Will we beat Clemson this year?

[ToomersStreet 795]

Gooood, goooooood. 

4 minutes ago, GwillMac6 said:

I would have your back more but your profile pic gives me the heebie jeebies and is a reminder everyday that we have a clown runing AU athletics! lol.

Gooood, gooood.  I can feel your anger. It give you focus... makes you stronger.

[gr82b4au 5,568]

35 minutes ago, ToomersStreet said:

By the way, does anyone remember what happened to that coach that ran that "clump of %&*!" offense" from last season???????????????????

Yep, here is what happened. He realized he needed to change and gave up play calling duties. He then hired an OC to take over the play calling. 

Let's see how we do this year. This may be his last chance. 

[abw0004 10,109]

25 minutes ago, ToomersStreet said:

Yes. Please school me.  Because from where I am sitting Gus Mazahn is in over his head. He has bitten off more than he can chew.  I understand the reason for everyones optimism but Gus has let you down three years in a row and you go back for more.  And our last argument, I think WarDamnEagles comments were enough to validate that Gus has not yet turned the offence completely over to Chip.

Alright, if you want me to.  And you might want to go back and look at his comments agin.  He did not support what you were saying.  I even got you to agree with me after I provided my facts and you realized you could not do the same.

This year Clemson has lost their starting quarterback, running back, tight end, offensive lineman, and two top receivers.  They also lose their star linebacker, and defensive back.  Last year, our defense held Clemson to 19 points.  Auburn held the Heisman finalist to 44 rushing yards that game.  Alabama gave up 35 points to Clemson.  Auburn returns everyone on that exact same defense with the exception of Lawson, Adams, and Ford.  On offense, Auburn returns everyone except Alex Kozan, and Robert Leff.  Not to mention, we added Stidham, and provided quality depth across the board.

Clemson has more pieces to replace.  Clemson also will have to start most likely a true freshman at QB.  It does not matter what recruiting ranking you have, nothing can substitute for in-game experience.  

Every year there was a reason why we did not perform to our expectations, mostly out of Gus Malzahn's hands.  No one predicted JJ's mental breakdown in 2015, nor can you coach someone out of that.  2016 we were decimated by injuries.  In the off-season, Gus has done what he always does in hiring quality coaches to surround him that he trusts.  Now, what are your facts to support your statement of why Gus is so terrible?

34 minutes ago, ToomersStreet said:

I have your back GwillMac6!

How do you even have his back when you do not even know what the reference is here?  You were no where to be found on this forum when this conversation occurred.  Again, you are jumping in on something when you don't know what you are talking about.  There is nothing to have his back here.  He and I just disagree, just like DAG and I disagree at times, but at least Gwill and DAG provide facts for their opinion, and I respect them for it.  Just saying Gus sucks because he went 8-5 last year without diving into the root cause of it, is not unfortunately.  Just provide facts, that's all.

[abw0004 10,109]

54 minutes ago, GwillMac6 said:

Really?! You were the one who told me one time it is best we avoid each other because all we do is disagree!!

Good memory.  I was referring to the recruiting forum part.  And I even complemented you on your other thread about how it was nice to have an interesting thread like this again since every thread has been bland since the season ended.  Here was the post FYI:

"I don't know if I would say that is the trap game for us.  Their recruiting class this year was really bad, so by the time they play us, they may be thin on all fronts depth-wise.  Also, mentally they might nit be in it as there is nothing to play for.  Ole Miss also has no problem with us, as they might Mississippi State or Alabama.  I would side with LSU, although Clemson is the game I am focusing on the most.  If we win that, that will set the tone for us all year.

Also, I like how we are getting a few interesting threads like this one again.  Ever since the Sugar Bowl ended, the threads haven't been as intriguing.  Hopefully everything gets full force again once Summer camp starts."

[ToomersStreet 795]

1 hour ago, abw0004 said:

Alright, if you want me to.  And you might want to go back and look at his comments agin.  He did not support what you were saying.  I even got you to agree with me after I provided my facts and you realized you could not do the same.

