Game 5 Review: RESPONSE REQUIRED

AUBURN 56  MISSISSIPPI STATE 23.  I ended my post last week writing about the obvious hard feelings that the Auburn coaching staff and players had about their embarrassing loss to Mississippi State last season.  Coach Gus Malzahn actually avoided the usual coachspeak clichés and admitted he and the team got "embarrassed" last season.  It was obvious to me it was not just another loss.  State ran for almost 350 yards with no passing threat and just mauled Auburn's vaunted defensive line.  The Auburn offensive line got wrecked about as bad.  After that I think State also went a little overboard on the celebration as well.  Again it is sure obvious now that it was not just another loss.

I ended my post last week saying this: "I do not "talk big" on this blog very often...  I think this is one of the rare times where I will say that State better watch out and they better come to play because I do not think we are getting the same old cliches or coachspeak this week.  For the first time in maybe his entire career I think Gus Malzahn is being dead honest talking to the press.  I will give Gus the last word here this week:  "It is a completely new year, but at the same time, when you have experiences, whether you are a player or a coach YOU REMEMBER.  AND WE HAVE GOT TO RESPOND."  This Saturday we will see the response."

Auburn responded.  I just had that feeling that Auburn would come out looking for payback but even I could not envision the hell they unleashed on Mississippi State.  I was there for the 2005 Bama game and Auburn sacking Brodie Croyle over and over and jumping out to a 21-0 lead and I remember Auburn going up 35-0 at Starkville in 2016.  I remember many more fast starts by an Auburn football team but I do not think I have ever seen a finer half of football than I saw last night.  The game was also a hard sellout and over 80,000 screaming Auburn fans and students made their presence known immediately as State had a delay of game penalty on the FIRST PLAY (!!!).

The Auburn defense, literally frothing at the mouth, stopped State with a huge sack on third down and then the crowd backed up State another five yards when they caused ANOTHER delay of game penalty on fourth down.  Christian Tutt returned the ball 16 yards to the State 30 yard line after State finally got the punt off.  The Auburn offensive line then literally ended the game on Auburn's first offensive play opening a hole big enough for a bus to drive through.  Boobee Whitlow ran through that hole and took it 30 yards basically untouched for Auburn's first touchdown.  You could tell, the game was over.  It was just how bad it was going to get.  It got bad.

The Auburn defense pushed State back again and State punted again.  It took Auburn five plays this time with Bo Nix hitting his first big pass of the night to Seth Williams and then taking it himself three plays later.  I just got chills as I remembered watching Bo Nix's dad Pat have his coming out party at Mississippi State in 1994.  Auburn had not got it clicking on offense that season and I think State was favored in that game.  Auburn took it to State and it was Pat Nix's first really good game as a starter at Auburn.  The very next week he led Auburn over #1 Florida in the Swamp.  His son will lead Auburn next week against #9 Florida in the Swamp...  does it not give you goosebumps?

Back to last night...  Auburn kicked off to State up 14-0 and State added to their misery by fumbling the kickoff.  It took Auburn just two plays to score again as Anthony Schwartz took it in this time.  Auburn was up 21-0 and the game was barely six minutes old.  State then showed some toughness and resolve and ground out a twelve play 75 yard touchdown drive.  There was no way though Auburn was going to let State even sniff getting back into this game.  Bo Nix and company then ground out their own eleven play 78 yard touchdown drive.  Nix hit Seth Williams three times on this drive, the big one being a thirty yard completion on 3rd down and 7.  It was shades of his dad and Frank Sanders twenty five years ago!  Boobee Whitlow took it in for the touchdown to make it 28-6.

State once again ground out another eleven play drive and kicked a field goal and once again Auburn would immediately RESPOND.  The Tigers once again flew down the field on the arm and legs of Bo Nix.  The kid is already a legend, the question is how big it is going to get.  Nix broke off a nice 30 yard run on the third play of the drive and even though he fumbled at the end Auburn retained possession.  Nix then hit Seth Williams again for a 39 yard touchdown pass.  There have been a lot of great quarterbacks and wide receivers at Auburn but those famous combinations have been much more rare.  There have been Sullivan and Beasley, Burger and Tillman, Marshall and Coates, NIX AND SANDERS and now it looks like we have NIX AND WILLIAMS.  

Auburn was now up 35-9.  The Auburn defense got back on track and stopped State three and out.  The ferociousness of the Auburn defense was palpable last night.  Derrick Brown and Marlon Davidson were the clear leaders.  They chased down every single play, they never stopped.  They made up for that night in Starkville last year and then some.  The rest of the defense followed their lead and were just flying to the ball.  Lineman, linebackers, defensive backs... it did not matter, I never saw just one Auburn blue jersey on the ball.  State would not score again till the game was clearly over and the reserves were in.  The Auburn defense responded and made a clear statement.

The Auburn offense was not done either.  They were stopped on their next drive when Seth Williams was called for a fumble when he was clearly down.  I have seen some of these Auburn runs stopped by a fumble but not this night.  Owen Pappoe, the Bo Nix of the defense, forced State to fumble two plays later and Auburn got the ball back at the State eight yard line with under three minutes left in the half.  This is where Gus typically runs the clock out content to go to the locker room with a big lead and just runs vanilla the entire second half not getting anything else out of the game.  He has done it many times.  He did it up 35-0 at State just three years ago.  He did NOT do it this night.

State did actually stop Auburn but in typical State fashion they committed a dumb personal foul penalty to keep the Auburn drive alive.  Win or lose, every single year State will usually commit several personal fouls.  They never change.  Nix would find his guy Seth Williams for 14 yards on second down.  Nix then zipped one to Will Hastings on a big third down conversion and then hit Anthony Schwartz in stride for 48 yards to the State three yard line.  Boobee Whitlow took it in from there making it 42-9 at halftime. Auburn basically scored a touchdown on every single possession in the first quarter against a decent SEC opponent.  Again THAT is a RESPONSE. 

The game was over, the only question was would Gus Malzahn just completely shutdown and let State win the second half like he has done so many times in the past.  I will say to his credit, he did not.  I sure hope this was a learning experience and not a one time response.  I really hope so because the Auburn drive to start the second half was a thing of beauty.  The Tigers and Bo Nix came out FIRING.  Nix hit Anthony Schwartz for 19 yards to open the half.  He then, after a short Kam Martin run, hit Will Hastings for 21 yards and then, once again, hit Seth Williams on a beautiful pass and catch for a 32 yard touchdown.  It was now 49-9.

The defense stuffed State after one first down and Bo and the boys were back at it again.  Nix hit Eli Stove for almost 30 yards but then Shaun Shivers fumbled the ball.  The Auburn defense stopped State again three-and-out but then for the first time all night State forced Auburn to punt.  State then hit a couple of big passes and scored to make it 49-16.  Oh well I assumed Gus would pack it in, it was almost the end of the third quarter and the game was over.  In the words of Lee Corso, not so fast my friend...  Auburn was not done quite yet.  Bo Nix would hit yet another big pass to Sal Canella for 30 yards on a 3rd and 10 play.  Nix would then complete his final pass of the night for 16 yards to Jay Jay Wilson and Kam Martin did the rest of the work taking it in to make it 56-16.  

That would do it, State would tack on a late meaningless touchdown and it ended 56-23.  Auburn had responded and a statement had been made.  I do want to mention that even after sending in the reserves Gus let Joey Gatewood throw two real passes.  He has never done that in the past in this situation.  I really hope he keeps this up.  I just think it is so important to get your backup quarterback game reps and not just waste that time.  It was just a great game for Auburn from beginning to end.  It was just a tremendous effort by the players, coaches and the sellout crowd.  The night was made even more special as Auburn honored last year's Final Four basketball team and handed out rings.  Again what a special night to be an Auburn Tiger.

The party is now over though.  It was great but Auburn cannot waste a second celebrating.  The Tigers now head to the Swamp to take on the Florida Gators.  It will be Auburn's first road game between two top-10 teams since 2014.  It is by far the biggest game in the conference next week and like Texas A&M could make or break Auburn's season.  I thought Texas A&M was so big because it would give Auburn the momentum to help play good against State and have a good chance to beat Florida.  I think that if Auburn beats the Gators it gives them the confidence and the momentum to then knock off one of the big boys coming up on the schedule.  

