The "Freeze Four" quartet of freshman wide receivers have been the talk of the preseason in Auburn. The group includes five stars Cam Coleman and Perry Thompson plus four stars Malcom Simmons and Bryce Cain. I have wondered how this whole thing would turn out when again no wide receiver has had a thousand yards in a season this millennium at Auburn. Auburn has had good passing attacks but all of them were still run-first teams, i.e. Pat Sullivan, the late 80s, 1993-94, 2004-05, 2010, and 2013. The question I had for this season was could Auburn change and do something they have simply never done? Could Auburn be an even slightly pass-first team? Since it has NEVER been done I did and still do not think so but for one night Auburn was that team with the stats to back it up.
For one night, Auburn played just like I did when I started off my season on the video game. First, a long touchdown run by Jarquez Hunter, I mean come on it is still Auburn. Next though came a barrage of scoring passes from quarterback Payton Thorne to KeAndre Lambert-Smith (another big wide receiver acquisition during the offseason), Cam Colman, Lambert-Smith again, and then to Perry Thompson. It was just like playing the video game! The Tigers added a couple of running touchdowns and then got the third member of the "Freeze Four" Malcolm Simmons involved with two touchdowns, one off a recovered block punt and one making a nasty move off a short pass from Thorne. Auburn then ended the night with backup quarterback Hank Brown throwing one up for grabs in the end zone and another new wide receiver in Cal transfer Sam Jackson coming down with it.
I guess the only sad part of the night was that Bryce Cain only had two catches for thirty plus yards and no touchdowns. Obviously if that is the worst thing that happened it was a pretty good night. It was about the best start Auburn could have hoped for. There was a big crowd, a bunch of excitement, and plenty of passing offense featuring Auburn's new found talent at wide receiver. Every game going forward will be harder but after the bitter end to last season this type of win was sorely needed. Also everything I have described passing-wise about this night cannot be overstated. Gus Malzahn did not call a game like this against an out-matched opponent ONE TIME IN A DECADE. I said over and over and over during that time that you have to practice passing in these games even if you are a running team. He would never do it. That is one reason that regardless of the opponent this game and the way it was played was huge.
The question going forward will be does Freeze have the stones to keep throwing the ball when things get tight, Thorne misses a few, the offense has a few three-and-outs, and Auburn loses a game where the coaches tried to pass the ball and were not very successful. Will he stick with it when the same old tired group of fans pounce and start going on about Auburn having to always run the ball to be successful? These people do not understand that the answer to these questions will, in my opinion, determine Auburn's short-term future and maybe Freeze's career at Auburn. The facts are that many of these playmakers at wide receiver will transfer out if they do not get the ball enough. It doesn't matter if fans think they are prima donnas and call them names, it is a fact. Auburn cannot just "malzahn" a few wins playing conservative and keep the momentum going.
This was my biggest overall concern coming into the season and it remains my biggest concern. I had a few others after last night as well. First, the Auburn play callers really need to stop running quarterback Payton Thorne. The season pretty much goes down the tubes if he gets hurt. If you doubt that then ask Senator Tommy Tuberville why he had a losing season his first year... Tuberville's first quarterback coach and offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone resurrected quarterback Ben Leard's career and Auburn slaughtered LSU and Georgia that year but made the HUGE MISTAKE of running Leard on the option early in the season and got his shoulder separated. Auburn then lost just about every game between those two big wins. All this momentum also goes down the drain if Thorne gets hurt running the ball before the Tigers at least get to the Oklahoma game.
My final concern is the Auburn defense. After all the sunshine pumping on the homer web sites, this unit looks small and frankly not very good to me. I hope I am wrong and they certainly crushed Alabama A&M but I just got a bad vibe all night. I do not see hardly an All-SEC type players especially on the line. I think Auburn may have to pass the ball in many games because this group looks to me like it will give up plenty of points. Also, if you sift through all the propaganda on the recruiting sites, the truth is Auburn is still not even close to the top teams on either side of the line of scrimmage. Auburn has improved recruiting dramatically but still has not been able to bring in the five star offensive or defensive tackles. Auburn will not be able to challenge for a championship until that changes. I hate to bring that up after such an awesome night but I think it has to be said.
I am infuriated that Auburn does not play at home in the month of October. It is obvious the SEC schedule makers took care of Bama's schedule and then made up everyone else's, even Georgia. Auburn was obviously way down the line. However Auburn does need to take advantage of it's home "preseason" in September. The Tigers get Cal, New Mexico (not State (-: ), and a rebuilding Arkansas team to open up the SEC schedule in the coming weeks. Hugh Freeze needs to stick with the game plan that was used last night and get all these young playmaking wide receivers as many touches as possible. Auburn needs to establish this style of play and lay the foundation for what kind of offensive team it will be. On the season checklist though, a near perfect start can be checked off...
I feel the kicking game is on fire! Your thoughts?
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