GAME 12 REVIEW: The most excruciating game I have ever watched

Alabama 24  Auburn 22.  You will have to excuse me, I did not make up that title to be funny, that was actually the most excruciating game I have ever watched.  I do not want to relive it or sum it up or really talk about it anymore.  Instead I will just give ten thoughts I had about the game.  Again I am sorry that is all I got or will have.  If you saw the game you are well aware of what happened.  As opposed to other games I just do not have any opinions on the short or long term effects of this game.  Here we go in no particular order:

1. I was absolutely completely utterly wrong about everything I said about this game.  I am glad but I sure spouted my opinion on how I thought the game would go, i.e. historic Bama blow out, and I was dead wrong.  Great job Auburn coaches and players.

2. That was the greatest defensive performance by a unit compared to their talent level I have ever seen in my life.  The Auburn defense, players and coaches, literally played and coached the best they possibly could.  I have never been more proud of a group of football players in my life.  Everybody will say how terrible Bama is but they have a great offense and it was an unbelievable effort by the Auburn defense to shut them down the majority of the game.

3. Special props to Roger McCreary who might have played the greatest game by a defensive back I have ever seen at Auburn.  He also made himself some money as I think his NFL draft status will skyrocket after that game.

3. It was also an unbelievable effort by the Auburn special teams especially punter Oscar Chapman.  His punting was one of the main reasons Auburn almost won the game.  The kick coverage was also lights out.  Finally back up kicker Ben Patton hit a mega pressure 49 yard field goal in overtime.

4. I am also proud of a gutty Auburn offense.  T.J. Finley played on one leg most of the game, Tank Bigsby gave it everything he had, the receivers made some great catches, and the offensive line hung in there trying to block for predictable plays and stacked fronts most of the game. 

5. I congratulate the Auburn coaches.  The team was very well prepared to play a physical tough four quarter game when everyone and especially me expected them to fold.  It does make me a little upset wondering where this effort was the last two weeks but I still have recognize the great coaching job. 

6. Seeing how the game was going I would have run up the middle three times and got my field goal after Auburn intercepted Bama quarterback Bryce Young and got to the Bama 20 yard line in the third quarter.  You absolutely cannot take a big sack there and miss out on a field goal attempt.  T.J. Finley made a huge mistake there.  It is one more thing that cost Auburn the win.

7. Tank Bigsby absolutely cannot go out of bounds when Auburn was trying to run out clock late.  I am sorry, there is just no excuse.  You cannot do that, you cannot do that, you cannot do that.  I hate to say it but Auburn also might have won if he just would have stayed in bounds.

8. You have to send the house and sell out on short coverage on 4th and 7 on Bama's final regulation drive to tie the game.  You have one play to win the game.   It does not matter if they luck out and score.  You have to completely sell out on that play.  You get the game down to one play on 4th and 7 to win it you have to completely sell out to stop them.  This was the one huge mistake by the defensive coaches.

9. I think you had to go for two to win the game after Auburn scored in overtime.  The actual ending we got was pretty much guaranteed if you played it like Auburn decided to play it.  Again, you get the game down to one play from the three yard line to win it.  I think with the monstrous talent gap between the teams and the way Auburn looked you had to go for the win right there.  I believe that was proven right.  No guts, no glory.

10. There are no moral victories.  Auburn did make an incredible effort and had the chances above to beat a much better team for an absolute one-for-the-ages type of win.  It would have been the biggest upset in Iron Bowl history in my opinion.  However it did not happen.  I am proud of Auburn's unbelievable and very courageous effort but at the end of the day it was still a loss.  I neither care to dwell on it or remember it.  The best thing I can see coming out of the game is a recruiting boost.  The effort by the Auburn fans in that stadium was outstanding.  There has got to be some top recruits who want to be a part of that.  

Finally, congrats to Bama, they played about the worst game they could possibly play and still won the game.  Bryce Young is the best quarterback I have seen all year and he made an unbelievable throw to tie the game.  The season is over and I could care less about a bowl game.  The only thing every single person that is part of the Auburn football program should be focusing on and working as hard as the team did in that game is on recruiting.  RECRUITING IS EVERYTHING.  I hope it improves dramatically.  That is all I got.

