GAME 6 REVIEW: KNOCK OUT

Georgia 42  Auburn 10.  I wrote last week that I thought the knock out blow was coming this week and as this post is titled it did but it did not come like I expected.  I think most people including myself expected Georgia to jump on Auburn like a young Mike Tyson liked to go after his opponents.  However it did not happen like that.  Coach Kirby Smart and his staff were too smart to be over aggressive like LSU was against Auburn.  The Georgia Bulldogs were patient and just waited for Auburn to make a stupid mistake (which they did), to turn the ball over (which they did), and finally to wear down (which they did).  The Georgia coaching staff got exactly what they thought they would get and that equaled more of a boxing match where one guy makes some mistakes, gets worn down, and then gets knocked out late.  That is what happened to Auburn on Saturday.

Auburn is Vanderbilt now or worse.  There are only a few talented players, no offensive line, and literally no chance or expectation of winning.  The only difference in Auburn and the traditional loser Vanderbilt team is Vandy never had a coach as bad as Bryan Harsin.  He is literally the worst coach I have ever watched in my life.  He is a terrible coach, he is a terrible recruiter, and he is terrible with people altogether.  As an Auburn graduate and someone who has watched over 40 years of Auburn football I am literally praying he is fired next week before the open week.  Multiple rumors this week have indicated that he might be kept on for the rest of the season and if that is true then the people running Auburn are as stupid as they have ever been and we will most likely make another bad coaching hire and Auburn might not be any good for the rest of my life. 

I understand waiting to the open week but I cannot understand waiting beyond that.  Again it would be another huge mistake by Auburn's decision makers, just another in a long line of mistakes that brought this once proud program to this point.  Old timers point to all the times Auburn has come back quickly but times have changed, a lot.  There will be no quick turnaround this time.  It will take years of coaches and support staff grinding harder than anyone in the country recruiting for Auburn to have any chance of coming back in the next decade.  I doubt seriously at this point Auburn can find the person who can lead that kind of effort and even if they did I doubt they would be smart enough to hire them.  I do not envy the next coaching staff and all their support people.  Again in this day and age finding people who will work that hard does not seem likely or maybe even possible.

We are beyond breaking down another awful game or even complaining about an offensive line that is the worst in school history.  The only thing that matters now is finding someone that will lead this charge in recruiting.  Some one who believes with everything they have in that line from the Auburn Creed:  "I BELIEVE IN WORK, HARD WORK."  This process must begin with Bryan Harsin being fired immediately after the Ole Miss loss next week.  In the words from a great movie... "Not tomorrow!  Not after breakfast!  NOW!!!".  I do not want to hear about the possible difficulties within the coaching infrastructure if Harsin and even some of his Boise guys are fired.  IT CANNOT BE ANY WORSE.  As I read this morning Auburn people need to see some action and it better happen next week.  The leadership will lose overall support and any remaining recruits if Harsin is not fired next week.  THIS HAS GOT TO END AND SOON.

I guess there is a small chance that Ole Miss could screw it up and somehow manage to lose to Auburn.  That would in my opinion cause incalculable damage to Auburn which means it will probably happen.  I doubt it but we are talking about the missus.  Auburn's second half woes started in the Ole Miss game last season and the Tigers gave Lane Kiffin's boys every chance to come back like State did in that second half.  However Lane Kiffin kept "harsining" it up by going for stupid 4th downs and blew any chance at a come back.  Speaking of Kiffin, I am going to refrain from opinions on possible candidates till Harsin is gone.  The only thing that matters to start is him being removed from this football program.  Am I cheering for Auburn to lose?  I guess almost but it is only because I believe 100% the best thing for Auburn is firing Bryan Harsin yesterday.  

I feel sorry for the players that are caught up in this mess but that is life and is just part of it sometimes. However if the administration will just get rid of Harsin several good things could happen and help these players and Auburn people.  First the team might could rise up and actually win a game.  Second it would help recruiting a little bit by the hope of change.  Finally it could be a historic hire and we could see an Auburn man as head coach for the first time since Shug Jordan.  Case in point, Auburn played a lot better when Bill Oliver took over for Terry Bowden in the middle of the season.  It might not have ended up mattering much but it definitely helped Auburn players and people get through that season.  Again I think it is harmful to the players and the program to keep Harsin all season. 

