Is the Penn State game the biggest Auburn home game in 20 years?

[Rednilla 5,401]

2 hours ago, woodford said:

Perhaps I'm not conveying the message as well as I should. Yes, an Iron Bowl or DSOR are bigger ball games than an OOC game against a P5. My point is, regarding the 13 IB, had we lost that game it would not have been the end of the world. It would have sucked, but we all would be stoked that Auburn was back and probably winding up in a BCS bowl going 10-2.

Given everything that has happened in the past few years this program seems to be at a crossroads. That's my point. This could be a massive step forward in terms of momentum like that 2003 IB.

I feel you 100%. If we lose this game, then barring a miracle that I can't see happening, Harsin is toast, recruiting will remain in the gutter for another year, and we'll be searching for a coach who is both completely competent and crazy enough to take on the Auburn job as it is.

If we win, however, 5-0 seems pretty realistic, and 10 wins (including bowl) is not out the window. That's the kind of positive momentum we need to (hopefully) start winning some of these recruiting battles at key positions and put the program into a place where we might be able to start winning championships again.

[Viper 3,139]

5 minutes ago, AUght2win said:

Well, first off, it absolutely could. But more accurately this game could be the beginning of the end if we don’t win. It’s more about the threat of disaster than the prospect of momentum.

We are basically fighting for 6 wins. WKU should give us three. We should take at least two from the batch of Mizzou, LSU, Arkansas, TAMU, OM, and MSU. I see virtually no hope of beating UGA or Bama (but hey, maybe the UA-Texas game was an indicator they are slipping).

Anyway, PSU could be the vital 6th win we need for a bowl and for Harsin to stay alive. 

If we lose, it’s going to be very difficult to get that six, I think.

Agreed that Harsin needs PSU to be one of the six. 

However, I do not see beating PSU as a catapult to beating Ole Miss (in 4 weeks), ARK (in 6 weeks) & MSU (in 7 weeks). 

Momentum to beat Mizz? Sure. LSU? Maybe. After the beatdown Georgia will give us? In the words of Johnny Mac…you can’t be serious. 

Regardless if we beat PSU or not, I do not see this team getting to 8 wins. Many more better opponents are in line after LSU.

[gr82b4au 5,568]

12 minutes ago, Rednilla said:

and 10 wins (including bowl) is not out the window.

As we sit right now, if our coach wins 10 games this season including the bowl game he should be coach of the year. That would be miraculous

[AUght2win 6,883]

24 minutes ago, Rednilla said:

If we're fighting to win 6 games, Harsin's not going to be here next year whether we go bowling or not.

That’s already a given from what I’ve seen of this team. Just fire him now if you believe this.

But I think if he gets six and wins the bowl for 7, he may just do enough to stay. If he gets to 8, he is golden.

[Viper 3,139]

41 minutes ago, Rednilla said:

If we're fighting to win 6 games, Harsin's not going to be here next year whether we go bowling or not.

Win 6 games after beating SJSU to get to 8. 

I think we all majority agree 8 (regular season) is the magic number for Harsin to be retained.

Edited September 13, 2022 by Viper

[woodford 3,678]

54 minutes ago, AUght2win said:

You’re saying it’s the biggest inflection point game since the 2003 IB.

That's fair. It just feels like the finger is in dam at this point. 

26 minutes ago, Rednilla said:

I feel you 100%. If we lose this game, then barring a miracle that I can't see happening, Harsin is toast, recruiting will remain in the gutter for another year, and we'll be searching for a coach who is both completely competent and crazy enough to take on the Auburn job as it is.

If we win, however, 5-0 seems pretty realistic, and 10 wins (including bowl) is not out the window. That's the kind of positive momentum we need to (hopefully) start winning some of these recruiting battles at key positions and put the program into a place where we might be able to start winning championships again.

Agreed. The momentum can carry in CFB. Both negatively and positively. We're not beating Georgia this year. We can't even win in Athens when UGA is average. But if Auburn is 5-1 on October 9th. I think we are all very happy and feeling good about the second half of the season barring any injuries.

Winning early and big is huge for recruiting. That atmosphere + win will get a few commits at least. If it's a close loss or a loss in OT, he will probably get more slack, but if we get thumped by PSU and the season turns sour, then he is gone I'm with you.

[HabitualChiller 110]

Saying that this game means nothing is a bit facetious. If we get rocked at home against the 3rd or 4th best Big 10 team, that'll set a nasty tone for the rest of the year. 

