My Thoughts From the Stadium (Georgia 2021)

[abw0004 10,137]

Good morning all,

I hope this thread finds you well as our weather continues to turn into true Fall weather.  We are now halfway through Bryan Harsin's first season as our head coach with the conclusion of the Georgia game.  Here are a few observations I had from inside of the stadium:

Tailgating:  The level of tailgating at this game was another level.  One that I have not seen in a while.  This could have been a lot of things, including a lot of Georgia tailgaters, but perhaps we are seeing more Auburn fans coming back to tailgate with out new head coach in town.  It was fun to see, although I am a little disappointed that the Tailgate Guys' tents are completely taking over.  Don't get me wrong, I really like this concept and would love to start having one for the season, but they are completely taking over and pushing out normal tailgating.  It is fun to see multi-colored tents everywhere, not just white.  The company has expanded their footprint all the way to the parking deck that I park in next to the Auburn hotel.  There needs to be a limit.

Crowd:  The students took what AD Greene said to heart and the student section was packed out an hour and a half before gametime.  I also saw more fans in their seats before the pre-game festivities took place as well.  The crowd was loud for the majority of the game.  I really did not see the noise start to die off until the fourth quarter.  As fans, I believe we really did all we could to help our team and that is all I could ever ask for.  I honestly think our fans are the sole reason the officials took a look at the one UGA punt return where the receiver had a knee on the ground (as he yanked Smoke Monday's facemask into the ground).  I don't really like that we have not had many night games though.  This would have been a perfect game to show off our LED lightshow and I have only seen it once this season so far.  On the flip side, having the helicopters do a flyover was really something.

Hometown Heroes:  If you have not attended and Auburn game in a while, during the first timeout called Auburn does a segment honoring two or three veterans on the field.  One of the veterans honored this week was a gentlemen who was a pilot that took part in escorting the Enola Gay to Japan in the Pacific Theater.  I felt really honored to be in the same stadium as him.

Officiating:  I am usually not one to complain about officiating during games as I know human error will always be a factor in any sport.  This game really did feel like they did their best to get Georgia on track to win this game and then they backed off.  A great example was mentioned above where they completely missed the call where UGA's player absolutely hit the ground.  The lead official missed the replays on the jumbotron.  Why?  Because he was talking to Kirby Smart the entire time.  Only did a replay happen was when our fans really got onto them and one of our players went to a different referee.  Bo Nix had every right to be critical.

Players:  I think we had a lot more injuries in this game than many realize.  I am not sure what you saw on television, but I saw Nix limping pretty early on the sideline along with Derek Hall and Austin Troxell.  Add in the Smoke Monday ejection and I could see in real-time how it was affecting us.  I will say that each of those guys (minus Monday) went back into the game each time and gave it their all.  I have a lot of respect for that.  None of our players ever gave up in this game.  That is one thing I hoped would carry over from the Malzahn teams is the amount of fight and never giving up, no matter the score.  This team believes in Harsin, and that made me happy to see.

Bruce Pearl and the Basketball Team:  It is now a common sight to see our entre basketball team at every home football game.  By the looks of it, they are having the times of their lives.  Bruce Pearl even joined in on the fun this game, shirt off and everything.  At the beginning of the game, Cam Newton even joined up with Bruce along with Madison Prewett.  They are always so full of energy, and I hope our basketball recruits see how fun it really is to play for Auburn.  You can have fun, and be elite at the same time.

Looking Forward:  Almost every game I see a new thread bashing a personnel group or individual player.  I have even seen posts about coaches.  I don't really understand why fans decide it is incredibly important to do that.  I am legitimately asking.  This is our head coach's first season with Auburn.  Entirely new coaching staff minus Cadillac Williams.  Even a new strength and conditioning program.  Our players cannot flip a switch overnight and have mastered a brand new scheme and a playbook memorized.  Even with all of that, our only two losses are to the top five teams in the country.  Penn State will only drop out of that having lost their starting quarterback during the game.  Think about it, our head coach has been on campus for ten months.  Give our guys time to continue to improve.

I am excited for our next game against Arkansas to see how we bounce back from this loss against the number one team in the country.  

[JwgreDeux 1,279]

I was there as well and it was a great atmosphere. Crowd was pretty rowdy into the early part of the 4th quarter. Being in the stadium gives you such a good view of the full field to see plays develop and that has really informed some of my thoughts about this group. I'll save that for other threads and just say that I took one of my kids to the game and we had a great time. Great crowd and gameday atmosphere from downtown throughout the entire stadium. There was even a pretty good vibe going throughout the tailgates we visited after the game was over. 

[Win4AU 4,055]

I understand why the tailgate guys are there and they do a good job of cleaning up after themselves which wasn't happening before but I also loath the blahness of it all.  It used to be first come first serve at 3pm Friday but now its who can afford $1500 - $3000 for a decent spot next to the stadium.  Way to corporate for me.  

[RunInRed 16,620]

Agree on Tailgate Guys ... it's crazy how it has extended from the Campus Green area to what it is today.

[NoALtiger 3,873]

Hard to sell the “family” thing when it’s so corporate in certain areas. There needs to be an adjustment that is win-win for all. 

Edited October 11, 2021 by NoALtiger

[aubiefifty 17,303]

thanks abw i enjoy your posts after the game. when i was in my twenties there was no such grumbling concerning new coaches. and harsin is having to do a complete rebuild and it is often painful and frustrating.when dye left terry was left with a damn good team. while we have talent it is not in the basic things like lines and such  and it is killling us. and i thought our strength and conditioning guy was state of the art but it seems this is part of our problems as well.  i still love my team and that will never change.i can see why kids love pearl so much. he knows how to win and all that entails but he also knows how to have fun. and all the money for tailgating plus game tickets and all the other expenses combined i cannot see how people can afford to come to games.. anyway i believe better days are ahead we just have to be patient.

