Here's Why Auburn Will Run Over Louisville

[Rednilla 5,391]

I don't know that L'ville has the horses top to bottom of their defensive depth chart to keep up.

Neither do we. Our starting 11 I feel good about. The depth concerns me.

I'm actually not so concerned about depth, to be honest. That's primarily because I feel so good about the 2 deep on the defensive line...and if Justin Garrett's new shoes prove to keep him off the injured list, then that extends to the linebackers as well. No matter what, though, having those premier big men up front, particularly multiple pass rushing threats, makes the defense as a whole so much better.

I know I'm in the minority, but I still believe if Lawson hadn't been injured last year and offensive lines had to deal with both him and Adams while Lambert was getting up to speed, Ellis Johnson would be seen in a polar opposite light amongst Auburn people. I like Muschamp's defense better because there is even more flexibility (not to mention more ways to screw with blocking assignments while maintaining a formidable pass defense), but I honestly don't think we would be in position to have the defense I believe we will this year without Johnson laying the fundamental foundations that had become lackluster during the Chizik years.

[McFU 205]

I don't know that L'ville has the horses top to bottom of their defensive depth chart to keep up.

Neither do we. Our starting 11 I feel good about. The depth concerns me.

I'm actually not so concerned about depth, to be honest. That's primarily because I feel so good about the 2 deep on the defensive line...and if Justin Garrett's new shoes prove to keep him off the injured list, then that extends to the linebackers as well. No matter what, though, having those premier big men up front, particularly multiple pass rushing threats, makes the defense as a whole so much better.

I know I'm in the minority, but I still believe if Lawson hadn't been injured last year and offensive lines had to deal with both him and Adams while Lambert was getting up to speed, Ellis Johnson would be seen in a polar opposite light amongst Auburn people. I like Muschamp's defense better because there is even more flexibility (not to mention more ways to screw with blocking assignments while maintaining a formidable pass defense), but I honestly don't think we would be in position to have the defense I believe we will this year without Johnson laying the fundamental foundations that had become lackluster during the Chizik years.

After thinking about it I actually agree with you on this. Our first few games last year the defense was clicking and doing really well...even in the Ms St and Alabama games we had multiple interceptions and had enough chances in the red zone to win those games. We seemed to be completely off in the Texas A & M and Georgia games. I am wondering if the whole Whitehead situation caused Johnson to lose control/respect of the players on defense. Something happened towards the middle where the defense just looked lost. That could be due to a lack of improving week to week or maybe the effort wasn't there in practice.

[chimesAU 89]

...even if they don't portend a future where Auburn hangs 60 on every team we play.

Portend...pppffftttt. You think you're better than me, Boy??

[McLoofus 35,182]

...even if they don't portend a future where Auburn hangs 60 on every team we play.

Portend...pppffftttt. You think you're better than me, Boy??

I'll bet a fiddle of gold against your soul?

[VipersStrike1 230]

I don't know that L'ville has the horses top to bottom of their defensive depth chart to keep up.

Neither do we. Our starting 11 I feel good about. The depth concerns me.

I'm actually not so concerned about depth, to be honest. That's primarily because I feel so good about the 2 deep on the defensive line...and if Justin Garrett's new shoes prove to keep him off the injured list, then that extends to the linebackers as well. No matter what, though, having those premier big men up front, particularly multiple pass rushing threats, makes the defense as a whole so much better.

Until I see the depth step up on the field, esp the DL, and even more so DT, I'm concerned.

I know I'm in the minority, but I still believe if Lawson hadn't been injured last year and offensive lines had to deal with both him and Adams while Lambert was getting up to speed, Ellis Johnson would be seen in a polar opposite light amongst Auburn people. I like Muschamp's defense better because there is even more flexibility (not to mention more ways to screw with blocking assignments while maintaining a formidable pass defense), but I honestly don't think we would be in position to have the defense I believe we will this year without Johnson laying the fundamental foundations that had become lackluster during the Chizik years.

It's possible, but difficult to believe one player would have kept CEJ here.

As was with Chizik & the dumpster fire he created, was a blessing in disguise to land Gus. Ditto with Muschamp.

Now, what can Gus & Jacobs do to keep Boom here?

[McLoofus 35,182]

Now, what can Gus & Jacobs do to keep Boom here?

[VipersStrike1 230]

I am wondering if the whole Whitehead situation caused Johnson to lose control/respect of the players on defense.

A defensive player (faint memory thinks it was Jonathan Jones) confirmed it in an interview this year.

[VipersStrike1 230]

Now, what can Gus & Jacobs do to keep Boom here?

Obvious answer, but when asked in his SiriusXM interview last week, he said he wants to be a HC again.

