GAME 7 REVIEW: When the BOOING starts...

Mississippi 28  Auburn 21.  The 2023 Auburn football season nightmare continued on Saturday as the Auburn offense showed almost historic signs of futility.  Offense has now been a problem for Auburn the entirety of this decade but somehow some way things continue to get worse.  After getting a breakout run for a touchdown by Jarquez Hunter early and then another touchdown off an Ole Miss interception, the Tiger offense had SIX three-and-outs out of their next EIGHT possessions.  On top of that entering the fourth quarter Auburn had only thrown the ball SIX TIMES FOR 26 YARDS.  They did that while having several 3rd and long downs.  Those are just the stats but watching all that along with two solid hours of commercial breaks can break even the most optimistic fan.  

Somewhere in the middle of that the booing started.  For those who think that is the crime of all crimes I have to disagree.  When things get that bad people are going to show their frustration and I would say most to all of it is directed at our multi-million dollar coaches.  It happens and it has to get really bad at Auburn for it to happen.  It has happened in Tuscaloosa (more than once) and everywhere else.  I mean come on when you coach as bad as those guys did on Saturday you are going to get booed.  Now I will not argue with people who actually spent their time, effort, and money to go to the game who think booing is bad but I have a real problem with people watching on TV criticizing people who are actually at the stadium.  It will be worse next year with empty seats instead of fans who care.

Again I just do not know what to say anymore.  I will say that I think overcoaching is literally the biggest problem in just about every sport at just about every level and it looks like it is a factor at Auburn.  I think everyone sees the same things and has the same questions.  The biggest being why are the quarterbacks being rotated because it has never worked in the history of football?  Nobody understands why.  In my opinion, they need to just use Robby Ashford as a wildcat quarterback and only bring him in on those situations.  He is the ultimate wildcat quarterback.  He fits that role.  The use of the wildcat quarterback for short yardage downs is the only quarterback rotation that has proven to work to a certain extent.  

I am not sure how much it will matter but it will at least show some football intelligence by the coaches.  I understand how bad Thorne has been and he is bad but Ashford is just not a quarterback.  Ashford threw an absolutely horrific interception in this game while Auburn still had a chance to win.  Thorne threw his when the game was already over.  I know it should have been turned over on replay but it was still a horrible throw into double-coverage.  Auburn has two struggling quarterbacks.  Why are the coaches not calling more screens or short throws to our running backs in space?  I know it will not be hugely successful but Auburn's biggest pass play of the game was a dump off to Hunter.  Running back Brian Battie, one of the lone bright spots on offense, was not targeted I do not think.  That is just one example.  You just do not see anything smart being done on offense by these coaches.

I am calling out the coaches while I read a lot of people saying the players are so bad that it is not the coach's fault.  First, yes Auburn is way down but you just cannot convince me that they should not be better on offense than this.  I am sorry there is a lot of bad coaching here.  I understand that a lot of great coaches throughout college football history had bad first years like the current god of our state.  However I do not think you saw ineptitude like you are seeing at Auburn right now.  Time will tell although my second thought on the talent also throws more doubt on the current coaching staff.  Obviously this staff is not very good at evaluating talent when every quarterback, offensive lineman, and wide receiver other than tight end Rivaldo Fairweather turned out to not be very good.

I mean all of them?  That is pretty bad evaluation.  I guess you can give them a little slack as things were so bad Auburn needed any warm bodies they could convince to come but when every single quarterback, offensive lineman, and wide receiver disappoint then you are either coaching badly or evaluating badly. IT IS ONE OR THE OTHER.  Hugh Freeze also doesn't look like any of those great coaches starting out.  They all had the fire while Freeze looks like a tired old man after every game.  I understand this job is completely overwhelming but I am sorry you have got to hire a better coordinator than Phillip Montgomery then to help you out.  It may not be fair but you have got to be better than this.  Auburn is so bad right now on offense that it is repulsive.  It is turning off the fans and I bet the recruits as well.  You cannot be this bad.

The defense has done about as well as can be expected even with a pretty good dip at LSU.  You do see some smart coaching over there with the blitzes and such.  I really have had no complaints on that side of the ball and obviously do not have any from Saturday night.  I do however wonder about their professionalism when a veteran coach and recruiter like Wesley McGriff is suddenly moved off the field after a practice altercation with defensive coordinator Ron Roberts.  I mean honestly what is going on with this staff?  Cadillac Williams and Zach Etheridge have to be at their wit's end.  First they had to deal with the Idaho coaches and now this group.  You have the McGriff spat during the week and then the offense puts up their worst performance of the season...  I guess there is going to be another almost whole new staff hired for next season?  