This year Clemson has lost their starting quarterback, running back, tight end, offensive lineman, and two top receivers.  They also lose their star linebacker, and defensive back.  Last year, our defense held Clemson to 19 points.  Auburn held the Heisman finalist to 44 rushing yards that game.  Alabama gave up 35 points to Clemson.  Auburn returns everyone on that exact same defense with the exception of Lawson, Adams, and Ford.  On offense, Auburn returns everyone except Alex Kozan, and Robert Leff.  Not to mention, we added Stidham, and provided quality depth across the board.

Clemson has more pieces to replace.  Clemson also will have to start most likely a true freshman at QB.  It does not matter what recruiting ranking you have, nothing can substitute for in-game experience.  

Every year there was a reason why we did not perform to our expectations, mostly out of Gus Malzahn's hands.  No one predicted JJ's mental breakdown in 2015, nor can you coach someone out of that.  2016 we were decimated by injuries.  In the off-season, Gus has done what he always does in hiring quality coaches to surround him that he trusts.  Now, what are your facts to support your statement of why Gus is so terrible?

How do you even have his back when you do not even know what the reference is here?  You were no where to be found on this forum when this conversation occurred.  Again, you are jumping in on something when you don't know what you are talking about.  There is nothing to have his back here.  He and I just disagree, just like DAG and I disagree at times, but at least Gwill and DAG provide facts for their opinion, and I respect them for it.  Just saying Gus sucks because he went 8-5 last year without diving into the root cause of it, is not unfortunately.  Just provide facts, that's all.

Clemson must replace their starting QB while Auburn returns their starting QB who they are replacing anyways.  Rumors around Clemson are that Tucker Israel will be the starter for that program.  Tucker Redshirted last year, so he knows the playbook.  Stidham didn't play or practice last year with a college team, so I expect Stidham will be a little rusty.  Stidham does get a warm up game before facing Clemson but Israel also gets a warm up game before facing Auburn.  Israel has the benefit of the game being at home, and although no game experience spent last year learning the play book and practicing.  Advantage Clemson.

Clemson losses their running back but has recruited well and will probably have no problem replacing their leading rusher.  However, KP IMO is one of the best running backs out there. 

TE, Clemson losses their TE.  By the way who was Auburns TE last year.  Can anyone remember without having to google that?  Do to the lack of Gus utilizing the tight end last year.... or the year before, I don't see Auburn having an advantage, but neither does Clemson.

Receiver.  Clemson has some very talented back ups, and has been consistently producing high quality receiving corps every year Dabo has been there.  I think Auburns receivers are very talented but can Kodi get them to be consistent pass catcher?  

Offensive Line.  I believe both units return three starters.

 

As you pointed out Auburn loses Adams and Lawson.  That is actually my biggest concern.  Although I do believe the defense will come together and gel, will they be able to do it in week two?  I think that is to soon to expect the defense to overcome those losses.

Yeah, Clemson has more pieces to replace but Dabo has seen this before and overcame it before.  Gus in 14 had a ton of talent returning yet found a way to lose five games.  And as all the sunshine pumpers like to come to Gus' defense in 14 the defense fell apart, that isn't Gus's specialty so that wasn't really his fault and he did the right thing by firing Ellis, except Gus didn't catch the players not having the motivation to show up for UGA.  15 Jeremy Johnson had issues.  Okay so first: Jeremy actually had horrible fundamentals, he didn't check his defenders, he stared down the receiver he was going to throw it too and he would throw of the wrong foot.  Jeremy didn't start the season with "mental issue" he started the season with bad fundamentals the led to five interceptions in the first two games that led to mental issues against LSU.  Then there was Gus talking about how for the defense had come in in reality it was still a long way from being relevant but like with his evaluation of JJ he was wrong.  Then there is Roc Thomas the next great running back, which goes didn't realize couldn't run between the tackles.  and lastly for the 2015 season CAN ANYBODY EXPLAIN WHY GUS QUIT RUNNING TEMP?  I was told he promised Muschamp he would slow things down.  Maybe that was true maybe not.  2016 Clemson, no reasonable explanation.  Texas A&M benched White in favor of Franklin?  Why?  Another bad decision.  Then was ordered to turn the offense over to Rhett, the began to meddle once the injuries set in.  Auburn out played UGA but Gus still found away to snatch defeat from the jaws od victory for the second year in a row to the dawgs.  EVERY YEAR there is another excuse from the guy.  Yes they are all different.  Yes they are all valid.  But collectively they just show Gus cannot get it done.  Excuses, excuses excuses.

