I will be the one to say it....

[Auburn Orange 0]

So what exactly did KSU do against us defensively that was so darn effective? What did they do differently than other SEC teams last season? Or did Auburn just execute poorly vs a perefectly executed defense scheme?

Part of it is that K-State played about as perfectly sound fundamental defense as I've seen in a long time, part of it is that our guys didn't execute in some critical moments, and part of it is that Malzahn was, in fact, pretty conservative in his play calling.

And in spite of that, just think about if we put the ball in the end zone for our final score, instead of through the uprights. That puts three scores between us and them, and either breaks their spirit or makes them press too hard and likely turn it over again. We might well have tacked on another touchdown running the ball down their throat, just from the adrenaline of knowing we had it in the bag.

I've heard talking heads say this was going to be the cornerstone game film for stopping Auburn, and on some level I suppose it's true...but it isn't anything SEC DCs didn't know or coach already. Remember the Camback? Bama shut us down completely for a quarter and a half, and then we stormed back in legendary fashion. Now that I think about it, we were driving toward the end zone to take the lead at the end of the third quarter, scoring a TD in the first minute of the final period...kinda like the TD that put us two scores up against K-State.

Coincidence? Maybe. But I think it's more likely that it's Malzahn cracking whatever it is in their game plan that was slowing him down. For every punch, there is a counter...and we've got a Judo master of a head coach.

Am I the only one who sees a flaw in the "conservative" play calling? Ok, flaw might be a little harsh, but it definetly reveals something about Gus's personality. I really think this showed a bit of Gus's stubborness as a headcoach and play caller, luckily it all worked out with a W. But like you said, he is masterful at what he does so he knows what he is doing

[AU64 10,122]

So what exactly did KSU do against us defensively that was so darn effective? What did they do differently than other SEC teams last season? Or did Auburn just execute poorly vs a perefectly executed defense scheme?

Part of it is that K-State played about as perfectly sound fundamental defense as I've seen in a long time, part of it is that our guys didn't execute in some critical moments, and part of it is that Malzahn was, in fact, pretty conservative in his play calling.

And in spite of that, just think about if we put the ball in the end zone for our final score, instead of through the uprights. That puts three scores between us and them, and either breaks their spirit or makes them press too hard and likely turn it over again. We might well have tacked on another touchdown running the ball down their throat, just from the adrenaline of knowing we had it in the bag.

I've heard talking heads say this was going to be the cornerstone game film for stopping Auburn, and on some level I suppose it's true...but it isn't anything SEC DCs didn't know or coach already. Remember the Camback? Bama shut us down completely for a quarter and a half, and then we stormed back in legendary fashion. Now that I think about it, we were driving toward the end zone to take the lead at the end of the third quarter, scoring a TD in the first minute of the final period...kinda like the TD that put us two scores up against K-State.

Coincidence? Maybe. But I think it's more likely that it's Malzahn cracking whatever it is in their game plan that was slowing him down. For every punch, there is a counter...and we've got a Judo master of a head coach.

Am I the only one who sees a flaw in the "conservative" play calling? Ok, flaw might be a little harsh, but it definetly reveals something about Gus's personality. I really think this showed a bit of Gus's stubborness as a headcoach and play caller, luckily it all worked out with a W. But like you said, he is masterful at what he does so he knows what he is doing

Keep in mind that Gus is still relatively new a coaching college football....JMO but I expect that inside he is not quite the persona that he shows to the public. He still outsmarts himself now and then...all coaches do but it usually happens less often to the guys who have been calling the shots for 15 or 20 years.

I believe he is still a work in progress and we have not yet seen anything close to his best.

[jj3jordan 2,049]

So what exactly did KSU do against us defensively that was so darn effective? What did they do differently than other SEC teams last season? Or did Auburn just execute poorly vs a perefectly executed defense scheme?

Part of it is that K-State played about as perfectly sound fundamental defense as I've seen in a long time, part of it is that our guys didn't execute in some critical moments, and part of it is that Malzahn was, in fact, pretty conservative in his play calling.