Needless to say, Auburn football is in big trouble.  However let me end with something positive.  A lot of people including myself never thought Auburn would win the last four games even with better coaching.  The thing that has people losing their minds is again the offense being THIS BAD.  However Auburn and head coach Hugh Freeze and this beleaguered coaching staff HAVE ONE LAST CHANCE TO SAVE THIS SEASON.  They just need to get it together and beat a bad Mississippi State team, a worse Arkansas team that just lost to that Mississippi State team, and VANDERBILT plus of course New Mexico.  THAT GETS YOU TO 7-5, A GUARANTEED WINNING SEASON, AND A BOWL GAME WITH NO PRESSURE.  

Auburn still has enough talent to beat these teams.  As bad as things are, this is achievable.  Honestly if Hugh Freeze is really the guy I think he has to get this done.  The key to surviving is winning the games you are favored in.  Rarely when a team is in this position do they have a shot at redemption.  This team does.  Listen Hugh, the best thing you can do for recruiting right now is coach your ass off the rest of the way.  This staff, this team, this fan base, and THIS PROGRAM are hanging by a thread.  Mississippi State at Jordan Hare Stadium this Saturday just became the biggest game of the season.  A loss and  Auburn probably does not win any of those games and the season completely implodes.  A win means the road to redemption stays open.

GAME 6 REVIEW: Pretty much as expected...

LSU 48  Auburn 18.  It was another disappointing Saturday for the Auburn Tigers in what is becoming a long line of them.  Some people were surprised at the final margin but I am not sure why.  Auburn has maybe the worst offense in the SEC.  Right now Auburn simply cannot score enough points to beat anybody any good.  That is pretty much fact, not an opinion.  The cold hard statistics bear it out.  The only Power Five team Auburn has beaten this season is a bad Cal team and they were very lucky to pull that game out.  The Tigers were able to make it close against Georgia because of turnovers.  

The Auburn defense is an undermanned scrappy bunch and would be a decent defense paired with a good offense.  However that is not the case and this defense is nowhere near good enough to hold anybody in check with no help from the offense.  Outside of something strange happening, this Auburn season comes down to their matchups against the other SEC bottom feeders in Mississippi State and Vanderbilt.  They win those and New Mexico and get to 6-6 and would salvage something from this season, i.e. a bowl bid.  However right now I have a hard time seeing even that happening with this offense.

The response to the current situation has brought out two camps on the various Auburn sites.  Group one points out how bad the situation is that Head Coach Hugh Freeze took over.  They point out that Auburn simply does not have the players and it is going to take time to straighten out this mess.  They say you have to give him time and getting upset about these games and criticizing the coaches is pointless.  For the record I agree with just about all of that.  I think all of that is true but I think they are missing one key point.  I think that point is important because it effects the recruiting solution.

That key point is the current offensive coaching.  That brings me to group two of which I would include myself.  I think pretty much all of us in group two agree with group one EXCEPT that you cannot ignore this offensive coaching even though the talent level is so low.  The offensive coaching is horrendous and that is a fact.  Hugh Freeze was hired for his offensive acumen and you literally could not do a worse job with this bunch.  You should still be able to see a little bit of good coaching in this offense and you do not.  I think blaming a coordinator is just a smoke screen.  The buck stops with the head coach.

The first issue is the inability of the Auburn coaches to implement any kind of base passing game.  They cannot seem to consistently execute even the simplest passing play.  I know the players especially the quarterback are not that good but Payton Thorne was the quarterback of a team that won ten games in the second toughest conference in college football.  I know it was a running team and he was a game manager, etc... but he still had to execute some of these plays.  He should be able to do that.  The receivers with all their warts should be better than this.  The sequence of plays, the rotating of quarterbacks, etc... all smacks of dubious offensive coaching.  There is a problem here.

I think that is relevant as opposed to group one because since Auburn is SO BAD on offense prospective recruits will be turned off.  They might see opportunity but they also do not ever want to be a part of something like that.  You have to show them an offense or the potential of an offense they want to be a part of.  You also have to show them the studs on the offensive line starting with the tackles that are going to pave the way for them.  Auburn still does not have that.  The Tigers currently have four star DeAndre Carter from California verbally committed but Texas is coming hard after him.  If we continue down this path do you really think this guy ends up going to Auburn?   

I just do not understand what we are doing on offense.  I do not understand the play calling sequences.  I do not understand how they are trying to use different players.  I just do not get it.  We know Jarquez Hunter is a good running back but we have reduced him to nothing.  Whatever we are doing is not making any offensive player look good.  I know we are bad but Cadillac Williams was able to take a similar group and at least run with the ball.  They were bad but the team had an identity and something that the players could do well.  That also helped the defense by shortening games.  You have to hang your hat on something.  Again I just do not understand even what our offensive coaches are trying to do.

That brings us to this week against Ole Miss.  Auburn is always obviously better at home but Ole Miss beat LSU.  I do not think the home field advantage is enough to overcome the deficiencies on offense.  There is just not much to say however I do admit reading this blog has become a depressing venture (although that is not my fault, I just call it like I see it) so I am going to start including a "Saturday to Remember" feature about a good Auburn football memory against the team we are playing or whatever.  I guess you have to hang on to the past sometimes to get through today...

