GAME 8 REVIEW: Is something special happening on the plains?

Auburn 31  Ole Miss 20.  I asked the question in the title of this post and after Saturday I think the answer is YES, there is something special happening on the plains.  Does that mean they can not go down in flames next week at Texas A&M?  Absolutely not, this is still a flawed team and certainly not close to the most talented team in the SEC.  Most likely, they will lose to the Aggies, beat the next two and lose to Bama BUT after what has happened the last two games, there is a small, tiny, sliver of a chance that this Auburn team could do something magical.  That in and of itself is amazing.  You see it in these locker room videos the last two games, I have not seen anything like that in a long time.  I give props to the players and the coaches.  I certainly was down on both after Georgia and Georgia State, I did not see or think I would see the fire I see now in this team.  Auburn has been missing this "oneness", as Pat Dye called it, for a long time.

THE GOOD

That is why you cannot completely measure players by size and estimated talent level.  You are seeing them become better as a TEAM.  The coaching staff also came through again by having a team ready to play after a bye week.  You can never take that for granted.  These Auburn Tigers were ready to play and watching everyone pick Ole Miss on College Gameday was the last straw.  The Auburn defense usually looks completely outmanned every time you compare them to their opponent but these guys just keep fighting and have slowed down every team they have played other than Georgia breaking through late.  I think the Derrick Mason effect we all expected right off the bad is finally being seen.  Offensive coordinator Mike Bobo also called a good game.  Auburn has continued to pass the ball all year and hey what do you know they have improved at it!  That was a concept foreign to our last coach.  You have to be able to pass.

Bo Nix was simply better than the much more hyped Matt Corral and I do not think it was just Corral's ankle injury.  Do I think Nix is a better quarterback overall, I do not but last night he was better which bodes well for Auburn.  I mean just look at the numbers...  22 of 30 for 276 yards and a touchdown plus two more touchdowns running the ball.  Nix also distributed the ball to TEN different receivers for at least the second time this season.  That NEVER happened with Gus Malzahn in a big game that was not a blowout, ever.  Also FINALLY Tank Bigsby finally returned with a monster game rushing for 140 yards and a touchdown.  This was this year's offense at their best running the ball well and making big pass plays off that.  The coaching staff also called good plays in critical situations.  You add that to a fired up defense and you get a big win like this.

THE BAD

Unfortunately Auburn's biggest issue was also on display last night and that is the sinking spells the Tigers hit on both sides of the ball each game.  The defense had their bad run in the first half when Ole Miss grinded out two double-digit play touchdown drives in a row.  The Auburn defense just has those few series every game where they look so bad but to their credit they usually come back to get big stops and they did in the second half when the offense went in to their funk.  Auburn came out ON FIRE scoring four touchdowns in the first half but after missing a field goal on their first drive of the second half, the offense completely went into their shell.  They did not score a touchdown in the second half.  They gave Ole Miss every chance in the world to get back in the game.  It was hard to watch.  Auburn has got to stop these long bad stretches to keep this run going.  The only game left that is probably a sure win is South Carolina. 

Luckily for Auburn there was plenty of bad on the other side as well.  Lane Kiffin is again in my opinion one of the most overrated coaches in history.  He is a good offensive coach, he runs the Gus Malzahn offense as it should be run.  The way he is running it is what I was asking for the entire time Gus was at Auburn.  I mean Ole Miss' running plays were all Gus staples but their passing game was miles better.  However Kiffin is just a complete jerk as he proves over and over, and his penchant for going for it on fourth down is just stupid.  Analytics do not take into account the stadium noise and intensity or the mood on both sides of the ball.  Ole Miss desperately needed points to give their players a boost and they also needed to get to just one score behind.  Analyze that!  Kiffin though still went for it and buried his team in the process.  

THE UGLY

Vanderbilt should not be in the SEC.  It is as plain now as it has been for decades.  The top high school teams draw more fans.  They are never competitive and a few lucky winning seasons in the last 40 years does not change that.  I know they love pocketing the money but it appears their fans have finally completely given up.  It is just not fair to the school or anyone involved with the football program.  I just do not understand competing in perpetuity with no chance of ever really winning.  Again it just does not make sense for anyone involved.  Thing are also getting a big ugly down in Gainesville as Florida took a beat down similar to Auburn against Georgia yesterday.  The difference is that Mullen has been at Florida for four years now and that was his fourth loss this season.  The natives are getting restless and it could not happen to a better guy.  

Georgia is also riding high with their "best defense ever" but things could still turn ugly for them.  Bama is not the juggernaut they were last year and they have some warts but if they run the table (which hopefully they will not) they will beat Georgia in my opinion.  Stetson Bennett is not going to beat Bama regardless of how good their defense is.  Mark it down.  They better get J.T. Daniels back but even then I would pick Bama but Georgia would have a better chance.  Things got ugly for Kentucky as they went down hard for the second week in a row.  Every time you count the Bulldogs out they seem to get a big win.  Auburn needs to fully focus on Texas A&M but win or lose they better get ready for State.  Mike Leach, as weird as he is, is a decent coach.  He is not great but he seems to knock off one or two teams every season.