And in spite of that, just think about if we put the ball in the end zone for our final score, instead of through the uprights. That puts three scores between us and them, and either breaks their spirit or makes them press too hard and likely turn it over again. We might well have tacked on another touchdown running the ball down their throat, just from the adrenaline of knowing we had it in the bag.

I've heard talking heads say this was going to be the cornerstone game film for stopping Auburn, and on some level I suppose it's true...but it isn't anything SEC DCs didn't know or coach already. Remember the Camback? Bama shut us down completely for a quarter and a half, and then we stormed back in legendary fashion. Now that I think about it, we were driving toward the end zone to take the lead at the end of the third quarter, scoring a TD in the first minute of the final period...kinda like the TD that put us two scores up against K-State.

Coincidence? Maybe. But I think it's more likely that it's Malzahn cracking whatever it is in their game plan that was slowing him down. For every punch, there is a counter...and we've got a Judo master of a head coach.

Am I the only one who sees a flaw in the "conservative" play calling? Ok, flaw might be a little harsh, but it definetly reveals something about Gus's personality. I really think this showed a bit of Gus's stubborness as a headcoach and play caller, luckily it all worked out with a W. But like you said, he is masterful at what he does so he knows what he is doing

Could be he sees a flaw in a play that fails to work, and wants to run it again to work on the problem, even if it fails again. If the play is run correctly it opens up another slew of plays run from the same scheme. If the problem is not corrected, the new scheme, those plays we love so much, won't work either. He is building the base to support the expanded plays. He is smart like that, but we aren't. He is rolling the dice a little by basically practicing during a game, but if we win, then it helps us in the long run. Better to practice now, against a real good defense instead of the scout team, and be able to expand the playbook against LSU and the ranked teams that follow.

[IronMan70 3,277]

I think the word Gus used was not that he was conservative, but that he might have been a little "stubborn" in his play calling.

[war eagle6 0]

And for this^^ you will see a different Gus from this lesson learned

[Auburn Orange 0]

So we have a new head coach who is already one of the best, but we haven't seen the best of AND he is buidling upon in game failures to support our team in the future. Thats a man with a plan. I like the sound of that!

[Mikey 16,568]

This is nothing new. Gus's offense has been subject to dead spells from the get-go. From Kentucky in '09 through last year's BCS game through KSU, there have been quarters, halves and even a couple of entire games when nothing went right, resulting in three-and-out after three-and-out. Usually we've been able to win anyway but sometimes not.

My thinking is to accept the bitter with the sweet. It's mostly sweet, but those flat, dead spells have been here since Gus has been here and I don't look for them to suddenly stop.

[cooltigger21 0]

This is nothing new. Gus's offense has been subject to dead spells from the get-go. From Kentucky in '09 through last year's BCS game through KSU, there have been quarters, halves and even a couple of entire games when nothing went right, resulting in three-and-out after three-and-out. Usually we've been able to win anyway but sometimes not.

My thinking is to accept the bitter with the sweet. It's mostly sweet, but those flat, dead spells have been here since Gus has been here and I don't look for them to suddenly stop.

There is no offense that produces top results 100% of the time. It isn't confined to Gus. You just have to be able to weather the storm as it were and then be ready when it starts clicking again.

[Mikey 16,568]

This is nothing new. Gus's offense has been subject to dead spells from the get-go. From Kentucky in '09 through last year's BCS game through KSU, there have been quarters, halves and even a couple of entire games when nothing went right, resulting in three-and-out after three-and-out. Usually we've been able to win anyway but sometimes not.

My thinking is to accept the bitter with the sweet. It's mostly sweet, but those flat, dead spells have been here since Gus has been here and I don't look for them to suddenly stop.

There is no offense that produces top results 100% of the time. It isn't confined to Gus. You just have to be able to weather the storm as it were and then be ready when it starts clicking again.

I agree 100%. Some of our fans seem to expect Gus's offense to score a TD every possession and when we don't they have to look for some obscure reason.