Things I Think I Saw: AU vs Oregon

[JMR 2,118]

If you haven't read this thing before, let me explain the name: When any of us watches a game, we firmly believe we saw certain things. But if you sit and watch film, tape, or a digital video recording of the game, you ALWAYS see things you didn't see the first time, or even see some things differently. So if you saw it differently than I did, you may very well be correct in your observation. I am just unwilling to spend the time to watch plays over and over. So these are some of the things I think I saw in the game.....
 

• Gus Malzahn has returned to his throne as play-caller. In my opinion, he's called some great plays, and like any other guy doing that job, he's called some duds. It goes with the territory.  I thought he got a little carried away with trickery a couple of times, but to his credit, he got on track toward the end when it mattered.
   
• I've had friends blowing up my phone last night and today complaining about the Auburn offensive line. As an old offensive lineman and OL coach, I was not pleased with the run-blocking. But I only recall one time when the OL was responsible for a breakdown in pass protection, which is easily the most difficult part of playing that position. There was a twist stunt on the offensive right side, where Horton and Driscoll failed to switch off, and Bo Nix was forced to throw the ball away. More on pass protection later.
   
• Going into the game, I worried about AU attacking the Oregon defense. Oregon has better players on that side than most fans realize, and they have a ton of experience with nine starters returning from last season. They also have a new Defensive Coordinator, which makes it difficult to anticipate what that defense will do in terms of tactics and overall strategy. They brought pressure, gave Auburn lots of different fronts to look at, and, as anyone would expect, brought pressure on a young quarterback playing his first college game. The breakdowns in protection were caused by two things: One, the QB has to see the defense and align his protection accordingly. There were a few times when Bo Nix should have moved his running back from one side to the other to match up the number of blockers with the number of rushers. Two, there were a couple of other times when the running back took a poor angle to the guy he was supposed to block, and got beat. As often happens, there were a couple of times when the running back just didn't do a very "manly" job of blocking. I am confident pretty much all of that will be corrected over the next couple of weeks, and Bo will enjoy much better protection by the time SEC play starts.
   
• I was really impressed with Oregon's offensive plan to start the game. Auburn chose to give big cushions on the outside, and Oregon OC Marcus Arroyo gave Justin Herbert lots of quick, easy throws into that soft coverage. That scheme, implemented mostly on the outside, served to neutralize the rush from Auburn's talented defensive line. Many of Oregon's called plays early in the game were RPOs, and the reaction of the AU defense dictated that those plays became passes, vs runs. That tactic also put Auburn's young linebackers in conflict. Very smart plan, and executed to perfection by their four-year-starter at QB. As it turned out, Auburn made adjustments defensively (although the big cushions mostly remained), and was able to stem the Duck offense.
   
• Oregon hit several good runs using an outside zone play. As with the aforementioned RPOs, those plays were designed to attack AU's inexperience at linebacker. In the first half, the Auburn linebackers missed several run-fits badly, resulting in big gains by the Ducks. That got corrected as time went on, and the Ducks offense, which generated 176 yards of offense in the first quarter alone, was only able to muster 156 yards in the remaining three quarters.


• On Oregon's second TD, Javaris Davis has excellent coverage. He is, however, six feet tall at most, and the Oregon receiver is 6-6. End of story.
   
• After Nix hit a 28-yard pass to Harold Joiner on a wheel route, Auburn pulled left guard Marquel Harrell on a running play. Kaleb Kim failed to pick up the three technique in front of Harrell, resulting in a three yard loss on first down at the Oregon 12. In fairness to Kim, the Oregon DT was prepared for that play, and jumped in Harrell's pocket before Kim could cut him off. Well-scouted by the Oregon defensive staff.
   
• On Bo Nix' s first interception, the throw was a little off-target. On the second pick, the ball was under thrown. Those picks were not a result of pressure. When you throw the ball, those things happen.
   
• After the fumble return by Big Kat Bryant, AU lost 3 yards on a first down trick play. (Gus says he would like to have that call back.) On third down in that series, Harold Joiner was lined up at H-back and missed his block, causing that opportunity to end in a field goal.
   
• On Oregon's last TD, Roger McCreary was in man coverage, and followed his man inside even though the play was a run, thus losing his outside leverage and being outflanked by the OU running back.
   
• Kudos to Bo Nix on Auburn's first TD. Oregon didn't get lined up, and there was no defender outside on Eli Stove. I've seen that happen a thousand times, and the offense either doesn't see it, or doesn't get the play off in time. Nix (and Stove) saw it, executed the obvious play, and got the score.
   
• Speaking of Eli Stove, it was great to see him back on the field. This was his first game back, and he helped his team win the game. Happy for him, and happy to have him back!
   
