For those that have checked a loss by the LSU and Bama games

[aubfaninga 16]

can you please explain your reasoning behind why you assume that we will lose to Bama in the very last regular season game. Saban is better? home feild? Alabama is just better? better recruits? better coaches? experience? youth? Chizic can't get the job done? I am not seeing it.    (don't bother with LSU, I can actually see some points to argue there)

[revj 0]

personally i am not ready to concede anything. Defense will be better in all phases; granted linebacker is thin; but offense will be more ball control. Offense will be better in all phases; yes even O-line and quarterback; even though there may questions there; they still will be much improved. Home games against L.S.U, Arkansas, & Georgia and facing Clemson on neutral field.

I may be wearing orange & blue glasses; but i am not ready to concede anything.

[johnnyAU 3,761]

Because Saban simpy isn't the coach the media hails him to be. He may be a master stockpiler of talent, but how he does it? Well, that is another matter.

You might look to last year's NC game as a testament to his ability, but it was more of a treatise on Les Miles' unwillingness to alter his own offensive gameplan. Remember, Saban has two of the most embarrassing losses in Bama history in his relatively short tenure. One of them came at the hands of our Tigers in an epic 2nd half meltdown. He has simply done nothing worht mentioning without upper tier talent on hand. What would he have done with Auburn's youth last season? Do you really think he would have won any more games than Gene Chizik? Do you really think he would have handled the situation Gene handled in 2010 as well and brought home the title?

We can punch them in the mouth early and Saban will come unglued, much like his little wannabe understudy Dabo Sweeeney. I don't have that game pencilled in as a loss, and neither should you.

War Eagle!

[Ronald McDonald 0]

You might look to last year's NC game as a testament to his ability, but it was more of a treatise on Les Miles' unwillingness to alter his own offensive gameplan.

So what would you have done if you were Les Miles? You make it sound like scoring on that Bama defense was simple. Putting in Jarrett Lee was not going to solve the problem. LSU was weak offensively and it finally came back to bite them.

[Eagle Flight 0]

Have conceded nothing, but as for Les Miles in BCS game, Alabama gave the blueprint how to attack a good defense. Pass on first down with play action using the RB and TE. Then throw over the top when they come up to stop the short stuff. Then pound with the running game, and keep them off balance by still throwing on a regular basis on first down. That way you stay ahead of the chains, and make the defense react instead of attacking. If we start out 5-0, which we can, we will be undefeated(1 loss at worst going into Bama game), and if undefeated going in, we will leave undefeated.

[johnnyAU 3,761]

I'd have thrown the ball deep early. Saban was selling out to stop the run and short pass. He was literally daring LSU to do it. It doesn't take Jarrett Lee to find Rueben Randle. They were going 3 and out so often, what difference would it have made if he occasionally threw a pick 30-40 yards downfield?

Les Miles wouldn't budge on the game plan. He got so used to ST, a stout D, the Honey Badger and sheer fortune, that he must have been certain somebody was going to pull him through again. You simply cannot let an aggressive defense pin their ears back and keep coming at you time after time. They must pay for it at some point. Even with an average duo at QB, you have to take your shots. Malzahn knew it, and up until last season's team full of mediocrity, it worked. If what you are doing is failing miserably in the first half, you've gotta make some adjustments. It isn't what Saban did, it's what Miles didn't do that cost LSU the game and championsip.

[aubfaninga 16]

You might look to last year's NC game as a testament to his ability, but it was more of a treatise on Les Miles' unwillingness to alter his own offensive gameplan.

So what would you have done if you were Les Miles? You make it sound like scoring on that Bama defense was simple. Putting in Jarrett Lee was not going to solve the problem. LSU was weak offensively and it finally came back to bite them.

LSU's gameplan was to get the option rolling. There was nothing wrong with that going into the game because LSU was pretty descent at running it and it was Alabama's only glaring weak spot. Well Saban apparently took a gamble as well as LSU and and put all his eggs in one basket. Alabama's D looked like that was all they practiced for. Disappointed that LSU had nothing else to offer after having over a month to prepare. I have seen many LSU games (including this years) and they have always been descent at pass blocking but they looked like they had not practiced pass protection since the SEC championship game. If you watch a replay of the game Alabama's D line did nothing fancy. Alot of short armed whiff blocks by LSU's Oline made them look all world. Les Miles' offensive gameplan made Saban look like a genius.

