GAME 2 REVIEW: Well I guess it could have been worse...

Auburn 24  San Jose State 16.  First apologies for the late post, I actually missed good portions of this game and wanted time to go back and watch some of it.  I have to say though I was keeping up with the game throughout the night and got pretty angry with Auburn down at halftime and playing so bad.  I was still angry after Auburn pulled out the win but when I got home and heard about Nebraska, Notre Dame, and then Texas A&M I chilled out a bit.  You always have to give credit for getting the win, just ask those teams I just listed.  A horrible start coupled with the other team having a veteran QB are some main ingredients to historic upsets but again Auburn got it together and at least did enough to get the win.  There is no doubt though that huge warning signs are blinking for Auburn after this game.

Auburn just has not looked very good on both sides of the ball against the weakest teams they will play all season.  The Tigers only managed 168 passing yards against SAN JOSE STATE.  The FCS Portland State Vikings had 270 yards against the same defense to open the season.  Both Auburn quarterbacks threw interceptions in the first half.  The one from Robby Ashford who I called for last week was particularly ugly.  The running game finally wore San Jose State down but how many more times will Auburn be able to do that without an effective passing game?  The answer is none.  There also looks to be holes on defense as well.  I did not get upset about anything defensive against Mercer but after another week of loose coverage I guess I am now starting to worry about Auburn's defense.

San Jose State had almost 300 yards passing and definitely moved into scoring range several times.  The Auburn secondary just does not look right.  I thought it was the one place that Auburn had actually recruited pretty good so I have to go to the coaching.  It certainly appears that defensive coordinator Jeff Schmedding and head coach Bryan Harsin do believe in looser coverages like last year's defensive coordinator Derek Mason, the old "bend but don't break" approach.  I am not an expert defensive coach but I believe in balance, like offense.  I think you should be able to do a bit of both defensive approaches and I think one of the times to practice tighter coverage is on weaker teams.  We should find out how good Auburn is on defense this week against Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford who absolutely dissected the Tigers last season.  After this past Saturday, I am not confident.

As for the offense, let me start with this comment for the third post in a row going back to the Houston loss in the bowl game last year...  

"The main fault for the low level of the Auburn football program lays at the feet of Gus Malzahn and his poor recruiting in the trenches especially the offensive line.  I mean no disrespect to the players that are working their butts off and want to succeed much more than I want them to but they... just... are... not... good... enough.  Auburn does not have even ONE decent SEC level offensive lineman now that Brodarious Hamm has left.  The poor recruiting on the offensive line has continued under Harsin...  AUBURN FOOTBALL WILL NOT IMPROVE UNTIL OFFENSIVE LINE RECRUTING IMPROVES A LOT PERIOD."  It is proven true every single game.

A friend texted me the exact same thing and I am going to include it as well because he says it better than I do:  "I just want to say one thing and I really cannot emphasize this enough: football is about offensive line play. Without offensive line talent you cannot perform at an elite or really even competitive level. You can't hide a bad offensive line. You can't pass your way out of it. You can't trick your way out of it. And Auburn has no talent on the offensive line. Poor recruiting and development at that one position has relegated Auburn to a bottom tier SEC program. And Auburn is not climbing out no matter who our coach is until the problem is fixed." 

I know this is repetitive and it is frankly not entertaining to read week after week however it is the truth.  It is shown week after week so I have to say it week after week.  It is not going to change anytime soon either so I will have to say that it really gets to me to wondering how I am going to continue writing about Auburn losing every week because of the same thing.  I guess I am going to start commenting on the SEC as a whole overall more but that is a bit boring as well as two programs are above everybody else and the whole thing is already done.  This is what college football has become, a twin of professional wrestling with the contenders for conference and national titles known before the season starts.  The only unknowns are who are the next best teams and the upsets in that group that do not really mean anything except to the teams involved.  

I will say though even with that depressing thought, Penn State coming to Auburn is still pretty cool.  I just wish Auburn was in a better place to enjoy it more.  I guess what will also become a weekly thing is pointing out Auburn's weak quarterback play.  I commented on it above to start and again things start with the offensive line but Auburn's quarterbacks are possibly the worst in the conference.  T.J. Finley has now started five games for Auburn and FOUR of those games were against South Carolina, Houston, Mercer, and San Jose State and he has not looked real good in ANY of them.  I know the offensive line problem but a good quarterback would have had a good game against one of these weak teams.  I fear that Finley is about to go through a very rough season and Ashford too.  My hope in Ashford from the first week was probably just a desperate grab at some kind of hope. 

