Things I Think I Saw (AU vs LSU).....

[JMR 2,118]

Talking with my friend Doug Saturday morning, I found myself calling the LSU game “pivotal” for Auburn and Coach Harsin. It was just a casual conversation about the upcoming game, but once the game was over, I felt even more strongly that this game was something of a milestone in Harsin’s rebuilding of the program. Auburn passed that milestone in rather splendid fashion.

No, we are certainly not “there” by any means, but we aren’t where we started, either. To go to Baton Rouge on a Saturday night and take down a desperate LSU and 90,000 of their fans is no small accomplishment.

Had Auburn lost that game, it would certainly not mean Harsin’s process had failed, or even that it was behind schedule. But a win would mean the process was moving along as planned.

There is pretty much NEVER a football game where some things could have been done better. But there are certainly games where there is more good than bad, and more often than not, those games end up in the win column. This one, as most are, was a test, and Auburn passed the test.

Led by Bo Nix in possibly his best game as an Auburn quarterback, the AUBURN Tigers met every challenge with confidence and tenacity. There were some disappointments for sure, but nobody folded his tent and accepted a loss.

We’ve all heard the phrase “A football team reflects the personality of its coach.” I believe we are seeing that with Bryan Harsin. Harsin seems to be as focused as any coach I can remember, and focus is HUGE in football. I think it’s important, as we watch the team grow from game to game, to keep in mind that Harsin is constantly “coaching.” Not just the players, but the coaches as well. If we look closely at the offense and the defense, changes from the Penn State game to the LSU game are obvious. In play calls on both sides, and, of course, in players themselves. Look closely. If you’re not seeing it, you’re missing something very important.

I’m sure it’s obvious by now that I’m happy with what I saw Saturday night. I hope you are too. There are extreme challenges ahead in the coming weeks, and there will be disappointments in terms of wins and losses. But what matters at this point in the process is that we get better every day and every week. So far, that is happening. With “progress” in mind, here are some things I think I saw in the LSU game……
 

• Bo Nix was as sound in his fundamentals as I have seen him since he’s been at AU. Despite a strong pass rush from an LSU team leading the nation in sacks, he set his feet most of the time, and delivered a catchable pass. The tendency to overthrow everything was gone. His body language both on the field and on the sideline showed confidence and determination. It was a pleasure to watch.

• The offensive line is still a work in progress, but as a whole, they are getting better. There were some missed blocks, and there were some “blocks” that were actually WORSE than “missed”. But there were far more successes than failures, which I think is progress. Nix was under pressure often, and pulled off some miracle escapes, but a good bit of the time, he actually had a clean pocket. Although the stats don’t show it, I thought the run blocking was the best it’s been this season. LSU came into the game determined to stop the run, and they did that with numbers until they wore down late in the game.

• I don’t know what is going on with Tank Bigsby. He is running hard, and does not appear to be injured, but he hasn’t been quite as effective recently as earlier. Hopefully he will get back on track soon.

• Special teams took a step back this week, maybe a couple of steps. Anders Carlson was not as reliable as usual, and failed to put “touch” on the onside kick attempt.  For what it’s worth, I thought the onside kick was a good call, and I liked the plan. Unfortunately, the execution failed. The “overly casual” handling of the kickoff in the end zone by Donovan Kauffman was almost very costly, but will provide a great teaching point going forward. Lastly, we had a field goal attempt blocked. LSU’s plan for that was excellent. They overloaded the offensive left side, meaning every AU blocker on that side had to step down to block the defender to his inside. That left the outside guy unblocked, he timed his rush perfectly, and got there easily. That happens now and then. More frightening to me was the fact that Austin Troxell failed to step down, and had LSU’s outside guy not gotten a hand on the ball, the LSU lineman who beat Troxell inside would have blocked the kick anyway. Time for Coach Harsin to apply some of that laser focus to special teams and the coaches who “own” those.

• Dropped passes continue to plague the passing game. I counted at least six. As the competition ramps up each week, those seemingly small things matter more and more.

• Auburn DC Derek Mason continues to play very conservatively. Lots of cushion afforded the LSU receivers through most of the game, then press man on fourth and long. Strange stuff. Mason did get more pass rush this week than in past games, typically lining up five or six defenders in the box, but sending mostly three and occasionally four. Colby Wooden played a tremendous game, both in pass rush and in defending the run. Lots of effort by the DL, and that effort affected the outcome of the game. Derek Hall seems to be quickly growing into his potential as a pass rusher.

• Still more foolish penalties than we can afford. Discipline takes time and repetition to learn; I believe we will get there eventually.