Anything else?  Oh yes.  It takes Gus 3-5 weeks to figure out how he wants to run his offense.  If that is still his mentality going into this season then I don't even need to have another argument because we better have all of our ducks in a row before we go to Clemson because experimenting with plays and personnel will get us beat!

 

[McLoofus 35,182]

4 minutes ago, ToomersStreet said:

and lastly for the 2015 season CAN ANYBODY EXPLAIN WHY GUS QUIT RUNNING TEMP? 

The roster issues were valid in 2015. That squad wasn't talented, experienced or deep enough to successfully run 80 plays a game. Or get enough first downs for tempo to really be a valid strategy. Just my attempt at an honest answer to your question. 

No excuses in 2016. We should have been a much better football team. 

[abw0004 10,109]

25 minutes ago, ToomersStreet said:

 

 

In an effort to reduce this post, I deleted your quoted content, but this is in reference to your post.   2014, the players just gave up.  That is quoted from several players heading into 2015.  They were expecting to go back to the NC, and when that did not happen they fit they had nothing to play for.  2015, you cannot coach laziness.  JJ was known to be that, so if he did not care, not QB coach can teach him anything.  

Your reference to the 2016 Texas A&M game is skewed.  JFIII came in the final minutes, when the game was already decided.  That was no bad decision.  That is like when basketball teams put in the second teamers when a game is out of hand to protect their starters.  We fixed our TE issue by going out and getting two more tight ends, one being a primary pass-catcher in Sal Canella.  Clemson does have talent, but so do we.  We also have more game experience than their players.  That is irreplaceable.  This is no longer Gus' offense, as Gus has learned how to be an actual head coach.  Also, Stidham did not look rusty in his A-Day performance.

Like Gus or not, but you would not have a National Championship without him, or another run in 2013.  We have had growing pains with him, as Saban did in his early head coaching years before Alabama.  But Gus has put together a phenomenal defensive staff, and now has all of the pieces for a phenomenal offensive staff.  You need to look at it as 2017 being a whole new year and an improved 2016 team.  We have assets we did not have in years past.  We now have quality depth, not flash in the pans.  Statistically, every year we have signed less and less junior college transfers.  Why?  Because we have quality depth developing where they are not needed as much.

Also, that's what guys like me are looking for in a post like yours.  Facts supporting your position.  What we don't like is when someone comes out of nowhere and bashes Malzahn with no substance.  And I mean this last paragraph as a complement to your last post.  I don't agree obviously, but I can respect it better than any of your other posts.

[AUwent 3,747]

^2014 and 2008 are to me the most enraging seasons of my time following Auburn.

[keesler 5,924]

40 minutes ago, abw0004 said:

In an effort to reduce this post, I deleted your quoted content, but this is in reference to your post.   2014, the players just gave up.  That is quoted from several players heading into 2015.  They were expecting to go back to the NC, and when that did not happen they fit they had nothing to play for.  2015, you cannot coach laziness.  JJ was known to be that, so if he did not care, not QB coach can teach him anything.  

 

I try my best to not respond to any of your posts, but I couldn't let your first paragraph go for some reason.  

Are you trying to say that Auburn losing 4 of their last 5 games in 2014 because players up because they felt they had nothing to play for if they couldn't go back to the NC?  

I saw a team that fought like hell against aTm that season and went toe to toe, never giving up in the Iron Bowl scoring 44 freaking points on Alabama and only lost by 3 pts to Wisconsin in the bowl game.  The only opponent I felt like the guys laid down and took a beating from was UGA.  That 2014 was laden with talented and experienced upperclassmen.  

