What exactly was everyone expecting in Harsin's first season?

[ThurstontheWelshCorgi 576]

Just now, woodford said:

My man, age doesn't matter with that group. They are no bueno. End of discussion. 

Poor coaching.

[woodford 3,678]

Just now, ThurstontheWelshCorgi said:

Poor coaching.

Poor talent. They're not any good. 

[ThurstontheWelshCorgi 576]

4 minutes ago, woodford said:

Poor talent. They're not any good. 

Weird because a lot of these guys were also recruited by georgia, lsu, alabama, clemson. Pretty much all were except nick brahms. 

[Hank2020 3,225]

11 minutes ago, ThurstontheWelshCorgi said:

Weird because a lot of these guys were also recruited by georgia, lsu, alabama, clemson. Pretty much all were except nick brahms. 

Surprising, if true. We haven’t beat all them out except on very specific players.

[Mikey 16,777]

9 hours ago, GwillMac6 said:

We lost 2 games we should of won (south carolina and Miss ST) and we won 2 games most people thought we would lose against better teams in Ole Miss and Arky. It all evened out.  Nothing about this team resembled anything close to a 10-2 team with our obvious weaknesses. 

Sadly, that much of your statement is correct. It wouldn't have taken much improvement from the 2020 season to have the 10-2 season I predicted. Instead, we had a disappointing season in which we deteriorated to 3-6 against our major opponents.

[autiger88 3,777]

I think I might be wrong on the first but I don't think by much, I think we still finish in the top 15 but we shall see. 

2/3 ain't bad lol

[nurbis 578]

10 minutes ago, Mikey said:

Sadly, that much of your statement is correct. It wouldn't have taken much improvement from the 2020 season to have the 10-2 season I predicted. Instead, we had a disappointing season in which we deteriorated to 3-6 against our major opponents.

You are comparing records between last year and this year but not comparing the teams we played. Ole Miss, Arkansas, USCe are better teams this year than last. We got Penn State on the road this year instead of a horrible Tennessee team at home. We were also putting in new offensive and defensive systems. 

Why would you expect this team to improve from last year when everything is new? You were predicting 10-2 this year but somehow propping up last year's 6-4 in Malzahn's year 8 as okay. The argument here doesn't make any sense.

[Mikey 16,777]

2 minutes ago, nurbis said:

You are comparing records between last year and this year but not comparing the teams we played. Ole Miss, Arkansas, USCe are better teams this year than last. We got Penn State on the road this year instead of a horrible Tennessee team at home. We were also putting in new offensive and defensive systems. 

Why would you expect this team to improve from last year when everything is new? You were predicting 10-2 this year but somehow propping up last year's 6-4 in Malzahn's year 8 as okay. The argument here doesn't make any sense.

The argument makes perfect sense. If the 2020 team could finish the regular season 6-4 with all big games, then, with the roster returning virtually intact and "better coaching", 7-2 in big games wouldn't have been much improvement at all. Some of the opponents improved? Auburn should have improved too, probably more than the opponents considering how many returning players we had.

[aubaseball 2,673]

Expectations:  I expected that the QB would be better with decision making and knowledge of the position.   His season was a little bit of a roller coaster.   Thought he played ok at penn state but turned around and played like crap against GA State.   Had great games against Ole Miss and Arkansas but stunk it up against aTm.   For a third year starter, I expected better.  
The Oline is just not talented.   No amount of coaching can make a player more talented.   
Receivers were disappointing but tight ends were a surprise.   
Dline was what at times strong but other times weak (Ga State).  
I thought secondary would be a strength but was dissatisfied with their performance.    
linebackers were the leaders and played like it.  
In game coaching was most disappointing part of the whole year for me.   I thought that the coaches had the players ready to play for every game except Ga State, but in game coaching cost the team several games (MSU, Penn State and USCe).   I think that Auburn could have beaten Alabama if it had gone for two in 1st OT with the play call it used during 3rd OT 

[ThurstontheWelshCorgi 576]

43 minutes ago, Hank2020 said:

Surprising, if true. We haven’t beat all them out except on very specific players.

It is true for broderius hamm, and keiondre jones.. Not true for nick brahms.. .  Jalil Irvin recruited also by Michigan and georgia

Edited December 6, 2021 by ThurstontheWelshCorgi

[McLoofus 35,182]

16 minutes ago, ThurstontheWelshCorgi said:

It is true for broderius hamm, and keiondre jones.. Not true for nick brahms.. .  Jalil Irvin recruited also by Michigan and georgia.. Tayshawn manning was sought after too by big programs

And just because they were recruiting them that doesn't mean that they're nearly as good as the players starting for those teams. Quite the opposite, actually. We definitely won a few heated recruiting battles on Gus's watch but not many, and almost none with regards to the OL. Those schools might have been recruiting them but not necessarily with the same vigor with which they recruited their other guys. And it would be pretty silly to suggest that, on average, our 1s are as talented as those of our rivals. 

Edited December 6, 2021 by McLoofus

[tiger1168 51]

I had low expections in the beginning due to new staff and schemes. We came out of the gate and I got caught into the hype we were better than we really are. While losing 4 games in a row hurt I still believe we are improving. We were competitive in every game including the georgia game( even though it got ugly at the end). If we can be competitive in Harsins very first year surely things will improve in year 2

 

[AU9377 5,136]

Nobody ends the season at Auburn with 4 losses and escapes catching hell.  It is well deserved.

