Official Post Game Thread Akron

[GwillMac6 20,607]

53 minutes ago, TAYLORKEETON said:

Few observations from what I saw. 

1. Bo Nix looked night/day better from the last 2 season. Stepped up in the pocket instead of bailing multiple times. Did NOT overthrow the deep ball by 10+ yards. Decision making was great. I know it was Akron, but there were very noticeable improvements in the little things from years past. 
2. OL seemed to be much improved in all facets. Again, I know it was Akron. Jackson sliding from LT to G was a wise move. Bo had plenty of time today. Will be interesting to see how it looks 2 weeks at PSU. 
3. a lot more blitzing from the LB spot. OP had several blitz calls where he blew up the plays. 
4. running backs & tight ends were involved in the passing game. Tank had a 20+ yard catch/run after Bo hit him on his 4th progression early in the game. Shivers had a receiving TD. Was a nice change. 
5. TD Moultry finally had a great game. Multiple TFL & was all over the field. Happy for him. 
 

Again, this was against one of the worse teams in college football, but there were noticeable improvements all over the field, specifically  the O. 

Too much thigh bruh!!! I know you want to honor John Stockton's legacy but let's get some longer shorts in your profile pic fam!

Edited September 5, 2021 by GwillMac6

[GwillMac6 20,607]

 

51 minutes ago, WFE12 said:

 

He just LOOKS like a Football Head Coach straight out of central casting. 

Edited September 5, 2021 by GwillMac6

[GwillMac6 20,607]

9 hours ago, abw0004 said:

Just got home from the game and looked into my game thread.  What was wrong with the Harsin daughters?  I saw some people weren’t happy with their appearance or something.

Seriously? People really will bitch about anything then. mod edit:  DO NOT use any religous figures here. SMH. AND YES I do realize the irony in me bitching about people bitching! lol

[DAG 33,955]

1 hour ago, WFE12 said:

Surprised you’re saying this after just the first game. I’m impressed by what I saw from him too but I need to see if this play follows him to penn state because then the o line will be tested. Will he fight that urge of the jitters or regress..hopefully the former. 

Why? No reason to not give props when it is due. Last year, he wouldn't even go through his progressions, regardless of competition level.

[AU9377 4,914]

1 hour ago, abw0004 said:

Just got home from the game and looked into my game thread.  What was wrong with the Harsin daughters?  I saw some people weren’t happy with their appearance or something.

LOL - Nothing wrong really.  I will admit that my mother called and thought they looked less than classy....  I think the quote was "with as much money as her husband makes, why is her hair bleached and eye shadow from ear to ear?"  So, like I started with... nothing really.

[WarEagle1983 2,185]

I'm not going to get too high or too low with game 1. BUT my goodness did it feel good to come out game 1 looking prepared and taking care of a cupcake so we can give our backups some nice reps. It felt so good but so foreign; didn't know what to do with myself not having to sweat out a game. 

1. I love how our guys have taken on the personality of HC BH. He's all business and the team reflected that today. Not a ton of silly penalties. Got the job done and got to rest our main guys. It is Akron but in the past we've been know to either play down to the competition or just go through the motions. BH doesn't tolerate that no matter who we're playing; and that's a great feeling as a fan.

2. I loved the variations of the offense. There's nothing like live game reps and we got a chance to execute a nice gameplan on offense. I just want our guys to improve each week and play discipline football

3. Again, I'm not getting too excited because our issue has been on the road with this offense. Penn State is going to be a good barometer for us. Not impressed with Penn State's offense but that defense is a beast. But how we handle adversity in hostile environments. If we can do well with that this season....i think this team can make some noise. I watched games all day today...down to the last one in Pac 12. It was shaky for several teams considered contenders on offense. It may shake out to be the same teams contending for the playoffs but there seems to be a chance for a couple sleepers. 

[vatz22au 142]

I don't post much anymore.  Pump the brakes.

We have one more practice "game" before crap gets real.

[gr82be 14,402]

8 hours ago, vatz22au said:

I don't post much anymore.  Pump the brakes.

We have one more practice "game" before crap gets real.

For so long now Auburn fans have just wanted our team to look prepared and play like it. They finally did. I think everyone has a tempered excitement. 

[gr82be 14,402]

7 hours ago, au302 said:

Also, it was great to see Harsin coaching him up after a touchdown and Bo taking it well and not blowing up

Coaches, or any authority for that matter, have to draw a line that you can't cross. If they draw that line with a pencil then others will see that it gets smudged and unclear where the line is. If it's drawn with a permanent marker then everyone sees where the line is. I think Harsin is a Sharpie kind of coach, the line is probably very clear to the team. 

