Upon Further Review - Auburn

[StatTiger 3,188]

After Auburn defeated No. 1 Alabama to finish the regular season 10-2, I mentioned this would have meant Auburn winning the Southeastern Conference outright prior to 1992. This is the very reason why Auburn coaches now should not be compared to Auburn coaches prior to 1992 when it comes to winning conference titles. What if the 1987 team had to play Tennessee a second time to win the conference? What if the 1983 team had to play Florida again at a neutral site to win the SEC? What if the 1989 team had to play Tennessee again to win the conference? I enjoyed every conference championship Auburn has won since 1983, but the road to winning one now is much more of a challenge than the 1980's.

What stings about the loss to Georgia yesterday was the fact Auburn had to defeat a very good Georgia team twice to win the SEC this year and Georgia needed just one victory against the Tigers. We now know how LSU must have felt having to play Alabama two times in one season a few years ago. Even with Auburn's victory over Georgia, the Bulldogs conference loss had no barring on them winning the East because the East was so putrid this season. Tennessee and Florida need to make good coaching hires to become competitive in the East again. For now, Georgia has a cake-walk to make it to Atlanta. Auburn defeating No. 1 Georgia and No. 1 Alabama was an amazing accomplishment but leave a hollow feeling right now with yesterday's loss. Auburn would have likely benefited from a bye-week before the conference championship.

The road to winning a national championship will be a near-impossible task for any Auburn head coach as the teams in the conference currently stand regarding ability. Had Auburn won the rematch with Georgia it was going to take another two victories over Top-4 ranked teams to win the National Championship. Had this goal been accomplished, it would have required Auburn to defeat five consecutive Power-5 teams ranked in the Top-6. How many teams in the country right now would be able to accomplish this task? The 1983 Auburn team went 4-1 against Top-10 teams, but those games were spread out over 12 games. Pat Dye was 11-15-2 against Top-10 teams and 4-10-2 against Top-5 teams during his tenure at Auburn. His teams never defeated a No. 1 ranked team during 12 seasons not to mention two in one season.

The 1983 squad might be one of the greatest teams in school history, but it was loaded with plenty of talent and depth. The 85-scholarship rule was not in place back then, and injuries were far more manageable back then compared to today. I have always felt Auburn deserved the MNC that year but what if there was a playoff format back then. Would Auburn have defeated Nebraska that year or Texas in a rematch in 1983? It is all for speculation, but it certainly brings a hard dose of reality to the challenge to win it all today. Clemson is healthy now and looks strong enough to capture another National Championship. What if they had to play Georgia twice and Alabama once in four weeks with an injured quarterback?

Auburn could finish 11-3 this season, ranked in the top-10 but some will undoubtedly focus on the three losses more so than the 11 victories. The 2017 Auburn Tigers are a good team and a team that would be conference champions during the Pat Dye era. The coaches and players deserve more praise than criticism. Were they perfect? Absolutely not but I do believe when healthy, this football team could beat anyone in the country. Looking back at every season since 2017, how many times could anyone realistically make this statement? I do believe it is in the best interest of Auburn and Gus Malzahn to come to an agreement to keep him in place as the head coach. He has shown an abundance of growth as a head coach this season and the foundation is in place to build a championship team.

War Eagle!

[JBiGGiE 2,488]

Have you ever considered a career in suicide prevention counseling? ?

[AU70 23]

Totally agree with your assessment. I was upset that we did not keep running the ball on 2nd and 6 at the 14 and up by 7 in the 2nd quarter. Our line was controlling the LOS and Kam Martin was doing a nice job finding the crease. We go up by 14 there and maybe we have a different outcome. Instead we went cute and fumbled away the opportunity to put points on the board.

On another note would love to see what this team could have done with a healthy Pettway and healthy KJ. 

I do think we were suffering from Iron Bowl fatigue.

Edited December 3, 2017 by AU70
better

[BJCrawford 1,568]

Couldn’t agree more!

[WeaglWeaglWDE 599]

Thank you for being a voice of logic and sanity. There's just so much stupid out there these days. 

Edited December 3, 2017 by WeaglWeaglWDE

[McLoofus 35,182]

I was furious after Clemson and something worse after LSU. I wasn't mad about last night. 

I feel pretty good about where we are and agree that retaining Gus is what's best for the program.