Back though to Penn State... Auburn still has a chance against the Nittany Lions.  They are at home and Penn State is not Georgia.  This is without question Bryan Harsin's biggest game at Auburn.  It is pretty much do or die.  I do not think he can turn it around if he loses this one.  It is what it is.  To do it the Auburn defense has to play a great game.  Next, the offense has to scratch out some points and time of possession.  I know they are limited but they must play smart field position football and make the most of any opportunities while of course not turning the ball over.  Auburn as a team must score 24 points to win in my opinion some how some way.  Right now I have to say I just do not see it after the last two games but that probably bodes well for Auburn.  In one way the season really starts Saturday.

I guess the only other question is what jersey will Auburn come out in?  There have been rumors of orange jerseys for the "Orange Out" game this week.  I think it will be the normal blue with orange facemasks but I am not in the camp opposed to orange jerseys.  As I have said before on this blog my first game at Jordan Hare Stadium was the 1978 Auburn Georgia game where the Tigers came out in orange jerseys.  I did not like Coach Barfield continuing to use them though.  I think Auburn should use the orange jerseys once a season.  Pick one game for this "Orange Out".  I think it adds a little spice and I am sure it helps revenues as well.  I love Coach Dye and love his quote about making people fear those "blue jerseys" but come on there is just no down side to doing it once a season or if there is I just do not see it.  I also think it could help recruiting like maybe giving every recruit there an actual game jersey as well with their number (I think you can do that?).  

Around the SEC which again is only for those of us just interested in SEC football as the championship game is already decided.  Yes Bama did not look like an NFL team this week but do you honestly think they are not going to win the West?  Only Bama fans can complain about a win on the road over Texas.  I mean for the love of all that is good and holy you cannot be overwhelming at every single position every single year.  I have never seen a more spoiled group of fans in my entire life.  They will be there competing with the same six to eight schools you see every single year competing for the national championship.  Two of the teams that were supposed to challenge Bama and Georgia in the conference both lost in Florida and Texas A&M. 

I definitely have to give a lot of credit to Kentucky for beating Florida in "The Swamp".  I also have to thank them for putting an end to the nauseating overreaction to Florida beating Utah in the opener.  Arkansas whipped South Carolina in the other conference game.  Elsewhere the SEC bottom feeders Vandy and Missouri got hammered by Wake Forest and Kansas State while Tennessee and Mississippi State both won on the road against Pitt and Arizona.  The final big news was Texas A&M getting beat by Appalachian State at home.  Yes Nebraska and Notre Dame were also upset at home by smaller schools but both of those schools are struggling to recruit while Texas A&M is not.  It is completely unacceptable for the Aggies to lose that game and it is ALL on the coaches.  Yes Nick $aban lost to UAB and Louisiana Monroe his first years at LSU and Bama but he sure did not lose any of those type games after that.  Jimbo has been there awhile and has good talent.  He deserves all the grief for that epic loss.

I am not sure how to end this one so I guess I will use my epic poetry skills to do it...

Roses are red...

Auburn will probably come out in blue...

Penn State is coming to town...

Who wins this game I don't have a clue.

GAME 1 REVIEW: A Quarterback rises from the ashes?

Auburn 42  Mercer 16.  Auburn football is back, college football is back, and well I am finally back writing on this blog.  I definitely believe I have done a disservice to the greatness of Bruce Pearl by not writing a post when he led the Auburn basketball team to it's first #1 ranking ever and when he secured another SEC championship with which he now has as many as Auburn had in it's history before him.  The basketball program run by Pearl is a model of how a college program should be run...  which makes it much different that the football program.  I have purposely stayed away from writing about the mass exodus of players out of Auburn after last season, the inquiry into Harsin, another average recruiting class, etc...  It has been extremely hard to watch as everything that happened just ensures Auburn football will be down even longer.