THE LAST WORD

 It is just one of those seasons for Auburn, every game seems to be the biggest of the season.  I guess that is what happens when an underachieving team wins some big games.  The Tigers now have played themselves into championship contention and every game is a playoff game.  Auburn has managed to win all the right games and I know this sounds weird but also to lose the right games.  The Penn State loss does not hurt them in conference and if you have to lose in conference you want to lose out of division.  This has put a two loss Auburn team in the race for the SEC Championship.  It all comes down now to what has been Auburn's home away from home in College Station.  Unbelievably Auburn has still never lost on the road at Texas A&M.  Auburn has won every time since the Aggies joined the SEC.  Can Auburn extend the streak against a surging Texas A&M team coming off a bye week?  Can they put themselves in position for a winner-take-all Iron Bowl?  We will know the answer around 6pm next weekend.

TRIVIA QUESTION

The worst Auburn team to win at Texas A&M was in 2015 when Auburn finished the season 6-6.  It was much maligned quarterback Jeremy Johnson's biggest win in my opinion and defensive coordinator Will Muschamp's finest job that season.  The defense won the game for Auburn by terrorizing Texas A&M's star true freshman quarterback?  Who was that quarterback?  

Scroll down for the answer...

TRIVIA ANSWER:  The quarterback was this season's likely NFL MVP, Phoenix Cardinal quarterback Kyler Murray.

GAME 7 REVIEW: AGAINST THE TREND

Auburn 38  Arkansas 23.  As I titled this post I thought Auburn really rose up against the trends that were telling everyone this was a loss.  I thought the Tigers coached and played their finest game of the season in this one.  Auburn had a shot against Penn State but it was like they were just hanging in there.  Bo Nix almost single-handedly led the win at LSU.  Arkansas was on a two game losing streak but they had beaten Texas and Texas A&M while almost taking down Ole Miss as well.  Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman has done some good coaching the last two seasons so not only did Arkansas have the home field advantage it looked like they had the coaching one as well.  Finally any longtime Auburn fan can tell you how things usually go with 11am kickoffs in Fayetteville.  The trends in this one had everyone in the country except the homers predicting Arkansas to win the game.  I know I did not feel good at kickoff.  

Last week I ended my post stating: "This game coming up comes down to the coaches in my opinion.  Who can get their teams ready to play and get the win?".  I then stated I thought it would be Pittman and I then asked Bryan Harsin to prove me wrong.  He did and that is the story this week.  Bryan Harsin and the staff at Auburn finally showed me something.  They helped get the players off the mat after a brutal beatdown by Georgia and they got them ready to play on the road with an 11am kickoff.  Again, just a cursory view of Auburn's history shows that is no small feat.  Auburn came to play on both sides of the ball and seemed to just want it more than the home team.  That is coaching and I am definitely glad to be proven wrong.  This was an absolutely huge win for Auburn going into a bye week before a big home game against the Ole Miss Rebels.  Auburn desperately needs the bye and it was so good  to get a win before it.

THE GOOD

There is a lot of this to go around this week.  The Auburn offense was very good most of the day.  The Tigers came out and drove down the field and put it in the end zone on a big play and great pass by Bo Nix to Ja'Varrius Johnson.  The forty yard bomb was absolutely huge as the Tiger offense has been missing the big play most of the season.  That is EXACTLY what the Auburn offense needed to do.  Auburn put up one more big touchdown drive in the second quarter and in the second half Nix connected with Demetris Robertson for a 71 yard touchdown pass.  The offense then followed that big play up with a drive for a field goal and one more big touchdown drive.  Nix finished 21 of 26 for almost 300 yards and those two big touchdowns.  He also spread the ball around to TEN different receivers.  The Auburn wide receivers after being dogged out all week caught nearly every ball that came their way this week.

You have to feel good for those guys after the beating they took all week from the fans and the media.  Now the offense definitely had a big swoon at the end of the second and beginning of the third quarter.  Bo Nix made his only big mistake of the day throwing an interception right before halftime and then the defense allowed the Razorbacks to drive down and score and get the momentum.  Arkansas took the opening drive of the second half and drove for a touchdown to take the lead.  The Razorbacks then forced Auburn into two 3-and-outs.  It looked like it was Arkansas' time however the defense then made a huge play getting a sack and fumble in the end zone to give Auburn back the lead and the momentum.  The Tigers never looked back.  Like the big pass plays on offense, this was the big forced turnover that the Auburn coaches have been expecting from this defense.  It was arguably the biggest play of the game.

THE BAD AND THE UGLY

First there was the report of a crazy Bama fan fatally shooting another Bama fan last Saturday after the Tide's loss to Texas A&M.  Next Vol fans pelted the field with various objects at the end of their loss to Ole Miss including a golf ball allegedly thrown at former Vol coach Lane Kiffin.  The SEC has adoped the moniker "that is just means more" but I mean come on people.  It is still just a game and you have just got to get a hold of yourself.  I was in the middle of the Bama mob after "Wrong way Bo" and the Van Tiffin kick in 1984 and 1985.  I had to get to my car after Bama stopped Frank Sanders one foot short in their home game in 1994.  I was there till the end in Jordan Hare on "Black Saturday" in 2001 when Bama won 31-7 and the Bama fans in attendance seriously rubbed it in.  I was there for that awful SEC Championship game against Georgia in 2017 with a bunch of a-hole Bulldog fans.  I know the rage "that turns good men cruel".