[Quietmaninthecorner 1,945]

5 hours ago, abw0004 said:

  I saw some people weren’t happy with their appearance or something.

A girl could catch pneumonia in them cloths.  😃

[aucom96 1,614]

It was Akron, but that was the most I've enjoyed watching every down of an Auburn game in several years. 

We looked prepared, spread the ball to all parts of the field, ran the ball with authority and went after the QB on defense. 

Our running game, in particular, looked physical. Those backs wanted to hit somebody. That's a very different mentality and I'm thrilled to see it back. I suspect we'll struggle at times this year, but I like what I've seen so far. Harsin appears to be doing as much as I could hope for with this team and I'm looking forward to watching them develop. 

[AU57 67]

 

[woodford 3,655]

9 hours ago, WalkingCarpet said:

Seeing Bo move through a progression and hit a check down for eight yards was like having an out of body experience. Is this what a modern offense looks like?

He looked as if he was standing taller and more confident in the pocket. I did not get to watch every snap (at in-laws UGA game was on) but that's what it seemed like.

I hope we go out and do this again next week but improve even more.

 

7 hours ago, AuCivilEng1 said:

Got a little curious how a fan base like Akron reacts to loses like the one tonight…

http://zipsnation.org/forums/topic/40512-game-1-auburn/page/6/

Now I feel bad we beat them so bad. Lol

All I could imagine, reading that thread, was a bunch of Ned Flanders sitting around talking about their poor little football program with tons of pride. 
 

I’m rooting for Akron for the rest of the season. Those poor bas**rds deserve happiness.

I feel bad for programs like that sometimes. Especially in a football crazy state like Ohio. No reason why Akron can't compete. I wish them nothing but luck the rest of the season. I don't like to see misery and terrible football (unless its Alabama or Georgia) I feel like it turns people off the sport. Good luck Zips.

[Barnacle 9,064]

6 hours ago, abw0004 said:

Just got home from the game and looked into my game thread.  What was wrong with the Harsin daughters?  I saw some people weren’t happy with their appearance or something.

[woodford 3,655]

Seeing Auburn line up with QB under center and one tailback was HNNNNNNNGGGG

[selias 2,398]

1 minute ago, Barnacle said:

The only problem is the ridiculous beard sported by the guy on the left of the picture

[woodford 3,655]

They definitely don't look "Southern" but idc what they wear as long as we're winning. 

[W.E.D 11,070]

"It was Akron"

Let's look at some past "Akrons" and see why everyone is excited for a balanced and efficient offense vs the trash we've been accustomed to.

2019 - Kent State

600yds. 63/467 rushes. 17/166 passes

2019 - Samford

544yds 53/293 rush. 32/251 pass

These games are absurdly unbalanced.  Not to mention a pretty horrible 7 yards per pass attempt in total and a similar ypr vs bad teams.

2021 - Akron

600yds, even pass/rush splits. Ypa was 11 from qbs and avg rush over 11 from the backs.

We have an offense that is actually balanced and productive running base formations and just over powering opponents.  I hope this continues to play out well and our offense continues to improve. We looked better than we've had vs a bad team in a long long time.

PSU is where the rubber meets the road. Another scrimmage,  gain confidence, and let's put Harsin on the map and make Auburn relevant again by beating a top 10 Penn State on the f_ck I n g road

Edited September 5, 2021 by W.E.D

[AuburnNTexas 7,127]

Lost of positives in this game. Well planned and executed offense. Bo Nix going through progressions and staying in the pocket and stepping up, all 4 Running backs, spreading the ball around to multiple receivers, receivers making plays, using the TE, Defensive line dominating against run and pass, TD Moultry, Fair, Harris, Wooden, Hall, Burks and others. linebackers were great, DB's weren't challenged because of the D-Line so hard to judge them.

Only negative is it was Akron I have to stop myself from getting to  excited over our beating a team like Akron so badly. We took care of business which is what has been missing in last few years.

Heroes of the game are numerous:

On Offense:

Tank, Shivers, Nix, Shedrick, Jackson, Shenker, J Johnson, the O-line

On Defense:

TD, Harris, Fair, Wooden, Hall, Burks, Pappoe, Zakoby

 

[toddc 13,194]

9 hours ago, Zeek said:

I'll start with the game day experience:

1. The intro videos did not click with me at all. Zero hype generated from them and even worse Lutzenkirchen's catch was not included for the first time and I wasn't pleased. 