Was a little surprising because he looked quite unhappy as FL's HC...not just at the end...but when he was winning.

That's why as soon as I heard he got canned, he would become a DC again.

[McLoofus 35,182]

I am wondering if the whole Whitehead situation caused Johnson to lose control/respect of the players on defense.

A defensive player (faint memory thinks it was Jonathan Jones) confirmed it in an interview this year.

I've posted it elsewhere, but Auburn surrendered 14.4 ppg in the first 5 games of the season. In the last 8, we gave up 34.4. Something happened. We held LSU to 7 one week and then let MSU hang 38 on us the next. There are some caveats:

-Yes, the competition got much better (but that 2nd subset includes Samford).

-Whitehead was suspended before the KSU game and came back after the MSU game, so it doesn't precisely line up chronologically.

-We all remember the offense putting the defense in a terrible position in Starkville.

Still, those kids fell on the mat and didn't get back up the rest of the season. That's not a team that believes in its leadership.

[McLoofus 35,182]

Now, what can Gus & Jacobs do to keep Boom here?

Obvious answer, but when asked in his SiriusXM interview last week, he said he wants to be a HC again.

Was a little surprising because he looked quite unhappy as FL's HC...not just at the end...but when he was winning.

That's why as soon as I heard he got canned, he would become a DC again.

In all seriousness, I'm just curious where his bar is at in terms of what kind of HC gig he'll accept. I don't think he's looking for another UF, but is he willing to take an Iowa St? What's in between these days? With TCU and Baylor running the Big XII, I don't even understand tiers in college football anymore. And I don't see many name program jobs opening after this season. UNC, maybe? Unless Les Miles tanks at LSU, but I would consider them "another UF" and I just don't see them going after Muschamp... yet.

[Tiger 8,827]

I can't imagine a big time program would want him. After failing at the easiest place to win at in the SEC, he might be another Chizik. Great DC but his ceiling maxes out there. Isn't the narrative from UF fans about CWM "great guy, terrible coach"? Sounds familiar....

[McLoofus 35,182]

I can't imagine a big time program would want him. After failing at the easiest place to win at in the SEC, he might be another Chizik. Great DC but his ceiling maxes out there. Isn't the narrative from UF fans about CWM "great guy, terrible coach"? Sounds familiar....

If he had been able to hire Gus as his OC like Chizik did, they might have owned college football as long as they worked together. His defense was still fantastic despite no help from the offense, and he significantly cleaned up the disciplinary mess left by Meyer. His recruiting classes at UF averaged a ranking of 6.5 according to 247. That includes his first class, which he had only had 2 months to secure and still ranked 11th.

If he hires a good OC at his next gig- not sure he had full control over that at UF- and lets the guy do his job, then I fully expect him to be successful as a head coach. But I have no skin in the game. Not sure if an LSU can take that leap of faith.

TL;DR- I agree with your point, but I did want to add some qualifiers (as I perceive them) regarding Muschamp's failure at UF.

[VipersStrike1 230]

I am wondering if the whole Whitehead situation caused Johnson to lose control/respect of the players on defense.

A defensive player (faint memory thinks it was Jonathan Jones) confirmed it in an interview this year.

I've posted it elsewhere, but Auburn surrendered 14.4 ppg in the first 5 games of the season. In the last 8, we gave up 34.4. Something happened. We held LSU to 7 one week and then let MSU hang 38 on us the next. There are some caveats:

-Yes, the competition got much better (but that 2nd subset includes Samford).

-Whitehead was suspended before the KSU game and came back after the MSU game, so it doesn't precisely line up chronologically.

-We all remember the offense putting the defense in a terrible position in Starkville.

Still, those kids fell on the mat and didn't get back up the rest of the season. That's not a team that believes in its leadership.

A defensive player from last year's team (faint memory thinks it was Trovon Reed) stated (paraphrasing) that when Whitehead got suspended, his backups seized the opportunity. Then when the suspension was lifted, animosity was created because the backups felt they earned their positions.

No, it doesn't line up chronologically, but LSU was not a good team. MSU was. In fact, during August camp, I called a big win v LSU and a letdown loss the following week. So those 2 games had little to do with the Whitehead / Harbison altercation.

IMO, the Whitehead incident leading to full-blown dissension slowly snowballed. You likely had the team wondering when he was going to be reinstated or at all. Part of the team likely took Whitehead's side. Part of them likely took Harbison's side, esp Whitehead's backups. When he got back on Special Teams, the latter group likely knew it was a matter of time before they lost their positions. And eventually, it came to fruition. And that's likely when the proverbial shat hit the fan.

