Oh Lord, get ready for the meltdown

[Guest Tigrinum Major]

There ya go Titan! Our defense played good for one quarter. Thats why you had negative total yards until your last drive of the first half...the first half that ended with you guys having zero points on the board.

You guys sound like spurrier after a LOSS...its all "we did bad" not they did good.

Stat, you and I have very little disagreement with the Iron Bowl. I hope you know that. 99% of the stuff I am touching on is in relation to things others have said.

132368[/snapback]

I love it. Bama fans being happy with a shutout for a half.

The defense played great for a half and should be lauded. Your offense failed miserably to take advantage of the defense's great play and the bad snap/fumble on the punt.

Try this stat on for size: 21-13. Isn't that what really matters? But I do agree with your assessment of the ridiculous statement of "The game wasn't as close as the score indicated." The game was exactly as close as the score indicated, as all games are. The goal is not total yards, first downs, etc. The goal is crossing the goal line, making field goals and extra points and forcing safeties. Those are the ways you score. The ends justify the means.

However, we did dominate your butt and I was never worried once we went in the half only down 0-6. It could have been so much worse, but the fact is, your offense was horrendous. Just as the final score could have been worse, but our coaching staff decided to be conservative. Personally, I wish we had kept throwing and beaten Bama by about 60. Unfortunately, the defensive play in the first half kept it too close for comfort. Oh, well, I am satisfied with simply a three game winning streak...

[TitanTiger 20,483]

There ya go Titan! Our defense played good for one quarter. Thats why you had negative total yards until your last drive of the first half...the first half that ended with you guys having zero points on the board.

Ok, 1 and 1/2 quarters. And technically, we were not in negative yards before that last drive. We were at minus 4 yds in the first quarter. Our first drive of the 2nd quarter went 12 yds and JC threw an INT. The 2nd drive went 26 yds and Cooper fumbled. The 3rd drive went 78 yds and Vaughn hit the upright on the FG attempt. You dodged a bullet.

Nice job not addressing any of the other points. You know we could have basically named the score after halftime. You weren't stopping us. We were stuffing you.

You guys sound like spurrier after a LOSS...its all "we did bad" not they did good.

Well, for those who can think in more complex terms, it's both/and, not either/or. You played well for a portion of the game, then we took over and made some tactical decisions late that were more about ensuring the win than trying to win with style points. Why is this so hard to grasp. Are you seriously arguing that Bama was showing that they could stop us at all in the 2nd half? I mean it's nice that y'all led 6-0 at halftime, but for all the good performance you put out there in the 1st half, 2 FGs is all you had. Once we make adjustments and start playing well, we put three straight TDs on the board. I think that all things considered, the score doesn't indicate who was in control of that game. I think it was more likely to be a larger victory margin for Auburn than a closer game or a win for Bama.

[Bama Bo 0]

Once we make adjustments and start playing well, we put three straight TDs on the board.  I think that all things considered, the score doesn't indicate who was in control of that game.  I think it was more likely to be a larger victory margin for Auburn than a closer game or a win for Bama.

132371[/snapback]

Okay, I was staying out of this but I've got to ask one question. Keep in mind I'm not saying that AU didn't back off at all, I'm just not positive it was as big as you guys are making it out to be. Here's my question:

If AU made adjustments at the half and came out on fire in the 2nd, do you not think it is at least possible that we made some defensive adjustments to counteract?

[Tigermike 3,031]

Once we make adjustments and start playing well, we put three straight TDs on the board.  I think that all things considered, the score doesn't indicate who was in control of that game.  I think it was more likely to be a larger victory margin for Auburn than a closer game or a win for Bama.

132371[/snapback]

Okay, I was staying out of this but I've got to ask one question. Keep in mind I'm not saying that AU didn't back off at all, I'm just not positive it was as big as you guys are making it out to be. Here's my question:

If AU made adjustments at the half and came out on fire in the 2nd, do you not think it is at least possible that we made some defensive adjustments to counteract?

132374[/snapback]

If you did, they didn't work.

[TitanTiger 20,483]

No, because Auburn made a marked change on its last two drives that were, I think, obvioulsy done to milk the clock. On the next to last drive, we threw only one pass and that was on third down and we were moving the ball. We were throwing about 40% of the time during the game up to that point. The last drive we didn't throw the ball at all. Both times, JC was letting the play clock wind down to 2-3 seconds before snapping each time.

I think your defense was getting tired because of lack of offensive production on your end. They were having to go right back out and that wears on you, especially against a good team.

[BamaGrad03 0]

Yeah just like the last two drives we had that both went the length of the field...it wasnt bama making adjustments or anything...it was auburn letting us move the ball.

[Guest Tigrinum Major]

Yeah just like the last two drives we had that both went the length of the field...it wasnt bama making adjustments or anything...it was auburn letting us move the ball.

132412[/snapback]

Exactly! I see the kool-aid is wearing off and you are seeing things our way! WTF took so long?

