Sweet and Sour

It has been awhile since I have posted.  It has definitely been a busy holiday season and I was more than happy to get away from Auburn football for awhile after the last two conference games of the season.  However I have stayed in touch and have a few observations both sweet and sour on Auburn's two biggest sports teams, football and men's basketball.  There has been a lot of good since that dark Saturday after Thanksgiving in Tuscaloosa but as always that good cannot just be enjoyed but has to be exaggerated by the growing group of Auburn sites and fans that simply blow everything good that happens completely out of proportion. 

First, the Sugar Bowl...  The Auburn football team getting invited to the Sugar Bowl is a great thing.  That is something we can all agree on.  Auburn is definitely the #2 team in the conference since they not only lost to the #1 team in the country in Bama like the other 8-4 SEC teams but they also had to play the #2 team in the country as well.  Auburn had the harder schedule period.  On top of that Florida and Tennessee embarrassed themselves worse than Auburn in their last games and Auburn beat LSU.  It is a big deal getting to the Sugar Bowl regardless of how bad Auburn finished the season.

HOWEVER getting to the Sugar Bowl in no way takes away the stains from this season.  Getting to the Sugar Bowl does not make up for the horrendous coaching in the losses to Clemson and Georgia.  It does not make up for losing to Georgia and Bama for the third year in a row.  It does not make up for Auburn's coaches being completely incapable of throwing the football if they are not running over somebody.  It does not change the fact that the SEC and Auburn are not that good this year.  I cannot remember a four loss SEC team ever making it to the Sugar Bowl.

I am also sick to death of reading all these Auburn sites trying to revise history and say everything bad this season was because of injuries.  It is a gross oversimplification and it is false.  The whitewashing of these facts lets the coaches off the hook.  I have read many times in the last month that Auburn only lost to Georgia because of injuries.  That is simply not true.  Auburn was good enough to beat Georgia with injuries.  Auburn lost to Georgia for one reason and that is bad coaching. 

As I wrote in a previous post you would think from reading other Auburn sites that Auburn would have been undefeated national champs the last two seasons if Sean White would not have gotten hurt.  It is simply ridiculous and I am sick of reading it.  I never hear anyone explaining why a healthy Sean White was so bad against Texas A&M?  Oh sorry I bet it was all the offensive line's fault or maybe he was secretly hurt in that game as well.  There is always an excuse for Sean White who still has yet to lead a win over ONE legitimately good team unless you want to count LSU this season but since Auburn did not score a touchdown I give most of the credit to the defense for holding LSU under 20 points. 

I am even sicker of reading about how Auburn was one of the best teams in the country during their mid-season six game winning streak.  Again it was a good streak and I love when Auburn blows out other SEC teams as much as the next guy but this streak is not near as impressive as people try to make it out to be.  Auburn beat LSU, Louisiana Monroe and the bottom three teams in the SEC West along with the second worst team in the horrid SEC East.  LSU was the only legitimate win on a national scale and Auburn did not score an offensive touchdown in that game. It is great Auburn won those games but again this streak is being completely blown out of proportion.

As for the bowl game itself I see the chances of an Auburn win as pretty low.  Oklahoma is simply a better team.  I think Auburn will score some points but I think Oklahoma will score more.  The saddest thing for me is that it does not really matter if Auburn wins or loses.  Gus Malzahn could make this a big win regardless of what the scoreboard says if he was not the most unbelievably ridiculously stubborn person he is.  He could make everyone happy by at least throwing the ball as much as he runs it and really putting on a show (and when I say throwing the ball I mean legitimate passes downfield).

Let it all hang out!  Throw to those freshman wide receivers!  Get them involved!  Make them happy!  Make them not want to transfer.  Get all the Auburn fans excited.  Get all the recruits excited.  I believe the majority of Auburn fans to a lesser extent feel like I do.  Nobody wants to watch the hundreds of runs up the middle Gus Malzahn calls.  Again I am not saying Auburn should change to the Air Raid offense but BALANCE the offense and throw legitimate downfield passes more.  Oklahoma has one of the worst pass defenses in the country and this a New Year's Six big time bowl game.  There is not a better time to air it out some... but Malzahn won't do it.  We will come out with the same game plan as always and run Pettway or whoever with a few passes unless we get behind and have to throw more. 

On to hoops...  The basketball Tigers have started to make people notice with road wins over Oklahoma and UConn.  Now again this is definitely a big deal for Auburn and something to savor but it is also getting blown out of proportion.  It is obvious Oklahoma is not very good and UConn was already without their two or three best players due to injury and lost their next best player during the game to a concussion and they still almost won.  Now no Auburn team in the last fifteen years could have won those games so it is something to enjoy but unfortunately I still do not see Auburn coming close to the big dance in March.