Happens in everyday businesses. No different to a football team.

Oh and...just to correct my previous statement...it was Jeremy Johnson (not Jonathan Jones) who, when asked by the media, confirmed the Whitehead incident was a part of the 2nd half season letdown.

[VipersStrike1 230]

Now, what can Gus & Jacobs do to keep Boom here?

Obvious answer, but when asked in his SiriusXM interview last week, he said he wants to be a HC again.

Was a little surprising because he looked quite unhappy as FL's HC...not just at the end...but when he was winning.

That's why as soon as I heard he got canned, he would become a DC again.

In all seriousness, I'm just curious where his bar is at in terms of what kind of HC gig he'll accept. I don't think he's looking for another UF, but is he willing to take an Iowa St? What's in between these days? With TCU and Baylor running the Big XII, I don't even understand tiers in college football anymore. And I don't see many name program jobs opening after this season. UNC, maybe? Unless Les Miles tanks at LSU, but I would consider them "another UF" and I just don't see them going after Muschamp... yet.

If he does look to be a HC again, I see him accepting what I thought Gus would...an "Arkansas State" level, a place where double digit wins are a near-certainty, then makes a jump to a bigger program. But he knows he must build a stable offense. As others have speculated, he might take Lashlee with him to his next stop. Or at the very least, he'll adopt Gus' offense.

[cole256 17,084]

All that stuff doesn't matter. Only thing that would mess up team chemistry is punishing one person and not another, that's it. Favoritism. All the other stuff nobody really cares about. Nobody is playing less hard or is more confused from half the stuff fans talk about. Favoritism or starting guys who's back ups are clearly better than them (also favoritism)

[McLoofus 35,182]

Random thought on why we might run over Louisville: I just went back and watched some of Jeremy Johnson's high school highlights from 2012. I'll tell ya what, it did my heart some good. Like, I know he's good. And I know high school film /= college performance. But if any of y'all get bored, I recommend dusting off some of Carver's old 8 mms and grabbing ya popcorn. 8 days!

[AUEngineer2016 407]

Random thought on why we might run over Louisville: I just went back and watched some of Jeremy Johnson's high school highlights from 2012. I'll tell ya what, it did my heart some good. Like, I know he's good. And I know high school film /= college performance. But if any of y'all get bored, I recommend dusting off some of Carver's old 8 mms and grabbing ya popcorn. 8 days!

The Carver vs Auburn game in particular is pretty eye opening on what kind of runner JJ is.

[looney 794]

Random thought on why we might run over Louisville: I just went back and watched some of Jeremy Johnson's high school highlights from 2012. I'll tell ya what, it did my heart some good. Like, I know he's good. And I know high school film /= college performance. But if any of y'all get bored, I recommend dusting off some of Carver's old 8 mms and grabbing ya popcorn. 8 days!

The Carver vs Auburn game in particular is pretty eye opening on what kind of runner JJ is.

Just Googled that one. Love those 2 long TD runs up the middle off the Jet Sweep Read (whatever) play! Would really really really like to see some of those this season.

[McLoofus 35,182]

Random thought on why we might run over Louisville: I just went back and watched some of Jeremy Johnson's high school highlights from 2012. I'll tell ya what, it did my heart some good. Like, I know he's good. And I know high school film /= college performance. But if any of y'all get bored, I recommend dusting off some of Carver's old 8 mms and grabbing ya popcorn. 8 days!

The Carver vs Auburn game in particular is pretty eye opening on what kind of runner JJ is.

YES. Talk about pulling away from defenders. I don't know how many 75 yard house calls we'll get to see, but I do see him frequently getting to the first down marker and safely out of bounds when his receivers are covered. Another thing I noticed was his accuracy on swing passes. Led the receiver perfectly and had them facing upfield when then caught the ball time and again. We've tried that play a lot under Gus, but rarely has the ball been put in a spot advantageous to the receiver.

[Strychnine 1,802]

Random thought on why we might run over Louisville: I just went back and watched some of Jeremy Johnson's high school highlights from 2012. I'll tell ya what, it did my heart some good. Like, I know he's good. And I know high school film /= college performance. But if any of y'all get bored, I recommend dusting off some of Carver's old 8 mms and grabbing ya popcorn. 8 days!

The Carver vs Auburn game in particular is pretty eye opening on what kind of runner JJ is.

He looked pretty quick to me early in the A-Day game when he took up lead block for Roc.

[JFDTiger80 790]

I don't know that L'ville has the horses top to bottom of their defensive depth chart to keep up.

Neither do we. Our starting 11 I feel good about. The depth concerns me.

