Confident but work to do entering bye week

[WFE12 9,191]

Confident but work to do entering bye week
 

Bryan Matthews

 

AUBURN | Auburn will enter its bye week on a high note with Saturday’s 38-23 win at No. 19 Arkansas to improve to 5-2 overall and 2-1 in the conference.

The Tigers are right in the middle of the SEC West race, tied with Ole Miss in second and just a half-game behind Alabama in first.

“To be on the road and to win — and going into a bye week — man, all of these things are big for our program. That gives us a chance to create some momentum as we go into this bye week and do some things,” said Auburn coach Bryan Harsin. “I am excited. I enjoyed that game. I enjoyed watching our guys on the sidelines. I enjoyed listening to our staff communicate during that game.
 

“There were things that we've all been working on that fell into place today. That doesn't mean we have to stop working on those and everything is figured out, but I do think that this week of preparation, the focus that we showed during the game, that carried over into this game. That's one of the reasons we were able to win this game.”

Even during a 15-point road win over a ranked team, Auburn showed that there was still plenty of room for improvement as it prepares to host the 14th-ranked Rebels Oct. 30.

The Tigers managed just 135 rushing yards against the Razorbacks after Ole Miss put up 324 a week earlier. AU was just 4 of 10 on third downs, had an interception that was converted into a touchdown, and nearly had a costly fumble at its own 16-yard line.

Defensively, AU gave up 460 yards including 232 on the ground and allowed Arkansas to convert 10 of 19 third downs.

“Overall, we'll take that. We'll learn from it. We'll apply it to the bye week and the things that we have to do in order to get better,” said Harsin. “That'll be in addition to all the other games that we've played. And now we have a chance to focus on ourselves and not focus on an opponent before we have to go play again in the next one, which will be good for us.

“We need it. We need to get a few guys healthy. We need some time to correct a few things, make examples of a lot of the positive stuff that we've doing and spend more time on that and just talk to our guys about this is how it looks. This is how we can get to these things through our preparation and hopefully continue to build on that."

[oracle79 3,569]

Probably couldn't have scheduled a better time for the bye week even in hindsight after the season. Hope we take full advantage of it.

[AUx 3,001]

For a guy that often appears pretty serious in public glimpses, I like how he does bring in the positives. Granted, he can't be too specific publicly and maintain competition. He's like, 'hey there are some things we need to correct, but others we're doing pretty good: just need to do them more often or go from level 8 to level 11 on that dial.' He's not wrong. You certainly want to encourage guys, especially when they are learning something new, to take those risks outside their comfort zone. Otherwise they'll just get to a plateau where they hang out tentative and afraid of getting more criticism. Sit the pine and next man up is not a developmental philosophy in and of itself. I think that's pretty good leadership and what "coaching" is supposed to be about.

Edited October 18, 2021 by AUx

[McLoofus 35,182]

9 hours ago, oracle79 said:

Probably couldn't have scheduled a better time for the bye week even in hindsight after the season. Hope we take full advantage of it.

I said before the season that, as far as schedules that include several top-10 teams and several long road trips go, ours lined up pretty great. Imagine if we'd played a mid-level SEC team after PSU instead of GSU. Imagine if we lose a game before LSU instead of getting that GSU win, ugly and scary as it was. We were actually in position to keep uga close, and then we have a get-right game- against a ranked division opponent on the road- right before the bye. If we can get a healthy Pappoe back after the bye, we're well positioned to play ourselves into confident form for the November gauntlet. 

3 of our 4 big road trips out of the way. We're 2-1. 2 of our 3 biggest rivals out of the way. We're 1-1, with our first road win against any of them since 2010 (I think). Red Stick curse broken. Doesn't matter that LSU is trash this year. Doesn't matter whether Arkansas is good or not. Feels like we're ahead of schedule, even if only by a little bit. Not unreasonable to say we "should" only have one close loss, to the best team in the country. 