That was also evident last night as Auburn blew a double-digit second half lead to lose to Georgia at home in the conference opener.  Everyone knows this group of very good freshman are going to have some growing pains but Auburn really needed to get that win last night after starting so strong.  It was a very disappointing loss.  I will say the reffing was some of the worst I have seen in awhile as Georgia shot almost 40 free throws.  However Auburn still should have won but they simply died on defense and rebounding in the second half.  The three-pointers are pretty but you have to do the defense and rebounding as well to get the win.

I do not want to sound too sour though as Bruce Pearl has done a tremendous job trying to bring Auburn basketball back from the dead.  The recruiting is maybe the best in the entire history of the program.  The current group of freshmen are amazing with big man Austin Wiley being maybe the biggest recruit in Auburn history.  He is certainly the biggest legacy recruit ever with his mom, Vickie Orr, being one of the greatest women's basketball players in Auburn history and his dad Aubrey Wiley being the leading rebounder in the SEC one year on the men's side.  This season though rests more in the hands of Auburn's other outstanding freshmen: Jared Harper, Mustapha Heron and Danjel Purifoy. 

These guys are very good, the only problem is they will not be together for long.  It is a good bet Purifoy will declare after this season so Auburn has to make it work now even with these young guys.  I love their talent and the energy they bring.  I love Pearl.  He has really gotten these guys going.  My only complaints would be the inconsistent defense and rebounding, the stagnant half court offense and these guys doing some really dumb things at the worst times.  I know these guys are freshmen but they have played basketball their whole lives.  They know this stuff.

For example, in the Boston College loss after Auburn worked so hard to tie the game in the first half they then turned it over two times in a row and fell behind again.  They worked hard again and finally tied it up again in the second half only to come down and throw up a 30 foot three-pointer and lose the chance to take the lead again.  You have to come down and get a good shot in those situations.  There is no excuse even for freshmen to blow that many opportunities. 

You saw some of that against Georgia as well.  It doesn't matter if the shot is made, it matters that you continue to work to get a good one.  This group like so many others just chuck way too many low-percentage three-pointers.  I just hope they can come back from this tough loss to have some success in-conference.  Again the improvement has to show in the conference record.  Auburn has had ONE winning conference record since 2000.  The team has to win most of their home games to accomplish that and Auburn is already behind now. 

At least we know we have a proven good coach in charge.  Even with this team's warts I love Bruce Pearl.  He is not only a good coach but coaches a brand of basketball people like to watch and unlike Gus Malzahn who could not utter anything sincere in an interview if his life depended on it, Pearl always gives great interviews.  It is just a pleasure having the guy as Auburn's head basketball coach.  I hope he stays long enough to put together at least one really good team.  The program is showing signs of life but unfortunately there is still a long way to go... 

Game 12 Review: Whatever

(NOTE: I wrote every word of this post on Friday November 25th except the score and the fourth paragraph.  THAT is how predictable Gus Malzahn is against a very good team)

 

Alabama 30  Auburn 12  Whatever.  Bama wins the Iron Bowl.  You get the best players, you win most of the games.  I am not sure how a team gets the best players for almost a decade and the NCAA never even looks around.  I mean a terrible Ole Miss team is assaulted for some sort of cheating while the machine in Tuscaloosa rolls on.  I mean nobody has recruited at that high a level for that long a time in the history of college football but hey I am sure everything is aboveboard in Tuscaloosa.  There is nothing to see there.  Just move on along.  It is all about "the process".  What a load of shi... 

I am not sure what to say about the game.  Auburn is a good running team that cannot pass very well.  They played a defense they cannot run on... so what else was going to happen?  Oops sorry I think our company line is that "hey if Sean White would have been healthy we would have won!".  Yeah that line has sure been used a lot the last two years.  If Sean White would have been healthy we evidently would have beaten Arkansas, Ole Miss, Georgia and maybe Bama last season.  This season you change it to played or healthy and evidently we would have beaten Clemson, Georgia and Bama.  Wow, if only Sean White were healthy evidently he is better than Cam Newton.

I am sure many will be blathering that line next season as well with these coaches running the exact same thing as this year and most likely with the exact same results.  I am called negative but check my preseason post I predicted Auburn to go 8-4, spot on.  Gus will destroy most teams if they have a weak run defense but lose to just about any team that has a good one.  That is usually anywhere from 3 to 5 teams on Auburn's schedule depending on the year.  I am literally shuddering at the thought of watching this exact same offense produce the exact same results next season. 