I think Auburn is a little bit better overall than Florida.  I think the Auburn defense is the best unit on the field and the Auburn offense can be more explosive.  However Florida is still very good, Dan Mullen is a good coach and the Swamp is a tough place to play.  Also, can Auburn avoid a let down after playing a near perfect game against State?  We will see next Saturday.  I am already excited.  Florida used to be one of Auburn's biggest rivals and now they hardly ever play anymore.  It has been a long time since a good Auburn team took on Florida down there.  The last time was when the Tigers and Wes Byrum upset Tim Tebow and the Gators in 2007.

However I am again thinking about 25 years ago when another Nix led us into the Swamp after a big win against Mississippi State and delivered one of the biggest wins in Auburn football history.  Can his son repeat that feat this coming weekend?  I can tell you right now, I would not bet against him.

Game 4 Review: Early Returns Are In

Auburn 28  Texas A&M 20.  As I have been saying the last couple of weeks I thought this game was really big for Auburn.  It had an election-night-type feel to it.  A definite decision was going to be made on this team.  Based on last year's game I felt A&M had the edge but I have to give it to the Auburn linemen on both sides of the ball.  They both dominated the line of scrimmage most of the day.  I thought last week that Derrick Brown would be a key factor in this game but I sure could not envision the terror he wreaked on the Aggies.  Brown had two sacks and three tackles for a loss.  He also made millions of dollars in that game because barring injury he will be a top pick in the NFL draft.  He was not alone either as the rest of the defense helped hold A&M to 56 yards rushing.

On the other side of the ball Prince Tega Wanogho and the offensive line led the way.  The signature moment was on Boobee Whitlow's eight yard touchdown run to effectively seal the game with eight minutes left in the fourth quarter.  On that play Tega Wanogho pushed his guy almost all the way to the end zone.  I was pretty impressed.  The offense had some great moments but also struggled at times as well.  However overall it was an extremely impressive win.  I think it will give the Tigers momentum going into another huge game in the Swamp in two weeks (if Auburn can take care of Mississippi State this week).  Finally it was big for head coach Gus Malzahn.  That was Auburn's first win on the road against a ranked team in a long time.

THE GOOD
This section is pretty easy this week.  Auburn looked well prepared and ready to play on both sides of the ball.  That is a big deal.  As I said above it definitely started in the trenches but the guys behind the line took advantage.  On defense the secondary again stood out led by Noah Igbinoghene's eight solo tackles.  These guys are bringing a lot of energy and you can never take for granted good open field tackling.  It is rare at every level of football these days.  The linebackers are not far behind and K.J. Britt is really showing he is the player he was hyped to be in the offseason.  He was second in tackles on Saturday and really seems to be playing with that reckless abandon that you like to see. 

On offense, Anthony Schwartz finally returned for real and made a huge impact on this game.  He got Auburn out to the big start it needed with his 57 yard touchdown run on the Tigers' opening drive.  He also had another big catch and run to help Auburn on another touchdown drive.  It was also good to see Malzahn and company finally call some of the plays us "dumb" fans have been calling for years.  First, hey great idea bringing in the "wildcat" quarterback in a running situation (2nd and goal) but then throwing to the blocking tight end.  I would have liked to have seen this play a couple more times the last six years.  Actually this play kind of got messed up and Joey Gatewood made a great adjustment and throw.

These thoughts go double for Auburn's next touchdown.  Bo Nix dropped straight back and threw a strike to Seth Williams on the SLANT.  Again good call and one just about every Auburn football fan who knows anything about the game has been asking for over and over.  The slant play is a basic passing play that should be used several times every game either for a quick strike or a fake.  It opens up so much.  First if you have a big strong receiver and you throw it right then it is almost unstoppable.  However if the defense overplays the slant the receiver can run the "sluggo" or slant-and-go route.  I believe I saw Bama score twice on that route this weekend when Southern Miss was trying to jump the route.  

Finally, I liked going to Whitlow to close it out.  That has worked well so far this season and later in the second half with a good lead is when you really want to go to that running game.  I also thought that running Bo Nix a few more times on the read option really helped the running game as well.  I do not want to do it a whole lot and get him hurt but in the Malzahn offense you really have to run the quarterback a few times.  Overall there is just not much to dislike in this game for Auburn on offense, defense or special teams.  There were some lapses and there are always definite places for improvement on both sides of the ball but going into a place like Texas A&M against a good team and getting a win like that is about all you can ask.

THE BAD
The bad is Auburn winning this game and showing it is a good team and getting momentum... and then looking at the schedule again.  It is simply not fair and completely ridiculous.  It is never fair in college football but at Auburn things just get progressively worse in that department.  Right now Auburn still has the #2, #3 #4 and #9 TEAMS IN THE COUNTRY TO PLAY (with two of those games on the road).  On top of that if somehow Auburn won the West they would have to play either the #3 or #9 team AGAIN like in 2017.  I have been very hard on Gus Malzahn but COME ON, nobody and I mean nobody, and yes I am including Nick $aban, is winning a championship against that schedule.

It all basically comes down to who you play from the East.  Auburn's goal every season is first to win the Western division.  At this point Auburn is basically competing with Bama and LSU to do that.  The schedule each team plays against the East becomes a huge part.  Bama plays two complete LOSERS this season in South Carolina and Tennessee.  There is no debate, both of those teams are terrible.  LSU plays Florida and Vanderbilt.  There is no debate, Vanderbilt is terrible.  Auburn plays Florida and Georgia.  You can nitpick Florida but they are miles ahead of South Carolina, Tennessee and Vanderbilt and that will be proven over the season.  Georgia has already proven they are one of the best teams in the country.  The schedule is just bad and will be too much for Auburn.

THE UGLY
I just read an article about what I was going to write about here.  There is only one thing I think you can write about it in this spot with the Mississippi State game coming up and that is the humiliating beat down State put on Auburn last season.  Nobody talked about it in the offseason but it was definitely one of the ugliest regular season conference losses I have seen.  It seems Gus Malzahn and I finally agree on something... "We are playing a very good Mississippi State team; a team that really just, bottom line, embarrassed us last year," Malzahn said.  "THEY JUST LINED UP AND WHIPPED US... THAT WAS A TOUGH ONE.""  

State rushed for almost 350 YARDS without the threat of a passing game and beat Auburn 23-9.  This vaunted defensive line that played so well this past weekend was ABSOLUTELY MAULED.  Malzahn went on and said there was nothing left to say, "THEY EMBARRASSED US."  Derrick Brown echoed Malzahn and said there was nothing left to say about it and that is was "time to go to work".  It is a rare occasion when the team and fans are in complete unison but it sounds like this week is one of those times.  The unfair scheduling and Auburn's championship chances will take a backseat this week.  This game coming up is about pride and redemption.

I do not "talk big" on this blog very often.  I think I spend much more time on where Auburn can improve in order to win a championship but not this week.  I think this is one of the rare times where I will say that State better watch out and they better come to play because I do not think we are getting the same old cliches or coachspeak this week.  For the first time in maybe his entire career I think Gus Malzahn is being dead honest talking to the press.  I will give Gus the last word here this week:  "It is a completely new year, but at the same time, when you have experiences, whether you are a player or a coach YOU REMEMBER.  AND WE HAVE GOT TO RESPOND."  This Saturday we will see the response.

Game 3 Review: Preseason is Over

Auburn 55  Kent State 16.  I was out carting kids around when this game started and as I listened on the radio I knew I was not missing much.  I have loved Auburn football all my life and have watched every game I could starting in the 70s.  However Gus Malzahn has finally beaten me down to the point that I just do not enjoy watching games like this live anymore.  I have better things or things I enjoy more to do for three-plus hours that watch Gus Malzahn call SIXTY PLUS running plays.  Again it just gets really old and I mean really old after watching it for six years.  It is just mind numbing.  I did watch an abbreviated version of the game this morning to I could write this post. 