I will say to his credit that Harsin and company have really tried to put a good face on and try to get recruiting back on track.  Unfortunately it is just too late.  I wish he would have come in and tried this from the start.  However it is what it is.  Let me get back to the present and Auburn's 2022 season opener against Mercer.  I have to say it is impossible to be too down on the opening day of college football season.  Even though NIL and pure greed have pretty much ruined the system around it I still have a love for the game (see the definition of a football field in the title of this blog).  I found myself just wanting to ignore everything wrong with Auburn football and just enjoy this day and this game.  However I don't think I even got through the first quarter when it became clear that things do not look much different than last season.  Sports are unforgiving and positivity will only get you so far.

(I DO have some positive things to say but I will save them for last.  Instead of the "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" I am going to go with "The Ugly, the Bad, and the Good" today.)

THE UGLY

After all the talk, all the hype, and all the positivity in the preseason... it just did not take long to see that the Auburn offensive line and poor T.J. Finley still do not appear to be good enough.  I hate it for Finley because he appears to be an outstanding person that his teammates love and he has the size, the arm, and he must really practice well.  He has now started for two upper tier SEC schools.  You cannot do that without have the full package.  Unfortunately like many quarterbacks before him he just does not appear to have that critical vision and decision-making skills to be consistently successful on game day.  He always makes a few absolutely gorgeous throws but he makes more bad decisions and yesterday was no exception.  There is no other way to say it.  Those were two UGLY interceptions and I mean UGLY.

Those interceptions were also against Mercer.  The defensive coordinators at all the SEC schools on Auburn's schedule and at Penn State are already watching the tape from last night on Finley.  I just do not see Auburn winning games against big time programs with Finley.  However Auburn's options at quarterback are limited with transfer Zach Calzada seemingly unfit to play so Finley will remain a critical piece to this season.  I will get to Robby Ashford below but even if he takes over he is an obvious injury risk and Finley is the next option or a true freshman without Calzada.  I know people might disagree with these takes but  Finley has now started four games in a row for Auburn and he has not been really good in any of them and in three of them Auburn had the much better team.

THE BAD

Auburn's offensive line obviously won the night with almost 500 total yards... but I still did not see the push or the dominance of the first team I would expect against an FCS school.  Auburn wore them down and Tank Bigsby had a good night (like he did in the season opener last year) but these guys looked the same as they did last season.  I focused on this in my last post after the loss to Houston:

"The main fault for the low level of the Auburn football program lays at the feet of Gus Malzahn and his poor recruiting in the trenches especially the offensive line.  I mean no disrespect to the players that are working their butts off and want to succeed much more than I want them to but they... just... are... not... good... enough.  Auburn does not have even ONE decent SEC level offensive lineman now that Brodarious Hamm has left.  The poor recruiting on the offensive line has continued under Harsin...  AUBURN FOOTBALL WILL NOT IMPROVE UNTIL OFFENSIVE LINE RECRUTING IMPROVES A LOT PERIOD."

I did not see anything last night that would make me think this has changed.  They are a year older and they are men now in their 20s but they just do not appear to be SEC caliber.  I hate to keep saying the same thing but it is the truth that will keep staring us in the face till Auburn changes it.  I just do not understand why Auburn cannot recruit any good offensive tackles.  I just do not understand it.

THE GOOD

The defense if it stays healthy has a chance to be pretty good.  They stayed pretty base it seemed to me last night but I am hoping with a new coordinator they will be more aggressive.  It did seem Auburn pressed more and that was good with the memories of so many teams last year shredding the Tigers as they rushed three and dropped everyone back into coverage.  Regardless of what happened last season I just do not think coach Derek Mason was a good fit with the players Auburn has right now.  I think Auburn needs to be aggressive on defense and let the chips fall where they may.  I saw nothing last night that made me think the Tigers will not play that way and that is good.  I thought all the new additions on the line looked good but we will see for sure how good they are very soon.

Finally we get to the star of the night...  Robby Ashford.  Yes he is a raw freshman that has not played much actual football in the last few years but the guy is a playmaker.  Everyone sees it.  I think most of us see that he is the best potential quarterback on the plains right now.  He just has that "it" factor.  You saw it during the worst A-day game ever this spring and you saw it last night.  I do not know if that will translate into being a good SEC quarterback but he looks a lot more like Nick Marshall than John Franklin to me and he is much taller than both.  He actually put a long pass on the money and that is something no Auburn quarterback has been able to do consistently for years.  The guy is the only thing different I see from last season and that is a very good thing.