• On Oregon's offensive possession after Auburn's first TD, Christian Tutt made two outstanding plays defensively, resulting in fording an OU punt. Tutt also returned 5 punts, fora nice 12.8 yard average. He looked confident back there on punt returns, and he will only get better.
   
• Auburn's tempo, and the second-half emphasis on the running game had the Ducks defense exhausted by late in the third quarter. I'll give them credit; they kept fighting, but they didn't have enough left. Sometimes, you just gotta beat 'em down.
   
• Watching Jeremiah Dinson play defense for Auburn, I couldn't help remembering the injuries he incurred on a devastating blind-side block by Ricky Seals-Jones in the aTm game a couple of years ago. Dinson was a huge factor in this game, and led the team with 8 tackles, 5 assists, and a sack. Kudos to that young man for his courage and perseverance.
   
• Was fun to watch the improvement of K.J. Britt as the game went along. He had a couple of poor run-fits early, but got that corrected pretty quickly. And boy, did he "bring the wood". Love watching that kind of play.
   
• Was impressed with the hitting of Zacoby McLain. Violence is in his wheelhouse.
   
• Been waiting all summer to see young Owen Pappoe, and he did not disappoint. Smart, talented football player. Great things are undeniably ahead.
   
• Congrats to tight end Spencer Nigh! A former walk-on, Nigh played much of the game, blocked fairly well (room for improvement!), and had a 9-yard pass reception on the game-winning drive. Gotta be a proud moment for him, and in his home state of Texas.
   
• Kudos to Boobee Whitlow for a great effort. He's made a lot of progress since last year. He wasn't perfect, but nobody can say he didn't run hard.
   
• Lastly, I have no idea why Gus didn't choose to go for two after the winning TD. I can only guess that he thought 5 points, with 3 seconds left, was enough to win. Thank goodness Herbert didn't hit the Hail Mary at the end.
   

This was obviously not a "pretty" game. There were mental mistakes made, as well as a few physical ones. Our special teams may be practicing twice a day from now till the A&M game. But it's a win, against a quality opponent that was well-prepared.

Personally, I was pleased with Bo Nix in his first game. The kid is an incredible competitor, and if you have any talent at all (he does), that's enough to make you a winner. I'm excited for the future. Bo has a ways to go, but he's off to a great start. Now that I've seen him in a big-time game, I honestly believe he will be even better than most people think.

Far as I know, we got out of the game with no major injuries. The load gets a little lighter the next couple of weeks, before SEC play begins. I'm hopeful that we will get Joey Gatewood some genuine playing time in these next couple of games, to help his development and build depth at that important position.

If it's true that "the biggest improvement is between game one and game two" (I believe it is), we have a chance to be pretty good. I'm looking forward to it. War Eagle!!

 

[AUMASTERS 555]

Thanks for doing these analysis every season Coach , I really appreciate them: 

• Was fun to watch the improvement of K.J. Britt as the game went along. He had a couple of poor run-fits early, but got that corrected pretty quickly. And boy, did he "bring the wood". Love watching that kind of play.

I enjoyed watching the improvement of K.J as well as the game went on; everywhere you looked it was Britt or Tutt. Dinson is a remarkable story in itself and I look for him to have a fantastic season. 

 

[TigerTennis80 345]

Glad you're back with your analysis, Coach. I always enjoy your posts, & I always learn something. I appreciate you taking the time to write out your thoughts. War Eagle!

[tbone4jc 2,241]

Thank you Coach. Look forward to seeing your " Things I though I saw" every Sunday after a game!!

[ValleyTiger 2,894]

Glad you're back for another year bringing your insight to AUF @JMR. We appreciate it Coach. 

Like you, I think, the breakdowns in pass protection are easy corrections, but I was surprised the run blocking wasn't better with the move back to Gus's man blocking scheme. 

[Randman5000 4,226]

Nice. I look forward to this each week!

I was impressed with the way the defense responded after being on their heels the first part of the game. Truesdell and McClain combined for the big stop on 4th down. TT pushed his man back and the slanting enabled McClain to fill the gap. Huge play in the game. 

As for the offense, when Gus says we have to surround the freshman with good , that is also with coaching. He needs experience and good playcalling. Not giving him easy throws hurt him and Gus got conservative as usual when the opposing defense was cashing in on the run. We ran them to death towards the end but also Boobie as well. I loved the last three offensive playcalls though, and you have to go to the endzone when no one is expecting it, Oregon brought pressure but Nix stepped up in the pocket and gave our big WR a chance. If the DB Knocks it out, we still can kick the FG. Good call by Gus. Trust the QB and trust himself. Hope to see more of that.

[WarTim 3,456]

Thanks Coach. Much appreciated!!

