Some inspiring notes from 2016

[StatTiger 3,188]

• During the 2015 season, Auburn's opponent scored on 41 percent of their possessions at least 75-yards away from the Auburn end zone. This season the defense improved to 21.8 percent the best percentage by an Auburn defense since 2008. The Auburn defense forced an average of 6.8 long fields per game in 2015, which increased to 8.6 during 2016. Not only did Auburn force more long field possessions, they cut scoring down by nearly 50 percent from the season before.
   
•  Auburn allowed 22 touchdowns this season, which was the fewest allowed in 13 games since the 2007 season, when Auburn surrendered 21.
   
• Auburn's defense allowed 4.82 yards per play on 1st down, their best average since the 2003 season.
   
• Last season the Auburn offense averaged a play of 30-yards or more every 40.5 snaps. The Tigers improved to 1 every 28.3 plays during 2016. Prior to White and Pettway's injury, it was 1 every 24.8 snaps. 
   
• Malzahn and Auburn are 28-4, when leading at halftime.
   
• Pat Dye's average margin of defeat was 10.4 points. Terry Bowden was 12.4 points and Tommy Tuberville was 13.4. Gene Chizik's average margin of defeat was 20.9 points and Gus Malzahn is currently 11.4 points.
   
• The 2016 Auburn defense allowed a TD every 45.1 plays against conference opponents. This was the best ratio by an Auburn defense since 1988.
   
• Utilizing an efficiency formula based on yards per game, yards per play, TD ratio, impact plays, 1st down average and strength of schedule, the 2016 Auburn offense had the 6th best rating over the past 25 years of Auburn football.
   
• Auburn's defense allowed a TD every 42.2 plays, the highest ratio by an Auburn defense since the 2005 season.
   
• Auburn scored only 7 offensive TD's outside the red zone during the 2015 season. This year the Tigers scored 15.
   
• Auburn's 2016 offense netted at least 40-yards during 47.4 percent of their possessions. This was the second highest percentage over the past 25 years of Auburn football. Only the 2010 team had a higher percentage.
   
• Only 14.1 percent of the possessions defended by the 2016 Auburn defense resulted in a TD. This was the best percentage by an Auburn defense since 2005.
   
• The 2016 Auburn run-offense rated out as the 6th best run-offense at Auburn over the past 64 years. This is based on yards per game, yards per attempt and TD ratio.
   
• Auburn's 2016 defense allowed only 2 rushing TD's in conference play. This is the fewest rushing TD's allowed during the last 50 years of Auburn football.
   
• Based on yards per game, yards per rush and TD ratio, the 2016 Auburn run-offense was the 10th best over the past 50 years of Auburn football in conference play.
   
• Auburn's 2016 run-offense was No. 7 nationally generating run plays of 10-yards or more.
   
• Prior to being injured, Sean White had a passer rating of 158.9. This would have placed him No. 10 nationally if he had maintained his rating.
   
• The 2016 Auburn defense held their opponent to 43.4 percent below their scoring average. This is the best percentage by an Auburn defense since 2004.
   
• Prior to the injuries of Sean White and Kamryn Pettway, the Auburn offense was gaining 25 percent more yardage than the opponent normally allowed and was scoring 35 percent more than the opponent allowed. For the season, Auburn finished at 12 percent more in yardage and 19 percent more in points scored.
   
• Kamryn Pettway's 122.4 yards per game was the 6th best performance by an Auburn RB (leading rusher).
   
• Daniel Carlson set a school record with 28 field goals in one season. During his career, Carlson has connected on 45 of 49 FG's under 40-yards.
   
• Auburn's 54 run plays of 15-yards or more was the 3rd most by an Auburn run-offense during the past 30 years.

War Eagle!

[AuburnNTexas 7,140]

Thanks Stat that really shows the defensive improvement and also highlights the offensive improvements before the two key injuries.

[lionheartkc 6,150]

So, basically (other than the Clemson game, which we don't need to talk about), this was a great Auburn team until injuries kicked our butts.  Thanks @StatTiger!

[Linayus 676]

The teams that hurt us the most were those efficient through the air - Clemson, A&M, Ole Miss (before turnovers sealed it), Oklahoma.. and to an extent Alabama (though to me it's misleading when those passes were mostly dump offs or screens that netted bigger yards than they should've). If we see improvement in the secondary coverage for next year, our defense should easily land in the top 25.

