Thoughts - Week 4

[Townhallsavoy]

- We have now lost two straight games to the armpit of the SECW. I remember in 2007 losing to Mississippi State, and that was the first "sky is falling" loss I ever experienced. It was in-fucking-conceivable to lose to Miss State.

But here we are. Two in a row. Miss State has a winning streak against Auburn University in football.

Last year was forgivable. Sorta. Miss State had their best team in history and we had to play them in Starkville right at the peak of their hype train. Even then, we probably should have won.

This year? That looked like the Mississippi State I know. Dak Prescott is pretty good, but he's not an elite QB. He was surrounded by talent last year, which made him look a lot better than he is. But he's not that great. There was no reason why even a down Auburn team shouldn't beat a normal Miss State team.

- I've read some commentary on how the defense was better. They were much better. I think a lot of that had to do with the offense eating up clock and more so with Mississippi State have typical Mississippi State mistakes. They had a lot of dropped passes and their play calling was extremely predictable.

I think benching five guys and starting a bunch of true freshmen on the first drive was a mistake. Maybe it wasn't. I don't really know. I do know the only drive that featured MSU just marching down the field on us was their opening drive. I wonder if we have an actual chance at winning if we keep them from scoring a touchdown there.

- I also keep reading about Sean White sputtering and being "uneventful" as al.com put it. Uhh, what the hell? Is everyone blind?

Jeremy Johnson routinely put us in a position to LOSE. Seriously. Nearly ever series Johnson had in three games featured him nearly giving the ball away or doing something stupid.

Sean White was much more consistent. Yeah, he made a mistake in the red zone and he wasn't Tom Brady there at the end. But he HAS to be the quarterback of the future. He was accurate most of the game and played with guts.

- Though what does all of this matter? I think I'm going to sit at the bus stop and wait for the next driver. Gus Malzahn's play calling, team preparation, and adjustments are just not working.

His red zone history in big games is now officially atrocious. For someone who is supposed to be an offensive genius, it's ridiculous that his teams cannot score with that kind of field position. We should have beaten Miss State, Texas A&M, and Alabama in 2014 but didn't because we couldn't capitalize on drives. We should have beaten Miss State in 2015 but again came away with 6 points after four opportunities on the ten yard line.

- Should have.

We should have a starting quarterback at the beginning of year 3 that knows how to run the offense.

We should have an offensive line that can protect the passer for longer than two seconds.

We should have a game plan that utilizes a wide receiver talent that could be a top ten pick in the NFL draft.

We should have a defense that isn't giving up 216 yards per game on the ground going into week 4.

We should still be ranked in the top 25 after being preseason ranked #6. A loss or poor showing? It happens. To be questioning our status as a bowl team after week 4? That should never happen at Auburn.

- ESPN can blow a dick by the way. I loved how they played Tammy's call in the 1st quarter and then cut to our fans in the stands like that's the representation of us.

[GH2001]

Pretty spot on.

Although I will say this is not quite the Miss State of old. Mullen (as much of a dick wad that he is) is a pretty solid coach in general. They are a solid team (not great, not good, but decent). And Diaz is a helluva DC. He dialed up blitzes and pressure which exposed Gus/Rhett. MSU really should have beaten LSU.

Im puzzled by our OL's ability to road grind on running plays and inability to protect our QB for more than 1.5 seconds on pass plays. Such a contrast. Statistically we beat these guys - TOP, Yards, First Downs. A few dumb mistakes, lack of OL protection, lack of DL penetration and awful play calling in the redzone were our doom. Convert just 1, maybe 2 of those redzone trips - and we are talking about a great win and how the season looks up now. The difference is we didn't convert - the stats are the same, but the score is different.

But in the end, you are right. This is a solid Miss State team, but.....an average or down Auburn team should still be beating a decent MSU team 80% of the time. On O, they were Dak/Derunya....thats it. And they made plays when they needed to, and most of all they protected their QB for an eternity. Our D played well enough but the DL is atrocious without Lawson against the pass. Dak was never threatened.

The DL getting no penetration combined with the OL not being able to pass protect = the game was ultimately won in the trenches. This will always hold true. Cutesy play calling and dumb coaching aside - we got beat in the trenches badly for the most part. Which is also coaching.

Gus needs to start coaching like his job is on the line. Like, he did when he got here.