Offensive game summary for LSU

1st half

1st drive: some form of option 3 plays, punt

2nd drive: option, 7 yard pass downfield, screen

3rd drive: screen, 8 yard pass downfield, short pass, and punt

4th drive: option, pass, option, and punt

2nd half

1st drive: wide open deep pass dropped, 19 yard pass downfield for 1st down(another receiver was open for touchdown down the middle), run, sack (nobody even looked at the end), qb run, and punt

2nd drive: screen, screen, sack, and punt

3rd drive: 8 yard pass downfield, run, run for 1st down, run, qb run, run, and punt

Here is where I beleive Les gave up. 9:44 left down 15 to 0 with 3 time outs

4th drive: run, qb run, run for 1st down, qb run for 1st down, option, screen, missed wide open receiver for 20+ yards, fumble

5th drive (4:29 left) Horrible short dump pass, screen, sack, and punt.

GAME ENDED WITH LSU STILL HAVING 2 TIME OUTS!!!!

Qb runs were lumped in with scramble (hard to tell if it was a designed run with Jefferson in game) Point is still there. Anytime LSU dropped back to pass good things happended. The entire defense was keyed on the option. THE OPTION AND SCREEN WAS RAN at least 13 times, not once did they get positive yardage.  Football 101: If a defense is commited to stopping the option, screen passes will not work. They are already set in spots. (assignments) Back to downfield passing, even when the secondary recovered (because they were playing up for the option) to cover the pass they were out of position to stop the QB run. Horrible in game adjustments by the LSU coaching staff. Horrible! Would the outcome have been any different? We will never know.

Getting way off subject, where are the Auburn fans that have already given a win to Bama this year? Please help me understand your logic.

[Ronald McDonald 0]

Man we have some stud Offensive Coordinators in here. Smarter than a man with 2 NC rings.

[johnnyAU 3,761]

Didn't say LSU would have won the game, or if throwing the deep ball would have been successful, but how can you justify continuing a strategy for an entire game with absolutely no positive results?

What did Auburn do in 2010 after struggling mightily with the QB read option and screen passing in the 1st half? They threw the ball downfield. Good things happened and it completely turned the game around. What do you think might have happened if Auburn had made no halftime adjustments?

[icanthearyou 4,468]

Man we have some stud Offensive Coordinators in here. Smarter than a man with 2 NC rings.

I'm not too sure Les is what you would necessarily call an "offensiive genius".

[aubfaninga 16]

Man we have some stud Offensive Coordinators in here. Smarter than a man with 2 NC rings.

That man with 2 NC rings tried to rely too heavily on all of his "stud"  athletes like he always has. Les Miles has never impressed too many people with his gameday decisions. Middle school coaches know that screens will not work if the defense is sitting in spots. Sorry if that is too advanced for some people. If you take the time to watch the game you will see that Alabama was caught off balanced when LSU stretched the field. If a toddler sticks something in a light socket and gets shocked they might try it again but only once more. Over half the offensive plays were screen or option.

[bigbird 61,090]

Get back on topic.

[NCTiger 0]

I don't think anyone in our camp is looking at losing the bama or LSU games.  We have plenty of youth, but we are not short on talent and have a rock solid staff.

In the NC game bama's D looked rock solid, but LSU did a nice job of handing them the game. LSU looked totally unprepared for a battle, showed no heart and Miles made few if any adjustments. They played more like a beat up team just wanting the season to be over than an undefeated team playing in the NC. I almost felt bad for the corndogs.

War Eagle !

[AUenginerd 33]

They played more like a beat up team just wanting the season to be over than an undefeated team playing in the NC. I almost felt bad for the corndogs.

War Eagle !

Yeah...almost!  WDE! 

[aubfaninga 16]

Get back on topic.