2015 was a crap season all the way around, If Jeremy Johnson was too lazy and un-coachable then why the hell didn't his head coach know this at some point in the 1 1/2 years prior to naming him the starter vs Louisville?  Gus put all his eggs in the basket of a guy that was lazy and un-coachable?  Why?

2016 season was an offensive mess, head-scratching play calling and a HC that looked lost in the wilderness when faced with injuries of which he had NO back-up plan, resulting in even more clueless decision making as the season mercifully came to and end.  Poor roster management, deficient game planning, inept play calling, zero contingency plan falls one man.  

2017 - Now the man in charge is coaching for his job, if he wants to remain at Auburn he's got to get it right, trust his staff, relinquish control and come to the realization that he is no offensive genius.  He has to evolve his thought processes and seriously upgrade the preparation and overall management of HIS team.  The training session is over, he's headed into year 5, it's sink or swim.

 

 

 

[ToomersStreet 795]

27 minutes ago, keesler said:

I try my best to not respond to any of your posts, but I couldn't let your first paragraph go for some reason.  

Are you trying to say that Auburn losing 4 of their last 5 games in 2014 because players up because they felt they had nothing to play for if they couldn't go back to the NC?  

I saw a team that fought like hell against aTm that season and went toe to toe, never giving up in the Iron Bowl scoring 44 freaking points on Alabama and only lost by 3 pts to Wisconsin in the bowl game.  The only opponent I felt like the guys laid down and took a beating from was UGA.  That 2014 was laden with talented and experienced upperclassmen.  

2015 was a crap season all the way around, If Jeremy Johnson was too lazy and un-coachable then why the hell didn't his head coach know this at some point in the 1 1/2 years prior to naming him the starter vs Louisville?  Gus put all his eggs in the basket of a guy that was lazy and un-coachable?  Why?

2016 season was an offensive mess, head-scratching play calling and a HC that looked lost in the wilderness when faced with injuries of which he had NO back-up plan, resulting in even more clueless decision making as the season mercifully came to and end.  Poor roster management, deficient game planning, inept play calling, zero contingency plan falls one man.  

2017 - Now the man in charge is coaching for his job, if he wants to remain at Auburn he's got to get it right, trust his staff, relinquish control and come to the realization that he is no offensive genius.  He has to evolve his thought processes and seriously upgrade the preparation and overall management of HIS team.  The training session is over, he's headed into year 5, it's sink or swim.

 

 

 

What he said..............

[GwillMac6 20,657]

49 minutes ago, AUwent said:

^2014 and 2008 are to me the most enraging seasons of my time following Auburn.

2014 is the biggest failure of the Gus era and it is not close imo. We were a offensive juggernaut and even with the defensive woes we should of won no less than 10 or 11 games. I actually came in to that season fully expecting to win it all and make up for 2013. That Iron Bowl is the most enraged I have ever been at a Iron Bowl. For once one of Gus proclamations was right and we SHOULD of hung 60 plus on them!!!! the red zone woes came to a head that game and we missed so many opportunities to extend our lead. We let blake freaking simms have a career half against us in the second half after he threw 2 or 3 picks I believe in the first half. that is twice now in 3 seasons where we have picked off 2 or more bama passes in a iron bowl and still lose by double digits.........

[abw0004 10,109]

1 hour ago, keesler said:

I try my best to not respond to any of your posts, but I couldn't let your first paragraph go for some reason.  

Are you trying to say that Auburn losing 4 of their last 5 games in 2014 because players up because they felt they had nothing to play for if they couldn't go back to the NC?  

I saw a team that fought like hell against aTm that season and went toe to toe, never giving up in the Iron Bowl scoring 44 freaking points on Alabama and only lost by 3 pts to Wisconsin in the bowl game.  The only opponent I felt like the guys laid down and took a beating from was UGA.  That 2014 was laden with talented and experienced upperclassmen.  

2015 was a crap season all the way around, If Jeremy Johnson was too lazy and un-coachable then why the hell didn't his head coach know this at some point in the 1 1/2 years prior to naming him the starter vs Louisville?  Gus put all his eggs in the basket of a guy that was lazy and un-coachable?  Why?

