I guess first, my thoughts on the game... I guess I will start with what I just said, man it was bad. It was so bad I started doing work around my house because I just could not sit there and watch the football or the TWO SOLID HOURS OF COMMERCIALS that come with it. I will continue to say that sports have been almost completely ruined by commercials. I would rather pay per game or anything other than the way it is now. Again it really seems like you are watching three plus hours of commercials with some football mixed in. The same is true of basketball other than the games are a little shorter however you have to watch a ton of stupid free throws along with the commercials in basketball. It has come to the point that I have a hard time watching any football or basketball games any more.
Back to the game... It definitely was a perfect storm that happened yesterday to Auburn. You had all the ingredients for an upset. The favored team was coming off a huge win the week before... check. The supposed cupcake coming in was a good team that could win it's conference... check. That good underdog team had a really good quarterback... check. That underdog team had a really good coach... check. The underdog team got a couple of huge big plays at critical parts of the game... check. I could go on but I think you get the picture. Auburn was just unlucky at scheduling the wrong team at the wrong time and then of course SHOWING UP COMPLETELY UNPREPARED. I mean what exactly was the plan on defense? I mean New Mexico State had ALMOST 40 MINUTES OF POSSESSION.
There is always a measure of blame on the players who actually play the game but this game is mainly on the Auburn coaching staff. The players were not ready to play and as good as New Mexico State is they do not have more talent than Auburn does. I think the main factor is the one I just listed. The Auburn defense allowed the other team to hold the ball for almost 40 minutes. The offense sucked but they did not get many chances. The defense absolutely failed in every conceivable way in this game. They could not get stops and how in the world do you not see a fake punt coming on that play at the end of the third quarter. You have to see there is good chance that is coming. It was just terrible terrible coaching and that was the play that ended the game in my opinion. That drive alone chewed 10 MINUTES OFF THE CLOCK. TEN MINUTES. TEN MINUTES!!!
It was just an absolute disgrace. The offense was not much better and you can bet that the coaches at Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, and Arkansas are kicking themselves for not following New Mexico State's defensive game plan. They stacked the line and took away the run AND on the read option plus pass plays always took away the running back. They were willing to concede several big runs and passes by quarterback Payton Thorne but again completely take Jarquez Hunter and our other running backs out of the game. It was brilliant and it absolutely worked. They put the game on Thorne and our wide receivers and they are not good enough to win games without our running backs. You can bet that Nick $aban, Kevin Steele, and the Bama brain trust are gleefully taking notes.
It is done though and the question is how bad will the fall out be from this game? I have read a lot of reactions from different Auburn fans and posters in the last 24 hours and things have broken down into the same two camps I described earlier in the season when the offense was so bad. Both camps know the program is still in bad shape and recovering from the last four to six years of mediocre to very bad recruiting and roster attrition. The first camp is trying to shrug their shoulders at this game like they did the mistakes on offense at the first of the season. They say it is just part of the process. The other camp says there is a degree of truth to that but the coaching should have been better on offense early in the season and it dang well should have been better in this game regardless of the condition of the program and the roster.
I am in the latter group. You can try and shrug off this game but it is a big setback in this rebuild and for Hugh Freeze as head coach. Yes I know Nick $aban lost to UAB his first year at LSU and to Louisiana Monroe in his first year at Bama. However he did not get blown out in either of those games and he won a national championship at both schools two years after that. If Auburn wins a national championship in two years I will fully forgive our coaches for this game. I have also heard about all the other SEC schools that have lost games like this but I believe all those coaches have been fired and all those upsets were proof that the coach was not that good. Is that the case here? I can take many Auburn fans trying to not overreact but I have had enough of the ones that are just trying to shrug this off.
First, this is now the only thing anyone will remember about this season and this team. I hate it and it is not fair but it is what it is. Second, while it probably will not hurt recruiting too much it certainly will not help it. Third, it really destroys any small chance there was at upsetting Bama this next weekend. Auburn has rarely beaten Bama after a tough loss right before that game. I do not see how it happens after this game. Finally if Auburn loses the Iron Bowl then the Tigers will once again not have a winning regular season. It would be the third year in a row without a winning regular season. Has that ever happened? I certainly admit my mistake the last few weeks writing about a winning season and just assuming that Auburn would win this game. I guess I was part of the problem as well. Lesson learned.
This Auburn team and staff now have to pick themselves up and prepare for the Iron Bowl. Bama comes in at 10-1, undefeated in the conference, and on a nine game winning streak. I am surprised at the number of fans that just assume this game will be close because Bama is coming to Jordan Hare. I guess there is a reason for a little of that and I certainly cannot explain how Bryan Harsin almost beat Bama two years ago but I just do not see it this season. Bama might not quite be the juggernaut it has been in seasons past but they are a very good football team. They are built on four years of the best recruiting classes in the country while Auburn's last four recruiting classes have been mediocre to bad. The talent gap is large in this game.
I continue to hear a lot being made of Auburn keeping it close against Georgia earlier this season. I continue to say that yes that is true but Georgia turned the ball over several times and fourteen of Auburn's twenty points came off those turnovers. I think that is the ONLY way that this Auburn team keeps it close in this game, i.e. Bama turning the ball over. It is one of the major reasons Auburn was able to beat Bama in 2019 (other than having a much better team). It could happen but I just do not think this one will be close. I think the Bama defense is going to eat Auburn alive after seeing the blueprint this past weekend. I think the Auburn defense will play much better but the Bama offense will break through eventually.
I sure could have lived with that a lot better with a win over New Mexico State and a winning season already in the books... It did not happen and now the real possibility of this Auburn team ending the season with two ugly losses is very real and it just ruins this season. All I read is that we should not freak out so much over it because better days are ahead... I sure hope so but the years are flying by and Auburn has not had a really good season in a really long time. After this past game it sure seems like it could be a lot longer.
No comments:
Post a Comment