GAME 11 REVIEW: Over before it even began?

South Carolina 21  Auburn 17.  I wrote last week that Auburn would probably get beat by South Carolina after the beyond horrible Mississippi State loss but I really did not believe that.  Auburn has much better football players than South Carolina.  It should not matter that Bo Nix was out or the defense and everyone else was down from last weekend.  That logic was reinforced literally every time Tank Bigsby touched the ball.  Tank finished the game with 164 yards on only 22 carries which averages out to almost 8 yards a carry.  He also had the look of a man who was ready to take the team on his shoulders and win this game.  There are times still even in modern football where you just chuck your cute overcoaching game plan and just ride your horse to the win.  

However the seemingly brain dead Auburn coaching staff did not use Bigsby on a 4th and 1 that literally turned the entire game in the first half with Auburn up 14-7.  First they should not have gone for it anyway with the lead over a lesser team and needing a win BADLY.  Second, if they were going to go for it, GIVE IT TO TANK.  I mean are these coaches so dense that they did not see the look on Tank Bigsby's face?  STOP OVERCOACHING and just give him the D*** BALL.  Instead they try an over-the-top pass with a nervous not-that-accurate backup quarterback into triple coverage.  Folks yes new coaches can overcome bad first seasons as you can read ad nauseum on other Auburn sites but I have real doubts about overcoming the absolute BRAIN DEAD calls I have seen from this staff over the last two weeks.

The goal is to WIN THE GAME.  Again you chuck the game plan and remember the basics of the sport you are coaching and do the right thing for the team to GET THE WIN.  This coaching staff looks really bad after the last two games.  There is no other way to say it folks.  Football has changed a lot but if you have the better team and you are running the ball well especially against a lesser team, you keep running the football.  I mean that is Football 101.  If these coaches cannot see that then again I have real doubts about these coaches going forward.  I mean I did not say Malzahn was wrong all the time.  This is a Malzahn game, you just run the ball down their throats the whole game. His problem was he could not pass against better teams and now we have a coaching staff that can or will not run the ball enough against anybody (???).  I mean it is just unbelievable to have a job that pays MILLIONS OF DOLLARS and the coaches Auburn hires cannot find a dime of common sense.  

They might say hey we do not like our running backs to carry the ball 30 times and that is legitimate although I would argue every once in a while you have to do it to avoid disasters like this game but whatever.  That is still no excuse, Jarquez Hunter who has proved himself throughout the season only got FOUR CARRIES as well???  I am literally shaking my head writing this.  What in the he!! is wrong with these coaches?  You also had your backup making his first start for you on the road and he needed help yet you throw the ball 30 TIMES???  Meanwhile Bigsby only touched the ball three times in the fourth quarter and none on Auburn's last possession???  Again this is ELEMENTARY stuff here, how can a good football coach or coaches not understand these tenets of the game?

It was the whole team as well, the defense I guess played better albeit against maybe the worst offense in the SEC. However they let a third string FCS quarterback go 10 for 15 for THREE TOUCHDOWNS.  South Carolina has a terrible offense, period, but the only weapon they had in that offense was NUMBER 11 ZaQuandre White who led the Gamecocks in rushing AND receiving.  It seemed pretty obvious early on that we should pretty much ADJUST whatever the stupid game plan was coming in and do everything we could to take away NUMBER 11.  I mean whaaat the heeeck???  I mean raise your hand if you watched the entire game and noticed that NUMBER 11 was making all their plays?  I think I see a lot of hands raised.  His teammates put the man on their shoulders after the game!!!  How many times do you see that nowadays?  I guess common sense from coaches is just too much to ask.

