OFFENSE, SPECIAL TEAMS, and OFFICIATING
Auburn came out of the gates and scored FOUR STRAIGHT TOUCHDOWNS (!!!) AND LOST THE GAME. It is just mind-blowing. There are always a few small signs before an avalanche or a large collapse, a few falling pebbles and rocks. The signs before this one was a missed field goal and a blocked field goal. Those plays helped take the momentum away from Auburn and give it to State. I know the missed field goal was 55 yards but Carlson missed an easier one last week and is supposed to be one of Auburn's greatest kickers. He has not shown that this year and did not come through here when we desperately needed him too. The blocked field goal was not his fault but is on the line and thus on the special teams coaching which has definitely looked suspect the entire season.
However even with the bad special teams Auburn obviously still should have been better. Tommy Tuberville while not a great coach won a lot of games at Auburn. He was an expert at "letting the air out" in the second half if he got a big lead. He would run the ball and run clock. It was annoying, it was boring but it got the job done. Auburn should have done a lot more of that today but instead, after a Demetris Robertson run to open their first drive of the second half (after State had opened the half going straight down for a touchdown), Auburn threw the ball four straight times and then gave it back to State who promptly went down and scored again. Auburn then drove it 45 yards the next time they got it and might have put the game away with an easy field goal but again it was blocked. State then scored again and got the lead at 29-28.
This is the point where if I was the coach I would get in the offensive linemen's faces and challenge their manhood. Auburn had to score or at least get a few first downs. They went THREE AND OUT. That is one of the points where the game was lost. The fourth quarter had just started and Auburn was at home with the fans still barely in it. You have to make a play there and they went out meek as lambs. State then went down and scored again to make it 36-28. Auburn then stalled and tried the stupid fake punt that everyone in the country saw LSU do against Bama last week, I mean are you serious? Did you really think they would fall for that? State did not and they got the ball back and the chance to add to their lead. Auburn finally put some pressure on them (too little, too late) but then on a huge sack where T.D. Moultry was trying to block the pass while jumping toward the quarterback, he was called for targeting. State then scored to go up 43-28.
It was not targeting. I mean it was not close in my opinion and to just about everyone who has seen the play. That mind-blowing bad call pretty much ended any chance of an Auburn comeback. The whole targeting thing has gotten completely out of hand. You really have to wonder what the agenda is when you see the replay officials CREATING that call (the refs on the field did not call it). I guess the only bright spots for the offense were great days by Kobe Hudson and Ja'Varrius Johnson who both had over 100 yards receiving. If Auburn had won the game the big news would have been Johnson's monster breakout game. Instead we were just reminded how weak Auburn's offensive line is again. Auburn barely got over 100 yards rushing and 57 yards of that was on Johnson's early touchdown run. Auburn ran for almost nothing after getting a 28-3 lead with six minutes left to go in the first half. I mean no one would have ever heard of Bo Jackson if he had these guys blocking for him.
DEFENSE and COACHING
I have already mentioned some of the bad calls on offense and the idiotic fake punt. Now back to the horrific targeting call... Where the hell was Harsin? I said something like this about a similar horrible call in the Georgia game. They basically gave the game to State on that beyond awful call so as a head coach you have to burn the joint down after a call like that in a situation like that. Let them give you a flag, you have got to go absolutely go crazy after that bad of a call. I did not see it. I am really just kind of hitting the small stuff though compared to the defensive coaching in this game. That is all on Harsin, Derek Mason works for Harsin and Harsin could have easily ordered Mason to turn up the pressure. Instead these guys RUSHED THREE MEN ALMOST THE ENTIRE SECOND HALF. These coaches let Will Rogers stand back there WITH NO PRESSURE and go 24 OF 25 FOR ALMOST 300 YARDS AND FIVE TOUCHDOWNS.
FIVE TOUCHDOWNS. FIVE TOUCHDOWNS. FIVE TOUCHDOWNS. FIVE TOUCHDOWNS. I thought Penn State was bad but this was the worst I have ever seen. WHAT COULD THESE GUYS HAVE POSSIBLY BEEN THINKING??? You have to try and get pressure on the quarterback. That is an absolute FACT in football. It is an even more obvious fact when he is just standing back there with all day and COMPLETING EVERY PASS HE THROWS and leading his team to a score on every drive. Every coach involved in that debacle does not deserve the money they are getting paid. I hate everything about Auburn's defensive strategy. Defense is about being aggressive and flying to the football. The Auburn defense is not very good but the players had to play with basically one arm tied behind their back with this HIDEOUS AWFUL TERRIBLE coaching.
MISSISSIPPI STATE SCORED OVER 30 POINTS IN THE SECOND HALF. I have to hand it to Harsin though, he managed to maybe top his awful calls on defense to MAKE THE WORST LATE GAME CALL I THINK I HAVE EVER SEEN. Auburn scored with three minutes to go in the game and if they kicked the PAT they would be EIGHT POINTS BEHIND, AGAIN EIGHT POINTS BEHIND (that is a touchdown and a two point conversion). They had all three of their timeouts and plenty of time left in the game to stop State and drive down to try to tie the game and send it into overtime. HOWEVER HARSIN CHOSE TO GO FOR TWO!!!???!!! IN THE NAME OF ALL THAT IS GOOD AND HOLY WHY?????????????????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!???????????????????? This not an argument, there is absolutely no reason to go for two there, NONE. NONE!!!!!!!!! I still cannot believe it !!! CAN THE MAN NOT ADD???!!!???
The call is indefensible. Auburn gets within eight with over three minutes and all their timeouts plus some momentum, they actually still have a chance even after all I have written. Harsin took care of that though by going for two... and it failing. AUBURN THEN TRAILED BY NINE POINTS, TWO SCORES!!!, AND THEIR CHANCE WAS TAKEN AWAY BY NOTHING BUT AN INSANELY, OUT-OF-YOUR-F***ING MIND CALL!!!!??????!!!!!!!!!! Again can the Auburn coaching staff NOT ADD???!!!??? I still cannot get my mind around this call. I will never get my mind around this call. All that is left is the ruins and smoldering ashes of the 2021 Auburn football season. Everything good this season just went out the door in the midst of this historic collapse. The streak-stopping win at LSU, the wins against Arkansas and Ole Miss, and anything else positive IS GONE.
It is all gone after this epic disaster and the worst collapse in Auburn history. The only thing anyone will ever remember about this season is this game. The fallout will only continue as Auburn will probably get beat at South Carolina next week and then will definitely get beat down at home by Bama. Who cares about a crappy bowl game that will probably also be a loss as well? This disaster will also probably hurt recruiting as every school will tell every recruit what I just wrote in the previous paragraphs and then ask them if they really want to play for these guys? I do not know how to end this post. The leadership and everyone connected to Auburn University football BETTER WAKE UP. You better start pouring money and going ALL IN on the program or Auburn is about to permanently become second tier in the SEC and pretty much never contend for the SEC championship... LIKE THE TEAM THAT JUST CAME BACK FROM 25 POINTS DOWN TO BEAT THEM.
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