Scarbinsky: AU better than last year

[RunInRed 16,396]

Auburn finished the 41-7 beatdown with 566 total yards to 280 for LSU. That's domination on both sides of the ball on the stat sheet as well as the scoreboard.

How many times did Auburn roll up more than twice as many total yards as an SEC opponent last season? Not once.

The 280 total yards allowed by the Auburn defense may have been more noteworthy than the 566 yards gained by the Auburn offense. That's one reliable metric to measure significant improvement.

How many SEC opponents did Auburn hold to fewer than 300 total yards last season? Not one of them.

Do the math, and with the offense finding its groove and the defense announcing its presence, one thing is clear after the wildest college football weekend in my lifetime. At 5-0, Auburn is the most complete team in the nation on both sides of the ball. Gus Malzahn's offense is more balanced than last season, and Ellis Johnson's defense has become a puncher rather than a punch line.

Read More: http://www.al.com/auburnfootball/index.ssf/2014/10/as_others_falter_auburn_identi.html

[ClaytonAU 4,606]

Funny how we're finally getting respect halfway through the season...

[AUenginerd 16]

Love it. We coming! WDE!

[FootballFanatic 4]

Funny how we're finally getting respect halfway through the season...

I don't care about the respect to be honest. I didn't respect the team the way they were playing up and down. It only matters that if we are good enough and win it all that we get into the playoff so we can beat down and take home the gleaming muffler...

[3rdgeneration 6,469]

That has to be the ugliest trophy ever!

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,662]

Made out of gold and diamond though? That trophy could be a bust of a butt and I'd take it (and sell it)

[aucanucktiger 1,791]

We're better than last year (no duh, Kevin) but this time last season nobody was getting as fired up for facing Auburn as Miss State will be this Saturday either. First 5 minutes in this game is more critical than how the teams face off on paper.

[IronMan70 3,277]

Before the season I said that Gus's offense will score its points but the ultimate success of the season would be determined by the defense. That if Ellis's defense can improve by just 20%, combined with Gus's offense, this would be a dangerous team for anybody to face. Well Ellis Johnson has done just that, and more. It's looking good so far. Big test Saturday.

[McLoofus 35,182]

We're better than last year (no duh, Kevin) but this time last season nobody was getting as fired up for facing Auburn as Miss State will be this Saturday either. First 5 minutes in this game is more critical than how the teams face off on paper.

Actually, Mississippi State's biggest game of the year was against Auburn last year, too.

The difference this year is in how they handle the media hype.

[AUbritt 611]

We're better than last year (no duh, Kevin) but this time last season nobody was getting as fired up for facing Auburn as Miss State will be this Saturday either. First 5 minutes in this game is more critical than how the teams face off on paper.

Actually, Mississippi State's biggest game of the year was against Auburn last year, too.

The difference this year is in how they handle the media hype.

I agree, McLoofus. Miss State was targeting us as their 'big win' last season.

[boisnumber1 2,818]

Funny how we're finally getting respect halfway through the season...

I don't care about the respect to be honest. I didn't respect the team the way they were playing up and down. It only matters that if we are good enough and win it all that we get into the playoff so we can beat down and take home the gleaming muffler...

That trophy looks like a 1985 bathroom fixture. I think my bathroom faucet used to look very similar.

[tgr4lfe 220]

Before the season I said that Gus's offense will score its points but the ultimate success of the season would be determined by the defense. That if Ellis's defense can improve by just 20%, combined with Gus's offense, this would be a dangerous team for anybody to face. Well Ellis Johnson has done just that, and more. It's looking good so far. Big test Saturday.

AU averaged 39.5 ppg scoring and gave up 24.7 ppg on D. This year AU is scoring 42 ppg and allowing 14.4 ppg, albeit only 5 games in at this point, but that is significant improvement on the defensive side of the ball!!!!

[AuburnGrad97 37]

So, with the general opinion that the first 5 minutes of the game is the most crucial, what do you do if you win the toss? Put Nick and the offense out there, and get an early score to quiet the crowd, or put Coach Johnson's defense out there, and flex your defensive muscle to set the tone early???

Personally, I would go with the defense. With all the hype and pressure that Miss St will be under, if the defense could get a 3-and-out, or force a a turnover, Miss St could fold like a cheap tent.

War Eagle!!! I am optimistically worried about this game, but still think we come out on top!

[Tiger 8,819]

That's a very good question AuburnGrad. I was surprised last week when we deferred to the 2nd half, but then I remembered the true frosh QB on the other sideline and I completely agreed with forcing him to be on the field immediately. This week would be a bit trickier. We need to start fast and quiet the crowd as early as possible.

[WFE12 9,191]

That has to be the ugliest trophy ever!

yeah but it's gonna be our ugly trophy

[cooltigger21 0]

That's a very good question AuburnGrad. I was surprised last week when we deferred to the 2nd half, but then I remembered the true frosh QB on the other sideline and I completely agreed with forcing him to be on the field immediately. This week would be a bit trickier. We need to start fast and quiet the crowd as early as possible.

You always defer to the second half or at least that is what is done about 99% of the time. Give your offense the ball to start the 2nd half as that is considered a crucial juncture of the game.