[Townhallsavoy]

Other thoughts -

- Florida vs. Tennessee was an example of how great college football should be. I would HATE to be on Tennessee's side losing a game like that, but I think would take that loss over the win against JSU, the blowout loss against LSU, and the boring game against Miss State.

- I was very right about Oregon. 62-20? Put a fork in that coach. He'll be gone in two years.

- Michigan is back in terms of Big 10 back. I don't think that means anything.

- USC vs. UCLA will be an interesting rivalry game this year.

- But Utah may end up winning the Pac 12.

[The Six]

This year will probably end in anywhere 4-8 to 6-6. The board will be dry as dust until next spring. The Spring Game will come and go with little fanfare. The media will pick Auburn to finish 7th in the West. Then, hope will sprout eternal again. We'll sneak up and beat a couple teams, people will get excited, and we'll go 7-5 but with a lot of promise. Then, we'll go 6-6. Then, we'll go 4-8 and by then the buyout will be low enough to move on to another coach. Rinse. Repeat.

[Townhallsavoy]

This year will probably end in anywhere 4-8 to 6-6. The board will be dry as dust until next spring. The Spring Game will come and go with little fanfare. The media will pick Auburn to finish 7th in the West. Then, hope will sprout eternal again. We'll sneak up and beat a couple teams, people will get excited, and we'll go 7-5 but with a lot of promise. Then, we'll go 6-6. Then, we'll go 4-8 and by then the buyout will be low enough to move on to another coach. Rinse. Repeat.

Our program is too rich and proud to go through that cycle.

I like your prediction though up until the final 4-8. Gus will be gone if he is not in direct contention for the SECCG in 2016.

[Godfather]

The DL getting no penetration combined with the OL not being able to pass protect = the game was ultimately won in the trenches. This will always hold true. Cutesy play calling and dumb coaching aside - we got beat in the trenches badly for the most part. Which is also coaching.

This is 100% troof.  Prescott was in the back field knitting a sweater most of the night.

[Townhallsavoy]

- And what happened to Kerryon? He was running really hard in the 1st half. Disappeared in the 2nd. Roc Thomas got a bunch of carries and killed a drive by himself.

[Godfather]

 Look I have no illusions of this season, but if Sean had been playing from game 1 we would have won last night.  He needs more reps. 

I actually hold out hope that this season is salvageable.  The only team I mark as a definite loss at this point is UGA.  Everyone else is beatable if we get our shit together, but they are all going to be catfights!

[Snaggletiger]

Look I have no illusions of this season, but if Sean had been playing from game 1 we would have won last night.  He needs more reps. 

I actually hold out hope that this season is salvageable.  The only team I mark as a definite loss at this point is UGA.  Everyone else is beatable if we get our shit together, but they are all going to be catfights!

meow

[JR4AU]

- We have now lost two straight games to the armpit of the SECW. I remember in 2007 losing to Mississippi State, and that was the first "sky is falling" loss I ever experienced. It was in-fucking-conceivable to lose to Miss State.

But here we are. Two in a row. Miss State has a winning streak against Auburn University in football.

Last year was forgivable. Sorta. Miss State had their best team in history and we had to play them in Starkville right at the peak of their hype train. Even then, we probably should have won.

This year? That looked like the Mississippi State I know. Dak Prescott is pretty good, but he's not an elite QB. He was surrounded by talent last year, which made him look a lot better than he is. But he's not that great. There was no reason why even a down Auburn team shouldn't beat a normal Miss State team.

- I've read some commentary on how the defense was better. They were much better. I think a lot of that had to do with the offense eating up clock and more so with Mississippi State have typical Mississippi State mistakes. They had a lot of dropped passes and their play calling was extremely predictable.

I think benching five guys and starting a bunch of true freshmen on the first drive was a mistake. Maybe it wasn't. I don't really know. I do know the only drive that featured MSU just marching down the field on us was their opening drive. I wonder if we have an actual chance at winning if we keep them from scoring a touchdown there.

- I also keep reading about Sean White sputtering and being "uneventful" as al.com put it. Uhh, what the hell? Is everyone blind?

Jeremy Johnson routinely put us in a position to LOSE. Seriously. Nearly ever series Johnson had in three games featured him nearly giving the ball away or doing something stupid.