Good gosh it was hard watching even that.  I literally wince now every time I see Auburn make a first down and then have to watch Gus do that idiotic hurry-up motion to watch us run up the middle EVERY STINKING TIME.  It cost us a national championship and it makes me mad every time I have to watch it.  I guess with all the upsets we see around college football Auburn cannot take for granted blowing anybody out but man it is still hard to watch.  I have said it before and I will say it again, Gus Malzahn never uses these games to get better at passing the ball.  He never has and he never will.  He just bludgeons the outmanned opponent running the ball and again he does it EVERY STINKING TIME.  He got what he wanted last night with 467 yards rushing.

Can we get anything out of this game?  I will say the pass Bo Nix threw on the flea-flicker was very nice.  I have seen that pass thrown a little late or underthrown many times because the quarterback does not want to mess it up.  It is not as easy as it looks.  Jarrett Stidham missed one of those last season.  Nix though released it at the right time and hit Eli Stove in stride.  It was a beautiful pass.  I liked seeing Joey Gatewood get some good playing time.  He was of course just running the ball and not practicing what he needs to practice most but hey at least he got out there.  I guess it is good that the offensive line can blow Kent State off the ball and the running backs can make big plays.  

The team had better have enjoyed it because the preseason is over.  Auburn's entire conference schedule lays before them with only a bye week and a game against Samford on November 23rd as the only breaks.  It starts next week with the biggest game of the season at Texas A&M.  As I said last week I think it will determine if Auburn can have a good season or another Music City bowl or worse season.  The offense is what it is.  Auburn will try to run the ball and hope for a few big play-action pass plays.  The defense will try to improve against the pass after taking a bit of a step back allowing Kent State to pass for over 200 yards.  The biggest question on defense though is if Derrick Brown is OK after an injury last night and will he be full speed against the Aggies.  He is not replaceable.  

I guess this would be a good time to look around the conference and do a little analysis but there is not a whole lot to say there either.  Bama, Georgia and LSU look far ahead of everyone else.  Auburn and Florida are in the top ten but Florida just lost their starting quarterback Felipe Franks for the season and Auburn has a true freshman quarterback.  Bama, Georgia and LSU all have veteran quarterbacks that are playing extremely well.  Back to Florida, I never hope anybody gets hurt but you cannot ignore the fact that it could really help Auburn IF they can win against Texas A&M.  Overall though since Bama has LSU at home it sure looks like it will be Bama and Georgia in Atlanta again...

Auburn though really does have to take it "one game at a time" from here on out.  Auburn at Texas A&M is not only a big game in my opinion, it is by far the biggest game in the Southeastern Conference next week.  Right now it is #8 Auburn at #16 Texas A&M and it will be on CBS at 2:30pm as the game of the week.  I will also say this is not just the game of the week or just a critical game for Auburn 2019 season.  I think this game could also have a huge impact on Gus Malzahn's career at Auburn.  It is all on the line next week.  The preseason is definitely over.

Game 2 Review: Wave of Doubt

Auburn 24  Tulane 6.  The season that started as a fairy tale may quickly turn into a nightmare.  I am sure Auburn will romp next week against Kent State but now I have serious doubts about the rest of this season.  I know Auburn was due for a let down after a big win, I understand that.  However the fact is that Auburn's offensive line, all senior or not, is just not that good.  They have been good enough to wear down undersized opponents so far but what happens when the other side is not undersized?  Auburn could not run or protect the quarterback very well.

On top of that, anointed superstar running back Boobee Whitlow fumbled the ball twice.  The wide receivers were better but not great and several got hurt.  Of course, that gives the sunshine pumping web sites their excuses to run when the team starts losing.  Finally you have the coaching... It is impossible to find anything new to say after watching and blogging about Gus Malzahn for six years.  He did throw more (where was that last year with a SENIOR quarterback?) but the offense on a whole is still painfully predictable.  That is obvious even to us who do not engage in football "technospeak" when breaking down a game. 

The defense is very good.  Auburn has a lot of big strong fast football players on defense.  During this game I was most impressed with the young guys in the secondary.  Auburn appears to be doing a good job recruiting in the secondary.  The young linebackers continue to fly around and of course the defensive line is nasty.  There is still only one glaring problem and I hate to keep harping on it but the Tigers still do not have a consistent pass rusher.  It really stinks because this could be an exceptional group with a big-time pass rusher.  Auburn is going to have to blitz more against the big boys.  I think this group can be successful doing that.  Be aggressive, do not lay back with these guys.

The special teams were better other than giving up one big punt return.  I really like Christian Tutt returning punts, he looks like a good one.  The team on a whole has a lot of good players but unfortunately it is hard to overcome an average offensive line and predictable offensive play calling.  It is obvious too that as much as I love Bo Nix he is going to have some tough games this season.  His stats rolling out and lofting the ball will continue to be really bad and the teams down the line are going to make him pay for those mistakes.  On the flip side Auburn is going to face a lot of good veteran quarterbacks this season.  

The upcoming stretch of games after Kent State will really decide Auburn's season.  In fact the game against Texas A&M is starting to look like a real deciding factor in this season.  Auburn wins that game and then takes care of Mississippi State and the Tigers are 2-0 in the SEC going into Florida with some momentum and at least a chance at an upset in the Swamp.  The Tigers lose in College Station and I think the momentum goes the other way.  I believe in two weeks we will see what this team is made of.  Auburn at Texas A&M is going to be a HUGE game.

I do want to end this post on a positive note though.  I have been very critical of Gus but I will say it could be worse, a lot worse.  I cannot believe what has happened in Knoxville the last two weeks.  I am certainly not poking fun at Tennessee, I love Tennessee doing well.  It does not usually hurt Auburn and it can hurt Bama.  Auburn and Tennessee have a common rival.  The situation at Tennessee though right now looks really bad.  These were absolutely backbreaking losses that puts yet another Tennessee head coach on the hot seat.  Thank goodness that regardless of the tough times upcoming Auburn has so many good young players.

Game 1 Review: NIXED

Auburn 27  Oregon 21.  Football games are long.  I mean it is an up and down experience.  Your team can be up or down for an hour and then everything turns around.  That is definitely what happened last night in Dallas.  The Oregon Ducks came out with a great game plan and were absolutely slicing up the vaunted Auburn defense.  Auburn on the other hand looked predictable and Oregon shut down the Auburn offense for a long time.  Things then turned around.  I think everyone saw it.  Auburn could win the game even down 21-6.  I did not know it would definitely happen but I knew they had a chance because Oregon was running out of gas.  

Auburn made their run and closed it to 21-20 early in the fourth quarter.  Auburn's depth and superiority on the line of scrimmage gave the team this chance to overcome the coaching on both sides of the ball.  Gus Malzahn was predictably predictable and Kevin Steele as well.  A Kevin Steele Auburn defense can stop the run but always struggles against a decent passing game.  Luckily for him Oregon got a little more conservative and needed to run some time off the clock.  Auburn stiffened against the run and Justin Herbert cooled off.  This was actually the major reason Auburn had a chance to win the game.  

It did not come easy though.  It looked like Auburn was on a roll that would get them ahead well before the end after making it 21-20.  They even got help from Oregon when head coach Mario Cristobal got too emotional and completely dumbed it up.  The Ducks went for a 4th and 1 against an Auburn defense that had completely smothered them most of the second half.  It was an absolutely boneheaded call.  Auburn's offense definitely was not on track and the smart move would be to kick and hopefully pin the Tigers deep making them go the length of the field  Oregon went for it and Auburn stopped them.  The stop did not make as big of an impact because Oregon then stuffed Auburn on the next series but it added to Auburn's growing momentum and confidence.  

The Auburn defense stopped Oregon again and the Tigers got the ball back with two minutes left on its own 40 yard line.  It was do or die time.  Bo Nix had not looked good.  He had thrown a lot of bad balls including two interceptions.  Many of his passes looked like high school balls with too much air and not enough zip.  He looked like a true freshman in many ways but in other ways he did not.  I sensed a little of it just watching A-Day.  I remarked to a friend that you could sense his presence, he had that "it" factor.  You saw it last night even before the final drive.  The guy has the guts to make that pass and then come back after a bad one and make it again.  He looked like a leader.  He looked like his dad.