I have tried Bird. I see alot of 7 and 8 win seasons floating around on this board. One can only assume that LSU and Alabama are on the list of losses. I was wanting to try and understand why Alabama is that much better than us in some peoples eyes. Is Alabama good? yes. Are we that far behind if at all? Heck naw!!!

[87aubie 0]

I don't know that I can honestly pick any of our bigger games this year.  I have that "I don't know what to expect" feeling about Auburn this year.  Kinda like I did in 2010.  Hmmm, that turned out pretty nicely.  :hellyeah:

[t.c._nomel 0]

I checked a loss for LSU because they'll lose to Auburn, and a loss for UAT because they'll lose to Auburn.

[aubfaninga 16]

I checked a loss for LSU because they'll lose to Auburn, and a loss for UAT because they'll lose to Auburn.

Do you have a schedule for every SEC team posted on your wall or do you just like the colors on the UAT and LSU ones?

[Eagle Flight 0]

Didn't say LSU would have won the game, or if throwing the deep ball would have been successful, but how can you justify continuing a strategy for an entire game with absolutely no positive results?

What did Auburn do in 2010 after struggling mightily with the QB read option and screen passing in the 1st half? They threw the ball downfield. Good things happened and it completely turned the game around. What do you think might have happened if Auburn had made no halftime adjustments?

Real simple: It would have been worse than 42-14. If what you are doing isn't working, try something else.

[TerritorialTigers 0]

I agree aubfaninga, bama has a new offensive coordinator as well so who knows what they'll look like offensively. I don't know much about their oc but what's so special about him that he's going to run through AU's defense or any other teams. I don't know but I feel this years team has found an identity and they're building on it everyday. We're going to be much improved on D which I believe will keep us in all our tough games. I believe the D will allow the O to mature and gel as the season unfolds. Hopefully, our weaknesses on D won't be seen as such because of our strengths in other areas. I don't know what reality will look like from this team but I do expect us to win every game and compete every down. I can see LSU or Auburn vs UF in the SEC championship game. War Eagle!!!

[Eagle Flight 0]

If we are 5-0 after Arkansas, we will be 10-1 or 11-0 going into the IB. If 11-0, we will be 12-0 afterwards. See no reason why we can't do that this year. First 5 games are the key to a great year. War Eagle!!!!

[aubfaninga 16]

I agree, bama has a new offensive coordinator as well so I who know what that'll look like.  I don't know much about their oc but what's so special about him that he's going to run through AU's defense or any other teams.  I don't know but I feel the this years team has found an identity and they're building on it everyday.  We're going to be much improved on D which I believe will keep us in all our tough games.  I believe the D will allow the O to mature and gel as the season unfolds.  Hopefully, our weaknesses on D won't be seen as such because of our strengths in other areas.  I don't know what reality will look like from this team but I do expect us to win every game and compete every down.  I can see LSU or Auburn vs UF in the SEC championship game.  War Eagle!!!

Florida is an interesting pick. I think that Mizzou, Tenn, and Vandy could make the east real fun this year. Looking for alot of shocker games

[styxfan34 0]

Man we have some stud Offensive Coordinators in here. Smarter than a man with 2 NC rings.

^^THIS^^ People may not like it(me for One), but Saban is far and away the best coach in college football. Beating him and a very talented group of athletes is not easy and takes much preparation. Im not conceding anything, but it's def. gonna be a struggle. Bama is very talented and very well coached.

[t.c._nomel 0]

I checked a loss for LSU because they'll lose to Auburn, and a loss for UAT because they'll lose to Auburn.

Do you have a schedule for every SEC team posted on your wall or do you just like the colors on the UAT and LSU ones?

[Stripe 5]

Man we have some stud Offensive Coordinators in here. Smarter than a man with 2 NC rings.

^^THIS^^ People may not like it(me for One), but Saban is far and away the best coach in college football. Beating him and a very talented group of athletes is not easy and takes much preparation. Im not conceding anything, but it's def. gonna be a struggle. Bama is very talented and very well coached.

I would say he is the best recruiter(Legal or not)...Not best coach. Some of his in-game coaching decisions/ play calling leave me scratching my head asking what the hell he was thinking calling that dumbass play, always has, even when he was at LSU.