GAME 5 REVIEW: THE LAST STAND

LSU 21  Auburn 17.  I have to say that I was impressed with the way Auburn came out playing in this game.  They came out breathing fire.  I will give at least that much credit to the coaching staff and give some credit for finally changing parts of the game plan.  They did some good play-action passes and actually used the read option with Robby Ashford.  Also the defense was much better as well.  I also give a lot of credit to Missouri for how they played yesterday as well but I still think LSU is a better team than Missouri.  An Auburn team pretty much completely given up for dead definitely should have beaten LSU.  I have to say I was pretty speechless for the first part of the game watching Auburn finally do something right and watching LSU just play stupid.  

Of course like Auburn's 17-0 lead the feeling did not last and Auburn managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory again.  A Bryan Harsin coached Auburn team literally cannot score a touchdown in a second half... EVER.  I have watched football for over 40 years now and I just cannot believe some of the head scratching stupidity I see every week when Auburn plays.  I just do not know how you can coach as much as Harsin has and not understand some of the basics on how to win football games.  This guy has now blown a 28-3 lead, a 14-0 lead TWICE, and now a 17-0 lead in SEC play.  He just cannot seem to get it through his head that going for fourth down conversions when you have the lead is usually DUMB.  Of course 4th and 1 is one thing but 4th and 10???  

THE GOOD

As I mentioned Auburn came out initially looking very good on both sides of the ball.  Again I give Harsin and the boys credit but where has this been?  Uh why did you wait till the 5th game to do this?  I just do not get it...  but hey they did it.  The defense owned the line of scrimmage for the first time all season most of the game and that is against arguably the best team Auburn has played (???).  The offensive line even shined at times in this game (???).  Again if putting Brandon Council at center and putting in Alec Jackson plus whatever coaching they did made that big a difference uh again why not before now?  Finally Robby "I haven't played actual football in years" Ashford threw for 300 yards (!!!) and two touchdowns.  I mean WOW!  It was by far Auburn's best game all year yet...

THE BAD

The coaches still managed to somehow lose this game...  Auburn had three absolutely back breaking turnovers in Ashford's fumble, his last interception, and on a mind numbingly STUPID trick play.  Auburn had the 17-0 lead when Ashford was stripped of the ball because he was holding it too long and LSU took it in for a touchdown.  That completely changed the momentum in the game.  That is a rookie raw quarterback but that is also just bad coaching.  You get the ball out quick or throw it away with a lead.  Also in-between that fumble and the final interception, Harsin went for a 4th and 10 conversions at around the LSU 40 yard line and called a low percentage stupid play like last year against South Carolina.  He should have pinned a struggling LSU offense deep and made them drive the length of the field against a strong Auburn defense.  Instead he gave them good field position and LSU went down and scored the winning touchdown.

THE UGLY

To Auburn's credit the players did not go quietly into that good night after LSU took the lead.  I sure expected them to but they showed an incredible amount of guts and heart.  They bulled their way down the field embarking on a 13 play 65 yard drive that consumed almost seven minutes off the clock.  They had it second and goal at the LSU nine yard line.  There are so many things you can do with Ashford this close to the goal... and the Auburn offensive brain trust tries a reverse with the wide receiver throwing the ball (???).  Of course LSU blows it up and intercepts the ball to snuff Auburn's best chance at winning the game.  However Auburn had one more chance to win the game driving to the LSU 36 yard line before Ashford threw the ball a little behind his receiver and the LSU defensive back wrestled it away.  The Auburn players gave it everything and absolutely UGLY coaching lost the game.

AROUND THE SEC

Tennessee and Vandy were off while Florida and South Carolina played cupcakes.  The rest of the schedule was pretty good.  The big game was supposed to be Bama at Arkansas but of course even with losing quarterback Bryce Young for over half the game Bama still won big.  Mississippi State also won big over Texas A&M.  There is sure to be some real unrest around Aggie football now especially with Bama up next.  The rest of the games were nail biters with the biggest being Missouri's almost-upset of big bad Georgia.  The Bulldogs finally broke through but they were in some real danger in that game.  The next one might have been the most exciting game of the day with Ole Miss pulling out a win forcing a last second fumble while Kentucky was knocking on the door at the end of the game.

THE LAST WORD

Hope is running high in Knoxville and Oxford and a few other teams will have a say like Florida and Mississippi State but it still looks like it will just be Bama and Georgia again in the end.  Wake me up when someone actually beats them and not just makes it close.  I am SURE Georgia will look much better this week with Auburn coming into town.  The Tigers have played three tough games in a row and gave everything they had yesterday.  Meanwhile this game did used to be one of the best rivalries in the country and Georgia will be fired up looking to rebound.  I think the knock out blow many of us expected in the LSU game will be landed this coming Saturday in Athens.  Georgia has beaten Auburn soundly in every meeting since Auburn last won in 2017.  I am expecting something at least as bad as Georgia's 34-10 win in Auburn last season.  

Unfortunately as the title of this post states, I think Auburn's heroic effort against LSU was their last stand before this season really starts to unravel...