Things I Think I Saw....AU vs aTm......

[JMR 2,118]

Anyone who’s read this little column a time or two knows, I try to focus on the positive as much as possible. That won’t be easy this week.

Prior to this season, most “experts” expected Texas A&M to compete with Alabama for the SEC West. This was to be the year that Jimbo Fisher proved to be worth the $75 million he was awarded to take the job. But, as often happens in college football, things didn’t go so well for the Age early in the season, as they surprisingly fell to Arkansas and Mississippi State. To his credit, Jimbo got things turned around, beat mighty Alabama, and has his team playing really well at this point. A&M has recruited extremely well under Fisher, and they have a very talented roster.

This was a physical, hard-fought game. Frankly, I thought A&M earned the win, although the margin ended up a little bigger than it should have been, thanks mainly to the scoop-and-score on a Bo Nix fumble and the ensuing two-point conversion. This will be a short version of the things I think I saw, in keeping with the “focus on the positives” effort.
 

• Texas A&M had an open date last week, and they obviously put the extra prep time to good use. Their defense had Auburn well-scouted, and they played with excellent discipline. Defensive linemen played solid technique, and linebackers executed their reads and filled gaps consistently well. I saw very few errors on their part defensively.
   
• In something of an understatement, Bo Nix did not have one of his better games, after showing strong improvement in recent games. His footwork was inconsistent, and he missed some key throws that would have likely changed the trajectory of the AU offense.
   
• As has been the case for most of the season, the Auburn wide receivers looked confused and unprepared. Not only were there problems getting lined up properly, there was seldom any separation from the aTm defensive backs. In fairness to Nix, A&M was able to generate a decent pass rush, and there was often no open receiver easily discernible.
   
• One thing that stood out to me with Auburn’s offense was the number of times AU lined up strong to the boundary, and then ran a play into the boundary. A&M, on the other hand, often lined up strong into the boundary, but then ran a play to the wide side of the field. The basic tenet here is that the offense lines up strong to the boundary, the defense matches that alignment, and then the play is run to the wide side, where there are less defenders and more space. I don’t know that what AU was doing was “wrong”, just that it was “unusual”.
   
• Credit to Tank Bigsby. He ran hard and created yards after contact. Obviously he didn’t pile up a lot of yards, but he certainly put in the effort.
   
• The AU offensive line wasn’t “awful” in pass protection. A&M blitzed successfully a few times, but the protection looked worse than it was due to the dearth of open receivers. The run blocking, on the other hand, was pretty poor. One thing I did note: Bro Hamm struggled last week against the speed rush, giving up a couple of pressures to Ole Miss. Hamm was MUCH better vs the speed rush this week, obviously having put in some work this past week. He was also pretty strong run blocking. Some along the OL did not play nearly as well, and it only takes one to make a play fail.
   
• The AU defense played well once aTm got into or near the red zone. There were some defensive busts in the game, and some explosive runs given up between the tackles. One of Auburn’s defensive tackles was turned several times by the A&M OL, freeing blockers to get to the second level and seal off the Auburn linebackers. That, along with a half-dozen missed run fits by the linebackers, led to some big runs by the A&M running backs.
   
• Except for misplaying the ball on aTm’s two-point conversion, I thought Jaylin Simpson played well. A&M’s wide receivers are athletic and well-coached, and all in all, the AU secondary played reasonably well. A&M receivers had a handful of drops, which greatly helped the AU defense.
   
• As happens pretty often in SEC games, I was generally disappointed in the officiating. Granted, I’m old school, and played (and coached) back in the days when any kind of holding was prohibited, but to my eyes, there was holding on virtually every play A&M ran. But, that’s the way it’s done now….”hold until they call it”…which they only did when A&M’s left tackle lifted his man and body-slammed him.

Always disappointing to lose a game, even more so when it’s one we thought we could win. But realistically, we all knew we had a long way to go. When climbing, there will always be slips and falls. This process is going to take time. There will be bright spots and dark spots along the way, but I believe Coach Harsin will take us where we want to go. Fortunately, I think most Auburn people are in this for the long haul. War Damn!

 

[W.E.D 11,070]

5 minutes ago, JMR said:

he missed some key throws that would have likely changed the trajectory of the AU offense.

Wonder how much different the game is if he hits that wide open deep ball for a 50 yard score

[abw0004 10,125]

Thank you for your input JMR!

[bigbird 60,575]

35 minutes ago, W.E.D said:

Wonder how much different the game is if he hits that wide open deep ball for a 50 yard score

Completely.