Gus Malzahn put up another epic coaching performance today as we had 34 yards and ONE FIRST DOWN at halftime.  That means AUBURN WENT A FULL GAME WITH ONE FIRST DOWN AND ONLY 60 YARDS OF OFFENSE combining the second half against Georgia and first half against Bama.  We are paying FIVE MILLION DOLLARS for this pathetic offensive coaching from a supposed offensive coach!!!  It is unbelievable how bad he is against any kind of good defense.  Is this a legitimate big-time college coach???  Injuries are not excuses for a performance as bad as that especially trying to put everything on losing an average quarterback like Sean White

I do not see any point in "breaking down the game" any more.  I have covered the offense above.  The defense played hard but Bama has great players on offense and they can only hold them down so much when our offense keeps giving it back to Bama.  I mean pretty much anybody could see this result coming from a mile away.  Did anyone seriously think we were going to challenge Bama after being coached that bad on offense at Georgia?  It just does not work like that.  Football teams that get better throughout the season show it on the field (even with injuries Gus).  Football teams that get better throughout the season usually have a good passing offense they can rely on.

I keep reading this was a good season on several different sites. Our top wins were over Mississippi schools with overall losing records, an Arkansas team with a losing conference record and a bad run defense plus an LSU team that is 6-4 with no quarterback either. We have lost to all the better teams on our schedule including Georgia and Bama (for the third year in a row). How is that a good season? I t could definitely be worse but for Auburn I don’t think that is a good season.  There is a difference in eight win seasons.  You can tell the difference in a good team that has improved and a team that has not.

There have been eight win seasons (not counting stupid bowls win or lose) that have been seasons to remember and many that have been seasons to forget.  Look at 1984 and 1985, two teams that could not pass and turned in seasons to mainly forget outside Bo's Heisman run.  There is 1996, much like this season, where Auburn lost all their important games.  Nobody is happy with those seasons.  On the other hand there are eight win seasons like 1982, 2002 and 2007 where the team gets better and even after losing tough games to great Georgia teams came back and beat good Bama teams.

Well this season is done and while Auburn finished with a winning record it is just another forgettable one much like 2009, 2011, 2014 and 2015.  All of those seasons Auburn ended up with seven or eight wins running this same offense and lost to all the good teams on their schedule including Georgia and Bama.  I am really looking forward to the high probability of ANOTHER one next season.  Hold the phones though, Auburn still has a bowl game to go this season and if Gus lucks out and draws a team with a less than stellar run defense he can blow them out.  That could get him another big raise and contract extension guaranteeing many more of these seasons to come.

Game 11 Review: Happy and Mad

Auburn 55  Alabama A&M 0.  I have been fortunate enough to be able to be a team manager for a 7A soccer program in this state.  You are around the kids before, during and after every game.  You get close to them.  You find out what a big deal senior night is.  You find out what games like this mean to the kids who do not get to play much.  They finally get to get in and play.  It is a big deal to the players and to the coaches to a certain extent.  I know how happy I was for the seniors I was around all season to have a great senior night.  I know how happy I was for the players that did not play much for our team to get in there and do something good.

So while the fallout continues from the horrific loss last week, I was happy about a few things last night.  I am happy for Jeremy Johnson.  He had a great game in his last game in Auburn.  He deserved it.  I will continue to believe he was criminally under-coached at Auburn and any kind of decent quarterback coach could have made him into a very good quarterback.  He has all the tools and his arm and accurate throws are very rare.  He just needed a legitimate passing coach to help him make reads.  He did not find that at Auburn but he did have a few good game moments.  He also appeared to handle this very tough situation with a lot of dignity and class.

I was also happy for Kam Martin who while a freshman had maybe the best game of the night.  I know it was in the second half against a lower echelon team but it sure looks like the team could have used him against Georgia last week.  I was happy for the defense to get a shutout.  Obviously Alabama A&M was completely overmatched but it is still hard to get a shutout.  I was glad to see senior safety Rudy Ford get some snaps at running back.  I know he is glad he moved to safety as it is a much higher paid position in the NFL but I always thought he would have been a great running back.  Finally as I said earlier I am happy for all the players behind the scenes who got playing time last night.

I also want to give kudos to all the seniors who played their last game in Auburn last night.  I have already mentioned Jeremy Johnson.  I want to thank Montravius Adams, one of the better defensive tackles to play at Auburn.  He has been special since he started as a freshman but really broke through this season.  I want to thank Josh Holsey and Rudy Ford.  These guys have been pillars and battled so hard in the secondary in their four years at Auburn.  Holsey battled through injuries but really turned in a great season this year.  Jonathan "Rudy" Ford will leave as one of the greatest tacklers in Auburn history.  I want to thank Alex Kozan who also had to battle through a serious injury but was an impact player his whole time at Auburn.