[TAYLORKEETON 786]

Well, I just woke up & turned on the playoff selection show & it’s really sinking in now. To me, this is the most painful loss since the 13 FSU game. Yeah guys, it was a great season & they came so far....but to be soooo close but still so far away KILLS me. Maybe I’m a little too young & a little too passionate, but last night I literally turned off the game & went to sleep in the 4th. I feel great about the direction we’re headed, but that still does not take the sting of last night. I still think we could’ve won last night if we had a few things turn our way, but thinking that was is pointless. I wish I didn’t have so much emotion invested into our team because it literally drains me. Oh well. Here’s to hoping we come out on fire in our bowl game. War eagle 

Edited December 3, 2017 by TAYLORKEETON

[AUDynasty 585]

2 minutes ago, TAYLORKEETON said:

Well, I just woke up & turned on the playoff selection show. To me, this is the most painful loss since the 13 FSU game. Yeah guys, it was a great season & they came so far....but to be soooo close but still so far away KILLS me. Maybe I’m a little too young & a little too passionate, but last night I literally turned off the game & went to sleep in the 4th. I feel great about the direction we’re headed, but that still does not take the sting of last night. I still think we could’ve won last night if we had a few things turn our way, but thinking that was is pointless. I wish I didn’t have so much emotion invested into our team because it literally drains me. Oh well. Here’s to hoping we come out on fire in our bowl game. War eagle 

I agree. I was okay after losing the game last night, but now it's starting to sink in with the CFP show airing now. I'm disappointed because we'd have a healthy Auburn team in semifinals, and we would have won it all. I truly believe that.

[japantiger 4,051]

Good summary....it starts with winning the West...job well done to the staff and  team... I didn' give them much of a chance after watching the LSU meltdown.  If winning the West and 10/11 games gets you fired, not sure how you ever hire another coach or explain to them what success is...its one thing to shoot for the stars, but when you land on the moon not sure I understand how some can be so unhappy.   We have a young coach who can continue to grow and get better.   I hope he does.  

It' easy to poke at game planning issues from last night....that's for another thread....the reality is 2 of our best players put the ball on the ground when we were across midfield on the way to score and we got a kick blocked...that's not coaching....all the things our best talent did against GA  and the Bammers earlier that resulted in big wins, they didn' do last night.  3 big mistakes get you beat in crucial games,  every time...every time....no matter who is at the helm.

Win the bowl game, recruit lights out...win it all next year...

[jptiger 481]

25 minutes ago, TAYLORKEETON said:

Well, I just woke up & turned on the playoff selection show & it’s really sinking in now. To me, this is the most painful loss since the 13 FSU game. Yeah guys, it was a great season & they came so far....but to be soooo close but still so far away KILLS me. Maybe I’m a little too young & a little too passionate, but last night I literally turned off the game & went to sleep in the 4th. I feel great about the direction we’re headed, but that still does not take the sting of last night. I still think we could’ve won last night if we had a few things turn our way, but thinking that was is pointless. I wish I didn’t have so much emotion invested into our team because it literally drains me. Oh well. Here’s to hoping we come out on fire in our bowl game. War eagle 

No. You’re not too young or passionate. You love Auburn.... Not quite as bad as FSU in 13 but always hurts when you feel like you are the better team. Team is in a great place. Best is yet to come! WDE 

[AUpreacherman22 3,876]

Well stated @StatTiger and I agree with your assessment.  

[toddc 13,194]

1 hour ago, TAYLORKEETON said:

Well, I just woke up & turned on the playoff selection show & it’s really sinking in now. To me, this is the most painful loss since the 13 FSU game. Yeah guys, it was a great season & they came so far....but to be soooo close but still so far away KILLS me. Maybe I’m a little too young & a little too passionate, but last night I literally turned off the game & went to sleep in the 4th. I feel great about the direction we’re headed, but that still does not take the sting of last night. I still think we could’ve won last night if we had a few things turn our way, but thinking that was is pointless. I wish I didn’t have so much emotion invested into our team because it literally drains me. Oh well. Here’s to hoping we come out on fire in our bowl game. War eagle 

I was the same way when younger! I would literally be sick after a loss like this, but older and wiser I look more at the big picture and it looks pretty bright.

[au701948 996]

2 hours ago, McLoofus said:

I was furious after Clemson and something worse after LSU. I wasn't mad about last night. 

I feel pretty good about where we are and agree that retaining Gus is what's best for the program.

I genuinely do hope that our power brokers/negotiators can reach a quick and amiable agreement to keep Gus and help all of all smile a little about the future. I do believe it looks brighter if we do not change horses in midstream. I do not want to regress. Pay the going rate with an extension because no one else will do better, as well as maintain a clean and respectable program like CGM. wde!!

[AU-24 3,063]

Well said! Problem is, when will it get any easier? Jay Jacobs and possibly Gene Chiz really screwed up, by not insisting, during conference expansion, that Auburn move to the east.