[ECEstudentUA 9]

Over all, I think this is a pretty stupid subject.

04 AU vs. 92 UA

Come on.....why even discuss this?

[WarTim 3,456]

Yeah just like the last two drives we had that both went the length of the field...it wasnt bama making adjustments or anything...it was auburn letting us move the ball.

132412[/snapback]

But, alas, it was not enough as AU went on to win the Iron Bowl for the THIRD year in a row and the Fourth out of the last five. (Not to mention owning the smaller sandbox in west al. for three centuries)

THAT is what really pains you.....And....We understand.

[WarTim 3,456]

Yeah just like the last two drives we had that both went the length of the field...it wasnt bama making adjustments or anything...it was auburn letting us move the ball.

132412[/snapback]

But, alas, it was not enough as AU went on to win the Iron Bowl for the THIRD year in a row and the Fourth out of the last five. (Not to mention owning the smaller sandbox in west al. for three centuries)

THAT is what really pains you.....And....We understand.

[Tigermike 3,031]

Say it again Tim.

[TitanTiger 20,483]

Yeah just like the last two drives we had that both went the length of the field...it wasnt bama making adjustments or anything...it was auburn letting us move the ball.

132412[/snapback]

I'd say that no matter what adjustments you made after 3 and 1/2 quarters, it had more to do with an obvious change in our defensive strategy than any adjustments you made (particularly the last drive). If you can't see that, then the kool-aid has reached concentration levels in your bloodstream that there's just no cure for.

Frankly, I don't care if we beat you by one point or a hundred. Either way, it's still three in a row. But I think if you watch that game carefully, you come away with the conclusion that Bama could have possibly made it closer, but the more likely result if it was going to be any different from the final result we got was that Auburn would have put 7-10 more points on the board, possibly as much as 17 if we don't doink the FG at the end of the first half.

Believe whatever you want. You guys played out of your minds and still came up 8 points short even with a late drive on a defense that was obviously backing off and keeping everything in front of them. Enjoy it.

[AUloggerhead 2,233]

Okay, I was staying out of this but I've got to ask one question. Keep in mind I'm not saying that AU didn't back off at all, I'm just not positive it was as big as you guys are making it out to be. Here's my question:

If AU made adjustments at the half and came out on fire in the 2nd, do you not think it is at least possible that we made some defensive adjustments to counteract?

132374[/snapback]

For the record, AU (i.e. Al Borges) made adjustments in the 1st half. You can see it in the way that Campbell led the team on a 74-yd drive that ended with Vaughn's missed FG.

After AU takes a 21-6 lead with 3 straight length of the field type drives .... yeah, I suppose you could say uat made some defensive adjustments(!) Not sure if they were the ones that were supposed to be made, though. ( )

Look, with that kind of lead and the way the AU defense was playing, Spencer Pennington would have had to have played a perfect game to have made a John Elwayish-type comeback. He played the best he could -- a career game for him. But the AU coaching staff decided not to make Pennington's job easier by giving him any more turnovers and a short field. Two turnovers a game inside your own red zone are plenty -- any more and you risk losing a game you dominate in the stats column. (Refer to the Punt-bama-Punt game.) It wasn't a pretty win, but it was a pretty smart win on the road in a heated rivalry beating that rival at its own game: stout defense and ball control offense. WDE 12-0

[StatTiger 3,188]

If AU made adjustments at the half and came out on fire in the 2nd, do you not think it is at least possible that we made some defensive adjustments to counteract?

132374[/snapback]

Not really because we only had two more offensive possessions after we went up 21-6. The first possession consisted of 7 run plays and only 1 pass. The last possession was 4 consecutive knee's to the ground by our QB. The one pass JC tossed went for 9-yards and a firstdown on a 3rd & 6 play. During the four possessions prior to our last two, JC attempted 14 passes and completed 12.

Final breakdown of our play calling in our last 6 possessions:

7 run, 4 pass - missed FG

4 run, 2 pass - TD

4 run, 5 pass - TD

7 run, 3 pass - TD

7 run, 1 pass - Punt

4 run - Expire

I believe that it's safe to say that Borges did scale down our offense after building a 21-6 lead and Alabama no longer had to defend the pass in our last two offensive possessions.

[Guest Tigrinum Major]

Always a good read on a slow Friday night....

[Argo 8]

Here's another good one for late night reading. Tig Major, I believe this one was before your time. At least I don't see any of your smart aleck comments.

http://www.aunation.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=6572

Throwback threads are always the best!!

[AUrapids 0]

good read folks, my thought is both teams had outstanding senior leadorship,could it possibly come down to coaching?

[smokies 0]

difference between 1992 Bama and 2004 Aubarn

[DKW 86 7,425]

difference between 1992 Bama and 2004 Aubarn

241248[/snapback]

Wow, the Bama players went out and got Miami NC rings. How cool!