Ouch. Too much coffee. Sorry, y'all. 

[AuburnNTexas 7,140]

35 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

I said before the season that, as far as schedules that include several top-10 teams and several long road trips go, ours lined up pretty great. Imagine if we'd played a mid-level SEC team after PSU instead of GSU. Imagine if we lose a game before LSU instead of getting that GSU win, ugly and scary as it was. We were actually in position to keep uga close, and then we have a get-right game- against a ranked division opponent on the road- right before the bye. If we can get a healthy Pappoe back after the bye, we're well positioned to play ourselves into confident form for the November gauntlet. 

3 of our 4 big road trips out of the way. We're 2-1. 2 of our 3 biggest rivals out of the way. We're 1-1, with our first road win against any of them since 2010 (I think). Red Stick curse broken. Doesn't matter that LSU is trash this year. Doesn't matter whether Arkansas is good or not. Feels like we're ahead of schedule, even if only by a little bit. Not unreasonable to say we "should" only have one close loss, to the best team in the country. 

Ouch. Too much coffee. Sorry, y'all. 

No reason to say sorry. This is an accurate post. Yes the Georgia game we were beat in the trenches by a more talented team, Unlike others I though I think  Bo played a solid game against Ga. Give us half of the dropped passes Bo QB rating goes up and we make it a closer game. We don't win but we look enough better that you add Arky win on top of it and I think you can see that Bo is slowly turning the corner as a QB. We also have to give Kudo to coaching staff that is working with Bo and is also calling the type of game to give Bo best chance to succeed behind this O-line.  

I am not drinking the orange and blue Kool-aid we still have issues at best an adequate O-Line a bend but don't break D where our DB's have been making mistakes and the style of D makes it hard to get pressure on QB. I am also not saying Bo is a great QB I said he played a solid game against GA when you look at the dropped passes I did not say he played a stellar game and he does still get ahead of himself at times. I have seen improvement but he has a ways to go. Our running game is anemic against good teams again O-Line but also teams not respecting Bo and the pass another game like Arky from Bo and that could change.

This is a great time for the bye as Ole Miss is a unique O and having two weeks to prepare is great also hopefully some banged up players get better.  I said that the Arky game was a must win as we needed to prove we could play against solid Mid-tier SEC teams which is what Arky is.  I think Ole Miss because of their O is a team to be reckoned with if we could find a way to win this game we will exceed my expectations for the year.  Prior to the season I thought we had some of the best DB's in the SEC in this game they need to step up big time as I don't think Bo or offense has improved enough to win a shootout with Ole Miss.

[aubiefifty 16,757]

2 hours ago, AuburnNTexas said:

No reason to say sorry. This is an accurate post. Yes the Georgia game we were beat in the trenches by a more talented team, Unlike others I though I think  Bo played a solid game against Ga. Give us half of the dropped passes Bo QB rating goes up and we make it a closer game. We don't win but we look enough better that you add Arky win on top of it and I think you can see that Bo is slowly turning the corner as a QB. We also have to give Kudo to coaching staff that is working with Bo and is also calling the type of game to give Bo best chance to succeed behind this O-line.  

I am not drinking the orange and blue Kool-aid we still have issues at best an adequate O-Line a bend but don't break D where our DB's have been making mistakes and the style of D makes it hard to get pressure on QB. I am also not saying Bo is a great QB I said he played a solid game against GA when you look at the dropped passes I did not say he played a stellar game and he does still get ahead of himself at times. I have seen improvement but he has a ways to go. Our running game is anemic against good teams again O-Line but also teams not respecting Bo and the pass another game like Arky from Bo and that could change.