• Young Jarquez Hunter continues to impress. Running back is supposedly the easiest position for a young guy to play, but Hunter’s maturity and toughness continues to surprise me week after week.

• Tight ends. Need I say more? Hard to believe we have discovered after all these years that the tight end is actually an eligible receiver.

Huge game this week, with the Dawgs coming to town. Georgia is very good, certainly one of the most talented rosters in college football. I watched most of their game with Arkansas. Arkansas, despite their wins over aTm and Texas, is hardly a great football team. They are well-coached and play hard, but they are not blessed with tons of four and five stars. They dug themselves into a 21-0 hole in the first quarter against Georgia, and the beating was on.

Obviously, Auburn doesn’t match up with Georgia in terms of talent and depth. But I believe we are at least close to the point where we can make it a football game. As I keep saying, the important thing is that we are a little better this week than last week. It will be a good measuring stick to see where we are, and I’m looking forward to it. War Damn!

[aubiefifty 16,735]

a day with your analysis is a good day indeed. it is highly valued and much appreciated.

[Barnacle 9,064]

Been missing these, @JMR. Glad to see you posting again. Thanks.

[bigbird 60,443]

22 minutes ago, JMR said:

Talking with my friend Doug Saturday morning, I found myself calling the LSU game “pivotal” for Auburn and Coach Harsin. It was just a casual conversation about the upcoming game, but once the game was over, I felt even more strongly that this game was something of a milestone in Harsin’s rebuilding of the program. Auburn passed that milestone in rather splendid fashion. No, we are certainly not “there” by any means, but we aren’t where we started, either. To go to Baton Rouge on a Saturday night and take down a desperate LSU and 90,000 of their fans is no small accomplishment. Had Auburn lost that game, it would certainly not mean Harsin’s process had failed, or even that it was behind schedule. But a win would mean the process was moving along as planned.
There is pretty much NEVER a football game where some things could have been done better. But there are certainly games where there is more good than bad, and more often than not, those games end up in the win column. This one, as most are, was a test, and Auburn passed the test.

Led by Bo Nix in possibly his best game as an Auburn quarterback, the AUBURN Tigers met every challenge with confidence and tenacity. There were some disappointments for sure, but nobody folded his tent and accepted a loss. We’ve all heard the phrase “A football team reflects the personality of its coach”. I believe we are seeing that with Bryan Harsin. Harsin seems to be as focused as any coach I can remember, and focus is HUGE in football. I think it’s important, as we watch the team grow from game to game, to keep in mind that Harsin is constantly “coaching”. Not just the players, but the coaches as well. If we look closely at the offense and the defense, changes from the Penn State game to the LSU game are obvious. In play calls on both sides, and, of course, in players themselves. Look closely. If you’re not seeing it, you’re missing something very important.

Great opening, spot on!

[fishepa 1,900]

Been missing these as well, thank you for your insight!

[W.E.D 11,070]

36 minutes ago, JMR said:

Auburn DC Derek Mason continues to play very conservatively.

Does anyone know this to be a staple of Harsin wants?  I don't recall Mason's defenses being like this at Stanford and they were more attacking the offense.

[aubearcat 2,136]

36 minutes ago, JMR said:

 

• Special teams took a step back this week, maybe a couple of steps. Anders Carlson was not as reliable as usual, and failed to put “touch” on the onside kick attempt. For what it’s worth, I thought the onside kick was a good call, and I liked the plan. Unfortunately, the execution failed. 

Thank you, Coach, for the insight. 

[AUApostle 7,651]

Seems like the snap, hold, and kick are sloooooooow…but maybe it just seems that way bc LSU was getting so much penetration.

[AUcivE09 582]

The thing that stood out to me about Harsin was his demeanor after the crazy scramble TD pass. Everyone is jumping up and down, high-fiving, and then there is Harsin all straight faced walking down the sideline. The focus is real with this guy. I like it and hope this pays off in the coming years. Expectations for this coming week are pretty low, but I am willing to bet this game looks more like the UGA/Clem game than the UGA/Arky game in terms of competitiveness. 

[AUpreacherman22 3,882]

Thank you Coach!  Your insight is always appreciated!

[Hank2020 3,196]

50 minutes ago, W.E.D said:

Does anyone know this to be a staple of Harsin wants?  I don't recall Mason's defenses being like this at Stanford and they were more attacking the offense.

From the appearance of control of his program, It would be shocking that the beginning game plan isn’t one that Harsin has bought off on.