However before you do something stupid you just have to get control of yourself.  As we were getting heckled all the way out of the stadium in 94 I told my brother "just walk out with class".  That is all you can do.  I have also found a good way to handle it is to in the words of Patrick Swayze "just be nice" during those times.  I was with my wife at the 2000 SEC Championship game when Florida beat the stew out of Auburn.  Our tickets were in the SEC East section and we were getting ridden hard by some Florida frat boys.  They were screaming at us till I finally turned around and said "hey you guys are right you have a really good team and you are kicking our ass".  They almost immediately relented and were nice to us the rest of the game.  I am not saying it works every time but it can turn a volatile situation into at least a tolerable one.  

THE LAST WORD

You also have to remember that it is those tough times that make the big ones so sweet.  Bama won a national championship in 1992 and Auburn lost perhaps its greatest coach and was placed on NCAA probation.  The Tigers then won 20 games in a row over the next two years and it felt so good after going through that.  Auburn went to the mountain top in 2010 but then fell into the deepest valley by 2012.  In 2011 Auburn was blown out by every good team they played and as most everyone remembers in 2012 Auburn had literally the worst season EVER.  Meanwhile Bama won national championships in 2011 and 2012.  I literally had to almost walk away from college football it got so bad and made me so mad but then we got the beautiful 2013 season.  Sports can drive you crazy and drive people to do really stupid things and that is why you have to check yourself and remember things will get better, well unless you are a Vandy fan...

As I said earlier the 2021 Auburn Tigers football team now enters their bye week for the stretch run.  The Tigers have won the important games to keep them in the race for the SEC West.  It is obviously a long shot that I do not think will happen but it is a big deal.  The big road win did a lot to stabilize things but it is also wise to remember this team also barely avoided losing to Georgia State and in the end did not even really challenge the best team from Georgia.  Auburn also might be facing the two best teams on their schedule outside Georgia and Bama after this bye week.  Things can still go really good or really bad, this team must continue to improve.  That is head coach Bryan Harsin's current challenge.  I was mad last week and impressed this week, I honestly do not have a real gut feeling on how this is going to turn out.  My best case scenario for what I think might happen is this team going 3-1 in their next four games losing to either Ole Miss or Texas A&M and beating the other plus State and South Carolina.  It starts now using these next two weeks to prepare and build on a good first half to this season.

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...

GAME 5 REVIEW: HEART

 

Auburn 24  LSU 19.  It is over, the streak is finally over.  Auburn won in Baton Rouge for the first time since 1999.  Let's party like its 1999!!!  It should have ended a long time ago but it is finally thankfully over.  It should have ended in 2005 but John Vaughn missed FIVE field goals.  It should have ended in 2007 but LSU hits a touchdown on the last play of the game.  It should have ended in 2017 but then Auburn under Gus Malzahn blew a 20-0 lead.  Lets just say the Auburn Tigers were due and in an ugly but unbelievable game they finally got it done.  This was definitely a game between two mediocre and flawed teams but for Auburn this gives the new coaching staff a signature win and something to build on.  It was just so important to get this win and really get something positive out of this season as some pretty tough losses are coming.

THE GOOD

I stand by everything I have wrote about Bo Nix so far this season. He did not have many bright spots after LSU last season.  He was bad in the first half against Alabama State, missed several key passes against Penn State, and was awful again last week for almost three quarters against Georgia State.  I never questioned his heart or his character but I certainly questioned his ability to get the job done.  I think the majority of Auburn nation and even the coaches were doing the same thing.  This twenty-one year old kid was up against it and knew his whole career in some ways was on the line in the toughest place for Auburn to play.  He knows better than us the limitations of his line and receivers and his own as well.  He knew that every thing he had worked for nearly his entire life on the football field had come down to this game in this place...

This kid had all that on him and he turned in the game of his life.  He had huge plays against Oregon his first season, he led routs against overwhelmed Mississippi State and LSU (last season) teams, and he was part of the biggest win in the last four seasons in the Iron Bowl in 2019 but THIS was his finest hour as an Auburn Tiger.  In the face of overwhelming pressure, down 13-0 and 19-10 in a tough game where Auburn made plenty of mistakes Nix led Auburn to this streak-breaking signature win down in the bayou.  Nix was the Auburn offense for most of the game as he scrambled to make play after play.  The Auburn legacy and now legend finished the game 23 of 44 for 255 yards with a touchdown and NO interceptions.  He also was Auburn's leading rusher with 74 yards on 12 carries and a touchdown.  Frankly I think the only quarterback at Auburn I have seen play as well with that much stacked against him was Cam Newton.

Nix's sideline-to-sideline-elusive-duck-and-escape-scramble-and-throw to Tyler From for a touchdown on 4th down with Auburn down 13-0 will now go down in that "Hall of Fame" group of great Auburn plays joining his dad's throws against Bama and Florida.  Also as a parent you have to feel a little choked up when you see Pat and Krista Nix in tears after the game.  All I can say is congratulations and well done to Bo.  I did not think he had that in him and frankly I would not have disagreed with starting T.J. Finley.  It was an absolutely outstanding performance in the midst of almost overwhelming pressure.  Unfortunately I believe there will be much more loss, hurt, and heartbreak waiting for Auburn and Bo Nix the rest of this season but even if that happens this game, this win still matters a whole lot.  Auburn and Bo Nix desperately needed this win and they got it and it could pay huge dividends in the future.