[McLoofus 35,182]

15 minutes ago, tiger1168 said:

If we can be competitive in Harsins very first year surely things will improve in year 2

They honestly might not in terms of wins and losses. I think they will, but I can imagine a world in which this program takes a step in the right direction in terms of long term success but still only wins 6 regular season games. 

But man, that schedule is tasty. We don't drive further than Oxford all year. Five home games to start the season. Four cupcakes if you include Mizzoo at home. PSU, LSU, Arky and TAMU at home. The Mississippis on the road will be tough but we should be able to scratch 7 wins out of those 10 games. 

[AuburnTiger4Life 2,225]

People forget we probably would’ve finished 9-3 or 8-4 and beaten Bama had Bo not gotten hurt 

[Bro Johnny Mac 1,402]

To start changing the culture 👍

I think he’s accomplished that 

[McLoofus 35,182]

9 minutes ago, Bro Johnny Mac said:

To start changing the culture 👍

I think he’s accomplished that 

Excellent point. More change to come, too. 

[autan 754]

The coaching change was a lateral move at best, but a change was needed (fan base demanded it). I was predicting a 5-7 due to schedule toughness and completely new coaching and schemes. I think coaching is improving but talent level not so much I'm afraid. It's hard starting with no relationships and very little name recognition.

[AUloggerhead 2,267]

2 hours ago, nurbis said:

You are comparing records between last year and this year but not comparing the teams we played. Ole Miss, Arkansas, USCe are better teams this year than last. We got Penn State on the road this year instead of a horrible Tennessee team at home. We were also putting in new offensive and defensive systems. 

Why would you expect this team to improve from last year when everything is new? You were predicting 10-2 this year but somehow propping up last year's 6-4 in Malzahn's year 8 as okay. The argument here doesn't make any sense.

Absolutely correct.  This year's strength of schedule was ranked #2, while last year's was ranked #14.  (ref Jeff Sagarin)

For the longest time, I used to pour over all pre-season predictions by all the usual suspects (SI, Phil Steele, etc.) thinking I was keeping up with cfb.  Then after seeing how wrong they all were consistently, I finally realized that all of them were crap & I was wasting my time.  I just enjoy watching the games and seeing what happens.  Who really cares if your prediction guesstimate was spot on or not?      

 

[JerryAU 1,694]

16 hours ago, FormerlySec38Row34 said:

Saban went 7-6 in his first season at bammer, so I ask, what were you expecting?

Nothing Saban does, the way he operates or manages his program in any way relates to Auburn.  It's comparing apples to anvils.  

[JerryAU 1,694]

8 hours ago, aucom96 said:

Returning talent levels looked to be roughly on par with an 8 win Malzahn type season, but with a new coach and system I expected some bumps. My preseason prediction was 7 wins. My expectations...

More physical. This didn't happen. We played a very loose zone defense with minimal pass rush, our offensive line looked worse at times from last season, we couldn't run the ball with any consistency and relied primarily on Bo Nix scrambling out of the pocket...same as last season. 

Better discipline. We were very slightly better in overall penalties committed per game over the course of the season. We still have issues tackling. Turnover margin was much worse this season and our receivers were pretty bad all around. Special teams was as bad as I've seen in a number of years. 

Improvement over the season. This was the most disturbing to me. We definitely seemed to regress over the course of the season, continually blowing leads and looking lost in the second half. The defense showed some improvement in spots, but overall it was not encouraging. 

Improved recruiting. This remains to be seen, but right now things aren't looking good. 

So...I didn't expect championships or anything, but I also didn't expect our biggest successes to come against Arkansas and Ole Miss either... or to be returning to the Birmingham Bowl. Harsin has a lot to prove. 

Very well stated.

[homersapien 11,513]

I predicted 6-7 wins, hoping to at least qualify for a bowl. But now  I am disappointed in the way we lost, knowing we could have done so much better.

Glad CBH fired Bobo.

[AU North 164]

Mainly disappointed in the outcome of the last 4 games. WDE

[oracle79 3,569]

8 hours ago, McLoofus said:

Our pass pro was just adequate enough to expose how bad the WRs were. 

That is one of the more accurate statements I've seen here in awhile.

[japantiger 4,052]

My prediction from back in May is below...got LSU and MS State backwards...overall on track.  I do see great effort and at least from some players that tenacity I was looking for.  I also see more inconsistency than I expected....greatness in some situations followed by absolute mediocrity from the same folks.  Offense as expected with the QB and WR talent we have.  

 

Posted May 28

6 and 6 or 7 and 5:

Would be great to be wrong.  Think getting a new offensive system installed and  to produce more than 20 ppg will be hard given all around offensive talent (QB and WR's really). Defense won't be able to save the day if we can't score...offenses, well, except ours, are just too good in general these days...looking for tough, hard hitting play by people who want to get better.  Hope that everyone that needed to go are gone by now.  

 

W

Akron

Alabama State

Ga State

Arkansas

Miss State

South Carolina

 

L

Penn State

LSU 

Georgia

TAMU

Alabama

 

Tossup

Ole Miss