AUAlumnTN

Definitely not irrational. Lack of adjustments is the story of the game I would say

Just what exactly are you attempting to accomplish here champ?

Keep fishing bud

My friend, explaining something that is readily apparent to someone who clearly doesn’t actually want to hear it is not the enticing proposition you think it is.

It’s a challenge. Yeah, you don’t want to see your third year QB having a meltdown on the sideline but I don’t remember many games where Auburn had as many things just flat out not work offensively as this one. NO ONE on offense had a good day and that includes the coaching staff. Bo may be a third year starting QB but he’s still a hyper competitive 21-year old dude. Playing a game this meaningful and getting your butt kicked THIS badly’s gonna sting a little.

There’s a reason the saying “if you have two quarterbacks, you have none” exists. The position is unique in its level of responsibility, its perception by the rest of the team, and how it is handled. By benching Bo, even for a series, you are demoting the on-field leader of your offense. That’s a huge deal, not just to Bo but to everyone on the offense. Sitting a QB is never just an Xs and Os decision. We came in with a bad game plan against a talented and prepared opponent who took full advantage. Sometimes that happens. Doesn’t always mean benching the QB (or anyone else) is the right decision.

Did you miss the part where I explained why the context was different and therefore the decision was different?

Expectation Adjustment Syndrome in full effect. Everyone says before the season “8-9 wins, recruiting improvement, and clear progress throughout the year and I’ll be happy”. Then, as soon as the season starts, everyone forgets they said that and wants to bench/fire everyone when we don’t win every game. Tale as old as time.

There’s a reason sports psychology is becoming such a big field: the mental and emotional states of players and their effect on team dynamics are enormously important to their performance. Especially so with younger players. This isn’t Madden or NCAA. Benching a starting QB isn’t just an Xs and Os decision and the context in which you do it matters. I’m quite certain Bryan Harsin knows that and it was probably a significant factor in his decision making.

Much as I dislike him, Kirby Smart said it best: “there isn’t a coach out there who can outcoach recruiting”

I think Dan’s biggest issue is that his coaching apple didn’t fall far enough away from his old boss’s (U. Meyer) tree. He’s the same kinda guy: can’t tell him no, thinks he walks on water, and always (in his mind) the smartest guy in the room. The time for him to right the ship was post SEC title game last year. I think he’s more or less sunk now

The harm done is potentially undermining the confidence of your starter and sending the wrong message to the team. When Bo was benched against GSU, he deserved it. Auburn was playing a less talented team, at home, and the rest of the offense mostly had it together. Bo was the fly in the ointment and he knew it. Benching him then sends a clear and effective message: pull your weight or sit down. Against A&M, the ENTIRE offense stunk up the joint from OC to RT. Bo’s struggles were not distinct from the rest of the team’s. Benching him here, particularly given his improvement over the last several weeks, sends a different message: you, the QB, will pay for the mistakes of your teammates. Very different message.

For the same reason that putting new tires on the same station wagon won’t make it go faster. Changing QBs is not a magic cure-all that immediately fixes any and all offensive woes. We lacked a coherent and cohesive game plan and never adjusted to fix that. The offensive line got very little push in the run game. Receivers struggled to get open. The list goes on. Very few QBs in college football are good enough to overcome that many problems in the face of a talented and disciplined defense and I don’t believe anyone on our roster currently fits the description. We lost this game from Tuesday to Friday in the offensive meeting rooms and practice fields

The most popular player on every campus is the backup quarterback. Bo played his worst game of the season and one of the worst of his career yesterday. However, Auburn’s offense had issues at every position up to and including play-caller. Simply benching Bo in favor of TJ doesn’t fix the poor blocking, catching, route-running, scheme, etc. around him.

In retrospect, neither team was particularly sharp offensively but Texas A&M’s game plan was at least coherent: wear us down with the run game and try to feed Wydermyer in favorable spots as often as possible. Not a bad plan. Auburn’s defense just defended it very well. On the flip side, I have NO IDEA what we were trying to accomplish schematically.

It’s one of the great mysteries of college football that a program with the kind of built-in advantages that the Gators have struggles to find decent coaching.

Auburn doesn’t have the roster talent to overcome bad execution of a mediocre game plan on the road against a quality opponent. That’s been the case for a while now. For all of A&M’s shortcomings under Jimbo, recruiting hasn’t been one of them. Auburn’s offense was going to need at least a B+ effort to hang with A&M’s defense and we got a D- effort from the coaches on down. You hate to see it in a game with these stakes.

I think their roster is too talented for this to be a blowout but there's nothing about this A&M team that scares me. Their three best games have come against two of the worst teams in not just the SEC but Power 5 and a "this is our Super Bowl" type game against Bama that I'm not sure they could replicate if they tried. They haven't shown the ability to run the ball well against anyone with a pulse, they're upside down in turnover margin, and they're not particularly great on third down. Auburn "should" win this one comfortably.

Anyone else feel like Texas A&M is getting WAY too much mileage out of that win against Alabama? This is the same team that lost decisively to Arky and Clanga and has looked pretty inept offensively against everyone but two of the worst teams in the SEC. What about Texas A&M should scare Auburn, other than their overall roster talent?

Further, QBs now just attempt more passed than in previous eras. Your average starting QB in the SEC just throws the ball more. For example, such notable gunslingers as Kyle Shurmur and Kellen Mond are well ahead of Stan White in both career attempts and yards.

I have maintained for years that 2013 was the worst thing to happen to the Auburn fanbase and stuff like this is why. We just beat a ranked team for the first time in like 6 games, on the road and by two scores no less. Where is your head at that this merits firing the DC??

….your elevator doesn’t go all the way to the top, does it bud?

It wasn't just tempo, although that was an enormous part of it. Gus' best offenses always worked kinda like a football version of three card monte. A handful of plays out of endless different formations, always set up and called so the defense guessed wrong no matter what. The secret sauce that made it all work was both tempo AND a core run concept that worked basically every time that he could use to start the cards moving. 2010 had the Cam/Dyer inverted veer monster and 2013/2014 had the Marshall/Mason/CAP read option/buck sweep combo. When that stuff worked, it REALLY worked. When it didn't though, Gus struggled to scheme a "regular" offense. He didn't know how NOT to be the mad scientist.

He's also left behind quite the cautionary tale. Honestly, I don't think Gus Malzahn is a terrible coach. In fact, I think he was once a very good one. He's produced too many good offenses (2006 Arkansas, 2010, 2013, and 2014 Auburn) to be genuinely awful. The guy legitimately was on the cutting edge of the sport when he first showed up. I saw a quote (I don't remember where) by some SEC defensive coach that essentially said "the worst thing that can happen to a good offensive coach is to be called a genius". I think that's where Gus ultimately went wrong. He's not a terrible coach. He's a good one who got high on his own supply, got complacent, and stopped innovating. That's a serious problem at any program but it's a recipe for disaster when you're in arguably the most difficult job in college football.