[aubiefifty 17,303]

2 minutes ago, NoALtiger said:

Hard to sell the “family” thing when it’s so corporate in certain areas. There needs to be an adjustment that is win-win for all. 

the tailgating thing? i bet it started out as friends meeting for a picnic before the game. i think it is a bad look to make folks pay for that but i bet just about all colleges do it.i probably would dot my britches if i knew how much some folks sped each year on home games anyway. i am thankful we can watch most games without paying other than a cable bill. but one day games will be a pay for view. i doubt i live to see it but it is coming. and to me it defeats the purpose of the games for the most part.

[JBiGGiE 2,488]

The only gripe I really have coaching wise is that if I never see another corner fade on goal line downs, it will be too soon.

Whatever they're seeing in practice is a mirage and we just need to throw that play in the trash, light it on fire, and cover it up with concrete.

[AUGoo 2,666]

4 hours ago, abw0004 said:

perhaps we are seeing more Auburn fans coming back to tailgate with out new head coach in town.

That's me!

4 hours ago, abw0004 said:

I felt really honored to be in the same stadium as him.

This!

[auburnphan 6,050]

4 hours ago, JBiGGiE said:

The only gripe I really have coaching wise is that if I never see another corner fade on goal line downs, it will be too soon.

Whatever they're seeing in practice is a mirage and we just need to throw that play in the trash, light it on fire, and cover it up with concrete.

I think that is more about the qb’s decision than anything else.  Like the fade to the te in the end zone.   The te was clearing out the underneath to the rb who was wide open for an easy touchdown and a much less difficult completion but our qb chose to make the difficult throw instead.

Edited October 11, 2021 by auburnphan

[triangletiger 1,599]

8 hours ago, aubiefifty said:

thanks abw i enjoy your posts after the game. when i was in my twenties there was no such grumbling concerning new coaches. and harsin is having to do a complete rebuild and it is often painful and frustrating.when dye left terry was left with a damn good team. while we have talent it is not in the basic things like lines and such  and it is killling us. and i thought our strength and conditioning guy was state of the art but it seems this is part of our problems as well.  i still love my team and that will never change.i can see why kids love pearl so much. he knows how to win and all that entails but he also knows how to have fun. and all the money for tailgating plus game tickets and all the other expenses combined i cannot see how people can afford to come to games.. anyway i believe better days are ahead we just have to be patient.

My understanding is that Ryan Russell is a top-notch S&C coach, but, like with so many other things in the program, Gus had a vision for what he wanted in OL to fit his plan of going hurry—up on offense - leaner guys with more endurance rather than big road graders.  Since  Gus was the boss, Russell had to do as he was told in developing the players.

[abw0004 10,137]

12 hours ago, triangletiger said:

My understanding is that Ryan Russell is a top-notch S&C coach, but, like with so many other things in the program, Gus had a vision for what he wanted in OL to fit his plan of going hurry—up on offense - leaner guys with more endurance rather than big road graders.  Since  Gus was the boss, Russell had to do as he was told in developing the players.

I am really disappointed we did not keep Russell.  He is one of the best at what he does.

[CleCoTiger 1,957]

22 hours ago, triangletiger said:

My understanding is that Ryan Russell is a top-notch S&C coach, but, like with so many other things in the program, Gus had a vision for what he wanted in OL to fit his plan of going hurry—up on offense - leaner guys with more endurance rather than big road graders.  Since  Gus was the boss, Russell had to do as he was told in developing the players.

That's not really my understanding of S&C under Russell at all. Gus may have had a vision (as all head coaches do), but Ryan Russell was free to implement a program that was custom designed not only by position but by individual player. AU's players were as strong, fast and well conditioned as any. What Russell didn't do was go for "muscle beach" bulk. That stuff looks impressive, but it's mostly worthless on a football field. Just my two cents...

[Tigger1985 820]

On 10/11/2021 at 3:44 PM, auburnphan said:

I think that is more about the qb’s decision than anything else.  Like the fade to the te in the end zone.   The te was clearing out the underneath to the rb who was wide open for an easy touchdown and a much less difficult completion but our qb chose to make the difficult throw instead.

He didn’t have time to look at others with a DB in his face 

[WalkingCarpet 1,379]

I remember in the far distant past of 2010 when me and my buddies would take lawn chairs, traffic pylons, a cooler, a roll of tape, and a football to the lot on Roosevelt at 2pm on Friday and claim parking spots for Saturday morning tailgating purposes. I miss the old days. 

[Britt in GA 53]

The white tailgate tent setups at the AU Hotel & Conference Center are part of the University Parking system and not Tailgate Guys.  Same principal, but separate entities.  We have one of the six spots and I purchased it while searching for AU parking.  AU Hotel provides catering options with a discount, 2 parking places, and security.  We don't get all the other tailgate catering options that Tailgate Guys has available, but we bring our own stuff anyways.  I do like having use of the hotel restrooms and the security is nice having someone watch your stuff while you go to the game.

[auburnphan 6,050]

9 hours ago, Tigger1985 said:

He didn’t have time to look at others with a DB in his face 

A couple of things here.  Hunter was absolutely in his periphery, first of all.  Second, now if the corner is blitzing from that side and the safety takes the tight end, where is your check down that you should know?