Dual-Threat Rigby 8,648 Posted July 21, 2016 Share Posted July 21, 2016 I really can't comprehend how we lost to TAMU in 2014. The fumble on the first play, the second quarter collapse, we overcame all of that with a ridiculously good running performance. It seemed like the comeback was coming. The defense did JUST enough. The second fumble on the goal line was understandable, but the final one that CAP recovered? Were we just not meant to win? I feel this is decently worth posting because A. I'm rewatching the game right now B. This is likely the game most point out as separating the greatness of Malzahn's tenure to the bad that we've recently had. Hell, I'll go so far as to say if we win that game, we beat Alabama, and at least make the playoffs. Maybe 2015 is for some reason better because of that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dual-Threat Rigby 8,648 Posted July 21, 2016 Author Share Posted July 21, 2016 Also our tackling is probably 90% of the reason Ellis was fired, this is the most blatant microcosm of how we had no basic fundamentals of tackling. Guys break 20 tackles and eventually get caught up by some DB. So instead of that DB doing form tackling and not messing up like the players before him, he just sells out for the shoulder tackle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerbrotha12 2,362 Posted July 21, 2016 Share Posted July 21, 2016 Yep. That was the game that turned our momentum and we've never gotten it back. Hope we do it this year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keesler 5,924 Posted July 21, 2016 Share Posted July 21, 2016 I hate to think that one single loss could bring such a huge decline to an entire team, I want to believe our players and coaches are mentally tougher than that. :sadbanana: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUwent 3,747 Posted July 21, 2016 Share Posted July 21, 2016 Beating them last year made 2015 hurt just a little less. Still, this game hurts badly. The week leading up to it I remember thinking "this is the type of game we'd definitely lose if this were the Tubs era." The fact that I was dealing with social life issues at the time probably made it even worse. It's HIGHLY unlikely, but oh would I love to take them to the shed in JHS this season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shady Hollow AU 64 Posted July 21, 2016 Share Posted July 21, 2016 Apart from beating Alabama once on desperate goal-line interception, we are the only West team that is supposed to beat them, but doesn't. Losing in 2014 was bad, but the 63 point beatdown they gave us 2012 was worse. Let's fix that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aucanucktiger 1,791 Posted July 21, 2016 Share Posted July 21, 2016 The highly unlikely combo of events that lost us the 2013 title game trumps (sorry) any other AU head shaker IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McLoofus 35,182 Posted July 21, 2016 Share Posted July 21, 2016 That loss was bad for 2014. Doesn't have anything to do with our struggles in 2015. And nothing that happened in 2012 is even remotely germane to 2016, unless we still have a player or two who redshirted that season and kinda remember what happened 1 head coach and 2 entire defensive staffs ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McLoofus 35,182 Posted July 21, 2016 Share Posted July 21, 2016 6 minutes ago, aucanucktiger said: The highly unlikely combo of events that lost us the 2013 title game trumps (sorry) any other AU head shaker IMO. This is one of the better ways I've seen that game referenced. I've never seen a game where people waste so much time arguing over which individual play cost us the game (Tre Mason scored too quickly? Seriously?) when, as you said, it was many things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keesler 5,924 Posted July 21, 2016 Share Posted July 21, 2016 It was probably an accumulation of things that lead up to that loss IMO. We had lost a month before to a very good MSU team, then went toe to toe in a high scoring game vs USC and won by a TD, then proceeded to win the OM game by the skin of our teeth at the expense of an OM star player's broken leg. Then we get to the aTm game and weird things happen the resulted in a loss followed by a beat down to UGA the next week and then the shootout with UAT where 99 points were scored...then we play a Wisky team where Barry Alvarez comes out of freaking retirement to beat us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoALtiger 3,849 Posted July 21, 2016 Share Posted July 21, 2016 Not saying it's connected, but there does seem to be a pre aTm '14 story to Malzhan's HC career at AU and a post aTM '14 story that's still being written. Whether it's real or not, that does seem to be something there. We haven't been the same since. Odd I know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUIH1 1,515 Posted July 21, 2016 Share Posted July 21, 2016 This game should have been a blip on the radar and is foolishly used as an excuse for the inexcusable beat down by uga. wde Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexava 6,973 Posted July 21, 2016 Share Posted July 21, 2016 No one is mentioning the ten point swing on the last play of the first half? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McLoofus 35,182 Posted July 21, 2016 Share Posted July 21, 2016 I would argue that the bigger before/after in 2014 was LSU. The defense started giving up 21 more ppg after that than they had before. That seemed to be the point when CEJ checked out. The Whitehead deal, the non-coaching personnel who were allowed in defensive team meetings, whatever it was... CEJ lost the locker room and lost interest. The turnovers in the MSU game the next week that put his defense in a big hole certainly didn't help, but we didn't hold a decent team under 30 the rest of the season. The competition got quite a bit better but not 21 ppg better. The IB that year wasn't much different than the USC game or the Ole Miss game. They were just a better team. The reasons for our failures in 2015 don't really require much analysis. Just look at the roster we were supposed to have vs the one that we did have. I don't understand why we keep trying to look around and over that for more complicated and nebulous explanations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiger 8,818 Posted July 21, 2016 Share Posted July 21, 2016 24 minutes ago, alexava said: No one is mentioning the ten point swing on the last play of the first half? This was the difference. Even with the terrible turnovers down the stretch, had we even just missed the FG wide left or wide right would've helped us tremendously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keesler 5,924 Posted July 21, 2016 Share Posted July 21, 2016 1 hour ago, McLoofus said: I would argue that the bigger before/after in 2014 was LSU. The defense started giving up 21 more ppg after that than they had before. That seemed to be the point when CEJ checked out. The Whitehead deal, the non-coaching