Thanks to all the other guys who were kind of behind-the-scenes but had some great moments: Tony Stevens, T.J. Davis, Xavier Dampeer, Robert Leff, Marcus Davis, etc...  I will never forget Marcus Davis catching all those clutch passes from Nick Marshall on that epic last second drive to beat Mississippi State in 2013.  Finally kudos to Carl Lawson who we all thought was leaving for the NFL last January till he tweeted the "I am not leaving" scene from "Wolf of Wall Street" out to let everyone know he was staying at Auburn.  I have never been so fired up in the offseason!!!  He delivered too, he has been the leader of the defense and the leader of this team and has been awesome this season.  Kudos to Auburn too for recognizing Lawson, a fourth year junior, as a senior last night. 

There was a lot to be happy about last night but unfortunately I am still steaming mad over last week.  All I have read this week from coaches and from fan posts on various sites is using injuries as excuses.  I have read next to no accountability from the coaches other than a few obligatory lines.  There has been no true sincere accountability from the coaches.  There has only been continual in-so-many-words blaming the loss on injuries.  Plain and simple INJURIES ARE NOT AN EXCUSE for losing to a team as bad as Georgia.  I am sick to death of hearing it.  Louisiana Lafayette somehow managed to score 21 points on the Georgia juggernaut yesterday.

The coaches had to work really hard to lose that game last week that would have meant so much to Auburn.  I believe if the coaches put in John Franklin and Kam Martin in last week and run the entire second half that Auburn wins that game.  I believe if the coaches put in Jeremy Johnson in last week for the entire second half that Auburn wins the game.  ANY CHANGE would have resulted in our best offensive player, kicker Daniel Carlson, getting some opportunities.  Instead our coaches in their stubborn lunacy stuck with a quarterback and strategy that DID NOT WORK AT ALL and basically RUINED THE SEASON.  That was a game Auburn should have and could have won.

I also believe if we had any coaches that could remotely coach a good high-school level passing game we could have won.  I think it says a lot that many Auburn people the last two seasons are mad that Auburn even threw a pass in the second half against Georgia.  If that does not prove my point I do not know what will.  I am incredulous when I hear that stuff.  I believe the opposite, I believe we should have a good enough passing game to get the job done at critical moments.  Nobody was more ground-based than Pat Dye and he did what he had to do to develop a passing game that got the job done in the critical moments.  Gus Malzahn has not and never will.

With that said Auburn now heads to Tuscaloosa and the one team you cannot beat without a good quarterback and a good passing game.  I do not think Auburn has much of a chance in this one with a fully healthy team.  I do not believe Sean White on his best day is good enough to beat a really good defense like Bama has.  Unfortunately I see a game a lot like last season where Auburn keeps it close mostly due to defense through 2 or 3 quarters before that defense wears out.  Last season it was Bama 29 Auburn 13, I think that is pretty close to what it will be this season.  I sure could have taken a game like that and another loss to Bama better if we would have beaten a bad Georgia team like we should have.

Game 10 Review: NO PASSING ZONE

(For any interested I posted my review of last week's game today, my apologies)

 

Georgia 13  Auburn 7.  Let me be really clear here, I am DONE with Gus Malzahn.  DONE.  I have written over and over and over in this blog how he is incapable of putting together a competent passing game and he proved me right once again.  He never makes the passing game a part of the main game plan, he continues to not use lesser games to get better in the passing game and he continues to pat himself on the back for rushing for a bazillion yards against bad defenses.  He has done it over and over and over again. 

 

He will simply never change.  The Auburn offense under him will never change.  It does not matter how many times he runs lesser teams out of the stadium, he will always lose to good defenses every time.  The 2013 season was the exception and it will not happen again.  Of course he still lost the big one that season because he would not pass.  I am just DONE.  I am so tired of watching this garbage.  He is very good at running the ball and he will continue to get a few big wins every year with this one-dimensional offense but he will also continue to not have a good passing game and get beat in games like this.  I am so tired of watching it.

 

I am also sick and tired of being told how great this offense is, how great these coaches are, how great Sean White is, blah blah blah.  I cannot wait to hear the excuses for this one.  Yes Kamryn Pettway was injured but you cannot win big games without alternative game plans.  Yes Sean White was probably hurt as well but either he can do the job or you put the back up in, it is as simple as that.  Of course our coaches decided not to get our backup any experience passing the ball in real games so I am sure he is not ready for a game like this.  A good coach, one paid ALMOST FIVE MILLION DOLLARS should be able to win a game against a bad Georgia team even with these injuries. 

 

You had a senior quarterback on the bench who led the way to our biggest road win in the last two seasons at Texas A&M last season.  Everyone hates him but I think he would have done a better job than 6 for 20 for 27 yards and one pick six.  I cannot describe how horrible that is or how bad the coaching has to be for that to happen.  These coaches knew Pettway would be out as soon as he pulled up lame last week however they did nothing to get our young wide receivers involved other than jet sweeps to Eli Stove. 