On the other side of the ball, the comeback was just about as amazing.  I definitely had my doubts about Nix but I had absolutely given up on the defense after LSU hit a touchdown pass on 2nd and goal from the 33 YARD LINE on their first drive.  I lost it, I just lost it.  That play after the awful pass defense against Penn State and the embarrassing first half last week was just too much.  I thought it was over right then and there.  I certainly did not change my mind after Auburn missed a field goal on a bad hold the next possession and then LSU drove it right back down the field.  The Auburn defense did get a big sack and held LSU to a field goal but after LSU stopped Auburn and drove it down the field again I was wondering how much more I could watch.  I mean how many more years are we cursed to see everything go to crap in that stadium?

I knew that sometime and at some point Auburn had to have something good happen to them in that awful place but I was already thinking that was wishful thinking for the next visit.  Little did I know that break would come with LSU going for it on 4th and one and the Auburn three yard line... and then an LSU lineman moved prematurely.  I believe if LSU makes that first down and then the inevitable touchdown then all Nix's heroics would have been in vain.  I do not think Auburn wins this game without this lucky break.  LSU was about to put this game away in the first quarter but were forced to kick a field goal after the procedure penalty.  Auburn got that break and made the most of it as they drove the length of the field and scored on Nix's miracle play.  This series of events not only got Auburn going offensively but finally, miraculously the Auburn defensive coaching and playing finally showed up.

The Auburn defense without their leader in Owen Pappoe and without senior defensive end T.D. Moultry rose up and only allowed two field goals the rest of the way.  These guys played their butts off as did everyone on offense with Nix.  Auburn is certainly not even close to the best team in the SEC but everyone on that field gave everything they had Saturday night and that is all you can ask of them.  It definitely helped that LSU has become such a one-dimensional offense but they still have some good players including wide receiver Kayshon Boutte.  He had almost 100 yards on their first drive but Auburn shut him down and severely slowed down quarterback Max Johnson after that.  I loved the adjustment to crowd the line and not show who was rushing and who was dropping into coverage.  That is how you play pass defense.  

Finally props to the offensive line and wide receivers for hanging in there after some horrific mistakes and coming back with some big plays, Kobe Hudson I am definitely talking about you.  The same goes to the running backs who just had no chances early on as LSU completely sold out to stop the run and made Auburn pass.  THANK YOU coaches for not just continuing to try to run as the former coach did in that situation.  Everyone hung in there and the Auburn running backs came up big in the end.  Tank Bigsby had a five yard and an eleven yard run plus a six yard catch on Auburn's second touchdown drive to make it 19-17.  The big blow finally came on Auburn's fourth quarter game-winning touchdown drive where super-freshman Jarquez Hunter busted a 44 yard run on a perfectly executed misdirection pitch play.  The big guy then finished the drive off and the defense finished the game off with an interception.

THE BAD

Gus Malzahn's recruiting his last three years was horrendously bad in the trenches.  I believe I have already mentioned this in every post so far this season and will continue to.  Gus Malzahn and his staff's recruiting on the line has just decimated this team and this program.  I do not care one bit what your recruiting class is ranked if it does not have elite linemen in it.  I appreciate the guys out there working their butts off but Auburn simply has no championship talent on the lines and I think this point will be on full display next week against the #2 Georgia Bulldogs and it will continue to be evident the rest of this season and going forward unless this staff can bring some of these guys in.  That is why this win was so big, again it gives the staff a signature to win and something to build on and hopefully they will use it to get some great linemen to come play on the plains.  Sadly this truth was evident whether Auburn won or lost the game.

THE UGLY

Auburn is not alone and neither is Gene Chizik anymore.  LSU is in trouble and I think this season might finish off Ed Orgeron two seasons removed from a national championship like Chizik.  LSU has a surging Kentucky team up next followed by a desperate but still good Florida team, and then Ole Miss, Bama, and Texas A&M.  I think the same thing about LSU I thought about Auburn, they win last night and they have a good chance in a few of those games but now all bets are off.  The game last night was so important to both sets of Tigers.  I thought the bottom might fall out for Auburn if they lost and again I think the same thing about LSU especially considering how one-dimensional they are on offense.  It looks bad for the Bayou Bengals and Orgeron but I certainly will not be shedding any tears for them.  I would sure love for Auburn to start a little streak against them.

THE LAST WORD

It will simply take a miracle for Auburn to have a chance next week.  Frankly I just hope Auburn does not have any major injuries because the five games after next week are where Auburn's season will really be decided.  Again I think Auburn has little chance against Georgia and Bama but they have good chances in the other games against Arkansas, the Mississippi schools, Texas A&M, and South Carolina.  It would definitely be a mistake to think any of those schools cannot beat Auburn after some of the upsets yesterday.  The Georgia State game showed what will happen to Auburn if they come out flat.  One final note, the Auburn coaches better find a way to take some of the burden off Bo Nix because if he tries to run and scramble as much as he did last night next week and after we still might see a quarterback change.