That is the bottom line as I see it today.  As for the rest of the SEC, yes Bama almost lost like Georgia almost lost last week but unfortunately "almost lost" is not actually losing.  Right now the only team that looks like it has a legitimate chance of beating one or both of those teams is Tennessee.  Go Vols.  I just hope I am writing this post next week with a huge surge of relief that Bryan Harsin is no longer a part of the Auburn football program.

GAME 5 REVIEW: THE LAST STAND

LSU 21  Auburn 17.  I have to say that I was impressed with the way Auburn came out playing in this game.  They came out breathing fire.  I will give at least that much credit to the coaching staff and give some credit for finally changing parts of the game plan.  They did some good play-action passes and actually used the read option with Robby Ashford.  Also the defense was much better as well.  I also give a lot of credit to Missouri for how they played yesterday as well but I still think LSU is a better team than Missouri.  An Auburn team pretty much completely given up for dead definitely should have beaten LSU.  I have to say I was pretty speechless for the first part of the game watching Auburn finally do something right and watching LSU just play stupid.  

Of course like Auburn's 17-0 lead the feeling did not last and Auburn managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory again.  A Bryan Harsin coached Auburn team literally cannot score a touchdown in a second half... EVER.  I have watched football for over 40 years now and I just cannot believe some of the head scratching stupidity I see every week when Auburn plays.  I just do not know how you can coach as much as Harsin has and not understand some of the basics on how to win football games.  This guy has now blown a 28-3 lead, a 14-0 lead TWICE, and now a 17-0 lead in SEC play.  He just cannot seem to get it through his head that going for fourth down conversions when you have the lead is usually DUMB.  Of course 4th and 1 is one thing but 4th and 10???  

THE GOOD

As I mentioned Auburn came out initially looking very good on both sides of the ball.  Again I give Harsin and the boys credit but where has this been?  Uh why did you wait till the 5th game to do this?  I just do not get it...  but hey they did it.  The defense owned the line of scrimmage for the first time all season most of the game and that is against arguably the best team Auburn has played (???).  The offensive line even shined at times in this game (???).  Again if putting Brandon Council at center and putting in Alec Jackson plus whatever coaching they did made that big a difference uh again why not before now?  Finally Robby "I haven't played actual football in years" Ashford threw for 300 yards (!!!) and two touchdowns.  I mean WOW!  It was by far Auburn's best game all year yet...

THE BAD

The coaches still managed to somehow lose this game...  Auburn had three absolutely back breaking turnovers in Ashford's fumble, his last interception, and on a mind numbingly STUPID trick play.  Auburn had the 17-0 lead when Ashford was stripped of the ball because he was holding it too long and LSU took it in for a touchdown.  That completely changed the momentum in the game.  That is a rookie raw quarterback but that is also just bad coaching.  You get the ball out quick or throw it away with a lead.  Also in-between that fumble and the final interception, Harsin went for a 4th and 10 conversions at around the LSU 40 yard line and called a low percentage stupid play like last year against South Carolina.  He should have pinned a struggling LSU offense deep and made them drive the length of the field against a strong Auburn defense.  Instead he gave them good field position and LSU went down and scored the winning touchdown.

THE UGLY

To Auburn's credit the players did not go quietly into that good night after LSU took the lead.  I sure expected them to but they showed an incredible amount of guts and heart.  They bulled their way down the field embarking on a 13 play 65 yard drive that consumed almost seven minutes off the clock.  They had it second and goal at the LSU nine yard line.  There are so many things you can do with Ashford this close to the goal... and the Auburn offensive brain trust tries a reverse with the wide receiver throwing the ball (???).  Of course LSU blows it up and intercepts the ball to snuff Auburn's best chance at winning the game.  However Auburn had one more chance to win the game driving to the LSU 36 yard line before Ashford threw the ball a little behind his receiver and the LSU defensive back wrestled it away.  The Auburn players gave it everything and absolutely UGLY coaching lost the game.

AROUND THE SEC

Tennessee and Vandy were off while Florida and South Carolina played cupcakes.  The rest of the schedule was pretty good.  The big game was supposed to be Bama at Arkansas but of course even with losing quarterback Bryce Young for over half the game Bama still won big.  Mississippi State also won big over Texas A&M.  There is sure to be some real unrest around Aggie football now especially with Bama up next.  The rest of the games were nail biters with the biggest being Missouri's almost-upset of big bad Georgia.  The Bulldogs finally broke through but they were in some real danger in that game.  The next one might have been the most exciting game of the day with Ole Miss pulling out a win forcing a last second fumble while Kentucky was knocking on the door at the end of the game.