[Auhud08 596]

This is why i love football season. Theres something going on everyday around the sport and this is one of my favorite parts. Thanks @JMR

[War Eagle 96 10]

Classic

[War Eagle 96 10]

Classic OP. 

[tigerman1186 537]

I know you somehow addressed it, but I think Gus doesn't have any confident in our OL....for having 9 months to prepare for the game, our 1st play was a trick play (for 2 yards), that tells me he felt we couldn't line it up against their defense....either line it up and run, or a play action play...then after Big Cat takes it back to the 3 yard line, instead of running it behind our line, he calls some type of flanker reverse(?), which put us behind....we're NOT good enough to be playing behind the chains.....I was hoping the OL had improved, but it evident there hasn't been the improvement that we've been hearing....my question to an 'old offensive lineman', is it the coaching or our players???? Unless there's a change in personal with our OL, next season our OL will have had no varsity starts....

I was left with 3 major frustrations after the game....1. Play calling 2. OL play and 3. Special teams.....Bo will always give us a chance to compete; he's probably the most competitive QB we've had since Nick....

Appreciate your insight of the games; keep up the good work....

WDE!!!

   

[Tigerpro2a 5,650]

Just rewatched. Man....Dinson and Tutt.....are machines....I was so focused on the LB and Dline first time I didn't realize how great they played. I think the LB grew up quickly and improved vastly as the game progressed. I thought Noah actually played pretty good. There was one pass completed on him where he had really good coverage but just missed tipping the ball. I also noticed the Dline did better than I initially thought. They got push on the inside alot second half. I love the Defense. Offense....got some things to clean up to say the least. War Damn

[HarrisBoy334 63]

Tutt will be a STUD for AU for the next couple of years.....BANK THAT!

[toddc 13,194]

Phillip Marshall said,

“Nobody, other than maybe those on the Auburn sideline, would have guessed Auburn would score 21 unanswered points in the final 19:20 of the game. Nobody would have guessed when Oregon had 176 yards after a quarter that it would have 166 yards total over the final three quarters. Nobody would have guessed when Oregon had 67 rushing yards in the first quarter that it would have just 28 yards the rest of the game.”

STORY of the GAME in a nutshell!

Edited September 2, 2019 by toddc

[AURex 1,990]

Thanks Coach. I was offline and missed the game, so just now watching some highlights of the game. Your notes are always informative, and today even moreso as I now get back to the Interwebs.

 

[Zeek 16,638]

I do think the run has to be established better and earlier. OL and Boobee just need to soften defense up and then start rotating the rest of the crew in to gash em. I would have like to see some more of our other backs once Boobee was obviously gassed. That last play on the long drive he wasn’t injured, he was SPENT. 

[RunInRed 16,370]

Thanks Coach - stay safe down in Florida!

[afblue 128]

Appreciate you taking the time and effort to comment again this year, Coach.  Great stuff.  One item...while going for 1 vice 2 after the final AU TD is a decision worth plenty of discussion, it made the AU lead 6 points, not 5.  With a 6 point cushion, Oregon would have needed the PAT, in addition to a successful Hail Mary, to win.  I was more surprised Coach Malzahn didn’t go for 2, even with the False Start penalty, after the first AU TD.  If unsuccessful, AU could still have taken the lead with a FG or TD.  Thanks again, Coach.

[homersapien 11,357]

19 hours ago, Randman5000 said:

Nice. I look forward to this each week!

I was impressed with the way the defense responded after being on their heels the first part of the game. Truesdell and McClain combined for the big stop on 4th down. TT pushed his man back and the slanting enabled McClain to fill the gap. Huge play in the game. 

 

AMEN! 

Anyone else notice how totally gassed Marlon Davidson looked when he came off the field - I think - in the the 2nd quarter?  

I thought our defense was done at that point.

[subterranean_jack 112]

The defense played great. Dinson and Tutt were phenomenal. But, the OL... I cringe when I think what 2020 will be without a very significant infusion of talent.

[doc4aday 1,887]

Thanks coach!  You need to be on Auburn's coaching staff! Seriously.... I love the way you break things down and how much sense it makes to green-horns like me.  Both sides of the ball looked really good most of the time, but had enough hiccups to scare me!

 

WDE!! 

[RunInRed 16,370]

Interesting on Joiner's missed block ... was wondering why he didn't see action again after the Wheel Route ... kid is explosive, going to be a player ...

[JFDTiger80 790]

Love reading your take Coach. Thanks......Super Interesting, made me think about some of the things that I did not see.

I actually think this weeks against Tulane will be interesting, based on their first game. I would love to kill them and get a lot of P-time to second teamers. 

[NoALtiger 3,849]

Man I absolutely love these threads. So much good stuff in these and I really appreciate how you break it down in a way we all can understand. Thank you sir. 

[WarNole 141]

Thank you so much Coach!  Great summary of the game.