I said that I thought the coaches had ruined everything positive from earlier in the season in last week's collapse and well I think if there was any doubt to the truth of that statement it is gone now.  Literally three weeks ago I asked "is something special happening in Auburn?"  THREE WEEKS AGO!  I could not in my worst football nightmares envision what has happened since I wrote that post on Halloween.  You can see the cracks in the good part of the season as well.  Bo Nix's unbelievable playmaking was the biggest factor in the LSU win and Auburn played just as bad a second half on offense against Ole Miss as they did against anybody.  The Rebels had every chance to come back like State but could not capitalize.  The overall question is now just being shouted louder, i.e. what is the identity of this coaching staff?  What do they do well?  Can anyone answer that question?  I really cannot.  

Of course when it rains it pours with the evil empire heading to Auburn next week.  It is looking like it will be one of the worse beatdowns in this rivalry in Auburn.  Everyone keeps saying how Bama is not that good while their quarterback had almost 600 yards passing against Arkansas.  To be accurate Bama quarterback Bryce Young set all kinds of school records Saturday going 31 OF 40 FOR 559 YARDS AND FIVE TOUCHDOWNS.  This is the perfect setup for an epic blowout as one team is down and out and the other team is talented but has yet to really put it all together.  I am again not sure how much of this game I will be able to stomach.  It really does look like the perfect storm to me.  I really think $aban and company will really have the Tide ready to make a statement while I assume the Auburn coaches will do the thing that makes the least sense...  T.J. Finley is in no way ready for a game of this magnitude and Auburn's defense is even less ready.

The only thing positive I can possibly see for Auburn football the rest of 2021 is getting a bowl game against a team just as bad and disappointing, maybe an all SEC bowl game playing Florida?  That is about it.  Auburn is currently rated pretty low overall and compared to the rest of the conference in recruiting.  Yes they get those rankings wrong some of the time but they usually get the low rated teams right...  That brings us to the title of this post, is the whole Harsin era over before it ever really began?  I know in many quarters that would be labelled a ludicrous question and that you could not possibly be able to ask that question or pass judgement on a first year staff.  I have heard the bad first years of many football coaches brought up in relation to this ridiculous take.  HOWEVER just about everyone of those coaches who ended up being successful brought in big or at least very good recruiting classes after that bad first year.  

Also coaches are given less and less time to show something ESPECIALLY on the recruiting trail.  Just about every Auburn coaching change that has been made in the modern era was made for recruiting or it was one of the big factors.  Bryan Harsin is going to have to build a very good team in basically two years after this disaster of a season, after what looks like a sub par recruiting season, after probably losing several decent players to the transfer portal, and after most likely shaking up his coaching staff.  Does anyone think he is going to be able to do that?  Coaches only get three or four years now and thanks to former AD Jay Jacobs Auburn and Harsin will be on the road at Georgia and Bama next season so there will most likely be no wins in those games next year.  If you throw in a couple of bad coaching efforts in next season like this season in addition to those likely rivalry losses it will be 2023 or bust for Harsin with Gus Malazahn's last recruiting class as his seniors.  

Call me crazy, call me whatever but I do not see it happening.  I think it is over before it really began for Bryan Harsin at Auburn.  I hope I am wrong.

GAME 10 REVIEW: HISTORIC COLLAPSE

Mississippi State 43  Auburn 34.  I painted a bleak picture last week.  I did not think I could write a more depressing post than last week... I was wrong.  The Auburn football Tigers lost to the Mississippi State Bulldogs in the biggest collapse in Auburn football history.  Auburn blew a 28-7 lead in 1996 to let Georgia rally but that disaster does not seem to come close to what I just watched yesterday.  Auburn looked good and jumped out to a 28-3 lead and then collapsed in literally every possible way.  Here is your report card for Auburn today:  Offense - F, Defense - F, Special Teams - F, Coaching - Fx100?  I am still in shock.  I still cannot believe what I just witnessed.  I have seen some bad games on offense and defense.  I have seen a lot of bad coaching but I have never seen the utter stupidity on the Auburn sidelines I saw today.  Here is the break down:

OFFENSE, SPECIAL TEAMS, and OFFICIATING

Auburn came out of the gates and scored FOUR STRAIGHT TOUCHDOWNS (!!!) AND LOST THE GAME.  It is just mind-blowing.  There are always a few small signs before an avalanche or a large collapse, a few falling pebbles and rocks.  The signs before this one was a missed field goal and a blocked field goal.  Those plays helped take the momentum away from Auburn and give it to State.  I know the missed field goal was 55 yards but Carlson missed an easier one last week and is supposed to be one of Auburn's greatest kickers.  He has not shown that this year and did not come through here when we desperately needed him too.  The blocked field goal was not his fault but is on the line and thus on the special teams coaching which has definitely looked suspect the entire season.