2. Everything else was pretty similar to what we've seen before and was fine. Don't remember the players coming out with the flag in recent years but not sure.

3. The new lights are... interesting? They feel like we're still not sure on how we are going to use them. The potential is there for sure and I like it during down times. Band should add the lights into the show somehow.

4. A little disappointed it wasn't a sellout BUT was really REALLY proud of the student section. They wore white well and the white shakers look nice. They did a great job of staying late into the game. Thought for sure they would dip at halftime.

5. Weather was perfect this early in the year. So glad it was a night game.

6. Got concessions a lot faster than usual. Bathrooms moved well too. Overall good on that part and the move to digital tickers made lines much faster.

 

Now for the actual football side of things:

1. QB - Bo looked phenomenal compared to what we've seen previously. Even against an awful team his completion percentage was great. Checkdowns and having more options have been tremendous for him. He stayed in the pocket really well and made some good throws. His placement wasn't great at times and I think he's still adjusting to the reads.

TJ didn't look great to me but damn he's massive. He runs like there's cement in his shoes though and that limits him in some of the option offense.

2. RB - damn we're in good hands there. Tank looks a little faster. Shivers is being used effectively. Hunter is a damn stud. Sean Jackson is the best walk-on RB I've seen. Hunter had 110 yards!

3. OL - looked better than recent years. Left side of the line is definitely the strong side. Still need some more push there but it looked improved.

4. WR - for a group that caught a lot of flack from coaches they looked solid to me. Kobe Hudson is freakishly good at adjusting to passes his body control is great. Jackson not being used previously is infuriating. Capers and Canion with one catch each was frustrating but not the end of the world. Shenker is 5 catches away from having the most receptions by a TE in a season over the last 7 years. Thought this group did really well. Need a little better blocking on some outside rubs.

5. We need a better punter. Going to be blunt here. Haven't been great here in a minute. Akron's punter is welcome.

6. DL got way more pressure than we've seen recently. Took some time but I think we rotated well here and wore down their OL over time. Lee Hunter, Hall, Burks, and Wooden stood out to me.

7. LB - looked solid to me nothing stood out here negatively or positively. Thought Owen Pappoe looked good outside the tackles containing and tracking.

8. DBs - played soft coverage in the second half but looked mostly solid. Had two plays I think we should have had an INT but otherwise a good job. There did appear to be some confusion on what Akron was doing with sweeps and bunch sets.

9. Anders, can't miss XP if you want that trophy brother!

 

Play calling was fun. Couldn't predict what we would do next and love the aggression. Check downs and TEs are such huge additions to our team. Love short yardage seeing the Power-I with a fullback and everything on the goal line. Never felt like we got cute 

Loved the blood thirsty timeout before halftime and the 1 minute drill. Valuable experience there.

Really surprised you didn’t single out TD Moultry. He seemed very comfortable in his new role and was all over the field —with speed too.

[auburnphan 6,050]

We looked prepared and we seemed to have an offensive identity already.  Been a decade since we could say that after week 1.

[W.E.D 11,070]

Did anyone think we looked small on the DL? Or was it an illusion bc our DEs are so big?

Even Burks looked smaller. But he was lined up next to Wooten or Walker or Harris who are all 280ish.

Feel like Moultry looked bigger than he ever has.

[McLoofus 35,182]

7 minutes ago, toddc said:

Really surprised you didn’t single out TD Moultry. He seemed very comfortable in his new role and was all over the field —with speed too.

Really cool quote from him imo:

"(The defense) has freed me up a lot," Moultry said. "It's just playing ball. Really the most important thing is just doing my job. ... Guys like Derick Hall and Colby Wooden, they're our best defensive linemen right now. They're going to keep eyes on them. When they keep eyes on them, it's going to free me."

https://247sports.com/college/auburn/Article/td-moultry-auburn-tigers-football-derek-mason-derick-hall-colby-wooden-akron-game-season-opener-2021-bryan-harsin-bo-nix-170297004/Amp/

[autiger88 3,777]

Being there in person watching this team just felt so different from the last couple of years, we may not win a lot of games this year but dammit we will be in almost all of them. 

[DAG 33,955]

Reminiscing a little bit can you imagine if Big Kat did what he was suppose to do and SW/Flash stayed?!

oh mama. I feel like the confidence these guys will have going against penn state will play dividends