Once again this week after Freeze's biggest win at Auburn against Texas A&M... Auburn laid another giant egg in Tuscaloosa against Bama with maybe the worst game plan of the year on offense. This latest lost featured a Freeze specialty, abandoning the run game early. Freeze and company only used running back Jarquez Hunter 13 times this game while throwing the ball 40 times with ineffective quarterback Payton Thorne. Auburn padded the stats to make them look better at the end but the only stat that counts is the scoreboard. Auburn drove into the red zone four times in the first half and came away with two field goals. The Tigers did not score a touchdown till the game was over and Bama was up 28-6. Finally, Auburn had a chance to make it closer after scoring their first touchdown but Freeze called a stupid easily sniffed out running back pass that was easily intercepted. It was the final embarrassment in another terrible game on his watch.
Freeze has staked everything on upgrading Auburn's roster. I talked about this last week as well. However after another bad coaching job I am back to wondering if it will matter? Bama is better than Auburn but they turned the ball over three times and the Tigers were in the red zone four times and could not get in the end zone. Bama's defense is talented but not a top unit. A good coach would have done more today, this season, and last. We have seen two whole seasons on Freeze's watch and you just have not seen it. You saw good coaching when Dye started, when Bowden started, when Tuberville started, when Chizik started, and when Malzahn started. Not many of them ended well but you saw good coaching when they started. I just do not think you can say the same about Freeze. Auburn has had a couple of good games and a lot of bad ones. Are better days ahead? I have to say after watching another egg get laid today I am not hopeful.
I guess maybe if Freeze got a great quarterback and a great offensive tackle in the mix something might can change but what are the chances of that? I mean a quarterback and offensive tackle that could be real difference makers in tough SEC games? I think the chances of that are pretty low. I think Auburn might can have a winning season next year and start going to a bowl regularly with Hugh Freeze but outside of lucking out in a few like last week I always see him ultimately coming up short. It has now been six long years since Auburn ended a season with a win and four years since even having a winning season. Auburn has never been this bad in my lifetime. As I say in the title of this blog, I know it is just a game but it is getting to me. I am so tired of watching games like today. I am so tired of every good moment like last week being short lived. I guess it is good the season is over because I do not think I can do another post on this team or about Hugh Freeze anytime soon.
I do have one more comment on football in general after watching a lot of it, college and professional, over this weekend. These million dollar braniacs calling the plays today might want to go back to doing a few things like they did in the old days. First, in college, stop making your offensive linemen stand set for so long while you overcoach and try to change the play. I have never seen more procedure penalties in the red zone in my life as I have seen these past few weeks. You can say what you want but they are killers and being able to change your play doesn't matter if it keeps happening. Next, in both college and the pros these geniuses might want to go back to using the good old goal line heavy formation inside the five yard line. Yes there were epic goal line stands back in the old days but not near as many as I saw just this weekend with teams lined up in spread formations. I mean it is unbelievable how many teams came away with nothing after having first and goal around the three yard line. Sometimes you cannot trick the other team, you simply have to line up and run it in.
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