THE LAST WORD

Auburn gets one more scrimmage in next week before moving into a meatgrinder of a season.  The season breaks down pretty easy for me.  In my opinion, Auburn basically starts the season 3-3.  I think Auburn has three wins in Mercer, San Jose State, and Western Kentucky and three losses in Bama, Georgia, and Texas A&M.  I know many people would disagree with Texas A&M but the Tigers have lost the last two and A&M has recruited much better than Auburn.  That leaves six games that will determine Auburn's season: Penn State, Missouri, LSU, Arkansas, Ole Miss, and Mississippi State.  These teams all have issues as well.  I think Auburn has enough talent to beat these teams but can also lose to any of them as well.  Can the coaches squeeze enough production out of this offense to win?

That is the question.  As good as Tank Bigsby looked last night I again think Auburn will struggle to run the ball against good teams.  They will not respect the pass enough.  That puts us back to T.J. Finley and again I have to say I do not think he can do it.  At this point, I think Robby Ashford is the only guy who gives this offense the chance to make enough plays to beat these teams.  I know the coaches will continue to play Ashford but I also do not think that starting Finley and basically using Ashford as a "wildcat" will win many games either.  I could be wrong but from watching Finley the last four games and just seeing a glimpse of Ashford I believe the Auburn coaches have to make a change at quarterback and the sooner the better.

Birmingham Bowl Review: The Future Looks Bleak

Houston 17  Auburn 13.  The dismal collapse of the Auburn football program hit another significant milestone today by losing to a very beatable Houston Cougar football team.  On October 30th Auburn sat at 6-2 that included a great streak-breaking win at LSU with a good overall season almost guaranteed (almost but now looking back obviously not) and with everyone feeling good from the fans to the players to the coaching staff.  Auburn has lost every single game they have played since that happy Halloween weekend.  The losing streak has now hit five games in a row and I believe it is the ugliest Auburn football losing streak I have ever seen.  The losses to Texas A&M and Bama were understandable but losses to Mississippi State, South Carolina, and Houston are absolutely inexcusable.  

Auburn had a 28-3 lead on State, Auburn had a 14-0 lead on South Carolina, and Auburn had every chance in the world to beat Houston.  There is just no way around it now folks, Bryan Harsin does not look like a very good coach and his staff does not look very good either.  He is an offensive coach that has given us no identity on offense and not even come close to making the best of what little we have on offense.  He seems to have no concept of how to win close football games.  I am not taking about the big ones, I am talking about the three mediocre to weak opponents I listed above.  I am talking about the bad head-scratching decisions he makes over and over again.  I understand that Pat Dye and Tommy Tuberville had losing seasons as well their first year but they showed something.  They showed a distinct change.  This team has not.  The team did grab some solid wins early but then has absolutely fallen apart.

The main fault for the low level of the Auburn football program lays at the feet of Gus Malzahn and his poor recruiting in the trenches especially the offensive line.  I mean no disrespect to the players that are working their butts off and want to succeed much more than I want them to but they... just... are... not... good... enough.  Auburn does not have even ONE decent SEC level offensive lineman now that Brodarious Hamm has left.  They were stopped multiple times on 3rd or 4th and 1 by a smallish Houston defense.  It is embarrassing, it is humiliating, it is bleeping unacceptable. The poor recruiting on the offensive line has continued under Harsin with Auburn only bringing in ONE three-star linemen in the early signing period a few weeks ago (and he went to Auburn High so not a lot of credit for getting that one).  AUBURN FOOTBALL WILL NOT IMPROVE UNTIL OFFENSIVE LINE RECRUTING IMPROVES A LOT PERIOD.

I just do not understand what the problem is at this point.  I do not expect Auburn to compete with Bama and Georgia for elite recruits but at least compete and bring in multiple guys from the tier below that!!!  Auburn appears unable to sign more than one or maybe two decent offensive line recruits per class. IT HAS NOW BEEN FIVE YEARS OF THIS.  This is ridiculous and it is unacceptable and yes we have the right to expect better when we were paying Malzhan and now Harsin over five million dollars a year plus paying an expensive staff.  I am sick and tired of watching Auburn not get a return on their investment.  I am tired of watching Auburn pay through the nose for overrated head coaches and their staffs.  Enough is enough.  I will say Harsin and his staff are facing an uphill battle as Gus Malzahn and his staff evidently did not establish ANY type of relationship with any decent offensive linemen coming up.  