THE LAST WORD

Hope is running high in Knoxville and Oxford and a few other teams will have a say like Florida and Mississippi State but it still looks like it will just be Bama and Georgia again in the end.  Wake me up when someone actually beats them and not just makes it close.  I am SURE Georgia will look much better this week with Auburn coming into town.  The Tigers have played three tough games in a row and gave everything they had yesterday.  Meanwhile this game did used to be one of the best rivalries in the country and Georgia will be fired up looking to rebound.  I think the knock out blow many of us expected in the LSU game will be landed this coming Saturday in Athens.  Georgia has beaten Auburn soundly in every meeting since Auburn last won in 2017.  I am expecting something at least as bad as Georgia's 34-10 win in Auburn last season.  

Unfortunately as the title of this post states, I think Auburn's heroic effort against LSU was their last stand before this season really starts to unravel...

GAME 4 REVIEW: CLOWN SHOW

Auburn 17  Missouri 14.  I do not think I have ever watched a worse game of football than this one.  Acutally that is not true, Auburn's 3-2 win over State in 2008 was worse than this one.  However this game was as the title of this posts suggests a complete clown show.  I mean cue the circus music when you start showing the high... er lowlights of this absolute stinker of a game.  THIS is SEC football???  I just cannot adequately describe what I just got through watching.  The first thing I will say is Bryan Harsin needs to be fired and now but unfortunately I think all Auburn fans will have to wait three more weeks till the open week for this first step in Auburn's long and very uncertain road back from this abyss.  

I think it would have happened today but Missouri's coaching and player ineptness actually ended up exceeding Harsin and Auburn AND THAT IS REALLY SAYING SOMETHING.  Who jumps offiside TWICE on critical field goal attempts? Who misses an extra length field goal to win the game?  Who fumbles the ball out of the end zone when you would have had first down at the one yard line?  Missouri is a truly horrible team and if I was a fan would want Eli Drinkwitz fired too.  Missouri is a badly coached team, a very badly coached team.  All of those idiotic mistakes are on the coaches.  It is impossible to respect either of these million dollar coaches after watching this game today.

THE GOOD

The Auburn students and the fan base overall has really turned out this season to help the Tigers.  Fan support might erode after the bludgeonings to come but the students and the fans did not let an offseason of discontent stop them from them doing everything they could to give this team a good start.  That is the "Auburn Family", not millionaire meddlers or most of the idiots that inhabit the pay site forums.  It is the families that are taking their kids to games like mine did for me and in turned helped me do with my kids.  Anyway even with their two biggest rivals ruling college football Auburn fans still support their team.  I had my Auburn shirt on the day of the Penn State game last week and on the Sunday after.  I had plenty of company as well.  When recruiting a new coach, this is not a point that can be undersold.

THE BAD

This space is usually reserved for the offense or the defense or the coaching of those units but not this time.  Auburn kicker Anders Carlson was just bad today.  Carlson came in with a huge amount of promise and has hit some big kicks for Auburn but since Harsin arrived he has just seemed to get worse.  I am not sure how coaching effects established kickers so I am not blaming Harsin I do not think.  I also know he got hurt at the end of last season but he missed some head scratching kicks before that.  Today I will allow the one kick he missed but then he gets another chance and misses again???  What???  He then has to kick an all-important field goal in overtime and misses AGAIN!  Luckily Missouri is brain dead and gives him another chance again and he at least made the most of that second chance and made the game-winning kick.  However he basically had three missed kicks and that is really bad.

THE UGLY

Even with what I just wrote about Carlson above, Coach Bryan Harsin's decision to go for it on 4th and 1 at the Missouri 29 yard line with a minute and a half left in a game with a tie score is unbelievably stupid.  Auburn had been stuffed at the line of scrimmage the entire second half.  Carson even with his troubles was the only choice.  It is almost to the point where many people including myself are wondering if the guy is just tanking now to get fired.  I think the fact that many people are asking that question says that Harsin is either a really bad coach or worse he is a really bad person.  Either way things have just gotten ugly with this guy.  