You could sense it and see it but there were not results yet.  It just did not look like Auburn's night for so long.  I knew this kid was special but it looked like him being a true freshman playing one of the top teams in the country in the most famous professional stadium in the country his first time out was asking too much.  He had one final chance though, one more chance to lead his team to a win...  I was still pretty doubtful at the start of the drive.  I was even more doubtful as it quickly went to 4th and 3.  It all came down to this.  Nix rolled out but found nobody open and not much room ahead of him... but he found the room and by inches got the first down.  I texted my friend five words... "He's going to win it".  You just felt it, another magnificent chapter in Auburn football was about to be written.

Nix soon hit another moment of truth.  Auburn was facing 3rd and 10 from the Oregon 39 yard line.  It was still too far away for a field goal and Auburn had to pass.  The offensive line and backs had to block, the receiver called on had to catch it and Bo Nix had to deliver it.  He did on a play you rarely ever see in the Malzahn offense but a play we should see a lot more of, a straight drop back pass.  Nix dropped back and put it right on the money to a crossing Seth Williams.  THAT is the kind of play I want to see more of, the kind of play I have wanted to see more of for six years.  I still doubt we see much of it but we saw it last night.  

I was already getting mad because standard Malzahn practice would be to run the ball or throw short and play for the field goal.  The man must have lost his mind for a moment because he actually did the right thing for once.  He would have a national championship if he would have done it his first season and several more wins if he had done it more times since then but at least he did it this night.  He went for the KILL SHOT.  As the Bible says, there is a time for everything.  In football there is a time to be conservative and there is a time to go for it.  This was one of the those times to go for it.  Bo Nix dropped back with 16 seconds left in the game and delivered a great ball to Seth Williams who grabbed it, held on to it and got in the end zone for the winning touchdown.

It was pandemonium.  Every Auburn fan was on their feet along with Bo's dad in the stands, Patrick Nix.  I could hear the echoes of Jim Fyffe and Brent Musburger going crazy after his game-changing and game-winning throws and now his son in his first game as Auburn Tiger had just thrown the game-winning touchdown against one of the better teams in the country.  His son had led Auburn to a win in spite of Gus Malzahn's painful predictability on offense.  I know he had a lot of help.  The offensive line and everyone blocking hung in there after a tough start and turned the tide.  Boobee Whitlow ran his guts out and was also a major factor in this win along with the wide receivers.  

The defense also hung in there and was probably the main factor Auburn even had a chance to win the game.  However it always comes down to the quarterback if the game is close.  It is the most important position on the field and the de facto leader on offense.  I have seen a lot of quarterbacks have great days and make big throws but I have not seen many true freshman quarterbacks go 12 for 30 with two interceptions and then step up and make plays like that.  BO NIX.  He may not, like his dad, be able to lead Auburn to championships.  Pat Nix had to deal with probation in 1994 and a very weak defense plus coaching issues in 1995.  His son is gong to have to deal with unfair scheduling, recruiting in the trenches and possibly a coaching change during his time on the plains.

I think there are going to be tough times ahead for the Auburn football program.  However I can tell you that Bo Nix, like his dad, is going to lead Auburn to more big wins.  Big wins that we will never forget like last night.  WAR BO NIX AND WAR EAGLE.

Auburn Football 2019 Preview: Third Generation

Here we are, a few days out from the start of the 2019 college football season...  The Auburn football Tigers will take center stage this coming weekend as the biggest game of the opening weekend and in prime time against Oregon at AT&T Stadium, a.k.a. Jerry's World, in Dallas, Texas.  It has been an interesting nine months since we last saw the Auburn Tigers in the Music City Bowl against Purdue.  Most Auburn sites have been pumping the sunshine full bore since Auburn beat that 6-6 Purdue team so bad.  All I have read on the Auburn web sites is how great it is that Gus is back calling plays...  Does anyone remember 2014?  2015?  Most of 2016?

Before I start on that I will say it is a special year at Auburn for me.  My dad graduated from Auburn in 1966, I graduated from Auburn in 1992 and this fall my son is transferring to Auburn.  Three generations of our family will hopefully be Auburn graduates.  Unfortunately for my son I do not think he will see the success my dad or I saw when we went to Auburn.  My dad started at Auburn in 1961 and got to be a part of the incredible 1963 season where Auburn only lost once, beat Joe Namath and Bama and went to the Orange Bowl.  I am still proud to say my first three years at Auburn, 1987 to 1989, is still the best three season stretch in Auburn history.

This season will probably be the best one my son will see as a student especially since he is a transfer and will hopefully only be there for two years.  This will also be a special season since it is the end of an era, the final end of "Amen Corner" as Coach Dye used to call it.  It used to be Florida, Georgia and Bama.  After 1992 it became just Georgia and Bama.  This will be the final season that basically ends with Georgia and Bama.  The SEC sure "fixed" that situation but more on that later.  As with every year we will look a the new recruits, the rest of the team and the schedule plus the official prediction on the season.  Lets get into it...

THE RECRUITING CLASS
The 2019 class was good, most services had it right outside the top ten, but it had the same problem many of Malzahn's classes have had and that is a lack of quality linemen.  The top of the class was huge with five star quarterback Bo Nix and five star linebacker Owen Pappoe.  It appears both will be starting or playing a lot right off the bat this season.  I look for both to be leading their units for awhile at Auburn.  I think these guys are top notch.  Bo Nix is getting all the attention and I love the kid but I think Pappoe could be his equal on the other side of the ball.  Nix has already gotten the starting nod and I do not think it will be long for Pappoe does as well.

Auburn crushed it at defensive end piling up four good commitments in Charles Moore, Jaren Handy, Derick Hall and Colby Wooden, all four star recruits.  I certainly hope one of them develops into a good pass rusher because that was the gaping hole on Auburn's defense last season.  The problem is unless one of these guys have the skills and grow into the role Auburn got NO defensive tackles in this class.  Malzahn and the boys also came up short on offensive tackles as usual.  It is obvious that the word is out for whatever reason and that word is if you are a top rated offensive tackle, do NOT go to Auburn.  Auburn's rivals appear to have gotten that message out very effectively.

Auburn put off the reckoning for one more season with transfer Jack Driscoll coming in last season and Prince Tega Wanogho staying one more season.  The good news is Auburn has an all-senior line this season and the bad news is Auburn has an all-senior line.  The word now is the staff is really going to concentrate on offensive tackles next recruiting season, well duh.  Many of us have pointing out Auburn's lack of tackles in recruiting, offensively and defensively, for awhile and next season the bills will come due. You combine that with Auburn's schedule next season and well we better enjoy this season.  Auburn did bring in four offensive guards in this class but to compete in this conference you need tackles.

The rest of Auburn's recruiting class mainly consisted of defensive backs.  It looks like Auburn got some decent talent in the pipeline along with running back D.J. Williams, several tight end prospects and a couple of wide receivers.  It is a solid class similar to many that Malzahn has brought in.  Again though the question remains... "where is the beef?".  I think this theme will be the big discussion topic in all of the season previews next year.  I think between coaching and offensive line recruiting, we may never know how good Bo Nix could be.  The puzzling question that remains is what is the sales pitch against Auburn on offensive tackle recruiting?  I know the tackles in Malzahn's offense are never great pass blockers so I am guessing it has something to do with that.

THE TEAM
As always we will start at quarterback since it is most important position on the field and it is a good transition from talking about the recruiting class since it has been announced that true freshman quarterback Bo Nix will be starting against Oregon.  I think everyone was pretty much expecting that to happen.  I was initially worried Gatewood would transfer and leave Auburn with no good backups but he has already burned his redshirt year so there is no reason for him to transfer before the end of the season.  I think everyone can see that "it" factor in Nix and he must have been clearly better for Malzahn to start him.  Well maybe, Nix doing fairly well will be a big factor in Malzahn keeping his job another year, a big factor.  

The question is, will Nix be held back and not progress under Malzahn's coaching and system.  No quarterback who has played multiple seasons at Auburn has improved under Malzahn.  It started with Barrett Trotter and then continued with Nick Marshall, Jeremy Johnson, Sean White and Jarrett Stidham.  You could argue Trotter, Johnson and White simply were not that good.  However Marshall and Stidham led Auburn to SEC West titles in their first season and seemed to get worse in their second season.  Every quarterback is also hurt by Malzahn's system.  It is a step above the triple option and very predictable at times (like every first down).