I'm actually not so concerned about depth, to be honest. That's primarily because I feel so good about the 2 deep on the defensive line...and if Justin Garrett's new shoes prove to keep him off the injured list, then that extends to the linebackers as well. No matter what, though, having those premier big men up front, particularly multiple pass rushing threats, makes the defense as a whole so much better.

I know I'm in the minority, but I still believe if Lawson hadn't been injured last year and offensive lines had to deal with both him and Adams while Lambert was getting up to speed, Ellis Johnson would be seen in a polar opposite light amongst Auburn people. I like Muschamp's defense better because there is even more flexibility (not to mention more ways to screw with blocking assignments while maintaining a formidable pass defense), but I honestly don't think we would be in position to have the defense I believe we will this year without Johnson laying the fundamental foundations that had become lackluster during the Chizik years.

After thinking about it I actually agree with you on this. Our first few games last year the defense was clicking and doing really well...even in the Ms St and Alabama games we had multiple interceptions and had enough chances in the red zone to win those games. We seemed to be completely off in the Texas A & M and Georgia games. I am wondering if the whole Whitehead situation caused Johnson to lose control/respect of the players on defense. Something happened towards the middle where the defense just looked lost. That could be due to a lack of improving week to week or maybe the effort wasn't there in practice.

We have more depth this year than we have had in years. Depth should be a strength for us this year.

[ClaytonAU 4,606]

I don't know that L'ville has the horses top to bottom of their defensive depth chart to keep up.

Neither do we. Our starting 11 I feel good about. The depth concerns me.

I'm actually not so concerned about depth, to be honest. That's primarily because I feel so good about the 2 deep on the defensive line...and if Justin Garrett's new shoes prove to keep him off the injured list, then that extends to the linebackers as well. No matter what, though, having those premier big men up front, particularly multiple pass rushing threats, makes the defense as a whole so much better.

I know I'm in the minority, but I still believe if Lawson hadn't been injured last year and offensive lines had to deal with both him and Adams while Lambert was getting up to speed, Ellis Johnson would be seen in a polar opposite light amongst Auburn people. I like Muschamp's defense better because there is even more flexibility (not to mention more ways to screw with blocking assignments while maintaining a formidable pass defense), but I honestly don't think we would be in position to have the defense I believe we will this year without Johnson laying the fundamental foundations that had become lackluster during the Chizik years.

After thinking about it I actually agree with you on this. Our first few games last year the defense was clicking and doing really well...even in the Ms St and Alabama games we had multiple interceptions and had enough chances in the red zone to win those games. We seemed to be completely off in the Texas A & M and Georgia games. I am wondering if the whole Whitehead situation caused Johnson to lose control/respect of the players on defense. Something happened towards the middle where the defense just looked lost. That could be due to a lack of improving week to week or maybe the effort wasn't there in practice.

We have more depth this year than we have had in years. Depth should be a strength for us this year.

Where exactly do we have proven depth? Serious question.

[AUwent 3,754]

I've been saying all along that this could be a real challenge for Auburn. Unlike a lot of fans who think this is going to be a gimmee for Auburn, I'm glad CGM and CWM are taking Louisville a lot more seriously and already preparing for Louisville 2 weeks out. Auburn *may* win by a comfortable margin, but if so, it's because the coaches and the team are really giving Louisville respect.

Cards DC Grantham is used to SEC play and his D will be even better this year with the transfer of 3 players with plenty of gameday experience. Yep, UGA beat Louisville 37-14 in their bowl game. But lets not forget that UGA beat Auburn even worse, 34-7.

This *could* be a sloppy looking game as Auburn's brand new offense suffers execution errors and mistakes. But Champ's defense stalls the Cards enough to keep it close while the offense gets settled down.

Auburn has a lot more talent and depth than Louisville, and I think that will be the difference. I really would love to see Auburn run up a huge score on that slimy Petrino. But it could be a close one. Even a 1 point win is a win.

This is going to be a tough one, no doubt. I'd put it on par with last year's trip to Manhattan.

However, I think last year's Georgia debacle was more psychological than physical. You could just tell we weren't emotionally invested.

[TAYLORKEETON 792]

You're an idiot if you think we blow them out. This will be a good game.

There is nothing like being called an idiot by a guy whose profile pic looks like he had a tough time getting his GED. :/

I just finished 2 years of college & have joined the United States Air Force. mod note: you've been here long enough to know that is not acceptable - wartiger

[TAYLORKEETON 792]

You're an idiot if you think we blow them out. This will be a good game.

There is nothing like being called an idiot by a guy whose profile pic looks like he had a tough time getting his GED. :/

Ouch.

Ooooh...

LOL.