2016 season was an offensive mess, head-scratching play calling and a HC that looked lost in the wilderness when faced with injuries of which he had NO back-up plan, resulting in even more clueless decision making as the season mercifully came to and end.  Poor roster management, deficient game planning, inept play calling, zero contingency plan falls one man.  

2017 - Now the man in charge is coaching for his job, if he wants to remain at Auburn he's got to get it right, trust his staff, relinquish control and come to the realization that he is no offensive genius.  He has to evolve his thought processes and seriously upgrade the preparation and overall management of HIS team.  The training session is over, he's headed into year 5, it's sink or swim.

 

 

 

The 2014 Texas A&M game was the straw that  broke the horses back.  Auburn was still in contention until that game, and to lose the way they did through fumbling twice is what did it.  I can try to find the players quotes if you would like.  

In 2015, Gus had no choice to play JJ.  With all of the hype surrounding JJ, if Gus benched him it would have been polical suicide.  It's the same reason why Gus rushed out to get JFIII, to make everyone happy.  That is my only knock on Gus, but I credit that to Gus being a new coach.  Gus is not like that anymore, evidenced by him telling Jay Jacobs that he wanted to choose his new OC, despite what everyone else wanted.  

In 2016, yes the play calling was a mess for the first 3 games, then was cleaned up.  Everything after that was pure injuries.  

As to your original comment, I am a bit perplexed on why you avoid commenting on my posts.  I know at the beginning we had disagreements (I remember we somehow started talking about your Auburn lineage), but as of the last few months I felt we were in agreement with everything.  I suppose I could be wrong though.  Unless it is because you are intimidated due to my dashing good looks.   It happens.   

[DAG 33,959]

1 hour ago, ToomersStreet said:

What he said..............

Stop instigating !

[AUwent 3,747]

2 hours ago, GwillMac6 said:

2014 is the biggest failure of the Gus era and it is not close imo. We were a offensive juggernaut and even with the defensive woes we should of won no less than 10 or 11 games. I actually came in to that season fully expecting to win it all and make up for 2013. That Iron Bowl is the most enraged I have ever been at a Iron Bowl. For once one of Gus proclamations was right and we SHOULD of hung 60 plus on them!!!! the red zone woes came to a head that game and we missed so many opportunities to extend our lead. We let blake freaking simms have a career half against us in the second half after he threw 2 or 3 picks I believe in the first half. that is twice now in 3 seasons where we have picked off 2 or more bama passes in a iron bowl and still lose by double digits.........

I don't think I've ever been as angry after a game as I was after that TAM debacle. 2012 was technically worse but at least then I could kind of laugh at how bad we were and take comfort in the fact that changes were coming. I get that we didn't have much film on Allen, but there was ZERO excuse for coming out as flat as we did that day. I still really wish TAM would develop into a rivalry--the DSOR, as important as it is for recruiting, is currently dead to me (our...um...struggles against them and the rotation being changed)--but as it stands, I get the feeling that no one really cares about it that much.

As previously mentioned, the real canary in the coal mine with JJ was when our offense stalled out ~2 minutes into the second quarter of that Arky game. I remember how thankful I was that Nick went back out!

On a brighter note, NCM looked a lot like Coates last weekend.  

[MDM4AU 331]

It would tickle me to end their run the way they did ours in 2011. Doubt CGM will act like a baboon during the post game interview like Dabo did. 

[oracle79 3,569]

18 hours ago, AUwent said:

On a brighter note, NCM looked a lot like Coates last weekend.

By getting deep, yes.  Coates never caught the football that cleanly in his life though.

[Tiger 8,818]

We should have the upper hand based on experienced talent vs Clemson. But that '03 USC game gave me PTSD and this is reminding me of that a little bit. Not in the way that means we are going to be hugely overrated, but I think some are underestimating Clemson and some on here seem to think it will be a cake-walk. They lost a ton of talent, I get it, but they have recruited on the same level as us. So their raw talent is equivalent to what we have on our side. And who knows if we will have our best 11 out there or even utilize the skill sets of our players properly. Remember this is game 2 not game 4.