With the Jimbo Fisher hire at Texas A&M, and with Dumbo Sweeney simply waiting for Satan to retire, and as long as LSU doesn’t completely fall from football prominence, and our rivalry with the Georgia in the SEC East remains on the schedule, it looks like it’s going to be tough, to impossible, to win the conference, let alone get into the playoffs.

 

Edited December 3, 2017 by AU-24

[jAUSon 2,836]

Not a team in the country could've gotten through our schedule to win it all. I'm pretty well sick of all the free rides to to top the rest of college football gets.

[Ken 2]

I don't understand your logic or what you are trying to say.   Who is comparing the current coaches winning % to those in the past?   Are you trying to defend Malzahn?   Your whole rant about winning the CFB championship makes it sound impossible but someone wins it every year?   Didn't you watch last year's when Clemson won or the year before when Alabama won?   

The issues with Malzahn is not whether he wins the CFB championship or not.  The question is:  Is he the best coach Auburn can find?    He is mediocre and Auburn could do worse.   But can they do better?   His losses to Clemson and LSU were bad.  I was in attendance at both games.   Technically I would have rested Kerryon for the SEC championship in hopes Auburn would win and they need him for the CFB championship games.   Kerryon was a distraction and a liability in the SEC game.   Malzahn did not adjust his game plan for Georgia or to account for Kerryon's injury.  

[tigerman1186 537]

Regardless what happens with bama...if they happened to win it all, they still aren't champs in the state of Alabama....WDE

[weagl1 1,781]

Right on Stat.  Think about it. A panel of top college football experts agreed on the top 4 teams.  We played 3 of the 4 and one of them twice.  That's 4 games against the top 4 and 3 of those games occurred in the past 4 weeks.  We won 2 of the 3 and both were relatively easy wins (23 points and 13 points).  We went in yesterday with our 1A RB out and our 1B RB so banged up he shouldn't have played.  The 2 fumbles and the blocked FG turned the game in UGA's favor and our defense finally gave out late having played Bammer last weekend while UGA had a cakewalk against Tech.  You give this team a month to rest up, get everyone back healthy, and put them in the playoff.  There is no doubt in my mind they win it.  

Now go back to last year.  We played all 4 of this year's playoff participants last year.  Now add it up and that's a total of 8 games against 4 of the other top teams in the country in a two year period.  What other team in college football does that?  None!  Face it.  Auburn is not under coached or out manned.  It is over scheduled.  I don't know that there is anything we can do about that but I sure as hell don't think we need to be talking about running coaches off because of it.  What this team and these coaches have been up against these past two years is unprecedented in college football.  This isn't the old days when you play 10 games plus a bowl and maybe a couple are against the better teams and then someone decides who is the #1 team.  You want to win the NC now you gonna play 15 games and in our case we are gonna play at least 4 or 5 against the other top teams.  It's a tough row to hoe and ours is usually going to be toughest of any team in the country.  

[kd4au 1,145]

8 hours ago, TAYLORKEETON said:

I wish I didn’t have so much emotion invested into our team because it literally drains me

Now you get why we didn't beat uga last night. They were emotionally drained from playing two really tough games in the three weeks before, plus we had several key injuries.

[oldman 23]

In 7th place with 3 losses , I think that shows some respect for AU.

[gr82b4au 5,568]

Agree 100% stat. would like to see ga try to play AU, then AL, then AU again in the span of 4 weeks. Add in Lsu and clemson during the regular season. 

To do what we did, demolishing #1 Ga and beating #1 Al by double digits for the first time in 48 years- that is amazing. 

[TAYLORKEETON 786]

4 hours ago, kd4au said:

Now you get why we didn't beat uga last night. They were emotionally drained from playing two really tough games in the three weeks before, plus we had several key injuries.

That’s exactly what I thought too. UGA had cupcake games basically before us again.

[McLoofus 35,182]

11 hours ago, kd4au said:

Now you get why we didn't beat uga last night. They were emotionally drained from playing two really tough games in the three weeks before, plus we had several key injuries.

I underestimated all of that. It was obvious after the Stidham fumble. No spark. No gas left in the tank. A teaching moment for the entire program, I think. 

[Barnacle 9,064]

1 hour ago, McLoofus said:

I underestimated all of that. It was obvious after the Stidham fumble. No spark. No gas left in the tank. A teaching moment for the entire program, I think. 

Just observing the emotions from our head coach, the Iron Bowl victory felt like the moment we had been building toward all season, as opposed to the SECG.

[Barnacle 9,064]

I will say that this season was so unique - after the loss against LSU, it would have been really hard to manage emotions when the team knew they had to beat Georgia and Alabama back to back. I think that would have been difficult for any staff.