GAME 6 REVIEW: KNOCK OUT

Georgia 42  Auburn 10.  I wrote last week that I thought the knock out blow was coming this week and as this post is titled it did but it did not come like I expected.  I think most people including myself expected Georgia to jump on Auburn like a young Mike Tyson liked to go after his opponents.  However it did not happen like that.  Coach Kirby Smart and his staff were too smart to be over aggressive like LSU was against Auburn.  The Georgia Bulldogs were patient and just waited for Auburn to make a stupid mistake (which they did), to turn the ball over (which they did), and finally to wear down (which they did).  The Georgia coaching staff got exactly what they thought they would get and that equaled more of a boxing match where one guy makes some mistakes, gets worn down, and then gets knocked out late.  That is what happened to Auburn on Saturday.

Auburn is Vanderbilt now or worse.  There are only a few talented players, no offensive line, and literally no chance or expectation of winning.  The only difference in Auburn and the traditional loser Vanderbilt team is Vandy never had a coach as bad as Bryan Harsin.  He is literally the worst coach I have ever watched in my life.  He is a terrible coach, he is a terrible recruiter, and he is terrible with people altogether.  As an Auburn graduate and someone who has watched over 40 years of Auburn football I am literally praying he is fired next week before the open week.  Multiple rumors this week have indicated that he might be kept on for the rest of the season and if that is true then the people running Auburn are as stupid as they have ever been and we will most likely make another bad coaching hire and Auburn might not be any good for the rest of my life. 

I understand waiting to the open week but I cannot understand waiting beyond that.  Again it would be another huge mistake by Auburn's decision makers, just another in a long line of mistakes that brought this once proud program to this point.  Old timers point to all the times Auburn has come back quickly but times have changed, a lot.  There will be no quick turnaround this time.  It will take years of coaches and support staff grinding harder than anyone in the country recruiting for Auburn to have any chance of coming back in the next decade.  I doubt seriously at this point Auburn can find the person who can lead that kind of effort and even if they did I doubt they would be smart enough to hire them.  I do not envy the next coaching staff and all their support people.  Again in this day and age finding people who will work that hard does not seem likely or maybe even possible.

We are beyond breaking down another awful game or even complaining about an offensive line that is the worst in school history.  The only thing that matters now is finding someone that will lead this charge in recruiting.  Some one who believes with everything they have in that line from the Auburn Creed:  "I BELIEVE IN WORK, HARD WORK."  This process must begin with Bryan Harsin being fired immediately after the Ole Miss loss next week.  In the words from a great movie... "Not tomorrow!  Not after breakfast!  NOW!!!".  I do not want to hear about the possible difficulties within the coaching infrastructure if Harsin and even some of his Boise guys are fired.  IT CANNOT BE ANY WORSE.  As I read this morning Auburn people need to see some action and it better happen next week.  The leadership will lose overall support and any remaining recruits if Harsin is not fired next week.  THIS HAS GOT TO END AND SOON.

I guess there is a small chance that Ole Miss could screw it up and somehow manage to lose to Auburn.  That would in my opinion cause incalculable damage to Auburn which means it will probably happen.  I doubt it but we are talking about the missus.  Auburn's second half woes started in the Ole Miss game last season and the Tigers gave Lane Kiffin's boys every chance to come back like State did in that second half.  However Lane Kiffin kept "harsining" it up by going for stupid 4th downs and blew any chance at a come back.  Speaking of Kiffin, I am going to refrain from opinions on possible candidates till Harsin is gone.  The only thing that matters to start is him being removed from this football program.  Am I cheering for Auburn to lose?  I guess almost but it is only because I believe 100% the best thing for Auburn is firing Bryan Harsin yesterday.  

I feel sorry for the players that are caught up in this mess but that is life and is just part of it sometimes. However if the administration will just get rid of Harsin several good things could happen and help these players and Auburn people.  First the team might could rise up and actually win a game.  Second it would help recruiting a little bit by the hope of change.  Finally it could be a historic hire and we could see an Auburn man as head coach for the first time since Shug Jordan.  Case in point, Auburn played a lot better when Bill Oliver took over for Terry Bowden in the middle of the season.  It might not have ended up mattering much but it definitely helped Auburn players and people get through that season.  Again I think it is harmful to the players and the program to keep Harsin all season. 

That is the bottom line as I see it today.  As for the rest of the SEC, yes Bama almost lost like Georgia almost lost last week but unfortunately "almost lost" is not actually losing.  Right now the only team that looks like it has a legitimate chance of beating one or both of those teams is Tennessee.  Go Vols.  I just hope I am writing this post next week with a huge surge of relief that Bryan Harsin is no longer a part of the Auburn football program.