A side note - 3 of those teams were conference champs with Heisman hopefuls (Watson, Hurts, Westbrook, Mayfield, and even Kelly for Ole Miss). It's not like Auburn was getting beat by mediocre teams (excluding Georgia because that was just an aberration of a football game). lol

[McLoofus 35,182]

2 minutes ago, Linayus said:

The teams that hurt us the most were those efficient through the air - Clemson, A&M, Ole Miss (before turnovers sealed it), Oklahoma.. and to an extent Alabama (though to me it's misleading when those passes were mostly dump offs or screens that netted bigger yards than they should've). If we see improvement in the secondary coverage for next year, our defense should easily land in the top 25.

A side note - 3 of those teams were conference champs with Heisman hopefuls (Watson, Hurts, Westbrook, Mayfield, and even Kelly for Ole Miss). It's not like Auburn was getting beat by mediocre teams (excluding Georgia because that was just an aberration of a football game). lol

Yep. 3 of those 5 teams were in the top 25 in total offense. Ole Miss landed at 26 despite their all-world QB got hurt in early November. Bama finished at 31. We won one of those games and had a chance in two of them. We didn't get any help from the offense at all in any of the ones we lost. 

The good thing is that we just signed a QB who somewhat resembles all 5 of theirs. 

[Linayus 676]

4 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

Yep. 3 of those 5 teams were in the top 25 in total offense. Ole Miss landed at 26 despite their all-world QB got hurt in early November. Bama finished at 31. We won one of those games and had a chance in two of them. We didn't get any help from the offense at all in any of the ones we lost. 

The good thing is that we just signed a QB who somewhat resembles all 5 of theirs. 

I'm excited to see what our offense can do with Stidham. He looked really good at Baylor and he is actually tall enough for us to start hitting the middle of the field again!

[McLoofus 35,182]

3 minutes ago, Linayus said:

I'm excited to see what our offense can do with Stidham. He looked really good at Baylor and he is actually tall enough for us to start hitting the middle of the field again!

Seems like Gus has barely used anything like that, but we did get it going a little in 2014 IIRC. I totally agree, though, it's something that would greatly enhance the offense. 

[lionheartkc 6,150]

8 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

The good thing is that we just signed a QB who somewhat resembles all 5 of theirs.

I would go as far as to say that he's better than Hurts and Knight, and could give Kelly a run for it as well. I'm not ready to put him in the rare air of Watson or Mayfield, however. 

Oh... and Hurts was only a Heisman hopeful in the eyes of the bama faithful (including the media types that salivate all over them). He never had anything close to the numbers required for a Heisman run, and he was a turnover waiting to happen. He was above average for a freshman, but nothing really special. He didn't even crack most top 30s.

[Linayus 676]

2 minutes ago, lionheartkc said:

Oh... and Hurts was only a Heisman hopeful in the eyes of the bama faithful (including the media types that salivate all over them). He never had anything close to the numbers required for a Heisman run, and he was a turnover waiting to happen. He was above average for a freshman, but nothing really special. He didn't even crack most top 30s.

Yeah, I never bought in to it either. He was just on an undefeated team. I'd go as far as saying that he's not even as good as Blake Sims or Jacob Coker. I stand by my assessment that Tua will take over as the QB next season and Hurts will be a great backup.

[lionheartkc 6,150]

2 minutes ago, Linayus said:

Yeah, I never bought in to it either. He was just on an undefeated team. I'd go as far as saying that he's not even as good as Blake Sims or Jacob Coker. I stand by my assessment that Tua will take over as the QB next season and Hurts will be a great backup.

Normally I wouldn't care, but I hate seeing some kid held up as an example of an awesome QB (often at the expense of our QB), when the reality is that bama's ability to score on D got them the the title game this year.

[JoeTiger 9]

1 hour ago, StatTiger said:

• During the 2015 season, Auburn's opponent scored on 41 percent of their possessions at least 75-yards away from the Auburn end zone. This season the defense improved to 21.8 percent the best percentage by an Auburn defense since 2008. The Auburn defense forced an average of 6.8 long fields per game in 2015, which increased to 8.6 during 2016. Not only did Auburn force more long field possessions, they cut scoring down by nearly 50 percent from the season before.

 

 

•  Auburn allowed 22 touchdowns this season, which was the fewest allowed in 13 games since the 2007 season, when Auburn surrendered 21.

 

• Auburn's defense allowed 4.82 yards per play on 1st down, their best average since the 2003 season.

 

• Last season the Auburn offense averaged a play of 30-yards or more every 40.5 snaps. The Tigers improved to 1 every 28.3 plays during 2016. Prior to White and Pettway's injury, it was 1 every 24.8 snaps. 