Heck if we just go up 6-3 instead of missing the fg, we put all the pressure in the world on TAMU. That alone changes the calls and outcome.

[aubaseball 2,641]

15 minutes ago, bigbird said:

Completely.

Heck if we just go up 6-3 instead of missing the fg, we put all the pressure in the world on TAMU. That alone changes the calls and outcome.

Absolutely.  And the personal foul on roughing the punt returner.   Pinned inside the 10 yard and now it’s moved out to the 25 and 1 first down changes field position.   Little things like this is what Auburn can’t afford during games.  Auburn doesn’t have the fire power to get away making mistakes 

[bigbird 60,575]

2 minutes ago, aubaseball said:

Absolutely.  And the personal foul on roughing the punt returner.   Pinned inside the 10 yard and now it’s moved out to the 25 and 1 first down changes field position.   Little things like this is what Auburn can’t afford during games.  Auburn doesn’t have the fire power to get away making mistakes 

Especially this year!  The more CBH influences the team the more those little things won't necessarily be so big. 

[homersapien 11,396]

Our poor run blocking really stood out to me, especially compared to TAM's run blocking.

It seems that the first contact on our backs is usually right at the line of scrimmage.  There's rarely even a small crease. Our backs have to work extremely hard to get any positive yardage on their carries, while TAM backs had enough of a crease or hole to get at least 4 yards before contact.

And if our running game struggles, the entire offense struggles.

Edited November 8, 2021 by homersapien

[TigerHorn 1,353]

34 minutes ago, aubaseball said:

Absolutely.  And the personal foul on roughing the punt returner.   Pinned inside the 10 yard and now it’s moved out to the 25 and 1 first down changes field position.   Little things like this is what Auburn can’t afford during games.  Auburn doesn’t have the fire power to get away making mistakes 

I thought the fair catch signal by the ATM return man was pretty shaky. With the angle our guy was coming from, I doubt he could even see it. Seems like back in the day you had to be very obvious in your fair catch wave or you got blown up. 

[japantiger 4,051]

There were three things that stuck out to me in the game:

• Game planning was different than the last several games.  Nix only ran 2 times that I can remember on designed runs.  Not sure if they saw something A&M was doing to shut him down; or they just thought not using Nix's legs was the way to go for this game.  It didn't make sense...especially given that the overall running game struggled.  Nix should have had his ~10 run like in the last games; outside, draws, etc.  I think he had one good gain on a draw and one 1 yard gain trying to get outside.  Either way; what had been a big part of a resurgent offense was not used.
• Tendancies?  It just looked like A&M was everywhere when they needed to be on defense.  Either they have the best LB and outside rushers at identifying screens; or they new Auburn was going the screen the 3 times they tried it and just smothered the receiver and the QB.  They hit Hunter as soon as he got the ball everytime he was in the game...I have to believe they saw something(s) in their prep and Elko's defense was there waiting for plays.
• A&M has had an issue with keeping containment when pressuring the QB.  They did not this week.  They never allowed Nix outside and the LB's and edge rushers did an outstanding job of keeping Auburn bottled up.  Wherever he went, folks were there to bottle him up.  They just generally got pressure and push and didn't give much room to roam.  I thought Nix did reasonably well not bailing on the pocket; but no matter what; they just didn't get folks open.  The sack on the 1st possession was a cover sack.  

The stadium was LOUD.  There was not much orange there.  109k making noise had a lot to do with what was happening.  A&M was better prepared and had Nix's formula.  Getting pressure on him early and not letting him get rolling was key.  When he gets rolling he can be tough as we have seen the last few weeks.  He never had that chance this week.  

 

[TigerHorn 1,353]

3 minutes ago, japantiger said:

 

The stadium was LOUD.  There was not much orange there.  109k making noise had a lot to do with what was happening.  A&M was better prepared and had Nix's formula.  Getting pressure on him early and not letting him get rolling was key.  When he gets rolling he can be tough as we have seen the last few weeks.  He never had that chance this week.  

 

2nd largest attendance in Aggie history. 

[einatlanta 502]

From a civilian point of view I had to give a shout out for Roger McCreary. I feel as though he was significant in keeping the game from getting out of hand. He kept up with the receiver to a degree that he could have been his shadow. 

[SickOfSucking 3]

In the first half AU averaged 4.5 yards per passing attempt. They’ve dumbed down the offense as much as it can be dumbed down. Bo is just incredibly inaccurate. 
 

In the big time football you must have a balanced offense. Must!  TAM was never forced to “shift to defend,” as Auburn’s passing game never became a concern. 
 