 

I have noted several times the last few weeks that our game plan only seem to consist of running Kamryn Pettway.  It seems all our coaches tried to do this week was the same thing with Kerryon Johnson and Stanton Truitt.  I guess they did not take into account that Georgia has a very good run defense.  I guess it never entered their mind that they might have to pass.  It sure looked like that.  Sean White may have been hurt but he was poorly prepared as well.  I mean people can throw out as many excuses as they like but that does not explain 32 TOTAL YARDS AND NO FIRST DOWNS IN THE SECOND HALF.  I MEAN COME ON!!!!!!

 

Auburn lost to a Georgia team WHO DID NOT SCORE AN OFFENSIVE TOUCHDOWN.  It simply boggles the mind that a team with Auburn's talent can play that bad.  I am so sick and tired of watching this stupid offense.  I am so tired of watching us run up the middle out of the shotgun.  I want Malzahn gone, period end of story.  He cannot make it up to me, I don't care how many lesser teams he runs out of the stadium.  He will never be able to coach up a competent passing game.  It will be just however many more years of watching him run up the middle 60 times a game.

 

The only thing left now is a garbage game against Alabama A&M and an execution in Tuscaloosa.  You can go ahead and FILE OUR THIRD SEASON IN A ROW LOSING TO GEORGIA AND BAMA.  That is right THREE IN A ROW with MORE TO COME most likely.  Who cares though?  We sure beat the heck out of a bad Mississippi State team and an Arkansas team with no run defense.  Our equally as inept athletic director will probably give Malzahn a raise and a five year extension.  They will continue to talk about 2013 and ignore three years of evidence since then that this is all Malzahn is ever going to give us.   

 

I am not even sure about the history of this blog till Malzahn is gone.  It seems like he will probably be here several more years and they will be exactly the same as the last three.  I do not think I can summarize his lack of ability to coach up a passing game again.  I do not think I can list the pieces of evidence from the last seven seasons he has been either offensive coordinator or head coach that show this is all the coach he will ever be.  I guess our only hope is that another Cam Newton will appear or a host of NFL-caliber great players will come in like 2013.  Otherwise enjoy the hundreds of times he will run up the middle and the inevitable losses to Georgia and Bama.

Game 9 Review: Cubs Win!

(I apologize to my readers for the lateness of this post.  My daughter had an all weekend soccer tournament and then I had more soccer practices and of course the election this past week.)

 

Auburn 23  Vanderbilt 16.  This is one of the few Auburn games for me that was completely overshadowed by events the week before and after.  The week before the Chicago Cubs finally overcame the odds and won a World Series title.  It was an unbelievable effort throughout the season and in the playoffs with the pressure of that long a drought hanging over those young men.  There was one old man in that lineup of course and he went to Auburn.  I am of course talking about catcher David Ross who went out in fine style helping the Cubs to the title and becoming the oldest player in baseball history to hit a homerun in game seven of the World Series.

 

Anyone who keeps up with Auburn baseball remembers David Ross and his walk-off home run against Florida State in the 1997 NCAA Regionals that is perhaps the signature moment in Auburn baseball history.  It has been a time to be proud of the Auburn baseball program the last few years.  Frank Thomas became the first Auburn baseball player to enter the Hall of Fame while Tim Hudson and David Ross both went out helping their teams win epic World Series titles.  I actually became a baseball fan when I started playing Rotisserie fantasy baseball while at Auburn in 1989.  Rotisserie baseball was the first fantasy sport and is what started the billion dollar industry that is now fantasy football.  I had kind of lost touch with baseball the last few years but really enjoyed coming back to watch the finale of this World Series.

 

This Game 7 classic might be the best baseball game I have ever seen.  What a back and forth battle.  The Cubs opened the game with a home run only to see the Indians tie it up two innings later.  The Cubs would then score five more runs including the home run by David Ross only to see the Indians tie it again on an epic two-run homer by centerfielder Rajai Davis.  It looked pretty bleak then for the Cubs.  I thought the Indians would win at that point.  The cardiac kids did it again though and the Cubs won 8-7 in one of the greatest World Series games of all times. 

 

This might have been my favorite baseball moment although for me two more are right there with it.  I am not sure anything can replace the 1991 Braves "worst-to-first" season that included another all-time classic Game 7 except the Braves came down on the wrong side of it.  I was still at Auburn in 1991 and everyone just got caught up in Braves mania.  It was an unbelievable ride and continued in to 1992 and my favorite single Braves baseball moment.  That is of course Sid Bream beating Barry Bonds throw to win Game 7 of the 1992 NLCS.  I remember going absolutely bonkers and waking up both my parents.  BRAVES WIN!  BRAVES WIN!  BRAVES WIN!