This is a great time for the bye as Ole Miss is a unique O and having two weeks to prepare is great also hopefully some banged up players get better.  I said that the Arky game was a must win as we needed to prove we could play against solid Mid-tier SEC teams which is what Arky is.  I think Ole Miss because of their O is a team to be reckoned with if we could find a way to win this game we will exceed my expectations for the year.  Prior to the season I thought we had some of the best DB's in the SEC in this game they need to step up big time as I don't think Bo or offense has improved enough to win a shootout with Ole Miss.

i agree with your post. ol miss worries me because kiff can scheme to put points on the board so we are going to have to be really sharp on d. i never take any game for granted. an old boss i worked for was a huge turd fan and he was always ragging on auburn. i gave him hell for losing to someone and he went to his desk and pulled out an old sports page where during barfield but maybe shug lost to tennessee chattanooga. i think it might have been the seventies. since i saw that i have never taken a game for granted.

[DAG 33,977]

3 hours ago, McLoofus said:

I said before the season that, as far as schedules that include several top-10 teams and several long road trips go, ours lined up pretty great. Imagine if we'd played a mid-level SEC team after PSU instead of GSU. Imagine if we lose a game before LSU instead of getting that GSU win, ugly and scary as it was. We were actually in position to keep uga close, and then we have a get-right game- against a ranked division opponent on the road- right before the bye. If we can get a healthy Pappoe back after the bye, we're well positioned to play ourselves into confident form for the November gauntlet. 

3 of our 4 big road trips out of the way. We're 2-1. 2 of our 3 biggest rivals out of the way. We're 1-1, with our first road win against any of them since 2010 (I think). Red Stick curse broken. Doesn't matter that LSU is trash this year. Doesn't matter whether Arkansas is good or not. Feels like we're ahead of schedule, even if only by a little bit. Not unreasonable to say we "should" only have one close loss, to the best team in the country. 

Ouch. Too much coffee. Sorry, y'all. 

But I’ve heard the schedule is just unfair! I think you hit the nail on the head. Happy we have two weeks to get right for ole miss. 

[McLoofus 35,182]

5 minutes ago, DAG said:

But I’ve heard the schedule is just unfair!

Can you imagine what Harsin is thinking right now? He knows he was just a few play(er)s away from taking the #1 team in the country to the 4th quarter in year one of an offensive rebuild. He knows we could've beaten Penn State. He knows that this team- that he hasn't even fully put his stamp on yet- responded to a tough loss by manning up on the #17 team in the country at their house and just taking the game from them. 

Can you imagine what he thinks about coaching this caliber of athlete now? Having these resources? Calling that stadium his office?? He just picked up two crucial commitments out of his backyard. This is a guy who used to have to get on a plane just to find some kid in Arizona without any better offers.  I mean, maybe it's just like he envisioned when he took the job. Maybe he foresaw all of it. But it's still gotta be pretty cool for him.

Sorry, I am going to tie this back into your point... which is... I love soooo much that we play so many big games every year. I defy our fellow fans to honestly say they'd care as much if we didn't. And I think we all know damned well that Harsin can't wait to play more of these games. 

[Barnacle 9,064]

52 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

Can you imagine what Harsin is thinking right now? He knows he was just a few play(er)s away from taking the #1 team in the country to the 4th quarter in year one of an offensive rebuild. He knows we could've beaten Penn State. He knows that this team- that he hasn't even fully put his stamp on yet- responded to a tough loss by manning up on the #17 team in the country at their house and just taking the game from them. 

Can you imagine what he thinks about coaching this caliber of athlete now? Having these resources? Calling that stadium his office?? He just picked up two crucial commitments out of his backyard. This is a guy who used to have to get on a plane just to find some kid in Arizona without any better offers.  I mean, maybe it's just like he envisioned when he took the job. Maybe he foresaw all of it. But it's still gotta be pretty cool for him.

Sorry, I am going to tie this back into your point... which is... I love soooo much that we play so many big games every year. I defy our fellow fans to honestly say they'd care as much if we didn't. And I think we all know damned well that Harsin can't wait to play more of these games. 

Harsin clearly loves the grind, and there’s probably no better school in big time P5 football than Auburn if you are that guy. 