GAME 4 REVIEW: DISASTER AVOIDED... FOR NOW

Auburn 34  Georgia State 24.  Never has a score been more deceiving than the one I just listed... the score was Georgia State 24  Auburn 19 at the 59:07 mark in the game.  Quarterback T.J. Finley took the snap on 4th down ten yards away from the end zone and Georgia State sent the house.  He proceeded to try to turn and scramble and ran right into two Georgia State defenders.  The game was over and Auburn had finally lost to one of these type teams...  till somehow someway he got away from them and hit Shedrick Jackson for a game-winning touchdown.  Auburn was awful for 59 minutes and even with the benefit of what looked like a bad officiating call going their way it still did not look like the offense would score.  Auburn simply could not hit passes most of the day with either Bo Nix or T.J. Finley and Georgia State was determined to not let Auburn run the ball.  It was very hard to watch.

Also before Georgia State goes too far blaming that one call for Auburn winning they need to get over themselves.  They got away with a few penalties as well and if they could have gotten a punt off when it was obvious Auburn was coming for it they would have won the game.  They also simply ran over Auburn receiver Ja'varrius Johnson on a screen pass during this same drive and both teams did plenty of hand checking all day. Auburn was called for six penalties for 65 yards and Georgia State for only two for 20 yards so give me a break with the whole "the refs were on Auburn's side" garbage.  It was a tough and frankly embarrassing day all around for the Auburn Tigers.  It showed how far the talent level on the lines eroded under the previous coach.  For most of the game, Georgia State simply looked like the best team.  The defensive line in the first half looked about as bad I have ever seen.

There is no point in trying to break down this game, Auburn was awful in every phase of the game except special teams.  Anders Carlson was 4 of 5 on field goals and although his miss was costly as Auburn had the momentum he is going to miss one at some point. The punt block and recovery for a touchdown was as big a play as the last one and how cool that it was blocked by one CAYLIN NEWTON.  That was about it on the positive side.  On defense, I know team leaders Owen Pappoe and Zakoby McClain were out, McClain only for the first half because of the horrendous targeting call last week, but it was simply unbelievable how bad the unit got beat in the first half.  The lack of real talent on the line was stark and the coaching was unacceptable.  The Tigers got it together in the second half but why in the world did it take that long?  Georgia State was just running read options?

However before I delve into the rest, let me hold up and say one thing about when Auburn inevitably loses one of these games.  First, it is pretty incredible that Auburn has not yet.  The Tigers have escaped sure losses like this several times including Appalachian State in Tommy Tuberville's first game at Auburn and against Jacksonville State in 2015.  Auburn keeps escaping but it will most likely happen sooner or later.  Let me be clear though to all the Bama fans and others who were just ready to pile on, it has already happened to you and your "best ever" coach in Bama's case.  Uh UAB was worse than Georgia State in 2000 and $aban lost to them in "Death Valley" in his first year at LSU.  He then lost to Louisiana Monroe as well his first year at Bama.  So while yes I understand rubbing it in and enjoying it as we did during those losses, it will not be the end of the program and you still have more...

Back to the situation Auburn finds itself in...  defensively things look pretty bleak.  The Auburn defense first allowed Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford to go 28 of 32 for 280 yards last week and then allowed Georgia State to run over, through and around them this week.  Obviously there are some coaching issues but the main issue that jumps out to me is again the lack of elite talent and size on the line.  Auburn has some good players and gamers on defense but the line is not close to the better teams in the conference.  This is all on Gus Malzahn and his staff, as they did not bring in ONE elite defensive tackle after Derrick Brown in 2016.  The preseason is over and Auburn has a bunch of good teams and good offenses coming their way.  Right now there is nothing else to expect but more of the last two games or worse.  The biggest thing that can be done is RECRUIT.  I mean can Auburn just get ONE elite tackle???

Offensively things are not much better and now Pandora's box has been opened with the quarterbacks.  On Bo Nix I will just repeat what I said last week: "I like Bo Nix and have defended him in this space as he was a victim so many times of our predictable offense under Malzahn.  He developed some bad habits from that experience and frankly from him trying to be a playmaker in high school.  I think we all hoped the new coaches could help with these issues but it just does not look like it is going to happen.  Nix is just not an accurate quarterback.  He can make plays, throw some great passes, and get hot at times but he is just not accurate.  He refuses to step up in the pocket, make the throw, and take the hit.  The bottom line is you just cannot be a good passer unless you do that."  Bo Nix proved every bit of this correct with his performance yesterday. 

Auburn's wide receivers may be the weakest point of this offense but Bo and frankly T.J. Finley as well continue to miss passes when somebody gets open.  You just cannot miss open guys many times as this level.  The quarterback issue will be a problem going forward for the rest of the season now unless T.J. Finley starts and shows a lot more than he did yesterday but I will say he did come in to a tough situation.  Finley has looked to me like a baseball-style quarterback with a tremendous arm but not much touch and like Nix, not accurate.  The only thing I do like better about Finley is he is more of a pocket quarterback.  It is hard to bench Nix after the good things he has done the last two years but he brought this on with his poor performances and decisions the last three weeks.  His performance yesterday was just unacceptable and him not being a captain also points toward something being wrong as well. 