I think these factors will all hurt Nix but I also believe Malzahn who runs the ball almost 70% of the time anyway will probably run even more with a freshman quarterback.  This will protect Nix and minimize the chances of him making mistakes.  It is a good strategy initially but again sooner or later you have to develop your quarterback and that is where Malzahn usually comes up lacking.  I will discuss more in my prediction but this offense will absolutely run some of these teams out of the stadium and everyone including Nix will look really good.  The tougher games will obviously show where Nix and this offense is really at.  Basically for me it comes down to two facts, I love Nix but I hate the Malzahn system.

One person who certainly will not hate the Malzahn system is J'Tarvious "Boobee" Whitlow.  Malzahn has made it clear many times now that Auburn is a run-based play-action team.  He has made it clear that will NEVER change.  Also as previously discussed, he is now starting a true freshman that needs to be protected by a strong running game.  Finally, Malzahn has never embraced a two-back system but has always eventually gone to one guy and then run him into the ground, i.e. Peyton Barber, Kamryn Pettway, Kerryon Johnson, etc...  As long as Whitlow stays out of trouble and  holds on to the ball he will be by far the most used weapon on offense.  I think the coaches will use Shaun Shivers but not anyone else that much unless Whitlow gets hurt.

I am still not sold on this offensive line, they are seniors but they were juniors last season and were not that good.  I will say I have seen J.B. Grimes do amazing things before, i.e. Greg Robinson in 2013.  However Robinson was a five star recruit so the potential was there.  I am not sure that will happen this season but you have think they will improve some being under Grimes for a second straight season.  I think again this team will be a lot like the 2016 team, they will absolutely destroy the easier teams on the schedule and look like world beaters but will this offensive line be better in the big games?  This line just never really showed many glimpses of becoming a great line last season especially in back-to-back losses to Tennessee at home and State on the road.

Another key to the running game will be tight end and H-back.  These two positions while not used in the passing game by Malzahn are key to the running game.  All of Malzahn's better teams have had good-to-great blocking tight ends and H-backs.  Auburn brought in several prospects this season at tight end.  Malzahn has also just moved over another lineman to be the tight end in the past as well.  However it just does not seem like tight end will be a team strength this season.  I am intrigued with Arizona State transfer Jay Jay Wilson and freshman Harold Joiner at H-back.  I think both of these guys especially Wilson for this season could be a huge asset, possibly the difference in winning some of these games.

Finally on offense, we come to the wide receivers.  Auburn is pretty stocked at this position but again they are limited by the Malzahn offense and coaching.  These guys will look awesome when Auburn can run the ball but as with every other Malzahn team they will struggle with good teams due to Auburn's simple and predictable passing game.  I look for Eli Stove to return to doing jet sweeps and short routes.  I look for Will Hastings on the crossing route although they will not call it enough.  I look for Anthony Schwartz to do his best Sammie Coates impersonation going deep.  I look for Seth Williams, Matthew Hill and Sal Cannella to be our possession guys.

Auburn has a good offense with a lot of weapons but I will continue to say as I have for the last six years, they are limited by Malzhan's one-step-above-an-option-offense.  I hate to keep saying the same thing but after six years, I am not sure what else there is to say?  Malzahn will destroy the teams  he can run over like 2016 and then struggle and likely lose to the good teams on the schedule.  I know that is basically true of all teams but with option-type offenses it is even more true.  You either can stop them or you cannot.  Look at Georgia Tech the last decade, they either just destroyed people with that offense or they usually lost.

I will move to special teams.  I thought freshman Anders Carlson did a good job last season.  He missed some long ones but I think he showed he is a good kicker with potential to improve.  I think punter Arryn Siposs looked even better.  I think everyone is expecting big things from him this season.  He could really make a huge difference.  Auburn returns Noah Igbinoghene and Shaun Shivers as kickoff returners.  They could definitely change a game if they can actually return a kick but the new rules make that rare.  It will be Javaris Davis or Christian Tutt at punt returner which is probably the more important return position.  You just cannot make mistakes at punt returner and both of these guys are unproven.  This will be a position to watch.

Finally we come to the defense... and much has been made about this defense especially the line.  Auburn definitely has some top-tier guys up there in Derrick Brown, Marlon Davidson and Nick Coe.      The Tigers will be starting an all new set of linebackers but expectations are still high with K.J. Britt, Owen Pappoe and Chandler Wooten stepping in.  The most valuable player in the bunch other than Derrick Brown is Nick Coe.  It looks like they will move him around most of these positions depending on the situation.  He can rush the passer, line up in the middle or play outside linebacker.  A guy that versatile is a very valuable thing to have.  

While the line gets all the press, the secondary is a veteran unit as well, you have three seniors starting in Jeremiah Dinson, Daniel Thomas and Javaris Davis plus junior Noah Igbinoghene.  You have some decent depth plus some talented freshman coming in.  That is about all you can ask for.  I think one position holds the key for this defense and that is the pass rushing end.  The drop off in the defense from 2017 to 2018 was the loss of Jeff Holland.  Auburn just did not have a consistent pass rusher last season.  I think Marlon Davidson is a good end but he is not a pass rusher.  I think that either Nick Coe, T.D. Moultry or Big Kat Bryant has got to step up for this defense to be really good.

We heard all this same stuff about the defense last season and while they were very good at times they made some bad mistakes and had some sinking spells.  The defense started strong but committed some really bad pass interference penalties against LSU that cost Auburn the game.  They were absolutely bludgeoned at Mississippi State and gave up some really big third down conversions against Tennessee which hurt bad.  They were shredded by Texas A&M running back Trayveon Williams, Georgia running back D'Andre Swift and Bama quarterback Too Tagovailoa giving up over 400 yards offense to all of those teams, over 500 yards to Georgia and Bama.  Folks that is not a great defense, it is not even close.  This could be a good unit but I am tired of hearing the hyperbole.

THE SCHEDULE
Auburn pretty much has the toughest schedule in the country.  Texas A&M has claimed that title however while the Aggies have Clemson instead of Oregon Auburn has to go to the Swamp to play Florida while A&M has South Carolina.  Let us just say Auburn has a ridiculously tough schedule and a nearly impossible road to the SEC Championship game having to play in the toughest division in college football and then having to play the two best teams, Florida and Georgia, from the other division.  I mean come on, as I stated last season I am ready to get rid of the permanent Georgia game and go to two rotating opponents from the East.  It is just way more fair.  

Meanwhile big bad Bama's schedule is a joke compared to who they are supposed to be.  I mean are you kidding me???  Bama sure deserves some blowback from this joke of a schedule but I am sure they will just cruise into the playoff again.  You look at the schedule for Auburn and Texas A&M and then you look at the Bama schedule and you shake your head.  Auburn and A&M play major out-of-conference powers and Bama plays Duke.  Duke???!!!???  This is not a "hey we scheduled them years earlier and they are just down" scenario.  Duke has always sucked at football and they always will.  Bama should really be hurt by not scheduling ANY decent out of conference games.  In the conference Auburn plays Florida and Georgia from East while Bama plays Tennessee and South Carolina.  I mean all I can do is shake my head.

Of course it only gets worse for Auburn next season as the SEC completely @#@#$@ the Tigers again.  Auburn did not want to play Georgia, Bama and a possible SEC Championship game in three out of four weeks (Auburn and Bama both have cupcake games the week before the Iron Bowl).  I think 2017 proved that winning that gauntlet when Georgia and Bama are two of the best teams in the league is virtually impossible.  So what does the SEC do for Auburn next season?  They move Georgia back but then move LSU to the week before Bama???!!!???  Now the schedule is even worse!  #$%$ the SEC, that is just complete garbage.  

I am sure they will keep it that way.  It is obvious they have a bias toward Auburn because this is completely RIDICULOUS.  It is impossible for ANY team to beat LSU, Bama and the SEC East champion in THREE STRAIGHT WEEKS.  I mean Auburn is pretty much done competing for anything until that schedule is changed.  I love Auburn football but as I have said many times, I hate the college football system.  This news really just kind of ruins it for me.  I just cannot get into it when they stack the deck this bad.  I just cannot get into it when Auburn has no chance of competing for a conference championship.  I know the national system has always been a joke but now the SEC is too.  I mean what is the point?  