However even with the bad special teams Auburn obviously still should have been better.  Tommy Tuberville while not a great coach won a lot of games at Auburn.  He was an expert at "letting the air out" in the second half if he got a big lead.  He would run the ball and run clock.  It was annoying, it was boring but it got the job done.  Auburn should have done a lot more of that today but instead, after a Demetris Robertson run to open their first drive of the second half (after State had opened the half going straight down for a touchdown), Auburn threw the ball four straight times and then gave it back to State who promptly went down and scored again.  Auburn then drove it 45 yards the next time they got it and might have put the game away with an easy field goal but again it was blocked.  State then scored again and got the lead at 29-28.  

This is the point where if I was the coach I would get in the offensive linemen's faces and challenge their manhood.  Auburn had to score or at least get a few first downs.  They went THREE AND OUT.  That is one of the points where the game was lost.  The fourth quarter had just started and Auburn was at home with the fans still barely in it.  You have to make a play there and they went out meek as lambs.  State then went down and scored again to make it 36-28.  Auburn then stalled and tried the stupid fake punt that everyone in the country saw LSU do against Bama last week, I mean are you serious?  Did you really think they would fall for that?  State did not and they got the ball back and the chance to add to their lead.  Auburn finally put some pressure on them (too little, too late) but then on a huge sack where T.D. Moultry was trying to block the pass while jumping toward the quarterback, he was called for targeting.  State then scored to go up 43-28.

It was not targeting.  I mean it was not close in my opinion and to just about everyone who has seen the play.  That mind-blowing bad call pretty much ended any chance of an Auburn comeback.  The whole targeting thing has gotten completely out of hand.  You really have to wonder what the agenda is when you see the replay officials CREATING that call (the refs on the field did not call it).  I guess the only bright spots for the offense were great days by Kobe Hudson and Ja'Varrius Johnson who both had over 100 yards receiving.  If Auburn had won the game the big news would have been Johnson's monster breakout game.  Instead we were just reminded how weak Auburn's offensive line is again.  Auburn barely got over 100 yards rushing and 57 yards of that was on Johnson's early touchdown run.  Auburn ran for almost nothing after getting a 28-3 lead with six minutes left to go in the first half.  I mean no one would have ever heard of Bo Jackson if he had these guys blocking for him.

DEFENSE and COACHING

I have already mentioned some of the bad calls on offense and the idiotic fake punt.  Now back to the horrific targeting call... Where the hell was Harsin?  I said something like this about a similar horrible call in the Georgia game.  They basically gave the game to State on that beyond awful call so as a head coach you have to burn the joint down after a call like that in a situation like that.  Let them give you a flag, you have got to go absolutely go crazy after that bad of a call.  I did not see it.  I am really just kind of hitting the small stuff though compared to the defensive coaching in this game.  That is all on Harsin, Derek Mason works for Harsin and Harsin could have easily ordered Mason to turn up the pressure.  Instead these guys RUSHED THREE MEN ALMOST THE ENTIRE SECOND HALF.  These coaches let Will Rogers stand back there WITH NO PRESSURE and go 24 OF 25 FOR ALMOST 300 YARDS AND FIVE TOUCHDOWNS.  

FIVE TOUCHDOWNS.  FIVE TOUCHDOWNS.  FIVE TOUCHDOWNS.  FIVE TOUCHDOWNS.  I thought Penn State was bad but this was the worst I have ever seen.  WHAT COULD THESE GUYS HAVE POSSIBLY BEEN THINKING???  You have to try and get pressure on the quarterback.  That is an absolute FACT in football.  It is an even more obvious fact when he is just standing back there with all day and COMPLETING EVERY PASS HE THROWS and leading his team to a score on every drive.  Every coach involved in that debacle does not deserve the money they are getting paid.  I hate everything about Auburn's defensive strategy.  Defense is about being aggressive and flying to the football.  The Auburn defense is not very good but the players had to play with basically one arm tied behind their back with this HIDEOUS AWFUL TERRIBLE coaching.