The defense has had some bad moments this season bottoming out against Mississippi State but they have also kept fighting and turned in some good performances while the offense has continued its straight downward spiral that began well before Bo Nix got hurt.  Also Derek Mason was able to bring in the top JUCO defensive lineman in the country plus a good looking transfer from Oregon.  Auburn is at least bringing in some decent prospects on the line on that side of the ball.  That at least gives some hope where after five years I am beginning to think that Auburn will never bring in a great offensive tackle prospect ever again.  Folks, look at the offensive linemen in Auburn's last five recruiting classes if you think I am exaggerating.  I am sorry I expect more from the school that has had players like Steve Wallace, Willie Anderson, Marcus McNeil, Lee Ziemba, and Greg Robinson on championship teams at left tackle with the first three having long successful NFL careers and Robinson going #2 overall in the NFL draft.  

Shocker, these guys were a huge part of the great Auburn teams you remember.  Steve Wallace started for the 11-1 1983 team that arguably won a national championship, he then went on to block for Joe Montana in the Super Bowl.  Willie Andersen started for the undefeated 1993 11-0 team and spent a long career with the Bengals and was recently nominated for the NFL Hall of Fame.  Marcus McNeil started for the undefeated 2004 13-0 team that also arguably won a national championship and went on to a long career with the Chargers in the NFL.  Lee Ziemba started for the undefeated 2010 14-0 team that won the national championship.  Greg Robinson started for the magical 2013 team that won the SEC and lost in the national championship game.  Contrary to people making it seem like Auburn wins championships with three stars, they do not.  You have to have monster recruits on the line which ALL of these guys were.  Those guys span 30 YEARS of Auburn football.  Auburn's last great left tackle was Robinson in 2013, that is now almost a decade ago.  WHEN WILL AUBURN GET ANOTHER ONE?

Am I fixated on the offensive line?  YES.  Nothing else works without it.  Tank Bigsby is a very good running back, he has basically not had ONE long run this year against anybody any good.  I think we have seen he can do very little behind this offensive line.  Bo Nix, hell even T.J. Finley would obviously look a lot better with better protection.  Unfortunately though Auburn's problems do go deeper than the line.  Finley while making a play here or there does not appear to have the accuracy to lead Auburn to any kind of good season even with a better line.  Auburn also has nothing remotely close to an All-SEC wide receiver.  That has all been on full display over the last five games.  It has pretty much been on full display over the whole season even in the wins.  The talent level across the board on offense is just alarmingly low.  Al Borges said it best when asked about his huge success coordinating the Auburn offense in 2004, he said: "it is not about the X's and the O's, it is about the Jimmys and the Joes".  

Harsin and the boys did dramatically improve Auburn's recruiting outside the line of scrimmage in the early signing period.  Hopefully they evaluated correctly and brought in some possible All-SEC players at other positions.  The problem for Harsin (even if he is not as bad a coach) is that he will have Gus Malzahn's last two recruiting classes as his seniors the next two years and then last year's weak transitional class in 2024 if he makes it that long.  Outside of absolutely monster recruiting classes that really needed to start this season I do not see how he overcomes that.  That is why the future looks bleak to me.  Harsin good or bad will end up taking the fall for Malzahn's declining recruiting.  On top of that his bad coaching this season cost him valuable patience points with the Auburn leadership and fans that he will desperately need later.

Harsin leads the Tigers to wins over State and South Carolina and things appear a lot better even if they really were not in terms of Auburn competing with the top teams.  The problem now that the season is over and the smoke is clearing over the rubble left behind is that Harsin's bad coaching in these last five games has made things worse.  You finish 8-4 and that momentum helps recruiting and getting critical transfers while now Auburn's dismal end to the season does not make Auburn look as attractive.  It is also harder when again no one knows what Auburn's offensive identity is.  There is not a lot to sell to potential great players.  That again is the most disappointing thing about Bryan Harsin to me this season. So here we are and outside a miracle signing or transfer things look even worse next year on offense with an even weaker offensive line coming back with less experience at quarterback and wide receiver running the same offense.  It is pretty rough being an Auburn Tiger right now.

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.