lca408

All those guys, Tua excepted, had their struggles vs Auburn. AU beat Hurts and Jones straight up, would have beaten Simms in 2014 if they had a defense with a pulse (or an offense that could get in the end zone instead of just killing it between the 20s), took the game out of Coker’s hands in 2015 and only significantly fell behind in the 4th quarter, and should have won in 2021 vs Young - which we all saw. Auburn basically didn’t have a chance against UGA in the last 3 games against them. Only in 2019 was it semi-close, and that was only the case late in the 2nd half after falling behind 21-0 at home. Not sure if this is due to UGA being so significantly deep and talented at every position as opposed to Alabama, or a coaching/scheme issue which makes it harder to find success, or a motivational thing. I’d lean towards motivational but then again, so many of Auburn's players have traditionally been from Georgia that game has usually been as big as the Iron Bowl for the team. There just seems to be a mental block/issue that’s preventing Auburn from breaking through since 2017.

I definitely think Wilson would have secured at least 1-2 more wins that season (thinking Clemson and Arkansas) and kept us more competitive against UGA, but no way we beat LSU and/or Alabama that year. Our defense was so bad that year, there was no way to realistically compete against the top teams for the SEC.

Do we know which Marriott the team is at in Birmingham?? I’d love to have a pre-Tiger walk Tiger Walk like we did in 2014 when they were at the Colonnade

Looks close. I’d have to go back and look and see when it changed from the Copperplate font that UA used to the block letters. I confess, I haven’t noticed if it changed last year or at any time. We’ve been doing the Auburn on the jersey for so long. That block lettering began in 2004, but it was only on the away jerseys. The home jerseys still had the AU circle under the collar. In 2005, they went lettering on both home and away, and then of course, UA took over and the lettering changed to Copperplate. I’ve always really liked the lettering - more name brand recognition as the AU circle just seemed too small. I still hope we can do some legit throwback unis one day. The ones we’ve done so far have been pretty pitiful. The 1957 attempt in 2007 against Vandy was nice but not well done. It was a home game - the should have taken the stripes off the home blues as well as taken the AU off the helmets. I remember seeing some 1913 throwback concept art that was really cool - would love to see us do that. Outside of that, I guess there’s not a whole lot to do, other than changing the face mask color which we’ve already done.

To be fair, Saban did have a lackluster first class at Alabama, when he took over for Shula. But his first full class in 2008 was tops in the nation. So kinda sorta, but not really.

Good point. Not to mention it coming in year 3 for Gus as opposed to the first year for Harsin. But I’m sure the excuse would be that Gus just didn’t have his players on campus yet. Criticizing the current coach is fine, that’s what message boards are for. Criticizing any aspect of the program is fine, it’s to be expected. But to intentionally downplay positive recruiting results by moving the goalposts to imply that recruits for the 2024 class aren’t important is being intentionally contrarian to fit a narrative. Harsin has been far from perfect and yeah, most Auburn fans are in a wait and see mode with him. But if you’re an Auburn fan, you can still be excited/happy that Auburn made some seemingly big headway with a lot of guys this weekend and secured commitments from two of the top guys for our 2024 class. To ignore that is just as childish as someone calling out Gus for any of the boneheaded decisions he made as HC, even when most of those criticisms are warranted.

Extending offers based on camp performance is something I remember Tubs and Co. doing a lot - seeing them in person and being able to evaluate meant a lot more to that staff. Chizik did the same but there weren’t as many of those because that staff aimed higher and could reel in some 4* and 5* with regularity. I don’t mind the strategy one bit, especially with a 6’2 potential corner who runs a 4.4 or faster.

This is the type of situation/year that Tuberville would thrive in. He and the coaches, especially Coach Yox, would be hammering the disrespect so hard in workouts and practice and team meetings. That first SEC game would be a bloodbath. I guess we’ll see how Harsin handles it and gets the guys going. Sounds good so far.

They’ve been charging for many years now, I can’t remember when it stopped being free, probably sometime in the mid to late 2000s. Used to be $5 and now I see it’s bumped up to $10. I agree with Proud and Mikey - allow fans to come for free or at least only charge adults. This is the only game that many will be able to make because of the rising cost of tickets and everything else that encompasses a football Saturday in the Fall, definitely for families with young-ish kids. I mean it’s cool that all the money goes to charity but that’s not been the case previously.