 

My other favorite baseball moment was the 2004 NLCS between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees.  At that time it was easy of course for Auburn fans to sympathize with the Red Sox as the relationship between them and the Yankees is very similar to Auburn and Bama.  Somehow I flipped by and got sucked into Game 4 and the incredible comeback by the Red Sox.  It just grabbed you and my wife and I watched the rest of the series.  That series also had an Auburn connection in Red Sox second baseman Mark Bellhorn.  Bellhorn helped lead Auburn to the College World Series in 1994 and then started his career in the minors in my city of Huntsville, Alabama. 

 

I am sorry for the walk down memory lane in another sport but I thought the Cubs monumental victory deserved it.  There is also not a lot new to say about Auburn's win over Vanderbilt.  The first half was awful with quarterback Sean White out.  I understood making John Franklin the backup before Auburn became a contender again.  I do not understand it now, senior Jeremy Johnson would have done a better job and should be the backup now that Auburn is playing for something.  John Franklin either cannot throw the ball or the coaches do not trust him to throw the ball. 

 

I complain about Auburn not throwing enough anyway but with Franklin in the game they literally do not throw at all.  This is not 1940, you cannot win against anybody not throwing it all.  Franklin is not even close to being that good.  I agree he should get some wildcat looks but does not appear to be a viable quarterback.  Play the young fast runner when you are getting ready for next year but bring in your experienced senior if you are contending.  Nobody knows of course what was or is wrong with Sean White but he looked OK coming back in the second half to lead Auburn to the win.

 

The offense had it's moments but their effort was overshadowed by injuries, turnovers and penalties.  The biggest injury of course being Kamryn Pettway's pulled hamstring or whatever happened to him on that run.  It does not look good and does not appear he will play this week against Georgia.  I will say it is not surprising as the coaches have ridiculously overused Pettway the last few weeks.  I have learned personally this fall about muscles tightening up when your knees or other places are sore.  I pulled my hamstring as well and it all stemmed from a sore knee due to overdoing it.  The Auburn coaches should feel responsibility and regret for overusing Pettway. 

 

Pettway before the injury had another monster day gaining 173 yards and surpassing 1000 for the season.  The guy has become Auburn's offense and will be sorely missed if he is out this week.  I wonder what the game plan for Georgia will be since the only one Auburn has used the last few weeks is running Pettway with a few passes sprinkled in.  I think leaning on Auburn's corps of young wide receivers would be a good place to start but I doubt that will happen.  Kerryon Johnson will be first up and then we will get a mix of Stanton Truitt, Chandler Cox and Kam Martin. 

 

The Auburn defense was stung through the air for the second week in a row.  The defense that looked so good early on has looked very vulnerable lately.  I expected the pass rush and coverage to be better.  It looks like Auburn defensive coordinator Kevin Steele is only rushing four and laying back in coverage waiting for the other team to make a mistake.  That is a sound strategy at times but as bad as Auburn looked against Ole Miss I think he needs to come out more aggressive against Georgia.  I believe Georgia will pass a lot more against Auburn after watching the game film from Ole Miss and Vanderbilt.  It is time for the Auburn defense to return to form and lead the way against the Bulldogs.

 

Amen Corner is here and it begins with Georgia, "The Deep South's Oldest Rivalry".  The game this week will be the premiere game in the SEC and take center stage.  It is always a special week.  It is Auburn vs. Georgia, maybe the closest rivalry in all of college football.  Georgia leads by a single game 56-55-8.  Georgia leads in total points after over a 100 years of playing by about 50 points.  It is that close.  I do not think there is one rivalry that is even close stat-wise.  This is a true rivalry not a lot of talk about a series dominated by one team most of the time.  I do not think there is any other rivalry that has the history of Auburn and Georgia either.  I am talking history like both of their greatest coaches being alumni from the other school and many other ties like that.

 

It is time again.

Game 8 Review: Missing Defense Till End

Auburn 40  Ole Miss 29.  I was not sweating this game till Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly hit 400 yards passing in the third quarter.  I expected a fast start from Ole Miss but did not expect them to go through the Auburn defense like a knife through warm butter almost the whole game (!!!).  It was hard to watch at times.  Kelly put up one of the best games I have ever seen against a good Auburn defense.  The guy finished 36 of 59 for 465 yards (!!!) and 3 touchdowns... and one interception.  ONE interception...  ONE mistake...  ONE play turned it around for Auburn.

This entire game after all the offensive fireworks on both sides came down to two plays actually.  Auburn was clinging to a 33-29 lead with eight minutes left in the game.  Ole Miss just had a great kickoff return and that plus a dumb Auburn personal foul penalty put them in business at the Auburn 41 yard line.  On second down Kelly delivered a strike to Ole Miss wide receiver Evan Engram just a little low and out in front of him.  It was catchable but Engram missed it.  It would have been a touchdown or close to it if he would have caught it.  It might have been the one play that got Ole Miss the win...