THE PREDICTION
I have been accused of being negative but have been right on or too positive in my predictions.  I correctly predicted Auburn would go 8-4 in 2016 and again correctly predicted 10-2 in 2017.  I lost my mind and predicted 10-2 last season and sure got that wrong.  What will happen this season?  It breaks down pretty easy in my opinion.  I think Auburn will beat Tulane, Kent State, Mississippi State, Arkansas, Ole Miss and Samford.  That is six wins.  I think Auburn will lose to LSU, Georgia and Bama.  I think the season comes down to Oregon, Texas A&M and Florida.  I think Auburn beats Oregon and the Aggies but loses to Florida.  That leaves the Tigers at 8-4.

Auburn simply has not been able to come close to winning at LSU other than 2017 since 1999.  The Tigers blew a 20 point lead in 2017 with a better team so I just do not see Auburn winning over there.  LSU fans should be ashamed of themselves for their ridiculous behavior.  Auburn is not even sending their band to that big game because of how bad things are over there.  I have been there twice and will never go back.  I think Auburn could have a chance at upsetting Georgia but cannot predict it.  Of course Auburn could beat Georgia and then drop two against Oregon, Texas A&M and Florida.  Gus has never beaten a good SEC team on the road other than A&M so to me that still looks like Auburn's best shot at a win on the road.  

I think Auburn is just flat-out better and will run the stats up against the first six teams I listed.  Gus and the team will get a lot of mileage out of those games.  Against the other teams, it is a different story.  I know Auburn's defense is vulnerable from last season and Kevin Steele's history against anybody who can pass.  I know the offense will have issues because it is predictable and has a true freshman at quarterback.  I just think it all adds up to another 8-4 season and probably a pretty good bowl plus Gus keeping his job.  I do think Auburn will beat Oregon because I do not think the Ducks defense is good enough to stop the Auburn running game.  I am looking forward to getting football season started but am kind of dreading having to watch this offense again for another season.  

Auburn Basketball 2018-19: FINAL FOUR FINALLY

(Author's note: Here we are at the start of football season in 2019 and I just now posting my one basketball post of the year.  I apologize, I am also working on my football preview post as well but knew I had to finally write something about basketball.  It was the greatest basketball season in Auburn history.  It was was one that I do not think will ever be matched but Auburn's first Final Four game was also the most painful loss in Auburn basketball history.  I am still not over it and may never be.  I just could not even think about it for months after the loss but it is time now.)

THE FINAL FOUR... FINALLY.  I did not think I would see it.  I honestly thought that it would never happen.  Auburn as recorded in this blog many times has been the worst team in the SEC since the SEC went to divisions in 1992.  It has even been bad under Bruce Pearl as again I recorded on this blog.  Of course the program looked completely dead till Pearl finally showed some life his first two seasons but things still looked bad.  After the Chuck Person incident it looked like even Pearl could not save Auburn basketball but then last season happened.

Auburn, as I wrote, "rose like a phoenix out of the ashes of its own fiery demise."  The gutty Tigers led by Pearl somehow someway won the SEC regular season championship.  It was simply amazing and one of the greatest feats in Auburn's long and storied sports history.  This remains true even though the team then fell apart in the SEC and NCAA tournaments due to injuries and fatigue.  This postseason plunge also did not dissipate the excitement coming into this last season.  Auburn had a lot of these players coming back along with some good new ones.  Many fans and pundits thought that this group could also do something very special.

Auburn returned its dynamic duo at the guard positions, Jared Harper and Bryce Brown, along with plenty of other good experienced players in Horace Spencer, Danjel Purifoy, Malik Dunbar, Chuma Okeke, Anfernee McLemore and Austin Wiley.  Pearl added to that core transfers Javon McCormick and Samir Doughty who we had been hearing about the whole last year in practice after he transferred in.  On paper and on the practice court this team looked like the dominating unit it finally turned into but it sure took awhile to take off.  I always had my doubts because Auburn basketball has not put together two good years in a row many times in its entire history especially two special years in a row.

I had just seen it too many times.  The 2000 Auburn team was supposed to be great after the previous best season in Auburn history in 1999 as it returned just about as many starters and impact players.  However that team was just never that good and kind of fell apart.  I have seen so many Auburn basketball seasons go off the rails that even with all these good players led by Bruce Pearl I never thought this team would do a whole lot.  I did not even think this team would make the NCAA tournament after a 60-55 loss to Ole Miss at home on February 13th.  I turned this game on late and watched the end of and saw these guys absolutely blow it at home against Ole Miss to drop to 5-6 in conference midway through February.  I turned the TV off with disgust and went on a rant with my wife and son in the room saying this season was OVER.

Auburn rallied to beat Vandy and Arkansas but then got absolutely bludgeoned by Kentucky 80-53 to fall back to .500 in conference.  At this point I was just hoping for the Tigers to finish with a winning record in conference.  That is a big deal for Auburn because it does not happen very much.  That Kentucky loss sparked something in this team though.  It sparked the most incredible run in Auburn basketball history.  I am still shaking my head.  Auburn would reel off four consecutive wins to end the season including beating Bama on the road and getting a huge win at home over a Tennessee team that was playing for the SEC regular season championship.  The Tigers would finish the regular season with an 11-7 record in conference which considering where they were in February was a pretty good accomplishment.  However no one could know or even imagine what was to come...

I cannot count the number of times I have watched an Auburn basketball team get run in the first or second round of the SEC tournament even decent Auburn teams.  The last horrific one was the season before last where Auburn got beat by a Missouri team that was probably one of the worst teams in SEC basketball history.  You just get numb after a while and do not expect much out of Auburn in the SEC basketball tournament especially after I took off work last season to watch Auburn play Bama in the SEC tournament and Bama absolutely destroyed a tired shorthanded Auburn team that had used everything it had to win the SEC regular season championship.  As I said in my post on last season I understood and was still happy with the season but that did not make it any easier to watch.

Any way back to this past season... Auburn was again matched up against a bad Missouri team and I was scared of history repeating itself.  The Tigers from Missouri did play really well but Auburn won behind Bryce Brown's five three-pointers and a double-double by Horace Spencer who also added four blocks.  I then saw Auburn had South Carolina next who this team had struggled against this season and last.  Auburn was 1-2 against the Gamecocks barely pulling out a win at home at the end of last season.  My confidence was not high but Auburn's dynamic duo of Bryce Brown and Jared Harper led the way to another win.  Both played over 30 minutes in the game with Harper scoring 27 points and Brown adding 19 plus 10 from Samir Doughty.

Auburn was into the semi-finals and now I started to get excited because Auburn rarely makes it this far in the SEC tournament.  I am not one of those that considers conference tournaments meaningless and only hope for a couple of wins in the NCAA tournament.  I would rather win a tournament championship than win a few in the NCAAs.  I knew we had beaten Florida pretty good at home earlier in the season but I knew we would get their best shot here.  They gave it to us but Jared Harper showed he was Mr. Clutch once again.  He buried a three-pointer and a big free throw in the closing seconds to close out the Gators.  Harper ended with 20 points while Bryce Brown added 11.

It was definitely Jared Harper and Bryce Brown leading the way but Auburn was getting clutch baskets, rebounds and great defense from the rest of the guys as well.  Chuma Okeke, Anfernee Mclemore, Malik Dunbar, Samir Doughty and J'Von McCormick all played really well.  Auburn was now in to the championship game.  I believe that has only happened twice before in modern SEC tournament history.  Auburn won the tournament in overtime against Bama in 1985 (one of my all-time favorite Auburn basketball games) and lost to Arkansas in the finals in 2000.  The Tigers just do not get this opportunity very often and many times that is because they run into everyone's nemesis, the Kentucky Wildcats.  Luckily for the Tigers this season, Tennessee upset Kentucky in the other semi-final.  That was huge, Tennessee is a very good team but Auburn just did not match up with Kentucky well (or so I thought).

However even with Auburn getting a better matchup, nobody could have anticipated what happened on Sunday March 17, 2019.  I could not believe it and could not have enjoyed it more.  The Tigers absolutely ran the Volunteers out of the gym (!!!).  It was unbelievable.  It ended 84-64 but it was worse than that.  Auburn forced 10 turnovers and held Tennessee to 23 points in the first half.  Bryce Brown clinched the tournament MVP trophy with another five three-pointers and 19 points overall.  Chuma Okeke took that next step everyone had been expecting and also turned in a dominating game with five three-pointers as well and 18 points plus a big block and three steals.  Danjel Purifoy also stepped up after a tough season with 10 points and two steals.