[McLoofus 35,182]

That has to be the ugliest trophy ever!

yeah but it's gonna be our ugly trophy

War Damn Eagle.

[GreenEyedGirl 6]

That has to be the ugliest trophy ever!

It will look better once it's displayed at AU.

[Tiger 8,819]

That's a very good question AuburnGrad. I was surprised last week when we deferred to the 2nd half, but then I remembered the true frosh QB on the other sideline and I completely agreed with forcing him to be on the field immediately. This week would be a bit trickier. We need to start fast and quiet the crowd as early as possible.

You always defer to the second half or at least that is what is done about 99% of the time. Give your offense the ball to start the 2nd half as that is considered a crucial juncture of the game.

I was under the assumption that Gus always elected to receive first. Personally, I would rather have the ball to start the 2nd but I seem to remember Gus always electing to get the ball first.

[McLoofus 35,182]

That's a very good question AuburnGrad. I was surprised last week when we deferred to the 2nd half, but then I remembered the true frosh QB on the other sideline and I completely agreed with forcing him to be on the field immediately. This week would be a bit trickier. We need to start fast and quiet the crowd as early as possible.

You always defer to the second half or at least that is what is done about 99% of the time. Give your offense the ball to start the 2nd half as that is considered a crucial juncture of the game.

I was under the assumption that Gus always elected to receive first. Personally, I would rather have the ball to start the 2nd but I seem to remember Gus always electing to get the ball first.

I agree. Sometimes I wonder if Gus just has a bone to pick with the third quarter. Maybe the third quarter stole his lunch money or something. We have averaged 4.8 points during the third quarter this season and 12.4 in the first, second and fourth.

[AUenginerd 16]

That's a very good question AuburnGrad. I was surprised last week when we deferred to the 2nd half, but then I remembered the true frosh QB on the other sideline and I completely agreed with forcing him to be on the field immediately. This week would be a bit trickier. We need to start fast and quiet the crowd as early as possible.

You always defer to the second half or at least that is what is done about 99% of the time. Give your offense the ball to start the 2nd half as that is considered a crucial juncture of the game.

I was under the assumption that Gus always elected to receive first. Personally, I would rather have the ball to start the 2nd but I seem to remember Gus always electing to get the ball first.

I agree. Sometimes I wonder if Gus just has a bone to pick with the third quarter. Maybe the third quarter stole his lunch money or something. We have averaged 4.8 points during the third quarter this season and 12.4 in the first, second and fourth.

Adjustments are made at halftime. Gus keeps doing what was working until it isn't working. That would imply that he has to learn what will work after the adjustments.

[McLoofus 35,182]

I agree. Sometimes I wonder if Gus just has a bone to pick with the third quarter. Maybe the third quarter stole his lunch money or something. We have averaged 4.8 points during the third quarter this season and 12.4 in the first, second and fourth.

Adjustments are made at halftime. Gus keeps doing what was working until it isn't working. That would imply that he has to learn what will work after the adjustments.

We lost the third quarter of the national championship game last year 3-0. We lost the national championship by 3 points. If that's really the strategy, it's crap.

It should be noted that we scored 14 points in the third quarter of the Arkansas game... when we changed quarterbacks. Take away that one quarter and go with the 4 third quarters where Gus- according to your theory- just went with what was working and we scored 2.5 points per third quarter. That will get us beaten by somebody this season.

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,662]

I'd like to see it if that trophy was composed of orange ruby instead of gold and that steel was navy blue diamonds

[AUenginerd 16]

I agree. Sometimes I wonder if Gus just has a bone to pick with the third quarter. Maybe the third quarter stole his lunch money or something. We have averaged 4.8 points during the third quarter this season and 12.4 in the first, second and fourth.

Adjustments are made at halftime. Gus keeps doing what was working until it isn't working. That would imply that he has to learn what will work after the adjustments.

We lost the third quarter of the national championship game last year 3-0. We lost the national championship by 3 points. If that's really the strategy, it's crap.

It should be noted that we scored 14 points in the third quarter of the Arkansas game... when we changed quarterbacks. Take away that one quarter and go with the 4 third quarters where Gus- according to your theory- just went with what was working and we scored 2.5 points per third quarter. That will get us beaten by somebody this season.

I didn't say it was a specific strategy. Gus has stated several times you keep doing something if it works. I highly doubt that the opposite of what you are suggesting, meaning to blindly guess at what the opposing defense will do and form an offensive plan different from the first half around that, would work better. It was more of a rational way to explain the decreased third quarter production, not anything close to a "strategy." We didn't lose the game because we lost the 3rd quarter 3-0, we lost the game because we lost the entire second half 24-10, and that fell on the defense and offense, as well as special teams, not Gus's flawed 3rd quarter strategy. And even if Gus's strategy was flawless, it wouldn't matter if the team didn't execute it, which we clearly didn't that game.

[AUstateGrad 0]

I love the recognition too and our defense is much improved but Saturday had alot to do with LSU team being almost solely freshman and being in a hostile environment for the first time. Now if the defense has similar performances against TAMU and MSU then where talking.