It was 3-3, TAM was on a concerted drive, the momentum was changing.  Bo had been  given three quarters to put some kind of pressure on TAM, and couldn’t. Even a mistake-prone second stringer is not a huge gamble there, yet Finley sat. 
 

Is Harsin running this team, or are the friends of the Nix family running it?  It’s being destroyed; signing day is next month.  Auburn desperately needs linemen, but why would the best consider Auburn after a performance like we just saw?  The offense looked TERRIBLE. HARSIN LOOKED TERRIBLE. Auburn is 2-3 touchdowns behind the SEC best. Nothing has changed in four years. And we need recruits. 

[AUBwins 10,075]

2 hours ago, JMR said:

One thing that stood out to me with Auburn’s offense was the number of times AU lined up strong to the boundary, and then ran a play into the boundary. A&M, on the other hand, often lined up strong into the boundary, but then ran a play to the wide side of the field. The basic tenet here is that the offense lines up strong to the boundary, the defense matches that alignment, and then the play is run to the wide side, where there are less defenders and more space. I don’t know that what AU was doing was “wrong”, just that it was “unusual”.

We've been doing this all year, which has been quite frustrating. Almost like we don't want to run left. 

[W.E.D 11,070]

19 minutes ago, SickOfSucking said:

In the first half AU averaged 4.5 yards per passing attempt. They’ve dumbed down the offense as much as it can be dumbed down. Bo is just incredibly inaccurate. 
 

In the big time football you must have a balanced offense. Must!  TAM was never forced to “shift to defend,” as Auburn’s passing game never became a concern. 
 

It was 3-3, TAM was on a concerted drive, the momentum was changing.  Bo had been  given three quarters to put some kind of pressure on TAM, and couldn’t. Even a mistake-prone second stringer is not a huge gamble there, yet Finley sat. 
 

Is Harsin running this team, or are the friends of the Nix family running it?  It’s being destroyed; signing day is next month.  Auburn desperately needs linemen, but why would the best consider Auburn after a performance like we just saw?  The offense looked TERRIBLE. HARSIN LOOKED TERRIBLE. Auburn is 2-3 touchdowns behind the SEC best. Nothing has changed in four years. And we need recruits. 

This is a bit of an overreaction

Edited November 8, 2021 by W.E.D

[Pat Fossum 158]

17 minutes ago, SickOfSucking said:

In the first half AU averaged 4.5 yards per passing attempt. They’ve dumbed down the offense as much as it can be dumbed down. Bo is just incredibly inaccurate. 
 

In the big time football you must have a balanced offense. Must!  TAM was never forced to “shift to defend,” as Auburn’s passing game never became a concern. 
 

It was 3-3, TAM was on a concerted drive, the momentum was changing.  Bo had been  given three quarters to put some kind of pressure on TAM, and couldn’t. Even a mistake-prone second stringer is not a huge gamble there, yet Finley sat. 
 

Is Harsin running this team, or are the friends of the Nix family running it?  It’s being destroyed; signing day is next month.  Auburn desperately needs linemen, but why would the best consider Auburn after a performance like we just saw?  The offense looked TERRIBLE. HARSIN LOOKED TERRIBLE. Auburn is 2-3 touchdowns behind the SEC best. Nothing has changed in four years. And we need recruits. 

If the offensive players do their job and execute the plan then we're looking at a different result. So how exactly did Harsin look terrible? Harsin can't help the fact that Gus didn't recruit at positions of need for the last 3-4 years. I'm sure he's going to recruit much better as far as positions of need and unlike Gus he seems like he is capable of actually developing talent that he brings in.

 

While we're at it. If you're sick of sucking then you might try depending on yourself for accomplishments versus a group of 18-22 guys who you have zero connection to. You don't put in any of the work they do to be whining about losses or gloating about wins anyway when it gets down to it.

[WDavE 332]

I was upset with Online on the screen called. None of them made enough contact to sell the play and none slowed their man down long enough to give Bo any time to make the throw.

All seem to be only intent on getting out in front of the play.

 

[wiley 2]

Great analysis as usual.  My daughter went to the game.  Loudest crowd/stadium she’s ever experienced including Iron Bowl etc.  On 3rd downs when we had ball…deafening.  Sure that players on the field unable to hear.  Not an excuse but might explain some of the miscues in the passing game?  It’s apparent now that our receivers are not talented enough to make plays on a consistent basis (in spite of coaching).  Without a consistent running game (OL?) our offense just ground to a halt in this game.  Can’t expect perfect passes and miraculous scrambling from the qb position in every game.  BTW…A&M fans very welcoming and hospitable.

