work in sports but it would be tough to take. Auburn has next-to-no chance at Bama but has a great chance of upsetting Texas A&M at home and beating State on the road to finish 7-3. Let's just get this next one over with...
Finally and more importantly I am incredibly fortunate and thankful to be here complaining about sports. This season seems to have a little more meaning in this year of turmoil. We have so much to be thankful for. Happy Thanksgiving to all.
How's the kicking game looking this year???
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