[3rdgeneration 6,469]

Thank you for your insights, Coach. It is so much more fun to read them after a game of positives! 😁

[Quietmaninthecorner 1,945]

1 hour ago, W.E.D said:

Does anyone know this to be a staple of Harsin wants?  I don't recall Mason's defenses being like this at Stanford and they were more attacking the offense.

It may not be a matter of what anyone wants.   It may be a player issue.    You have to really trust your cover guys to go one on one and more so to have them press hard.    We just may not be good enough (technique, strength, speed?) for that yet.    It may be why we are playing a lot of zone,  and/or leaving the giant cushions. 

I suspected that was our WR issues earlier in the year.  They would struggle getting off hand checks to the point it caused timing issues in their routes.

[RunInRed 16,370]

@JMR coming in HOT! Love it ... thanks Coach!

[Gr82batigr 97]

Not all is lost regarding the Special Teams play. I thought this was a tone-setter after our first score. War Damn Joko🦅🦅🦅

[IronMan70 3,277]

Thanks@JMR, love reading your game posts. You nailed it on this one like all the others.

[alexava 6,973]

I wasn’t on the game thread. This might not be the best place to put this discussion. But building on discipline remark from JMR…. the PF called on Troxell seemed bad to me. He hit a player who was actively trying to tackle our ball carrier. How is that a late hit?

[milehighfan 1,240]

Like everyone else on this board I have truly missed these. Glad you're back.

[W.E.D 11,070]

38 minutes ago, Quietmaninthecorner said:

It may not be a matter of what anyone wants.   It may be a player issue.    You have to really trust your cover guys to go one on one and more so to have them press hard.    We just may not be good enough (technique, strength, speed?) for that yet.    It may be why we are playing a lot of zone,  and/or leaving the giant cushions. 

I suspected that was our WR issues earlier in the year.  They would struggle getting off hand checks to the point it caused timing issues in their routes.

Would really go against the idea that we might have an all time type secondary. 

Between Simpson and Roger. I'm not sure I buy the idea we gave weak cover guys

[Quietmaninthecorner 1,945]

1 minute ago, W.E.D said:

Would really go against the idea that we might have an all time type secondary. 

Between Simpson and Roger. I'm not sure I buy the idea we gave weak cover guys

I am not sure.  We have SOME elite cover guys,  some other pretty good ones.   I am just tying to think of logical reasons why we do not press often and hard.   "weak" is not a word I would use.   But our strategy seems to be minimize big plays.   If you are going to hard press,  you can't screw up.   Ever.   Maybe they are still learning technique or style or general responsibility in this system while playing press.   

[aubie57 119]

25 minutes ago, alexava said:

I wasn’t on the game thread. This might not be the best place to put this discussion. But building on discipline remark from JMR…. the PF called on Troxell seemed bad to me. He hit a player who was actively trying to tackle our ball carrier. How is that a late hit?

I didn't like that call either. The whistle had blown, so technically it was a late hit. They were still actively trying to tackle, He saw that so he cleaned one of them up.  I just don't think any of them heard the whistle and it cost Troxell 15.

[Sizzle 3,909]

Our playcalling has to get more creative with Tank, defenses loading up the box and we just letting him run into a brick wall hoping he makes something happen. On that long run by Hunter, they ran a misdirection that fooled the defense and Hunter made them pay. It was also blocked well.

We need that type of creativity for Tank too. A little More zone read runs and misdirections instead of simply handing it off and hope something happens 

[mcgufcm 4,096]

We ran the misdirection play Hunter had with Tank earlier in the game. It gained 6 or 7 yards.

EDIT:  It wasn't the exact same play, but it was a misdirection give. 10:17 mark in the third quarter. We had Tank in as the upback with Hunter as the Tailback and gave it to Tank on a misdirection play. It gained 5 yards on 2nd and 8.

Edited October 4, 2021 by mcgufcm

[DAG 33,957]

3 hours ago, Sizzle said:

Our playcalling has to get more creative with Tank, defenses loading up the box and we just letting him run into a brick wall hoping he makes something happen. On that long run by Hunter, they ran a misdirection that fooled the defense and Hunter made them pay. It was also blocked well.

We need that type of creativity for Tank too. A little More zone read runs and misdirections instead of simply handing it off and hope something happens 

The reason it worked was because of hunter’s patient. Tank isn’t nearly as patient as hunter which is a good and bad thing.

Edited October 4, 2021 by DAG

[oracle79 3,569]

56 minutes ago, alexava said:

He hit a player who was actively trying to tackle our ball carrier.

I can live with "effort/nasty" penalties as long as they aren't stupid, like hitting 3 yards out of bounds. But, if you're going to hit late, at least make them pay for it.