 

Also, for those of you hoping CCL helps us keep the foot on the gas for the entire course of the game will be let down. It's the HC that makes those decisions and Gus is more worried about looking classy than he is about kicking someone's ass. This is not meant to disparage Gus, even though I disagree with this philosophy, but it is the truth IMO.

[DAG 33,959]

1 hour ago, Tiger said:

We should have the upper hand based on experienced talent vs Clemson. But that '03 USC game gave me PTSD and this is reminding me of that a little bit. Not in the way that means we are going to be hugely overrated, but I think some are underestimating Clemson and some on here seem to think it will be a cake-walk. They lost a ton of talent, I get it, but they have recruited on the same level as us. So their raw talent is equivalent to what we have on our side. And who knows if we will have our best 11 out there or even utilize the skill sets of our players properly. Remember this is game 2 not game 4.

 

Also, for those of you hoping CCL helps us keep the foot on the gas for the entire course of the game will be let down. It's the HC that makes those decisions and Gus is more worried about looking classy than he is about kicking someone's ass. This is not meant to disparage Gus, even though I disagree with this philosophy, but it is the truth IMO.

 

That USC team was insane. We were not more talented than them.

[Tiger 8,818]

Just now, DAG said:

That USC team was insane. We were not more talented than them.

In hindsight yes you are absolutely correct. However, all summer at the time we were hearing about how they were breaking in a new QB, new WRs, new RBs, Troy Polomalu was no longer there, etc....sounds a little familiar, right?

 

OH AND THE HUMIDITY!!! lol

[DAG 33,959]

5 minutes ago, Tiger said:

In hindsight yes you are absolutely correct. However, all summer at the time we were hearing about how they were breaking in a new QB, new WRs, new RBs, Troy Polomalu was no longer there, etc....sounds a little familiar, right?

 

OH AND THE HUMIDITY!!! lol

 

 

 

 

 

The difference is talent wasn't diminished just based on experience. They were actual blue chip players. Inexperienced, Yes. On paper, we are arguably more talented than Clemson. I get where you are going with this, but this is kind of a reach IMO. Alabama will have quite a bit of inexperience on the defensive end. Doesn't mean they will skip a beat on the field due to their talent level.

[DAG 33,959]

11 minutes ago, Tiger said:

In hindsight yes you are absolutely correct. However, all summer at the time we were hearing about how they were breaking in a new QB, new WRs, new RBs, Troy Polomalu was no longer there, etc....sounds a little familiar, right?

 

OH AND THE HUMIDITY!!! lol

 

 

I get what you are saying. We shouldn't just take for granted their inexperience will cause them to take a step back. It will be a highly contested game. However, I do think this SHOULD be a W for us, due to what we have. I just necessarily didn't agree with your example. The teams that Tubbs compiled in those 2000 years were a lot more reliant on player development. It is actually quite amazing what those teams were able to accomplish.

[ToomersStreet 795]

1 hour ago, Tiger said:

We should have the upper hand based on experienced talent vs Clemson. But that '03 USC game gave me PTSD and this is reminding me of that a little bit. Not in the way that means we are going to be hugely overrated, but I think some are underestimating Clemson and some on here seem to think it will be a cake-walk. They lost a ton of talent, I get it, but they have recruited on the same level as us. So their raw talent is equivalent to what we have on our side. And who knows if we will have our best 11 out there or even utilize the skill sets of our players properly. Remember this is game 2 not game 4.

 

Also, for those of you hoping CCL helps us keep the foot on the gas for the entire course of the game will be let down. It's the HC that makes those decisions and Gus is more worried about looking classy than he is about kicking someone's ass. This is not meant to disparage Gus, even though I disagree with this philosophy, but it is the truth IMO.

I really think too many people are looking past that first bold statement.  Its early in the season and the D in theory will take a step back without Lawson and Adams.