A Saturday to Remember

This past Saturday marks the end of LSU being a permanent resident on Auburn's schedule.  They have been there since the SEC went to divisions in 1992.  There have been a lot of great games in the series and I have been to many of them including a couple at Tiger Stadium.  I would love to do a historical on the series but that would be a very long post.  I have selected three games and that is pretty hard to do with this series.  I will have to have an honorable mention as well and that is when Auburn lost to LSU at home in 1996 but the old barn gym beside the stadium burned down.  That was the one time something just completely overshadowed the game especially since we were sitting in the upper desk on that side of the stadium.  I know it was terrible but I have never seen a fire like that before or since.  The flames rose higher than the stadium!

I guess I will go in chronological order.  I got to go to LSU and watch Auburn destroy LSU 34-10 in 1993 with LSU wearing purple at home.  It might be my favorite road game ever, it was so much fun.  I remember one of Auburn's touchdowns coming off a double-reverse flea flicker!  I got to see another great one the next year when I took my wife to her first game in 1994 and Auburn won 30-26 on three interception returns for touchdowns!  However I have to say the greatest win over LSU I ever saw was Cam Newton's Heisman game.  I am literally sitting here getting chills thinking about it.  His unbelievable touchdown run in that game was one of the most incredible things I have ever seen and Onterio McCalebb's 70 yard run to win it was another one for the ages.  

Until next week...

GAME 5 REVIEW: Tired

Georgia 27  Auburn 20.  Alright I am glad Auburn made it close and pretty much did the best anyone could expect for this game.  Unfortunately I am just tired of so many things.  I am tired of Auburn losing to Georgia.  I am tired of Auburn being a mediocre to bad program.  I am tired of Auburn not being able to pass the ball.  I am tired of Auburn getting stuffed on 3rd and 4th and 1.  I am tired of celebrating moral victories and the fact Auburn kept it close against some team.  However with all that said, you know what I am most tired of after watching this game yesterday???  That would be watching Georgia tight end Brock Bowers run wide open through the Auburn secondary catching ball after ball.  I mean seriously the Auburn coaches could not do better than that after he had already burned them so many times in a row? 

It is time to face facts, this is a mediocre-to-bad flawed team that will finish with a losing record in the SEC like the last two years.  They are in my opinion no fun to watch the way they are coached and in fact hard to watch.  I have not seen too many teams this inept at passing the ball.  I mean is Auburn playing football like the service academies now?  I mean yesterday Auburn could not execute the most basic passing play.  I mean yay the Tigers ran the ball good some of the time but one dimensional teams are eventually losers.  Also if Auburn was a well coached running team they would not get stuffed on EVERY SINGLE 3RD AND 4TH AND 1.  I mean at what point will these moronic coaches realize that you should bring in extra blockers and go under center for short yardage downs?  I mean come on.

In terms of competing in the Southeastern Conference Payton Thorne is not near good enough.  The Auburn offensive line and wide receivers do not look close either.  The coaching is worse than both.  The Auburn defense is doing enough to win games if they were playing with an actual good SEC offense but I am beginning to wonder if Auburn will ever have that again.  As I was reminded yesterday no football offense will ever be good without a good offensive line and in Auburn's case that means some ALL-SEC OFFENSIVE LINEMEN.  At this point it has been so long that I am wondering if Auburn will ever have a great SEC offensive line again.  Right now I would say NO they will not.  We always "in" on all these good linemen but they never actually come.

I do not know what else to say.  It is not the fault of the people who are at Auburn now but it is pretty much all on the leadership at Auburn for the last decade.  They allowed the program to decay and bottom out on their watch and on top of that many of them got golden parachutes when they left after doing a terrible job.  Auburn is a mid-tier SEC football program now if that.  Again we will end the season with a losing record for the THIRD YEAR IN A ROW and with Georgia and Bama back on the road next season the streak will probably go to four in a row.  (NOTE: Bama and Georgia being moved to both being at home or both being on the road as opposed to the previous hundred years where one was at home and one on the road was the fault of former AD Jay Jacobs who I believe is getting paid a million dollars a year from Auburn for the rest of his life after being maybe the worst AD in SEC history).

I am so tied of it.  I am also tired of all being constantly reminded that Gus Malzahn is not a good football coach. He proved it again last night by blowing a 35-7 lead in the third quarter to BAYLOR (???!!!???).  He was actually much worse than Mr. Potato Head because he was just good enough to stay around as long as he did while his recruiting got worse and worse leaving us where we are now.  I challenge anyone to find ONE Central Florida fan that wants to keep him.  I do think Auburn right now should still be a little better football team but I guess we have got to give Freeze time.  Unfortunately that means more time watching this offense.  Thank goodness Auburn has a bye week this next Saturday.  The question now is will Auburn look any better on offense at LSU after a bye week?