 

• Malzahn and Auburn are 28-4, when leading at halftime.

 

• Pat Dye's average margin of defeat was 10.4 points. Terry Bowden was 12.4 points and Tommy Tuberville was 13.4. Gene Chizik's average margin of defeat was 20.9 points and Gus Malzahn is currently 11.4 points.

 

• The 2016 Auburn defense allowed a TD every 45.1 plays against conference opponents. This was the best ratio by an Auburn defense since 1988.

 

• Utilizing an efficiency formula based on yards per game, yards per play, TD ratio, impact plays, 1st down average and strength of schedule, the 2016 Auburn offense had the 6th best rating over the past 25 years of Auburn football.

 

• Auburn's defense allowed a TD every 42.2 plays, the highest ratio by an Auburn defense since the 2005 season.

 

• Auburn scored only 7 offensive TD's outside the red zone during the 2015 season. This year the Tigers scored 15.

 

• Auburn's 2016 offense netted at least 40-yards during 47.4 percent of their possessions. This was the second highest percentage over the past 25 years of Auburn football. Only the 2010 team had a higher percentage.

 

• Only 14.1 percent of the possessions defended by the 2016 Auburn defense resulted in a TD. This was the best percentage by an Auburn defense since 2005.

 

• The 2016 Auburn run-offense rated out as the 6th best run-offense at Auburn over the past 64 years. This is based on yards per game, yards per attempt and TD ratio.

 

• Auburn's 2016 defense allowed only 2 rushing TD's in conference play. This is the fewest rushing TD's allowed during the last 50 years of Auburn football.

 

• Based on yards per game, yards per rush and TD ratio, the 2016 Auburn run-offense was the 10th best over the past 50 years of Auburn football in conference play.

 

• Auburn's 2016 run-offense was No. 7 nationally generating run plays of 10-yards or more.

 

• Prior to being injured, Sean White had a passer rating of 158.9. This would have placed him No. 10 nationally if he had maintained his rating.

 

• The 2016 Auburn defense held their opponent to 43.4 percent below their scoring average. This is the best percentage by an Auburn defense since 2004.

 

• Prior to the injuries of Sean White and Kamryn Pettway, the Auburn offense was gaining 25 percent more yardage than the opponent normally allowed and was scoring 35 percent more than the opponent allowed. For the season, Auburn finished at 12 percent more in yardage and 19 percent more in points scored.

 

• Kamryn Pettway's 122.4 yards per game was the 6th best performance by an Auburn RB (leading rusher).

 

• Daniel Carlson set a school record with 28 field goals in one season. During his career, Carlson has connected on 45 of 49 FG's under 40-yards.

 

• Auburn's 54 run plays of 15-yards or more was the 3rd most by an Auburn run-offense during the past 30 years.

 

War Eagle!

Thanks, Stat, Very encouraging.

[Linayus 676]

39 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

Seems like Gus has barely used anything like that, but we did get it going a little in 2014 IIRC. I totally agree, though, it's something that would greatly enhance the offense. 

I think it has mostly been a QB height issue. Even Nick Marshall wasn't that tall so his options over the middle were limited. There are too many bigger LBs in the league that can go up and snag a football now. lol

[McLoofus 35,182]

5 minutes ago, Linayus said:

I think it has mostly been a QB height issue. Even Nick Marshall wasn't that tall so his options over the middle were limited. There are too many bigger LBs in the league that can go up and snag a football now. lol

Totally agree. I remember so many of Nick's passes getting batted down. Probably still affects Gus's decision making now, lol. And I think that's why he tries to roll Sean out near the goal line. Of course, I don't understand why he 1) only seems to do it near the goal line and 2) always seems to do it near the goal line, but there are plenty of other threads for that  

Onward and upward.

[aujeff11 6,243]

2 minutes ago, JMassie11 said:

Would argue this happens everywhere . QBs out of HS are a coin flip. Just look at all the 4 and 5 star kids that are leaving bama this year after being beaten out by a freshman. It just happens.

I can't speak for bateman or the other guy, but Barnett was legit. Would've loved him to be at Auburn. 

Edited January 10, 2017 by aujeff11

[Eagle-1 3,821]

17 hours ago, lionheartkc said:

So, basically (other than the Clemson game, which we don't need to talk about), this was a great Auburn team until injuries kicked our butts.  Thanks @StatTiger!

I wouldn't go that far brother. For every positive stat that Stat came up with for the running game, I can come up with a negative stat about our passing game, or the lack thereof.:

[PUB78 1,358]

Much improved D, but what about turnovers? How many did the D have this year? Didn't seem to be that many.