Auburn was the 2019 SEC tournament champions.  Lets just stop right there and think about this team and the job these guys and Bruce Pearl have done.  This was the worst program in the SEC (and I do mean worst) when Pearl and these guys came to Auburn and now in the past two seasons they have won an SEC regular season and tournament championship.  I hate to keep saying it but it is simply unbelievable.  I am just completely blown away and I have not even got to the NCAA run yet.  This is more than I could ever hope for.  Auburn is hanging banners instead of trying to make up accomplishments like they do on the football side for Gus.  All I can say is thank you to these players, Coach Pearl and his staff.  Oh yeah and all this happened after the top assistant coach and greatest player in Auburn history was indicted by the FBI.

This season really does get more amazing every time I think about it.  OK, well now onto the NCAA tournament.  As with just about every team not named Duke, Kansas, North Carolina, Kentucky, etc... I just hope to make the Sweet Sixteen.  Of course after looking at Auburn's bracket I knew that was not going to happen.  I mean COME ON, we won the SEC tournament and we are made a FIVE SEED and put in the same bracket with Kansas, North Carolina and Kentucky (!!!???!!!).  I was completely disgusted.  I mean it was obvious the committee had a beef with Auburn and Bruce Pearl.  I have not even mentioned having to play a really good New Mexico State team who had already WON 30 GAMES INCLUDING 19 IN A ROW (!!!).  Yeh they are just a 12 seed, that makes total sense.

Getting lucky with seeding and who is in your bracket is literally the most important thing to making a big run in the NCAA tournament.  Auburn was staring at a much-better-than-you-think New Mexico State team to start and a likely murder's row after that.  It sure looked like it would be a monumental task to just get out of the first weekend... and it was.  Auburn started slow against the Aggies but pulled out to a 28-19 lead with five minutes left in the first half.  However New Mexico State quickly closed the gap to 32-29 at the half.

Auburn made another run to go up 45-33 early in the second half but New Mexico State would not go away.  Auburn again pushed the lead to double digits with less than ten minutes to play, 59-48, and then again at seven minutes, 67-54, but again New Mexico State just kept coming back.  They were a really good team and again it was completely ridiculous that they were a 12 seed.  Auburn pushed the lead back to eight points with two minutes left in the game (!!!) but just could not put the Aggies away.  It was absolutely gut wrenching to watch.  I was having a complete come-apart as the lead shrunk to one point with under 30 seconds.

Auburn took a two point lead with six seconds to go but then fouled New Mexico State player Terrell Brown who was shooting a three-pointer to give him three free throws to take the lead with ONE SECOND left.  I just put my head in my hands trying to figure out how so many leads could be blown and how much losing like this hurts.  It is a fact though that whether you are Duke or Auburn you have to get a lucky break somewhere along the line to do well in the NCAA Tournament.  This was Auburn's break as Brown missed two free throws.  Nothing would come easy this day though as New Mexico State got the rebound and they missed a wide open three to win the game.

It was simply one of the most gut wrenching basketball games I have ever watched.  I have to give kudos to the team for hanging in there but my gosh they seemed to make some poor choices with the lead.  However it is survive and advance and Auburn had done that.  Next up was the mighty Kansas Jayhawks, the #4 seed and one of the bluest of bloods in college basketball.  Kansas' steak of winning or sharing fourteen Big 12 regular season championships in a row might have ended but they still finished 12-6 in conference and 26-9 overall.  They were still a really good team and definitely one that Auburn usually does not have a chance against.  I definitely was not real hopeful after New Mexico State.

I was completely wrong as this Auburn team came out like the one who had been there before.  Auburn simply overwhelmed Kansas.  The Tigers were up at halftime 51-25 (???!!!???).  I mean WOW.  I do not think any Auburn team up to this point had played this good in an NCAA tournament game.  It was simply incredible to watch. Once again it was Bryce Brown coming up big with SEVEN THREE-POINTERS and 25 points overall.  Jared Harper added 18 points and six assists along with Chuma Okeke and Anfernee McLemore putting up 12 and 11 points respectively.  Okeke was really starting to come on.  He played over 30 minutes like Brown and Harper and you could just see him blossoming before your eyes.

Kansas never really threatened in the second half and Auburn was now off to the Sweet Sixteen for only the fifth time in school history and waiting for them was an even bluer blood, the North Carolina Tar Heels.  I have just been watching Auburn basketball for too long.  I just could not get my head around Auburn beating North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament even after the win against Kansas.  Auburn seemed to match up well against the Tar Heels but I just could not see it.  This was North Carolina, the #1 seed in this region, who was 28-7 overall and 16-2 in the big bad ACC.  They tied for the ACC regular title with Virginia and lost a one-point game to Duke in the ACC tournament semi-finals.

I was actually coming back from Auburn where I had been at my son's transfer orientation.  I had to listen to the game on the radio.  I thought watching these games on TV was bad.  I am trying to watch the road while the Tigers were trading lick-for-lick with the mighty Tar Heels.  Auburn led at the half 41-39 but it was anybody's game.  The whole history of both schools dictated a North Carolina win... but not this day.  Auburn started the second half on fire and never let up.  They started on an 8-0 run and when North Carolina tried to fight back that was when junior Danjel Purifoy finally showed the form he had when he first started at Auburn.  Purifoy hit 3 three-pointers in a little over a minute.

The kill stroke came after that run when Anfernee McLemore banked in a three-pointer to make it 76-57.  The Auburn Tigers pretty much ran North Carolina off the floor in the second half hitting 12 of 18 three-pointers and ended up outscoring the Tar Heels 19-6 in points off turnovers and enjoyed a 15-6 advantage in fast-break points.  Everyone contributed in this monumental win.  Malik Dunbar put up maybe his greatest performance in an Auburn uniform hitting 3 three-pointers and 13 points overall.  Purifoy finished with 12 points while J'von McCormick and Samir Doughty added 10 points a piece.  McCormick came up huge running things while Jared Harper was in foul trouble early.

Jared Harper finished with only nine points but dished eleven assists while running mate Bryce Brown was solid as well with 12 points.  Everyone also played great defense and rebounded almost even against the bigger Tar Heels.  The true star in this one though was Chuma Okeke playing his greatest game and unfortunately his last game as an Auburn Tiger.  Okeke scored 20 points and pulled down eleven rebounds along with playing great defense.  He was flat out awesome.  His play in the SEC and then the NCAA Tournament was among the greatest in Auburn basketball post season history.  He played himself into being a first round NBA draft choice and helped put Auburn in the Elite Eight.  The Auburn basketball Tigers beat #1 seed and basketball giant North Carolina 97-80.

Auburn, AUBURN scored 97 points on the #1 seeded North Carolina Tarheels in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tournament.  Think about that!!!  However even in the greatest season ever, there always has to be a dark cloud for Auburn basketball. Something always has to go wrong, it is like clockwork for this program.  This time it was Chuma Okeke tearing his ACL during his greatest game as an Auburn Tiger again in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tournament.  It was a gut punch for every Auburn fan on this wild ride but especially for Chuma, his family, teammates and coaches. 

It was just dawning on everyone that Auburn, yes Auburn, had a shot at a basketball national championship.  I can honestly say I had never had that thought in my life.  It was inconceivable.  The thought was gone though as soon as it popped in everyone's head when Okeke went down.  The dream of making it to Auburn's first Final Four also seemed to die with Okeke out and the biggest nemesis and blue blood of them all for every SEC team standing in the way.  Auburn would play the Kentucky Wildcats in the Elite Eight.  Auburn has only beat Kentucky once in any tournament and that was in 1987 in the SEC tournament.  The Tigers are 1-13 against the Wildcats in tournament play.  