Let me address the booing for a moment, I would not do it but it is inevitable at any school in situations like this.  Also as someone reminded me, the minute a player starts taking money for endorsements, all bets are off when it comes to booing.  Nix now in two years has had some amazing moments against Oregon, Mississippi State, and obviously Bama in 2019 plus LSU last season however he has had as many or more poor performances.  They say "it just means more" in the SEC and when you are the quarterback you get more of the credit when you win and more of the criticism when you lose.  It is the nature of the position.  I feel bad for the Nix family but as I learn more every year, sports are not fair or forgiving.  I did think the team seemed to respond to Finley and again it has concerned me ever since I heard Nix was not a captain.  I do not think I have ever seen a successful SEC team with a two year starter not a captain.

Auburn now heads to Baton Rouge with the season literally hanging in the balance.  Auburn and LSU both need this win badly to have any kind of successful season.  Who will Auburn start at quarterback?  It would appear to be Finley after Saturday however it would be pertinent to remember Auburn and Nix absolutely DESTROYING LSU and Finley just a year ago.  However Bo Nix with all his experience has yet to have a big performance on the road against a decent team.  That is the deciding factor to me.  I think T.J. Finley will lead Auburn next Saturday night against his former team in his home state.  THAT is a lot to put on a young quarterback especially since it was reinforced by Georgia State to sell out to stop the run and key on Tank Bigsby whenever he is on the field.  I believe every single team left on Auburn's schedule is going to do just that and Auburn is only going to win by passing better.

All eyes are now on LSU and this game will soon be forgotten but as many bad things as there were it was also special for many Auburn players especially T.J. Finley.  No matter what happens the rest of his career, this will always hopefully be a cherished memory.  It brought me to my feet cheering for one of the few times this decade.  He took the field 98 yards from the end zone and Auburn had to have a touchdown against a determined opponent.  He made some critical completions and a big scramble and then he did what really only a rare few ever get to do.  He made an absolutely tremendous clutch do-or-die play on fourth down to win the game for Auburn.  It is an incredible moment regardless of the opponent or circumstances.  Auburn appeared to lose the game with less than a minute remaining but T.J. Finley reached out and pulled victory from the jaws of defeat.  He is now an AUBURN Tiger.

GAME 3 REVIEW: WHITED OUT

Penn State 28  Auburn 20.  Well if any game ever fit perfectly into "The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly" type of review for the game it was this one.  First, I still love that Auburn played this game.  It is just so rare to see a top SEC team playing a regular season game against a top Big 10 team.  I stand by the excitement I had for the game and still say in some ways it was the biggest game of the season for Auburn.  Unfortunately Auburn lost the game and while there were some good spots, there were also some bad spots plus some downright ugly ones.  There were some glaring mistakes by the coaches and mistakes from the players plus there is the ever-present reminder that Auburn just does not have championship talent.  The one constant is that Auburn has to recruit better.  That has to be solved before many other things can be solved.

Also while I love the game was so big and got so much hype, enough about the "white-out"!  I mean I understand it is a big deal for Penn State and it is kind of cool.  However this is not like some long standing tradition, it is like a decade old?!?  Every big time Power 5 school gets up and very loud for a big game, I think Auburn will be rocking for this game next season.  I just do not think Penn State is the toughest place to play even during "the white-out".  I mean ESPN just blathered on and on about this thing.  Again I understand hyping the game but I think it got ridiculous.  Also it may just be sour grapes but the reviews by Auburn fans about the whole experience filtering in through the forums and such about Penn State were not very complimentary.  I do not think that is all just from losing.

THE GOOD

First Auburn gets the chance to pay Penn State back next season in Auburn.  I will be looking forward to that game about as much.  On the field from this game I thought the offense did some good things.  I have constantly harped on the offensive line but I thought overall they played as good a game as they could.  They are limited but we are getting about as much from them as possible.  I thought the running backs were good.  At times I did not understand the rotation in the first half, I thought Tank Bigsby would be featured more but the carries were spread out about right in the final stats.  I think the problem was Penn State was keying on Tank every time he was in the game.  You could tell one of their main goals on defense was to slow down Tank.  I thought Jaquez Hunter did a great job exploiting this.

Auburn ran the ball for over 180 yards for almost 5 yards a carry and two touchdowns.  That is a great job against a top ten team with a good defense on the road in a rocking stadium.  I thought Bo Nix did a good job in spots.  One of those spots was hitting tight end John Samuel Shenker four times for over 60 yards.  Those were all big plays and the biggest involving the tight end since C.J. Uzomah left Auburn in 2013.  Chandler Wooten did a great job filling in for Zakoby McClain when he was ejected on a horrendous targeting call.  Wooten ended up with ten tackles, six of them solo.  I thought the special teams were excellent with Anders Carlson hitting two tough field goals and Oscar Chapman averaging 49 yards a punt.  There were some other good plays on both sides of the ball but these guys were the biggest positives this night I thought.

THE BAD

Auburn would make a good run or pass and look good but other than the two touchdown drives they just could not put it together.  I like Bo Nix and have defended him many times in this space as he was a victim so many times of our predictable offense under Malzahn.  He developed some bad habits from that experience and frankly him trying to be a playmaker in high school.  I think we all hoped the new coaches could help with these issues but it just does not look like it is going to happen.  Nix is just not an accurate quarterback.  He can make plays, throw some great passes, and get hot at times but he is just not accurate.  He refuses to step up in the pocket, make the throw, and take the hit.  The bottom line is you just cannot be a good passer unless you do that.  He was all over the place in this game overthrowing and underthrowing many balls off his back foot.