personnel who were allowed in defensive team meetings, whatever it was... CEJ lost the locker room and lost interest. The turnovers in the MSU game the next week that put his defense in a big hole certainly didn't help, but we didn't hold a decent team under 30 the rest of the season. The competition got quite a bit better but not 21 ppg better. The IB that year wasn't much different than the USC game or the Ole Miss game. They were just a better team. The reasons for our failures in 2015 don't really require much analysis. Just look at the roster we were supposed to have vs the one that we did have. I don't understand why we keep trying to look around and over that for more complicated and nebulous explanations. We had and may still have a mentally fragile locker room. When players focus on doing their job, stop worrying about the guy next to them - just do your freaking job everyday then we won't see the "lost the locker room" statement made. Individual position coaches have more interaction and contact with the guys in the locker room than the coordinators. So when the locker room chemistry changes for good or bad and when attitudes sway one way or the other, then it's more than likely an issue with the position coaches and the players. The Whitehead deal may have set off a stink bomb in the locker room, I just hate that it had a lasting effect on the production of the field. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VipersStrike1 230 Posted July 21, 2016 Share Posted July 21, 2016 2 hours ago, Tiger said: This was the difference. Even with the terrible turnovers down the stretch, had we even just missed the FG wide left or wide right would've helped us tremendously. Over the years, compared to bammer, for example, we've been extremely fortunate not to have blocked FGs due to such quality kickers. In fact, I cannot think of the previous blocked FG, much less one ever returned for a TD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiger 8,818 Posted July 21, 2016 Share Posted July 21, 2016 21 minutes ago, VipersStrike1 said: Over the years, compared to bammer, for example, we've been extremely fortunate not to have blocked FGs due to such quality kickers. In fact, I cannot think of the previous blocked FG, much less one ever returned for a TD. Very true. Overall, I just think the football lords had decided before the game that Auburn was not to win the 2014 Miss St or TAMU games no matter what we did Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strychnine 1,802 Posted July 21, 2016 Share Posted July 21, 2016 14 minutes ago, Tiger said: Very true. Overall, I just think the football lords had decided before the game that Auburn was not to win the 2014 Miss St or TAMU games no matter what we did I can grant you that on the Texas A&M game, but not Mississippi State. They straight beat Auburn with one of the best teams in the history of their program, when they were playing their best football of the season. Auburn fought back into it in the 2nd and 3rd quarters, and then Mississippi State put it away in the 4th. Mississippi State was legitimately better. If Mississippi State was going to win a national championship or an SEC Championship after 1950, that was the team that had a chance. Texas A&M was a smiting by the football lords though. When you are ranked #3 and lose to an unranked non-rival, at home, in such wonky fashion, that is definitely a smiting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiger 8,818 Posted July 21, 2016 Share Posted July 21, 2016 1 minute ago, Strychnine said: I can grant you that on the Texas A&M game, but not Mississippi State. They straight beat Auburn with one of the best teams in the history of their program, when they were playing their best football of the season. Auburn fought back into it in the 2nd and 3rd quarters, and then Mississippi State put it away in the 4th. Mississippi State was legitimately better. If Mississippi State was going to win a national championship or an SEC Championship after 1950, that was the team that had a chance. Texas A&M was a smiting by the football lords though. When you are ranked #3 and lose to an unranked non-rival, at home, in such wonky fashion, that is definitely a smiting. Fair enough. It just seemed in the Miss St game whenever we would get the ball rolling on the comeback something devastating to our efforts would happen. Be it refs, turnovers, or just poor play. Maybe I'm just salty about it lol. You're right though, that Miss St team was definitely the best MSU squad I've seen in my life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McLoofus 35,182 Posted July 21, 2016 Share Posted July 21, 2016 41 minutes ago, Tiger said: Overall, I just think the football lords had decided before the game that Auburn was not to win the 2014 Miss St or TAMU games no matter what we did Pretty sure I said the exact same thing to wifey, at least during the MSU game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strychnine 1,802 Posted July 21, 2016 Share Posted July 21, 2016 3 minutes ago, Tiger said: Fair enough. It just seemed in the Miss St game whenever we would get the ball rolling on the comeback something devastating to our efforts would happen. Be it refs, turnovers, or just poor play. Maybe I'm just salty about it lol. You're right though, that Miss St team was definitely the best MSU squad I've seen in my life. Going into it, I looked at it as that Auburn-Mississippi State game was between two legitimately good teams on a field where they had the advantage. In a game that was supposed to be a toss up, they came out on top. I was not bothered by that loss, and neither were the rankings really. Based on their play up to that point, Texas A&M was not supposed to be a toss up. They had struggled to beat Louisiana-Monroe just a week prior. They had no business even making a game of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionheartkc 6,150 Posted July 21, 2016 Share Posted July 21, 2016 13 minutes ago, Strychnine said: Going into it, I looked at it as that Auburn-Mississippi State game was between two legitimately good teams on a field where they had the advantage. In a game that was supposed to be a toss up, they came out on top. I was not bothered by that loss, and neither were the rankings really. Based on their play up to that point, Texas A&M was not supposed to be a toss up. They had struggled to beat Louisiana-Monroe just a week prior. They had no business even making a game of it. I still give the zebras a fair amount of credit for that loss... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strychnine 1,802 Posted July 21, 2016 Share Posted July 21, 2016 Which loss? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionheartkc 6,150 Posted July 21, 2016 Share Posted July 21, 2016 29 minutes ago, Strychnine said: Which loss? A&M... The phantom turnover at the goal line was a moral breaker. Every replay showed that CAP had the ball. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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