MISSISSIPPI STATE SCORED OVER 30 POINTS IN THE SECOND HALF.  I have to hand it to Harsin though, he managed to maybe top his awful calls on defense to MAKE THE WORST LATE GAME CALL I THINK I HAVE EVER SEEN.  Auburn scored with three minutes to go in the game and if they kicked the PAT they would be EIGHT POINTS BEHIND, AGAIN EIGHT POINTS BEHIND (that is a touchdown and a two point conversion). They had all three of their timeouts and plenty of time left in the game to stop State and drive down to try to tie the game and send it into overtime.  HOWEVER HARSIN CHOSE TO GO FOR TWO!!!???!!! IN THE NAME OF ALL THAT IS GOOD AND HOLY WHY?????????????????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!????????????????????  This not an argument, there is absolutely no reason to go for two there, NONE.  NONE!!!!!!!!!  I still cannot believe it !!!  CAN THE MAN NOT ADD???!!!???  

The call is indefensible.  Auburn gets within eight with over three minutes and all their timeouts plus some momentum, they actually still have a chance even after all I have written.  Harsin took care of that though by going for two... and it failing.  AUBURN THEN TRAILED BY NINE POINTS, TWO SCORES!!!, AND THEIR CHANCE WAS TAKEN AWAY BY NOTHING BUT AN INSANELY, OUT-OF-YOUR-F***ING MIND CALL!!!!??????!!!!!!!!!!  Again can the Auburn coaching staff NOT ADD???!!!???  I still cannot get my mind around this call.  I will never get my mind around this call.  All that is left is the ruins and smoldering ashes of the 2021 Auburn football season.  Everything good this season just went out the door in the midst of this historic collapse.  The streak-stopping win at LSU, the wins against Arkansas and Ole Miss, and anything else positive IS GONE.

It is all gone after this epic disaster and the worst collapse in Auburn history.  The only thing anyone will ever remember about this season is this game.  The fallout will only continue as Auburn will probably get beat at South Carolina next week and then will definitely get beat down at home by Bama.  Who cares about a crappy bowl game that will probably also be a loss as well? This disaster will also probably hurt recruiting as every school will tell every recruit what I just wrote in the previous paragraphs and then ask them if they really want to play for these guys?  I do not know how to end this post.  The leadership and everyone connected to Auburn University football BETTER WAKE UP.  You better start pouring money and going ALL IN on the program or Auburn is about to permanently become second tier in the SEC and pretty much never contend for the SEC championship... LIKE THE TEAM THAT JUST CAME BACK FROM 25 POINTS DOWN TO BEAT THEM.

GAME 9 REVIEW: ALL ON THE LINE

Texas A&M 20  Auburn 3.  I apologize for the late post but I have had soccer tournaments, soccer tryouts, etc... all weekend and to begin this week.  Unfortunately I was able to see most of this game and I guess the more things change, i.e. new coaches, winning in Baton Rouge, and so on, the more things stay the same, i.e. below average offensive lines, horrific offensive performances on the road, and so on.  Gus Malzahn's offensive coaching was one problem but his recruiting his last three years was a bigger problem.  Many of us pointed this out over and over but Auburn was stuck with his horrendous contract.  Now the Auburn football program has this albatross hanging around their neck and that albatross is three full years of bad recruiting plus the coaching change ruining Harsin's first recruiting season. I hate to keep harping on this but it is evident every week.

Bo Nix had a bad game and Auburn's wide receivers are in an SEC-sense TERRIBLE.  That is also the result of bad recruiting by Gus Malzahn.  I do not mean to personally insult these men who work so hard and I will cheer them on but I have to call it like I see it.  You just do not see a playmaker or even a third team All-SEC wide receiver in this bunch.  Anyway people have been harping on Nix and the wide receivers and they are part of the problem but the main problem remains the offensive line.  Also the defense has hung in there and done a good job but they too cannot be championship calendar without better personnel on the line.  I have said it before and I will say it again, name an Auburn championship year or great team and I will name you some really good to great linemen on both sides of the line.