He just throws off-balance so much of the time and I mean he just absolutely cannot throw an accurate deep ball.  You could tell Penn State scouted Auburn pretty well.  They brought the heat and dared Auburn to hit the deep ball and the Tigers cannot do it.  It appears that Bo just will not trust his line and stand in there.  The offensive line is improved but still weak at pass blocking and Bo scrambles every time rather than as I mentioned earlier standing in and delivering the pass.  Of course it does not help that Auburn's wide receivers are now the weakest part of this offense.  These guys are trying hard but are not helping Nix or the offense out much.  They are limited talent-wise and are inexperienced.  Last night they dropped several catchable balls and were obviously afraid to take a hit.  There just does not appear to be a play-maker in the bunch.

THE UGLY

I loved the selection of Derrick Mason as the Auburn defensive coordinator.  He appeared to do a great job defensively at Stanford and Vanderbilt but he is just not getting it done.  I knew it was a warning sign when no matter what the situation was a backup quarterback came in and completed 13 passes in a row last week.  Mason's Auburn defense made Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford look like Tom Brady!  I am sorry there is absolutely no excuse for letting this guy go 28 OF 32 FOR 280 YARDS!!!???!!!  Yes I am not a football coach and an expert but I think I can say confidently from watching the game for over 40 years that to be successful on defense YOU HAVE TO PRESSURE THE QUARTERBACK.  You cannot do that with three players and if you cannot do it with four (ala Kevin Steele) then YOU HAVE TO BLITZ!!!  It is not rocket science!

I just do not think you can let any decent quarterback sit back their all day and hope for him to make a mistake these days.  That might work with a bad air-raid Mississippi State offense but it is not going to stop anybody any good.  It was embarrassing to watch Auburn give up pass after pass.  I think good defenses are aggressive and I would rather take some chances than get picked apart.  In addition to Mason, Auburn has two or three other assistants who have been defensive coordinators and this is the best we can do?  I understand the Auburn defensive line is just not good but it is obvious that this is not the best solution.  These guys better get it together or longer days are ahead.  Auburn plays some teams that can pass the ball better than Penn State.  This might be the way at Vanderbilt but this is not the way at Auburn.  The coaches better adjust RAPIDLY.  Next I am not even going to get started on how ugly the reffing was in this game.  It was horrifyingly bad but pretty much standard for the SEC.

Finally, while there are some things out of the coaches' control like the talent they inherited, players not executing, etc...  there are plenty of things within the coaches control and the buck stops with the HEAD COACH.  Auburn's defensive decisions are ultimately Bryan Harsin's responsibility as are the two absolutely BONEHEADED calls that were made at critical points in this game.  The first was trying to run a trick play to open the second half with a young inexperienced player who had never played in a full stadium on the road.  Harsin can blather on and on about whatever but the bottom line is that was a STUPID CALL.  You only do things like that with experienced players and in my opinion not to open a half on a critical drive.  It was a terrible decision by the head coach that was only exceeded by the even dumber play call on Auburn's last chance to tie the game.

First, I HATE the fade pass down near the goal line.  It is a low percentage play that should only be called on early downs with again experienced players.  WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD YOU EVER CALL OR LET YOUR QUARTERBACK CALL THAT PLAY IN THAT SITUATION???!!!???  Again Harsin can blather on and on and on but there is nothing to say other than it was  DUMB CALL that cost us our last chance to win the game.  It is a coach's job in any sport to give their team the best chance to be successful and Bryan Harsin failed at that this night.  Also his tendency to drone on and not say anything in every situation and in this case to not take any responsibility is ending the honeymoon real quick.  It is a fact Auburn Nation embraced this guy and it is his fault in many ways that he is losing  many of them.  These football coaches really need to watch Bruce Pearl and learn how to be a head coach and handle the fans.  

THE LAST WORD

Auburn will win next Saturday in their last easy game against Georgia State.  Auburn is going to lose to Georgia and Bama at home.  There might be a slight chance against Georgia but not much of one. Auburn has nowhere near the talent they had just two years ago in the Iron Bowl against Bama.  The Texas A&M and Ole Miss games are starting to look like long shots as well but those teams have their issues too.  I believe Auburn can and has to win against Arkansas, Mississippi State, and South Carolina even those too could be tough games.  I think the key to Auburn having a chance to get some big wins in these games all comes down to the LSU game.  I think the game in Baton Rouge in two weeks is an absolute must win for Auburn.  I also think LSU fans are saying the same thing.

IF Auburn beats LSU and ends the stupid losing streak over there against a very beatable LSU team, it buys the coaching staff some goodwill and the team overall a lot of positive energy and valuable confidence.  It gives this coaching staff a big achievement and win no matter what happens the rest of the season.  Auburn beats LSU, Arkansas, State, and South Carolina plus gets one win against either Ole Miss or Texas A&M they can finish 8-4 and right now I think that is the best we can possibly expect from this team.  Again though I do not think it happens with out a big win at LSU.  There will not be a "white-out" or College Gameday or all the hype in two weeks but two bitter rivals will clash in a huge game that very well could decide what kind of season each team will have.