Your second statement I will disagree with.  My problem with Gus is every year there is some new problem that he doesn't have the experience to handle and the result is a mediocre season.  in 2013 Gus allowed Ole Miss, UGA and FSU to come back after the first half to stay classy.  It wasn't until losing to FSU and falling short of winning and NC that I think Gus saw the error of that mentality.  2014 he stomped LSU 42-7? Is that right?  Last year MSU 34-14? and Arkansas 56-3?  not sure on those scores.  I am not worried anymore about Gus being classy.  He learned from that mistake.  I am worried about other issues that are foreign to him do to his "HC in training" status that will cost us losses.

[Tiger 8,818]

8 minutes ago, DAG said:

The difference is talent wasn't diminished just based on experience. They were actual blue chip players. Inexperienced, Yes. On paper, we are arguably more talented than Clemson. I get where you are going with this, but this is kind of a reach IMO. Alabama will have quite a bit of inexperience on the defensive end. Doesn't mean they will skip a beat on the field due to their talent level.

 

Just now, DAG said:

I get what you are saying. We shouldn't just take for granted their inexperience will cause them to take a step back. It will be a highly contested game. However, I do think this SHOULD be a W for us, due to what we have. I just necessarily didn't agree with your example.

That's fair, and I wasn't trying to make a direct comparison between '03 USC and '17 Clemson but just saying we should be careful about how confident we are going into the game because they have been recruiting at a "re-load" level.  Totally agree we should win this game, but I felt the same way pre-'03 vs USC. Because I felt confident in the horses we had then just as I do now against USC's unknowns. Is it likely Clemson has gobs of hidden Heisman finalists and 1st round picks on their roster right now? No but I'm more cautious than most because if one thing is for sure with AU football is that there isn't a single thing that is for sure. I felt like there was some parallel there between 03 and this year. Could just be me.

I also suspect Clemson will not play very well in their week 1 game causing even more overconfidence on this board heading into our game. CALLING IT RIGHT NOW LIKE VIPER!!

[Tiger 8,818]

1 minute ago, ToomersStreet said:

I really think too many people are looking past that first bold statement.  Its early in the season and the D in theory will take a step back without Lawson and Adams.

Your second statement I will disagree with.  My problem with goes is every year there is some new problem that he doesn't have the experience to handle and the result is a mediocre season.  in 2013 Gus allowed Ole Miss, UGA and FSU to come back after the first half to stay classy.  It wasn't until losing to FSU and falling short of winning and NC that I think Gus saw the error of that mentality.  2014 he stomped LSU 42-7? Is that right?  Last year MSU 34-14? and Arkansas 56-3?  not sure on those scores.  I am not worried anymore about Gus being classy.  He learned from that mistake.  I am worried about other issues that are foreign to him do to his "HC in training" status that will cost us losses.

Regarding your 2nd paragraph it's certainly possible I confuse our 3rd quarter ineptitude on offense as trying to pump the brakes and an attempt to take the air out of the ball and just coast to a win. But I do think you're right about the HC in training comment and that costs us big time. But unfortunately we knew we were in for this type of thing when we hired a guy with a whopping 12 games of experience under his belt as a HC.

[WFE12 9,191]

1 hour ago, Tiger said:

We should have the upper hand based on experienced talent vs Clemson. But that '03 USC game gave me PTSD and this is reminding me of that a little bit. Not in the way that means we are going to be hugely overrated, but I think some are underestimating Clemson and some on here seem to think it will be a cake-walk. They lost a ton of talent, I get it, but they have recruited on the same level as us. So their raw talent is equivalent to what we have on our side. And who knows if we will have our best 11 out there or even utilize the skill sets of our players properly. Remember this is game 2 not game 4.

 

Also, for those of you hoping CCL helps us keep the foot on the gas for the entire course of the game will be let down. It's the HC that makes those decisions and Gus is more worried about looking classy than he is about kicking someone's ass. This is not meant to disparage Gus, even though I disagree with this philosophy, but it is the truth IMO.

I don't know if I can say that I have confidence in Gus right now even with all the moves that he's made, but if whoever got him to make those moves gets it in his head to keep a lead foot on the pedal I'm all in the season. If he changed the other stuff this is another blatant issue that he should see that needs to be solved.