[Strychnine 1,802]

17 hours ago, lionheartkc said:

Normally I wouldn't care, but I hate seeing some kid held up as an example of an awesome QB (often at the expense of our QB), when the reality is that bama's ability to score on D got them the the title game this year.

 

I give Hurts a lot of credit for handling the pressure that comes with the QB position for that particular team.  Most 18-year-olds would probably fold under that.  Even Jameis Winston had the benefit of a redshirt season.  That said, I think the combination of his legs, Lane Kiffin, and the offense as a whole did a lot to keep him out of bad positions, thus making him appear better than he is.  He did not spend too much time playing behind on down and distance, nor was he expected to shoulder the team and carry them to victory.

[im4aual 487]

We were 6-0 with a healthy backfield and Rhett calling plays.  I'm looking forward to next year.

[lionheartkc 6,150]

1 hour ago, Strychnine said:

I give Hurts a lot of credit for handling the pressure that comes with the QB position for that particular team.

Can't disagree with you there. He was very calm under fire. 

[lionheartkc 6,150]

2 hours ago, Eagle-1 said:

I wouldn't go that far brother. For every positive stat that Stat came up with for the running game, I can come up with a negative stat about our passing game, or the lack thereof.:

Can you? Which one? The one where we lead the SEC in pass efficiency before the injuries or the one where we lead the SEC in yards per attempt before the injuries? Maybe it's Sean's 3-1 touchdown to interception ratio (keeping in mind that one of this INTs came in the Clemson debacle and another when he was playing hurt against Georgia... he only had 1 in his stretch of healthy games)? But there are other QBs... how about John being 2 for 2 with 1 touchdown on passes over 30 yards? Yes, you can dig up negative stats about our passing but they all reflect Clemson or the last part of my statement "until injuries kicked our butt". Until Sean went down, his numbers were even besting Kelly... and that included digging his stats out of the hole that was the Clemson game.

[doc4aday 1,887]

On ‎1‎/‎9‎/‎2017 at 1:55 PM, lionheartkc said:

I would go as far as to say that he's better than Hurts and Knight, and could give Kelly a run for it as well. I'm not ready to put him in the rare air of Watson or Mayfield, however. 

Oh... and Hurts was only a Heisman hopeful in the eyes of the bama faithful (including the media types that salivate all over them). He never had anything close to the numbers required for a Heisman run, and he was a turnover waiting to happen. He was above average for a freshman, but nothing really special. He didn't even crack most top 30s.

I think Stidham could possibly be right there with Mayfield and Watson. Mayfield is in the rare company with Watson. I do like Watson better in the that I think he is no where as cocky at Mayfield. We love about 70 miles north of Clemson, and have 2 TV channels out of Greenville SC. Watson is a truly good young man with his feet planted solidly on the ground. He is always doing something beneficial to kids and seniors in the area. He is a good Christian young man that takes his faith very serious.

I cannot wait to see him in the pros. He will do well no doubt. I am totally an Auburn fan, but do  like to keep up with Clemson in that our best friends are Clemson grads, as well as our deacon and other folks in our church. We have a family that are big bammer fans. They are great folks of which I do not hold being a bammer against them. I told them that Clemson would pull it out near the end and be NCs. I would guess that bammer fans are in a state of grieving no doubt!

[ScottsboroAuburnFan 462]

This Stat stood out...

 

The 2016 Auburn defense allowed a TD every 45.1 plays against conference opponents. This was the best ratio by an Auburn defense since 1988.

[triangletiger 1,599]

Every time I see the title of this thread, it makes me thing of a joke by the late stand-up comedian Mitch Hedburg:

“I opened-up a yogurt, and underneath the lid it said, "Please try again." because they were having a contest that I was unaware of. I thought maybe I opened the yogurt wrong. ...Or maybe Yoplait was trying to inspire me... "Come on Mitchell, don't give up!" An inspirational message from your friends at Yoplait, fruit on the bottom, hope on top.”

[McLoofus 35,182]

26 minutes ago, triangletiger said:

Every time I see the title of this thread, it makes me thing of a joke by the late stand-up comedian Mitch Hedburg:

“I opened-up a yogurt, and underneath the lid it said, "Please try again." because they were having a contest that I was unaware of. I thought maybe I opened the yogurt wrong. ...Or maybe Yoplait was trying to inspire me... "Come on Mitchell, don't give up!" An inspirational message from your friends at Yoplait, fruit on the bottom, hope on top.”

One of the greats, gone too soon. RIP