[aucanucktiger 1,796]

I haven't seen any eval of this game mention the non called clear & prolonged WR jersey grab by aTm on a critical AU 3d down. The pass was otherwise on the money for an AU 1st down or more. If that's called we have a 1st down in aTm territory down 6-3. 

[DyeCampAlum 335]

We are who we are. Pretty good, not good enough. I will say, I loved how the defense played overall. With the offense doing so little, most defenses crumble at some point. Auburn's did not.

[tigerman1186 537]

A&M receivers well coached....guest who their coach is???? Dameyune Craig....We need to bring to him back to Auburn....as a coach and recruiter!!!!

[lca408 366]

I myself only noticed one play run to the boundary in this game. It was a sweep with maybe Shivers? I shouted out loud when I saw it developing. Disaster as soon as the ball was snapped. 
 

Tank absolutely ran like a beast in this game. He is running significantly harder than he was in that 2-3 week span at the end of September-early October. Again, not sure if this was due to injury or attitude or what, but he’s running like 2020 Tank again. If the line blocked better on Saturday, it might have made a difference. 
 

I definitely agree with JMR that A&M used that off week beautifully to their advantage. I can’t say that Auburn, when focused and prepared is the better team, but I think we’re close when we’re 100%. 

[TigerTennis80 345]

Coach, thanks as always! In case you get back on here & check responses... I just noted that Harsin, in his presser today, said we need better offensive play AND better play calling. I think he also said once that we needed a better plan. He didn't linger on those points, but he made them. We've praised Bobo over the past weeks for developing this offense, but I find myself wondering if Harsin's words indicate he was not pleased with the offensive staff this week. To my very untrained eye, it appeared A & M had scouted us well (as you said), were well prepared on defense (as you said), & we didn't seem to make many adjustments. Or maybe we did but just didn't execute worth a crap. All of which is to ask if you think the offensive game plan & play calling seemed "off" this week? In fact, I'm wondering if you were hinting at such with your comments about us running into the boundary. 

[BJCrawford 1,568]

8 hours ago, W.E.D said:

This is a bit of an overreaction

Just a tad huh? Geez. I have a family member who wants to fire everyone and bench half the team when we lose . Very annoying.
Since we are likely out of it, I would like for Auburn to beat Alabama so I can see A&M play Georgia. I think a good match up! Not a Jimbo fan but like the A&M fans. Was there in 2013. Really nice fans.

[trinidad tiger 107]

30 minutes ago, TigerTennis80 said:

Coach, thanks as always! In case you get back on here & check responses... I just noted that Harsin, in his presser today, said we need better offensive play AND better play calling. I think he also said once that we needed a better plan. He didn't linger on those points, but he made them. We've praised Bobo over the past weeks for developing this offense, but I find myself wondering if Harsin's words indicate he was not pleased with the offensive staff this week. To my very untrained eye, it appeared A & M had scouted us well (as you said), were well prepared on defense (as you said), & we didn't seem to make many adjustments. Or maybe we did but just didn't execute worth a crap. All of which is to ask if you think the offensive game plan & play calling seemed "off" this week? In fact, I'm wondering if you were hinting at such with your comments about us running into the boundary. 

I believe that overthrow by Bo wasnt just a missed opportunity, it let their defense know we could not stretch the field.  We never could sustain a drive after the first one.  They crowded the line and took away the run, and we tried short passes, they crowded the line, took away the run AND the short passes, screens, and we had nothing.   

I dont know what else Bobo could have done, he cant throw to open receivers, and he cant catch the ball for them when it is accurately thrown.  

I agree we have two great CBs, Simpson has really played well and McCreary was fantastic as usual.  

 

[japantiger 4,051]

We lost to GA and TAMU; the #1 and #2 defenses in the nation.  Their defensive talent was better than our offensive talent.  It's not much more complicated. 

I think we went backwards on scheming for the game (Nix not running, etc.); but this exposed the overall gap in OL talent, Receiver talent and yes, QB.  I didn't really have a beef with not putting the #2 QB in.  Not sure Finley could have been more effective against that kind of pressure and lack of separation.  There is a limit to how much any coaching group will be able to do with this talent.  

A&M's OL  (and their WR group) has gotten consistently better this year; they started poorly; their OL is starting 2 freshmen and they are playing better than the 5th year TN transfer on their line (the one that committed the two holding penalties against Auburn).  Their Freshman OL talent is better than ours and better than the transfer they brought in.  We need better talent; and that takes time.  Recruiting is everything.