GAME 6 REVIEW: STOIC TO THE END

Georgia 34  Auburn 10.  I knew Auburn would lose this game so I guess I should not be that upset.  I had a feeling it would turn out exactly like it did so there was no surprise.  The one thing I guess that is bothering me is seeing a complete lack of inspiration or any kind of spark from head coach Bryan Harsin at any point in the game.  The man should have burned the refs down multiple times but I saw nothing, not only that but I only rarely seem him interacting with players.  I am sorry but as any kind of coach regardless of level or sport you have to interact with your players.  No, all I see is the same stoic "too cool for school" look from Harsin.  I liked him at his initial presser but it has been all downhill since then.  Again I do not think it is because of just losing, it is just his whole persona the more I see him.  Again there is just no spark there. 

The most decorated and successful coach on campus is in the student section tearing off his shirt but it seems more important than anything else for Harsin to remain stoic.  Why is this so worrisome?  It worries me because I do not see this guy closing the deal with an elite recruit considering Bama or Georgia.  I am also worried about this guy closing the deal against the next tier of schools as well.  I am worried because I do not see any well coached units on this team especially offense which is supposedly Harsin's specialty.  I am worried because I just do not see a leader or a closer.  Pat Dye lost his first season but you saw a change.  Terry Bowden and Gus Malzahn had the greatest first seasons ever but you saw things they did that helped that.  Tommy Tuberville had a losing first season but you saw progress.  Gene Chizik was not great but you saw that he wanted it badly.  

What do you see from Harsin?  The offense and defense has changed and we do throw the ball a lot more but I do not see any type of culture change.  I do not see a coach who can rebuild this program and that scares me badly for Auburn.  It is even tougher finally seeing a spark out of Knoxville where the Vols have been down the dark road Auburn might be heading down.  There has never been a tougher time to rebuild a program in the SEC.  Every school is doling out the money for coaches and recruiters.  The best schools have started a revolution the last decade of identifying and connecting with possible top recruits very early and going after them hard.  Meanwhile Auburn had technologically challenged Gus Malzahn whose recruiting went straight downhill the last four years and left Auburn with the team you saw playing Georgia today.

Auburn has a lame duck feather pillow currently as president, the invisible man at athletic director, and a stoic Vulcan-like football head coach.  I mean... it just makes you sigh, shake your head, and ask "when does basketball season start?".  Unfortunately Auburn is about to play a five game stretch that will determine their entire season.  It is pretty clear, Auburn has to win four out of those five to have a winning season and three to at least finish 6-6.  After today I know I do not feel confident enough to bet on either of those cases.  Auburn can win all five games but it can also lose all five games, even South Carolina.  Does Bryan Harsin and his staff have what it takes to get this team ready to play and compete at their best in all of these games?  I just do not know but I do know that Auburn has not been very good on offense against anybody decent.

Good offensive coaches find a way to use a teams best player even when he is a running back.  Auburn's best player on offense is Tank Bigsby.  Yes Jarquez Hunter is a good player but Bigsby is better.  This coaching staff has done such a bad job with Tank that I am afraid he will be hitting the transfer portal at the end of the season.  That is not good coaching.  What is Auburn's identity on offense?  I do not know.  Unlike most Auburn fans I do not care if Harsin wants to be a passing team but if he does then lets do it.  You can still effectively use Bigsby and Hunter in that offense.  Unfortunately I do not know what Auburn's offense is or what it is trying to be and that is bad.  One thing is apparent though and that is Auburn has NO quick strike capability and that is also really bad.  You have to be able to hit big plays to win games and every Auburn scoring drive takes double-figure plays.  That does not bode well for the rest of the season.

You do not see an offensive identity or a team coming together.  You see drop after drop on offense and just absolutely stupid targeting penalties on defense.  You see an Auburn player get dragged to the ground by his facemask and a receiver on maybe the biggest play of the game get absolutely mugged and you the head coach doing NOTHING.  Let me spend a second on that play, basically the last play of the half where the game was still in doubt.  Auburn was going for it on fourth and goal from the three yard line.  They actually call a good play and wide receiver Ze'vian Capers is first held and then clearly interfered with.  There is no bias there, it is an absolute fact that was a penalty and easily seen.  If that had been Bama against Georgia in the same situation they would have made that call 100 OUT OF 100 TIMES.  Harsin should have gotten a penalty there absolutely burning down those incompetent refs.

I guess I should get a little game analysis in somewhere and here it is... Georgia is way better than Auburn on both sides of the line of scrimmage.  They also have better wide receivers.  Finally they are better coached than Auburn.  I am not sure what else to say.  I guess I thought the Auburn defense played better than I thought they would early but as usual the Tigers were burned through the air for big plays.  The defense finally gave out in the second half but they gave the offense a window of opportunity early that they could not come close to capitalizing on.  It turned out to be like everyone expected, another clear win for Georgia in a rivalry that just a decade ago was the oldest most even rivalry in pretty much all of sports.  It has now started to resemble the joke of a "rivalry" between Bama and Tennessee and that is really sad. 

Auburn stopped a long losing streak in Baton Rouge last week but I am starting to wonder how long before the Tigers will be able to beat Georgia anywhere?  The streak is at five games and counting...  I guess the more important and pressing topic is can this Auburn team get off the mat and beat Arkansas on the road next week?  Head coach Sam Pittman has impressed just about everyone with his turn around at Arkansas however they have lost two tough games in a row and even with everything I wrote above I think Auburn has a slight talent advantage over the Razorbacks.  This game coming up comes down to the coaches in my opinion.  Who can get their teams ready to play and get the win?  Maybe it is my morose mood after watching this Auburn team today and listening to Rick Neuheisel for over three hours but right now I think it is Pittman and the Razorbacks.  Prove me wrong Coach Harsin but no matter what just stay cool...