I almost think Auburn would be better off if they had lost the game but no the players and the fans who went all the way to see the game deserve something good to happen this season.  There sure will not be anything else good happening this season.  Unfortunately though everyone will now have to watch Harsin's bad coaching and him be a statue on the sidelines for probably three more games.  Personally I am just so ready for this guy to be gone and I think it would be best for Auburn.  Again as I have said several times in these posts, I cannot name one thing I think Harsin has done well or even made better at Auburn.  Again I do not know how this guy won at Boise State, regardless it is time for Harsin to go.

I will also say that Auburn is certainly not pulling the trigger too early either as I am sure they will be accused of.  Here is a fact, Auburn has still NEVER fired a head football coach too soon. Doug Barfield got 5 seasons went 0-6 in the SEC and he was fired.  Terry Bowden got 6 seasons, had Auburn's worst recruiting season ever, went 3-8 and 1-7 in the SEC, and was fired.  Tommy Tuberville got 9 seasons and went 2-6 and lost to Bama 36-0 and was clearly done and was fired.  Gene Chizik went 0-8 in the SEC turning in the worst season in Auburn history and was fired.  Gus Malzahn got 8 seasons and stopped recruiting linemen and was fired.  Bryan Harsin will get less than two seasons but he has been terrible on the field and a disaster in recruiting.  Auburn would be in worse shape giving Harsin more time.

There is not much else to say today.  I will address the firing when it happens.  Unfortunately for everyone involved in Auburn football things are about to get very ugly on the field.  Auburn could conceivably lose every other game this season other than Western Kentucky by 30 POINTS or more.  Auburn winning this game today guaranteed the season cannot be as bad record-wise as 2012 but unfortunately in many other ways it could be as bad and maybe even worse.

GAME 3 REVIEW: ON THE LINE

Penn State 41  Auburn 12.  In November of 2017 Auburn did what I believe has never been done before, they beat the #1 team in the country twice in the space of three weeks.  These teams were not only #1 but they ended up facing each other in the national championship game.  Auburn absolutely pounded the Georgia Bulldogs 40-17 and then broke an almost 50 year curse of not being able to beat Bama by more than 10 points when they convincingly beat the Tide 26-14.  I am looking at a picture of my older son and I on the field with the scoreboard behind us after that game.  Auburn was on top of the world at that moment.  The Tigers were as talented at just about every position as anybody in the big bad SEC.  That shining moment lasted about a week...  till Georgia beat Auburn in the rematch in the SEC Championship game.  Things went downhill from there and have continued to go downhill other than one more brief magic moment beating Bama in 2019.  

The offensive linemen that played for the Tigers in 2017 included NFL players Braden Smith and Austin Golson plus true tackle Darius James and good guards Mike Horton and Marquel Harrell.  These were quality offensive linemen with most being pretty high rated.  Auburn also had freshman project Prince Tega Wanogho playing that year.  I just talked about the results.  Auburn was able to get those few brief bright moments in 2019 due to Prince Tega Wanogho actually growing into a very good tackle plus the miracle of UMass transfer Jack Driscoll somehow being an SEC quality tackle as well who played in the NFL.  The line was not super strong with those guys but they were good enough to get a few big wins.  The bottom has basically fallen out starting in 2020.  Auburn since 2017 has not been able to recruit any elite offensive linemen at all.  AT...  ALL.  That is what you saw this past Saturday against Penn State.

If you have read this blog at all then you know what is next...  I wrote this paragraph after the pathetic loss against Houston in the bowl game last season and I included it in both posts this season so far.  Well make it three and I will continue to put it in week after week because it is the truth.  

"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...  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."

Auburn probably has the worst quarterbacks in the SEC but Tom Brady in his prime would be able to do NOTHING behind this line.  There is no way around it, there is no way to fix it other than hiring somebody who can recruit offensive linemen.  I am to the point where I think we should offer every single cent we have in the NIL coffers to the best left tackle in the country.  It is unbelievable how Auburn can be STUPID ENOUGH to pay Gus Malzahn and Bryan Harsin all this money and NEITHER OF THEM can recruit even ONE elite offensive linemen in the last FIVE YEARS.  This is pretty much true on the defensive side as well.  Malzahn's recruting just fell off a cliff after 2016 and then Harsin came in, saw the situation, and has not done a damn thing about it. 