Auburn stopped the bleeding for a little bit better year in 2019 with UMass transfer Jack Driscoll and project Prince Tega Wanagho panning out for their last season in Auburn.  That allowed Auburn to get a big win and upset over Bama but not much else.  Gus Malzahn could not recruit a big-time-almost-ready-to-play offensive tackle and it is literally killing Auburn.  Bo and the receivers would look a lot better if Auburn had an offensive line that could block consistently even against tough opponents for Tank Bigsby and Jarquez Hunter.  This line cannot do that or give Nix any time.  It was hard to watch in 2018, 2019, 2020, and now also in 2021.  It will be hard to watch in 2022 as well because nothing is changing because it does not appear any elite tackles will be coming in this year.  NOTHING CHANGES TILL THEY DO.

Auburn has a few good prospects but it does not have a Willie Anderson, a Marcus McNeil, a Lee Ziema, or a Greg Robinson coming in to save the day.  I also do not see a Quentin Groves, a Nick Fairley, a Dee Ford, or a Derrick Brown coming in on the defensive side either.  The big time recruiting schools like Bama, Georgia, and so on have already been talking to any one who looks like they could be this kind of player for two years.  Auburn is already out.  Am I painting a bleak picture?  Well yes I am, again just look at Auburn's history the last 10, 20, or 30 years...  good linemen equal good seasons, no good linemen equal bad seasons.  It really is in many ways that simple.  As I said it is getting harder and harder to get those guys and that is why Auburn has only challenged for an SEC title one time since 2013 which is getting farther in the rear view mirror.

Again this year will end pretty much like last year which is pretty much like the year before and so on... Auburn should be good enough to beat Mississippi State and South Carolina but they could lose one too like they did to State in 2018 and South Carolina last season.  Regardless of Auburn's hideous performance this past weekend everyone is saying how vulnerable Bama is since they did not beat LSU to a pulp.  Yes Auburn has a chance since Bama is not the unbeatable juggernaut they were last season but everyone is just playing into their hands.  Bama is down a little but they are still a very good and extraordinarily talented team that is younger and slightly less experienced than normal Bama teams.  The moment you make them an underdog they will beat you.  I still predict Bama will beat Georgia in the SECCG.

I do not think I have ever seen Auburn win the Iron Bowl without being better than they are now on both sides of the line of scrimmage.  Auburn had a winning record and played Bama at home in 2011... and got annihilated. One of the big problems with that team was the poor units on both sides of the line. Auburn has had many big upset wins in the Iron Bowl but... you guessed it, they were again better on both sides of the line.  Auburn will finish either 7-5 or if it can avoid an upset in the next two weeks 8-4.  Basically the same record as 2018, 2019, 2020...  I wish there was something else to say.  I really do but there is not.  Really when you look close it really does remain true that: "there are no miracles on the football field" as Pat Dye once said.  

It is tough to hear but it is where Auburn is at, you will know if things might change by the recruiting class.  In 1993 after losing Dye and finishing a disappointing season, Terry Bowden brought in LT Willie Anderson who is a candidate for the NFL HoF.  In 2002 after a horrific ending to the season including "Black Saturday" to Bama, Tommy Tuberville brought in LT Marcus McNeil who played for years in the NFL.  In 2007 Tuberville brought in LT Lee Ziemba who would become an All-American and in 2010 Gene Chizik brought in LT Greg Robinson who would become the second pick in the 2014 NFL draft.  What did all four of these elite offensive left tackles have in common?  They all were major pillars to undefeated seasons in 1993, 2004, and 2010 plus a near national championship in 2013.  We need one of those type players on the line and their commitment will be the herald that things could change down on the plains...

Until then we will continue to see games and seasons like this but I guess the good news is as you look around the country and see the situations that Florida, Texas, and Nebraska are in, we at least know that it could be worse.  It could be a lot worse.