The next play Kelly made his only big mistake of the night.  He had been picking on Josh Holsey relentlessly the whole game and Holsey finally made him pay.  Holsey anticipated and stepped in and picked off Kelly's third down pass and returned it almost 50 yards.  Kamryn Pettway would then take it down to the Ole Miss three yard line and Kerryon Johnson would put it in for the clinching touchdown.  It is definitely the kind of defensive and offensive plays a good team makes to win a tight game.  I thought the series of events really fit this Auburn team.  The defensive leaders though abused all night finally made a play and then the offense finished it off. 

THE GOOD
As I stated last week, I just do not get all the blathering on about Rhett Lashlee.  Auburn is calling the same plays they have since 2013 other than the unexplainable Clemson game.  The difference is the defenses not being as good and the Auburn offensive line coming alive along with Kamryn Pettway.  I will continue to say offensive line coach Herb Hand is the one who deserves the accolades because his guys are the biggest difference on the team.  They got their butts kicked against Clemson and Texas A&M and have improved a whole lot since. 

In a weird way, injuries have also been one of the catalysts for this team.  Austin Golson getting hurt put Darius James in the lineup and though he struggled at times last night, he has made a huge difference.  The same goes for Kerryon, his injury allowed Pettway the chance to be the main back.  Pettway put up another monster game last night going for over 230 yards on 30 carries.  Pettway had one touchdown as well but it was good to have "The Closer" Kerryon Johnson back who punched in two touchdowns.  Again though it all starts with the offensive line and Chandler Cox.  Those guys are rolling people.

MORE GOOD AND THE BAD
Sean White had a good night going 15 of 22 for almost 250 yards and one touchdown.  His main targets were Darius Slayton, Eli Stove and Kerryon.  I will say though that most of those were great runs after short passes.  White is great at distributing short passes but continues to struggle on the long ball and intermediate passes that require arm strength.  He was seen falling down trying to throw a hard medium length pass up the middle.  White continues to shine when Auburn is running the ball well but I just do not believe he is good enough to lead us to a win in Tuscaloosa.

I hope I am wrong but while he is a gamer, he is still very limited.  It is not all his fault though as the coaching staff only has one game plan... run the ball.  It works against teams we are better than but sooner or later you have to beat one that is as good or better than you.  Nobody knew Gus' tendencies in 2013 (till the national championship game) but they do now.  They are set in stone... #1 Auburn will run the ball almost 70% of the time and #2 Auburn will always and I mean always run up the middle after a big pass play.  I don't see any change in those two tendencies with Rhett Lashlee!

THE UGLY
Chad Kelly is a good quarterback but not that good.  It was an ugly performance by the Auburn defense most of the night.  I think they might need to quit reading their "press clippings".  They gave up almost 600 yards of total offense.  It is time to come back down to earth and get focused on Vanderbilt and Georgia.  The good thing is that they will probably not see a quarterback as good as Kelly the rest of the season.  Another positive is they did get better as the game went on and did not wilt as many Auburn defenses have in the last few years. 

THE LAST WORD
Auburn is now into November and a solid Vanderbilt team will come to town next week.  I am hoping for another good performance and not a "slog through" performance that many previous Malzahn teams have done in games like this.  This team has not done any of that and has not let down in lesser games.  I hope they keep it up against the Commodores.  I hope Auburn is able to play a lot of guys and as always I would love to see us work on the passing game and even give John Franklin a couple of passes in a real game but that will not happen.  It should be another great running day though.

Game 7 Review: HOG SLAUGHTER

Auburn 56  Arkansas 3.  This game was the biggest beatdown on a ranked team in Auburn history.  Obviously it was a pretty good Saturday on the plains.  My first reaction was "how did that taste Bret?".  Arkansas coach Bret Bielema has gone on and on over the last few years about playing "tough pro-style" football.  He has made a career criticizing the hurry-up-no-huddle and running the majority of your plays from the shotgun formation.  He has run off at the mouth over and over again slighting every team in the conference plus going overboard beating his chest after his few big wins.  My advice to him now is the same as it was then... SHUT UP.  That is pretty much the only thing you need to be doing after your big bad "pro-style" team gives up over 500 YARDS RUSHING (!!!).

It was 543 yards to be exact, only two yards less than the 2013 team in the SEC Championship game against Missouri.  That game was a once-in-a-lifetime performance and to nearly match that is an incredible achievement.  Of course it is hard to say which performance was more impressive, the offense or the defense?  I think I might have to go with the defense.  Arkansas had the leading rusher and leading passer in the conference and the Auburn defense held them to 215 yards total (!!!).  Big bad "I am tougher than you" Arkansas had only 25 yards rushing the entire game!!!  25 YARDS.  Arkansas is no juggernaut but that is still very impressive. 