There is just not much else to say.  AUBURN FOOTBALL WILL NOT IMPROVE UNTIL OFFENSIVE LINE RECRUTING IMPROVES A LOT PERIOD.  Yes the defense was awful Saturday but a good one will still not have won that game.  I will say the bad coaching is making things worse.  The Boise boys are obviously in completely over their heads and yes they need to be fired if Georgia and Ole Miss whip the Tigers before the open week regardless of what happens at Missouri.  I thought Bryan Harsin might be a good hire but I did not run the interviews and I am sorry I think I would changed my mind if I would have interviewed him.  In my real job some of my biggest mistakes were bad hires and I damn well learned to fix that process.  Somebody at Auburn needs to do the same.  Bryan Harsin is arrogant, aloof, and does not seem to care about Auburn at all.  He seems to only care about looking and being perceived a certain way.  I guess that precludes him from doing any actual coaching on game days, he seemingly just wants to stand there and be perceived as looking cool. 

I cannot see ONE thing Bryan Harsin has brought to the table at Auburn.  He is a bad coach and a bad recruiter.  Frankly I am wondering how he had any success in his career even if things are totally different at Boise.  This team is just badly coached, badly.  I think just about anyone could have coached Auburn to a win over South Carolina last year and the coaching in all three games this season has not been any better.  What do these guys do in spring and fall practice???   He is the worst football coach I have seen at Auburn and will be the only coach at Auburn since before 1950 that will leave Auburn with no winning seasons.  I mean I just do not think Auburn could have done any worse with this hire and now everyone is going to pay for it for a long time.

However that then points to Auburn horrendous leadership and they, ALL OF THEM, the president, the board, the AD, etc...  Every one in power at Auburn are culpable in the beyond awful decisions that have been made that has gotten us to this past Saturday.  It was a beautiful day and Jordan Hare was packed and on fire.  There were a ton of big time recruits at the game... just to watch Auburn turn in one of its all time worst performances at home.  What a colossal disaster.  People are talking about 2012, now I do not think a season could ever be worse than that one but if you are anywhere in the ball park it does not matter.  I believe Missouri might be the only team this team can beat in the SEC.  IF Auburn loses next week then it will be close to 2012.  

It is hard to write this and even harder to watch it and know that nothing is going to change at Auburn for a very long time.  There is no hope for the near future.  There will not be a 1993 or 2013 turnaround next year no matter who is hired.  Recruiting gets harder every year and so many teams have raided the state this season.  Auburn has the worst class in the SEC and that is after five years of bad recruiting on the lines.  Auburn first has to hire a good recruiter and then that guy is going to have to work for several years to just steady the ship.  If you doubt me then talk to a Tennessee fan, they have not beat Bama who they play every year since 2006.

I guess I will finish with my recommendation for Auburn's next head football coach.  How about a guy that was the "National Recruiter of the Year" in 2018 at a SEC school?  A guy that has served on the staff on one of the top teams in the country since 2016.  In fact he is part of the staff that built them into a national powerhouse and helped bring them a national championship.  He has recruited numerous five star players and then helped coach them into NFL stars.  He has served as assistant head coach and then run game coordinator for this team.  He played in the NFL and then wanted to become a coach.  He went to high school to start...

He developed Carver-Columbus High School in Georgia into a perennial powerhouse as they rattled off seven straight seasons with 10 or more wins, including a 15-0 season en route to the Georgia state title. In four of his last five years at the helm of the program, Carver advanced to the state semifinals. He posted an 88-19 overall record with a 21-6 mark in the playoffs, which included six region championships. He took over a Carver program in 2005 that had not had a winning season in the nine years previously and had never posted a double-digit win campaign in its 47-year history. He was named Georgia State Coach of the Year in 2007 and ’08.

He left Carver and was an analyst at an SEC school for a year before moving to Georgia Southern as an assistant coach and there he helped lead Georgia Southern to their first bowl win.  He was then hired by head coach Kirby Smart at his current school in 2016 which is the University of Georgia.  He has been a huge part of the unbelievable success at Georgia these last few years.  However did I mention that he played at a school in the SEC?  As a player he saw the lows and the highs at this school and was part of an undefeated season at this school.  He returned to that school in 2013 as an analyst for one year and was part of an SEC Championship.  The school he played at, graduated from, and served that one year as an analyst for was Auburn.  The man's name is Dell McGee and I think he should be our next head football coach.

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.