[Strychnine 1,802]

1 hour ago, aubiefifty said:

i agree with your post. ol miss worries me because kiff can scheme to put points on the board so we are going to have to be really sharp on d. i never take any game for granted. an old boss i worked for was a huge turd fan and he was always ragging on auburn. i gave him hell for losing to someone and he went to his desk and pulled out an old sports page where during barfield but maybe shug lost to tennessee chattanooga. i think it might have been the seventies. since i saw that i have never taken a game for granted.

 

Ole Miss will score points, but they give up points too.  Arkansas scored 51 on them, and Auburn held them to half that.  If the offense shows up, playing like they did against Arkansas, then I think the defense can limit Ole Miss' scoring enough to win.  Ole Miss could have easily lost their last two games, and they get to deal with LSU this week, while Auburn gets an extra week to prepare.

On the other hand, if the offense struggles and falls behind a few scores, that would be a problem.  In that case, holding Ole Miss enough for the offense to catch up and then outscore them, might be too much to ask of this defense.

[creed 1,635]

Something to work on (among many) for the open week - HUSTLE and never give up on a play. In coaching terms it's called playing to the echo of the whistle.

I noticed on one play where I saw some of the defensive guys loafing on backside pursuit. The defender or defenders probably would have not made the play but that's not my point. If I was CBH I would show them a clip of Michael Goggins in the 2010 Iron bowl where he ran down Mark Ingram and caused a fumble. I would tell the defense this is the type of hustle I'm looking for.  

[cole256 17,043]

23 hours ago, creed said:

Something to work on (among many) for the open week - HUSTLE and never give up on a play. In coaching terms it's called playing to the echo of the whistle.

I noticed on one play where I saw some of the defensive guys loafing on backside pursuit. The defender or defenders probably would have not made the play but that's not my point. If I was CBH I would show them a clip of Michael Goggins in the 2010 Iron bowl where he ran down Mark Ingram and caused a fumble. I would tell the defense this is the type of hustle I'm looking for.  

Pretty sure that was Carter that made that play. Goggans was a tight end if I remember correctly, but I'm not sure. I'm positive though that d end was Carter. 

That defensive secondary was horrible but the d line was amazing. Even beyond Fairly. We could rush with just 4 and we also could stop the run as well.

 

And I'm just being accurate with the player but I understand your overall point and agree with it's importance 

Edited October 19, 2021 by cole256

[McLoofus 35,182]

1 minute ago, cole256 said:

Pretty sure that was Carter that made that play. Goggans was a tight end if I remember correctly, but I'm not sure. I'm positive though that d end was Carter. 

That defensive secondary was horrible but the d line was amazing. Even beyond Fairly. We could rush with just 4 and we also could stop the run as well

Yup, Hot Carter all day. Crazy to think that play ended up being more important than the Prayer or Kick Six. 

[creed 1,635]

19 minutes ago, cole256 said:

Pretty sure that was Carter that made that play. Goggans was a tight end if I remember correctly, but I'm not sure. I'm positive though that d end was Carter. 

That defensive secondary was horrible but the d line was amazing. Even beyond Fairly. We could rush with just 4 and we also could stop the run as well.

 

And I'm just being accurate with the player but I understand your overall point and agree with it's importance 

Thanks My bad. Yes it was Antione Carter. A perfect example of hustle.

[DAG 33,977]

23 hours ago, creed said:

Something to work on (among many) for the open week - HUSTLE and never give up on a play. In coaching terms it's called playing to the echo of the whistle.

I noticed on one play where I saw some of the defensive guys loafing on backside pursuit. The defender or defenders probably would have not made the play but that's not my point. If I was CBH I would show them a clip of Michael Goggins in the 2010 Iron bowl where he ran down Mark Ingram and caused a fumble. I would tell the defense this is the type of hustle I'm looking for.  

Same. It drives me crazy. Finish to the whistle, side line to side line. I have no doubt our coaches will deal with that.