GAME 2 REVIEW: The countdown is on...

 

Auburn 62  Alabama State 0.  There is just not much to say about this one.  It started badly but ended where it should be.  The Auburn offense definitely came out sloppy and uninspired settling for two field goals to open the game and only scoring one touchdown in the first half.  Special teams provided the other touchdown running back a blocked field goal.  Head coach Bryan Harsin then from all reports communicated his displeasure to the offense at halftime and that along with Alabama State pulling starters early to avoid them getting hurt set the stage for a record breaking third quarter.  The Tigers scored 35 points and piled up almost 300 yards in that quarter.  Auburn then ran out the clock in the fourth and now the countdown is on to again what I think is the biggest game of the season.

I said last week:  "I am already fired up for what to me will be Auburn's biggest game of the season at Penn State in less than two weeks.  I cannot remember Auburn playing a big-time Big Ten team in the regular season...  EVER.  This is a once-in-a-lifetime type matchup.  I love our rivalries but for this year I think this Penn State game is the big one.  There will be plenty of time to talk about the conference season but right now the countdown is on to what will hopefully be a truly special game Saturday September 18, 2021."  I am doubly fired up now especially after the word came down that College Gameday will be there and that the Penn State fans were chanting "We want Auburn!" at the end of their game against Ball State on Saturday.  

Luckily Auburn Undercover writer Phillip Marshall did the research and I was correct in not ever remembering Auburn playing a Big Ten team in the regular season.  It has happened, once, but that one occurrence was a 7-7 tie at Wisconsin in 1931 (!!!).  The fact is that it just does not happen much at all and even less with Auburn.  That is what makes this so special.  It sounds like the Penn State faithful are as pumped up as Auburn fans about the game from the note above on their game Saturday.  Another factor that makes this game doubly interesting is the unknown.  Anything could happen in this game, it could be close, it could be a blowout, it could be something in-between.  Both teams were not great last season but have started strong this season.  

Penn State has the one quality win at Wisconsin the first week of the season and I believe that does make them the slight favorite.  Auburn fans should be glad as that puts Auburn in their favored underdog position.  I think that is one of the ways that head coach Bryan Harsin really fits in at Auburn as all his years at Boise State as a player and coach were playing as the underdog and having something to prove in just about every big game.  This will be his first opportunity in this role at Auburn and what a big opportunity it is.  A win could really kickstart this season and recruiting at the same time.  The Tigers could really use that boost as so much apathy settled into the program Gus Malzahn's last two years at the helm.

The history of this series is pretty short, the series record is 1-1.  Auburn and Terry Bowden played Penn State in the Outback Bowl in 1995 in Auburn's first bowl game after being on probation for two years.  I remember being really fired up about that game as well till it started...  The Nittany Lions massacred Auburn that day in ironically Patrick Nix's last game at quarterback for Auburn.  In fact if I remember correctly Dameyune Craig finished the game for Auburn and the majority of the game was played in the rain.  Auburn then played Penn State again in the Capitol One Bowl on New Year's Day 2003.  I remember the game being one of the hardest hitting and most physical bowl games I have seen with Auburn winning 13-9.  That win also made the 2003 Auburn team a real preseason darling.

Penn State head coach James Franklin has faced Auburn twice as a coach, once as the offensive coordinator at Kansas State in 2007 and then as Vanderbilt's head coach in 2012.  Auburn beat Kansas State but Franklin beat the Tigers at Vanderbilt against the worst Auburn team in modern history.  Franklin also caught Tennessee struggling that season and that helped him lead the Commodores to a nine win season and that went a long way toward getting him the job at Penn State.  Franklin has been very successful at Penn State with winning seasons and bowl games his first six seasons.  That includes three eleven win seasons and top ten rankings.  His only stumble was last season when the Nittany Lions went 4-5.  Considering the rest of his career that year looks like an outlier.

On the other side, do we know much more about Auburn after this past game against Alabama State?  We do not know much more than we did after last week but a few good things were reinforced.  Those were that this coaching staff is going to be much more balanced as the Tigers still threw the ball 29 times including letting back up T.J. Finley throw again.  Auburn had to run the whole fourth quarter as the game got out of hand but up till then, the game plan was again very balanced.  We know Auburn's strength on offense is running the ball and the back seven on defense are nasty.  We also know that Auburn's offensive and defensive lines still have serious issues.  The question is can they be good enough to beat a top ten team on the road.  Unfortunately I have my doubts on that.

Obviously Auburn will need to keep it close and run the ball hopefully burning Penn State on the play-action pass.  I do not think Auburn right now can come back from far behind against a Power 5 defense pinning their ears back and bringing the heat.  I also think Auburn's defense will wilt if Auburn is behind and Penn State starts pounding the ball.  On the other hand I think Derrick Mason's defense could wreak some havoc if Auburn has the lead.  What will happen???  The countdown is on till we tee it up and find out.  I know I keep repeating myself and I may be singing a different tune late Saturday night but I love this rare match up and am so excited to watch it.  I think the entire Auburn nation feels the same along with Penn State.  I hope the game lives up to the hype.  Let's enjoy it.