There is not much reason to break things down into "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" today.  A win like this is pretty much all good although as always I still have a tiny bit of rain to dump on the victory parade.  First though let's start with the most frequent question I hear and that is how did Auburn go to offensively inept to juggernaut?  Well first and foremost is the level of competition.  Auburn played better teams and defenses (at least in LSU's case) earlier in the season.  They have improved, there is no doubt about that but it is definitely a combination of both.

Next, while everyone blathers on about Rhett Lashlee when overall the playcalling has not changed that much I give the most credit on the offensive side of the ball to offensive line coach Herb Hand.  Auburn is dominating because the offensive line is destroying people plus Chandler Cox and even Jalen Harris have improved immensely.  The offensive line is paving the way for this run and after some of their early performances it is pretty amazing to watch.  The next biggest thing is Kamryn Pettway looking like Jerome "The Bus" Bettis.  The sunshine pumpers finally got one thing right, this guy is a beast. 

Auburn's young receiving corps was also on full display last night, mostly running the ball but even so you can see these guys are dripping with talent.  We have already seen a little of Kyle Davis and Darius Slayton and last night we saw Eli Stove and a flash of Nate Craig-Myers.  Stove started the game with a 78 yard touchdown run and a couple more good runs as well.  Craig-Myers had just one catch but looked like a man doing it.  Sophomore Stanton Truitt has become a legitimate running back and had 78 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 8 carries.

The leaders of this team though for the first time in a long time are on defense.  The defensive line led by Carl Lawson and Montravius Adams held their own in the early games against the tough teams and are flat our destroying these lesser teams.  The linebackers are also oozing leadership and making plays.  Tre William's crushing tackle last night reminded me of some of those 80's defenses.  Finally, the veteran secondary continues to hold their own as well with Rudy Ford, Josh Holsey and Tray Matthews among the top six tacklers for this game plus Javaris Davis grabbing another big interception. 

I have been pretty hard on the coaching staff the last few years and still have some major philosophical differences with Gus.  I still have to mention them even after this game but first some accolades for Gus and his boys.  First and foremost, the coaches are doing a good job recruiting.  Auburn has continued to turn out top ten recruiting classes and it is finally starting to show this season.  The talent level is high.  My only concern is that I know Dameyune Craig was a big part of that and is one of the best recruiters in the country.  It sure looks like losing him hurt Florida State, will it hurt Auburn?

Next, the coaches continue to get the team to play hard.  This was true last season and it has continued this season.  There have not been many Tuberville or Chizik-like meltdowns where the team just does not show up.  The first job of a good college coach is getting good players and the second job is developing them and getting them to play hard.  Gus Malzahn and his staff still struggle at times with development in certain spots but they are certainly getting these guys to play hard.  Mississippi State and Arkansas are not titans and Auburn had more talent than both of them but Auburn also out-worked them in every phase of the game.

Auburn has destroyed it's last two conference opponents and will be heavily favored in every remaining game this season but the last one.  The Tigers are surging toward the finish line.  Are there any concerns going forward?  I will continue to think so.  Auburn like 2013 is just not a balanced team and sooner or later that will bite you.  It cost the 2013 team a national championship.  Five hundred yards rushing is an awesome feat but the team would have been better served throwing the ball some.  You cannot just turn a passing game on like a light bulb.  You have to work on it in real game conditions.  Sean White and this young wide receiver corps need all the reps they can get.

Unfortunately this coaching staff regardless of who is calling the plays will not do that.  Gus Malzahn can beat anyone he can run on but sooner or later you will always play someone who can slow down your running attack.  The 2013 team was an exception to the rule although again Gus' refusal to call just a few more play-action passes cost them a national championship.  This team is not near as good as that 2013 team regardless of the last two games.  Now this team has something that team did not have and that is a great defense but the offense still needs to be more balanced to beat better teams, i.e. Bama. 

This team is not going to roll into Tuscaloosa and run over the Tide.  Auburn had to pass to beat the Tide in 2010 and had to get two touchdowns through the air in 2013 as well.  The defense will give Auburn a chance to win every remaining game on the schedule even Bama but I just do not have confidence in a one-dimensional team.  I also think it is a huge mistake not to let John Franklin throw a few passes in game conditions.  What happens if Sean White gets hurt?  Finally you can only run so many jet sweeps and reverses, sooner or later you have to actually throw passes to get these awesome young receivers involved but it does not look like that will happen.

Auburn will continue to throw as little as possible unless they have to and I will just never agree with that philosophy.  You have to be more balanced on offense.  You can still be a run-based team and be more balanced than they have been and are now.  However the Tigers do not really have to worry about that till November 19.  They can win doing what they do now till then so I guess I will just enjoy those games like State and Arkansas.  Ole Miss is next and the Rebels better look out.  They will come limping into the game after two tough unsuccessful road trips to Arkansas and LSU to take on this red-hot Auburn team.  Let's hope the Tigers can keep it going.