Sean White was much more consistent. Yeah, he made a mistake in the red zone and he wasn't Tom Brady there at the end. But he HAS to be the quarterback of the future. He was accurate most of the game and played with guts.

- Though what does all of this matter? I think I'm going to sit at the bus stop and wait for the next driver. Gus Malzahn's play calling, team preparation, and adjustments are just not working.

His red zone history in big games is now officially atrocious. For someone who is supposed to be an offensive genius, it's ridiculous that his teams cannot score with that kind of field position. We should have beaten Miss State, Texas A&M, and Alabama in 2014 but didn't because we couldn't capitalize on drives. We should have beaten Miss State in 2015 but again came away with 6 points after four opportunities on the ten yard line.

- Should have.

We should have a starting quarterback at the beginning of year 3 that knows how to run the offense.

We should have an offensive line that can protect the passer for longer than two seconds.

We should have a game plan that utilizes a wide receiver talent that could be a top ten pick in the NFL draft.

We should have a defense that isn't giving up 216 yards per game on the ground going into week 4.

We should still be ranked in the top 25 after being preseason ranked #6. A loss or poor showing? It happens. To be questioning our status as a bowl team after week 4? That should never happen at Auburn.

- ESPN can blow a dick by the way. I loved how they played Tammy's call in the 1st quarter and then cut to our fans in the stands like that's the representation of us.

I agee pretty much on White.  He was better than what we've seen from JJ, and it was his first college game.  I think he will be ok.  We could have won last night with that defense.  I think if White had another game or 2 under his belt we would have.

[Snaggletiger]

Let's kick some San JuanFranciscoSalvadorDiego Spartan ass this weekend.  They are the Spartans, aren't they?

[Jumbo]

Let's kick some San JuanFranciscoSalvadorDiego Spartan ass this weekend.  They are the Spartans, aren't they?

Their running back had 275 yards rushing last night against Fresno State. 

[CCTAU]

Look I have no illusions of this season, but if Sean had been playing from game 1 we would have won last night.  He needs more reps. 

I actually hold out hope that this season is salvageable.  The only team I mark as a definite loss at this point is UGA.  Everyone else is beatable if we get our shit together, but they are all going to be catfights!

I wondered out loud the same thing about SW. If he ha been the guy from jump, we would be clicking pretty well right now.

At least I am excited to see how much better he gets.

[JR4AU]

I wondered out loud the same thing about SW. If he ha been the guy from jump, we would be clicking pretty well right now.

At least I am excited to see how much better he gets.

Yep

[Snaggletiger]

I wondered out loud the same thing about SW. If he ha been the guy from jump, we would be clicking pretty well right now.

At least I am excited to see how much better he gets.

Kind of the same thing as just saying it, amirite?

[GH2001]

Kind of the same thing as just saying it, amirite?

You are so right.

Only swell guys drink Landshark.

[Kaos]

Sonny Golloway paid the price for this debacle. 

He's gone. Problem solved. It's got to get better now. 



BTW, that nauseating photo comes from an article the day prior to the NC game against FSU where Jacobs said this:



“It’s not going to be (a one-hit wonder),” Jacobs said. “I’m not going to allow it to be. Nor is Gus. We’re building a program back here.”

Jacobs vows that this season (2013) won’t be an outlier. What makes him so confident?

“My confidence is me being on alert to watch for those things that cause erosion,” he said. “That doesn’t mean I’m going to see everything, but I’m not turning a blind eye to any of it. That comes with experience.

“It’s not about the coaches or the players. It’s my confidence in knowing what to look for and when I see something that can cause erosion, I’m going to put an end to it. Gus and I have that mutually agreed upon. We both want to make sure there’s no slippage.”

Jacobs seems a changed man a year after firing Chizik and hiring Malzahn. The AD is more vocal, more assertive and more aware of the ways little issues can grow into a major problem.

He should be. The responsibility of making sure Auburn repeats 2010 and 2013 and not 2012 lies as much with him as it does Malzahn.

[bottomfeeder]

I swear that picture looks like biggest bulldyke in Auburn, AL..

[Snaggletiger]

I swear that picture looks like biggest bulldyke in Auburn, AL..

What he sed.^^^

[CCTAU]

Kind of the same thing as just saying it, amirite?

Not really. I was all by myself when I wondered out loud.

Therefor I had no one to "say" it to!