Exactly, which is why I said that. Unless our defense is bailing us out with 2-3 TOs per game, we have to rely on an offense that doesn’t have enough talent or depth at 1-2 crucial positions. Meaning that, even if they’re good in 2022, they can’t reach that level of production, therefore it comes down to an offense with personnel issues.

This. I think we have talent at RB, TE, and maybe some competency at QB and OL but that’s more due to sheer experience than actual talent. Defensively I think we’re more talented but unless we’re forcing 3+ turnovers per game, it’s not going to make much difference. This all looks different if we have more talent and depth on the OL. Not sure I can say it’s all on Harsin but if he’s going to be leading this program long term, he’s gonna have to earn his paycheck with the gaps we have in the roster.

Knowing the offense sure. Actually performing? Well we’ve seen how he performs in game and can compare that to Calzada and Ashford, even though Robby doesn’t have as much experience. It’s the default choice for now, doesn’t mean that’s who it will be at the end of Spring. Edit - didn’t mean that as a reply to you, just in general.

I recall the complaints about Kodi were more about his recruiting ability and the issues and gaffs he had early on. By the end of his time here, I think he had figured it out.

Muss Galzahn??

The whole “blue-collar” thing is hilarious to me. If ever there was a program and fan base that is obsessed with the theme of entitlement, it’s Alabama. I mean their b-ball tradition isn’t that great so maybe, but their fans carry it over so easily.

Room where the old extension was? Is that still a pile of dirt or has something else been built there yet? Just thinking about someplace close by the arena that would work. The other obvious option would be at Beard Eaves but that would require demolition, cleanup, and then building which is even more expensive.

Is Jimbo Fisher no longer considered a good QB coach?

I think Finley is the reason many ARE poo-pooing this. Because we’ve seen what an average at best QB at another SEC West school can do (or can’t do for that matter) when they come to Auburn. If Finley doesn’t come in 2021, I think plenty of us would be more than optimistic right now. But I’ll be honest, I can’t remember anyone going on and on about Finley being Cam 2.0 or stuff like that. I remember a lot of speculation that he was definitely going to be the starter over Bo just by stepping on campus.

Well, he was class of 2019 and did get some PT in 2019, didn’t play in 2020, and was in the running for the starting job this season and lost out. So he’s had at least 2 full seasons of time in Jimbo’s offense with at least that much time spent with direct QB coaching by him. Granted, not all of that time was with the 1s but he’s been given opportunity for development. It’s not like he’s a true freshman, and ordinarily he’d be a Junior going on a Senior in 2022. I’d expect something at least a tad bit more impressive than what we’ve seen. But maybe he fits Harsin’s offense better. I’m not well versed enough to say for sure. Just noting what I see. Either way, nothing any of us can do about it but hold on for the ride.

Here’s the thing though, I honestly trust Jimbo Fisher’s resume with developing QBs as much, if not more, than Harsin’s. Granted, Calzada only had a partial season to work with the 1s and Fisher’s direct coaching and input but still, you’d expect to see something a little bit more exciting. I know he’s got some goods to work with but it just worries me and makes me wonder how much more can we expect Harsin and co to get out of Calzada than Fisher and co did, especially when Fisher is considered one of the greatest active QB whisperers out there. Maybe he’s overrated, idk. if Calzada CAN be developed, it better happen quick if we get him. This can’t be a 2 season rebuild if he’s the best we can snag out of the portal. And if he ends up a bust at Auburn and we have to play Geriner in 2022 or DD, well it doesn’t instill much confidence in the staff. Maybe Calzada is supposed to be brought in as a “preferred” back up to help fill out the QB room. One can only hope that they’re confident in snagging someone else.

SEC games yes. Auburn beat Samford in between the UGA and UAT games.

Man, this team really played well tonight considering all the 5 star talent on the field for USC. Clearly a well coached game by Hardin and especially Bobo………….🙄 I mean, what the eff

Nope. BS. I was there till the bitter end. That crowd got louder for the defense in the 2nd half than they were at any point in the first half. Didn’t matter. Defense gave up scores on every single possession except when it wasnt necessary for MSU to score. Crowd had nothing to do with it. Shouldn’t have anything to do with it either. Did Auburn need a full house for 4 quarters to beat ASU?

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%.