Auburn's overall history with Kentucky in basketball has not been much better.  It has been a few big wins mixed in with a LOT of losses.  Auburn upset #6 Kentucky in 1958 after losing their first thirteen games against the Wildcats.  Kentucky paid back Joel Eaves and Auburn the next year 75-56 with Auburn actually ranked #2 in the country and Kentucky #3.  Auburn would win at home in 1960, 1965,1967 and 1968 before losing another twelve in a row (the teams started playing twice a year from 1965 through 1991).  Auburn had their best three-year stretch against Kentucky winning at home in 1974 through 1976, twice in overtime.  

The Tigers would then lose another thirteen in a row till Charles Barkley and company beat the Wildcats at home in 1982.  Kentucky though quickly returned the favor beating Barkley and the Tigers in the SEC Tournament.  Barkley and Chuck Person would lead Auburn to its first basketball win in the Bluegrass state in 1983 and then they beat the #2 Wildcats soundly in Auburn in 1984.  Kentucky avenged that loss in 1984 by beating Auburn on their home floor and then barely beat Auburn, Barkley and Person 51-49 in the SEC Tournament championship game.  I still remember watching the game at my grandmother's house.  It is definitely one of the most gut wrenching losses in Auburn basketball history. 

Auburn and Chuck Person in his senior year in 1986 would beat Kentucky in Auburn and then Chris Morris plus Jeff Moore, Mike Jones, Gerald White and Frank Ford would win Auburn's one-and-only tournament game against the Wildcats at the SEC tournament in 1987 (but then get blown out by Bama the next round).  The greatest win ever over Kentucky before this season came in 1988 when John Caylor hit his one and only three-pointer of the game to beat the #1 Wildcats in Rupp Arena.  Chris Morris played 40 minutes and had 18 points as well.  I remember being a student at Auburn and watching that one with friends on TV and going crazy at the end.  

The weirdest win in the series came the next season in 1989 when an Auburn team that went 2-16 in conference beat Kentucky on the plains.  Auburn would win again at home against Kentucky in 1990 and first year coach Rick Pitino.  That was the only big basketball game I missed in five years as a student at Auburn and it still makes me mad.  The bottom truly fell out after that game as the Auburn basketball program plummeted and Kentucky WON 34 OUT OF THE NEXT 37 GAMES against Auburn.  Read that again and let it sink in...  34 OUT OF 37 from 1990 through the end of the regular season in 2019.  

That run included beating Auburn's previous best ever team in 1999 in the SEC tournament and beating this very 2019 team TWICE in the regular season WITH Chuma Okeke, 82-80 in Auburn and 80-53 at Kentucky.  Auburn's only wins against Kentucky SINCE 1990 were in 2000 and recently when Bruce Pearl engineered two regular season upsets in 2016 and 2018.  The point is clear though, Kentucky owns Auburn just like they own so many other teams.  Overall Kentucky is 92-19 against Auburn.  That long side trip brings us back to March 31, 2019 and the fifth seeded Tigers taking on the #2 seeded Kentucky Wildcats for a berth in the Final Four.  This was arguably the biggest game in Auburn basketball history.

I think you know what I thought Auburn's chances were.  I did not think we would win with Okeke much less without him.  Auburn just never seems to match up with Kentucky even when the Tigers have good teams.  Kentucky is always so big.  They always have a big size advantage over Auburn.  As always I asked "how in the heck can we beat these guys?".  Auburn had two answers to that question, Jared Harper and Bryce Brown.  In a nail-biting, stomach-churning and gut-wrenching slugfest of a game Auburn's dynamic duo scored 50 POINTS.  Harper had 26 and Brown had 24.  Brown scored 17 of his 24 points in the second half, making all six attempts, including a trio of 3-pointers while Harper buried clutch free throw after clutch free throw. 

Anfernee McLemore, Malik Dunbar, Horace Spencer, Austin Wiley, Danjel Purifoy, Samir Doughty and J'vonMcCormick also chipped in big defense, even bigger rebounds plus some big baskets.  The biggest stat I think was rebounds, Auburn stayed right with the bigger Wildcasts only losing the rebound battle 41-37.  That was huge.  Harper and Brown were simply amazing though.  These guys played their best game in the biggest game of their life under unbelievable pressure.  I believe I was laying on the floor when it went to overtime.  Kentucky had the size, experience and depth plus a history of success going for them.  Auburn won the overtime 17-11 and the game 77-71.  The Auburn Tigers beat the Kentucky Wildcats in the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight to go to the Final Four.

Auburn was going to the Final Four FINALLY.  I still cannot believe it.  They not only got to the Final Four but beat Kansas, North Carolina and Kentucky in a row to do it.  No one has ever done that and I do not think anyone will ever do it.  It is simply the greatest run of basketball in Auburn history.  No one can under sell it, these teams were #4, #2 and #1 seeds.  They were not down, Auburn and its tremendous players and coaches just beat them and did it after winning the SEC Tournament.  I do not want to ever hear anyone ever say again that doing well in your conference tournament hurts your NCAA tournament chances.  

I honestly do not want to talk about the Virginia game.  That is the problem with getting to the big games.  The bigger the game, the bigger the stakes.  The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat are multiplied many times.  The problem with this game as well is that even though Auburn did not play their best they had this game won.  They literally won the game and yet somehow managed to lose it.  I almost wish it just would have played out like it looked with five minutes remaining.  Virginia had moved out to a ten point lead.  The ACC champs were just too much for the SEC champs, the game looked over but this Auburn team just would not quit.   Bryce Brown would not quit.  Brown buried three straight three-pointers to bring the Tigers back.  Auburn was up 62-60 with one second left...

My son was in Auburn Arena watching the game.  People sprinted out headed to Toomer's Corner as Virginia missed their last shot.  Auburn was going to the basketball national championship game.  It was an eternity between the elation of the missed shot and the whistle.  Samir Doughty fouled Kyle Guy on the three-point shot attempt.  Guy nailed three free throws and just like that Auburn lost 63-62.  Virginia would go on to win the national championship while the agony began and has continued for those of us who have suffered through so much bad basketball at Auburn.  I have no doubt Auburn would have beaten Texas Tech.  There was no way Auburn would have lost that game.  Auburn would have a basketball national championship.

I despise the ridiculous amount of timeouts and overcoaching that goes on in basketball.  I have never seen all of the overcoaching work.  Auburn should not have fouled Virginia with five seconds.  They should have just defended and let the chips fall where they may.  I would rather lose on a great shot than like Auburn did.  Samir Doughty played a great game, he was Auburn's leading scorer, but he absolutely cannot touch the guy on that shot.  They are going to call that every single time.  He just cannot make that mistake.  That is a really tough shot, challenge it but do not touch him.  How many timeouts did we have to tell everyone that???  I am sorry but it was just all there for the taking.  

That is why I am finally writing this post in August with football season starting next week.  I have thought about this game almost every day since then.  Every time I see something about football I think about this game.  I do not think I will ever get over it.  I know it is just a game and in the bigger scheme of things it does not matter but man it still hurts.  I do not think I will ever see Auburn back in the Final Four.  We had this one great run and came up just short.  I need to concentrate on the former and let go of the latter.  The 2018-19 Auburn basketball Tigers made the greatest run in the school's history.  We were all very lucky to be able to watch and enjoy it.

Thanks to Bruce and the coaching staff and thank you to Bryce Brown, Jared Harper and the rest of this great team.  I get a little choked up reading Brown's comments after this great run and tough end.  "What hurts the most is that I won't be able to wear this jersey again," said Brown, who holds Auburn's career 3-point record with 382, second in SEC history. "Hopefully I had a huge impact on this program, because this program has definitely changed my life to the fullest, not only in basketball but also as a man, as an Auburn man.  I've grown, I've matured, and I'm just happy that Auburn gave me the opportunity to wear this jersey and be a great player."

I can say that without a doubt that Brown did have a huge impact on this program and I think I will end this post with what Brown and Coach Pearl said last season.  I think it is even more true now... 

"The guys wanted to make history," Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. "Winning a championship at Auburn means a lot."  "It's unreal. It's so unbelievable right now," said Bryce Brown, "I've got to thank the Lord for everything he's done for me. Knowing where we came from and where we are now, it just feels unreal. I'm so thankful, I'm so blessed."  These guys did make history and everything they did means a whole lot.  I think to end this post I will just echo what Bryce said, all of us who witnessed this season also are so thankful and so blessed...

WAR EAGLE.