I will give a modicum of credit for the administration at least being smart enough to name Carnell the interim head coach and the job he did in just a few days for this game was evidence of that fact. His hard work, maturity, and unswerving positive attitude gave Auburn a chance to win a game they would have lost by two touchdowns at least under the previous head coach. Carnell started in a place long forgotten in our current society and certainly in big time sports. He started by immediately showing love for these players who we had all written off. He told them and showed his support for them all week and encouraged them to "serve and believe" in each other. I have seen and done a lot of coaching in my life but the work Carnell did leading this team into this past game is nothing short of amazing.
Of course it did not seem amazing when shortly before half Auburn went down 24-3. It sure looked like Carnell did not make any difference. It looked like the pit of misery Auburn has been in was even deeper than I thought. I had just felt since I listened to Carnell's press conference after being named interim head coach that something special was going to happen. That just seemed like wishful thinking in the first half. Like most comebacks though, something small but key happened right before halftime and in this game it was Auburn driving 50 yards and Anders Carlson actually making a field goal. That in and of itself has become amazing. It is obvious that Carlson has not recovered well from his knee injury last season because he is just not very good right now. His kickoffs were pretty much the biggest factor in Auburn losing this game. I am not sure why we cannot use somebody else for kickoffs?
However Carlson did make the one before halftime and started the most unlikely of comebacks and Auburn went into halftime 24-6. Carnell went into halftime and once again reiterated how much he believed in these players and continued to ask them to "serve and believe". He also reiterated that Auburn would not be quitting and the players responded. Carnell stated after the game the players told him: "Coach we got you. Nobody's quitting. We're going to continue to serve. We're going to continue to bleed. We're going to continue to fight." The difference one man can make is amazing to me. The difference one great leader can make. One week earlier these same Auburn players had completely lost their heart and their belief as Arkansas mauled them on their home field. One week later against a better team (State beat Arky 40-17) these same players came back from a 24-3 deficit on the road.
I do not think I have ever seen a team with a bad record and a season like this EVER come back like this. Auburn had not come back from a deficit like this since the "Camback" in Tuscaloosa in 2010 but that was a great team. This team was being rightfully compared to the worst modern Auburn teams. Those teams never came back in a game like this. The power of one man who stood in the gap. Auburn actually punted after getting the ball first in the third quarter but the defense rose up and stopped State. Auburn then took it in for a touchdown but missed the conversion, 24-12. Auburn then intercepted State but had to punt. It was not following the perfect script but they kept fighting. The defense playing their best game of the season forced another punt from State. Auburn then took it in for another touchdown. It was now 24-19 and Auburn fans across this region knew they were seeing something special.
The defense stopped State AGAIN. I cannot say enough about the effort of this defense after so many bad games. However Auburn punted AGAIN but the defense stopped State AGAIN and then Auburn had to punt AGAIN but then... the defense stopped State for the third possession in a row. The offense then finally broke through to give Auburn the lead, 25-24. It did not matter what Auburn's record was, this team had just done something absolutely incredible. It was not going to come easily as State stormed back down the field and immediately got the lead back 30-25. The fire had been lit though and Auburn would not be denied as they answered immediately with a touchdown and a two point conversion to make it 33-30 with under three minutes left in the game. This is how the game and the story should have ended on this night. I believed it would happen but it did not.
I have learned one thing playing, coaching, and watching sports over my 53 years on this earth and that is that sports are unforgiving. They are not a scripted movie and most of the time they do not turn out like you think or hope. This was one of those nights. Auburn messed up the kickoff and got a facemask penalty which was the only thing I really got mad at on this night. State got the ball at midfield and easily got the ball in close enough to tie the game on a field goal. Auburn would then lose in overtime. It did not seem fair or right but again sports are unforgiving. I could not believe Auburn had lost this game, a game they seemed literally destined to win. It seemed like these guys deserved it, that Carnell and this staff deserved it, that all these suffering fans deserved it... I guess all of us did not but these players proved something to themselves and everyone else this night. It hurt though, man it hurt.
It is doubly painful when you come down from the high of the comeback to the reality everyone Auburn has faced all season. That reality is Auburn's offensive line is about the worst in the conference and even worse than that they literally do not even have the players at this time to field an offensive line next season. It is painfully obvious that you cannot transfer a whole team in and 2023 will be worse than this season. Auburn does not have many good players but the few they have are pretty much all gone after this season. Many that are coming back are just not good enough. Quarterback Robby Ashford is a tremendous athlete and playmaker but he is about the worst passer I have ever seen. He simply cannot drop back, make a read, and deliver the ball. He is not the answer at quarterback for Auburn. He looks like a great person and you have seen all season how much it means to him but he cannot pass.
Auburn faces a long dark road back to championship competition but at least for the first time in a long time we have the right man as head coach to start this process. It starts with serving and believing in each other and while the road maybe long and dark there will be a few bright moments like the comeback this past weekend. I hope there will be one this coming weekend as Carnell "Cadillac" Williams leads Auburn against Texas A&M in his first game as Auburn's head coach in Jordan Hare Stadium, the place he used to go "crazy" in. It is already a dead sellout. There has been a buzz in the air ever since the State game ended in a game Auburn comes into 3-6 and 1-5 in conference. THAT is the power of the "Auburn family" mentality that Carnell has talked about non-stop in every interview he has done. Auburn screws it up a LOT but nobody comes together like Auburn. GO CRAZY CADILLAC GO CRAZY!!!!!!!!!!
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