[JDUBB4AU 5,138]

This game is no bigger than San Jose St. 

just win baby 

[Viper 3,139]

4 minutes ago, woodford said:

if we get thumped by PSU and the season turns sour, then he is gone I'm with you.

And if he beats everyone else minus GA & bammer, no one will say, “Yeah that PSU loss was the defining game of the season. If we had only beaten them.” That scenario would put him at 9-3 regular season, easily retaining his job. 

[aucanucktiger 1,805]

In the sense that a bad loss could be the Frost-ing on the cake for Harsin, yes - it could be a huge game in Auburn's history.

[ThurstontheWelshCorgi 576]

I don't really view it as that huge of a game tbh -- if we get creamed then that would be horrible for Harsin but if it's a close loss and we go on to make noise in the sec west the ship could be righted. We need to beat mizzou and Lsu for sure.

[Viper 3,139]

51 minutes ago, AUght2win said:

But I think if he gets six and wins the bowl for 7, he may just do enough to stay.

Nope not a chance he’s allowed to stick around another 5 weeks waiting on the results of another meaningless game at Lesion Field after going 6-6. Been there, done that. Not doing it again.

It’s either 8 regular season wins or 7 including bammer. Otherwise, he’s going bowling with Scott Frost.

[Rednilla 5,401]

1 hour ago, gr82b4au said:

As we sit right now, if our coach wins 10 games this season including the bowl game he should be coach of the year. That would be miraculous

Yes. You're right. He should, and probably will be Coach of the Year (if it happens, I mean). But it's not outside the realm of possibilities, and I wouldn't call it miraculous. Miraculous would be 12-1 with an SEC Championship headed to the Playoffs. 9-3 just means everything came together alright and the ball bounced our way more often than not. I can realistically see us going undefeated at home and splitting with the Mississippi schools on the road. I can also realistically see an utter collapse at 4-7. 

[weagl1 1,789]

2 hours ago, Rednilla said:

If we're fighting to win 6 games, Harsin's not going to be here next year whether we go bowling or not.

Ding, ding, ding.  We have a winner.  No way he survives a 5 or 6 win season with the way recruiting is going.  

[Auburn93 584]

9 hours ago, woodford said:

This all about context. If Auburn had played this game 6 years ago like Clemson, it would be just another fun, massive CFB game that makes the sport so unique. There was no existential or identity crisis surrounding the program or a question of where Auburn's place in the CFB universe will be in an extremely fast changing environment. That might sound silly because it's just CFB, but the unknowns seem to outnumber the knowns when it comes to Auburn's future. Some of that is recency bias, as in 3 days ago.

Personally, the most important Auburn home game (outside of the 89 IB) was the 2003 Iron Bowl. The entire country saw our sleezy boosters going behind the coach's back and then our HC got to do what we all fantasize about, giving your boss the middle finger and dunking on him in front of everyone. It did not get any better than that and it then it segued into a NC type season.

I know what you're thinking, 'but the 2013 Iron Bowl!' Yes, it was the biggest Iron Bowl since the 89 game, but had Auburn lost it was not the end of the world. It was the beginning of a new era and a total rebirth of the program. I'm talking about importance, not hype. Other home games come to mind (DSOR 17 and 19, Tiger Bowl 16, IB 19), but given everything that has happened in the past several years, the head coaching change, the offseason, the 5-game losing streak, and the changing landscape of CFB I think that this Saturday is the most important Auburn home game since the 2003 Iron Bowl.

It is an important game because it is the next one and because Harsin hasn't done well in recruiting.  He needs to win, but he needs to win a lot of games.  Other than that, this Auburn team is not competing for any championships so I don't think it is the biggest game in 20 years.  

[creed 1,666]

No. 

[BigBlueWDE 1,136]

I don't think this game even makes the Top 10 over the last 20 years. Q

From a contextual standpoint, I would put the 2017 Iron Bowl at the top. Not only did we get immediate gratification of beating #1 Bama to win the SECW, but that victory secured our investment in fools gold Gus that set us back 5 years.

[aubaseball 2,676]

5 minutes ago, Auburn93 said:

It is an important game because it is the next one and because Harsin hasn't done well in recruiting.  He needs to win, but he needs to win a lot of games.  Other than that, this Auburn team is not competing for any championships so I don't think it is the biggest game in 20 years.  

AU93 has it right.  It’s a big game this year because it’s a). The next game on the schedule b) it’s against one of the biggest names in college football c) Harsin doesn’t appear to have too many people in his corner 

[Eagle-1 3,821]

It's a big game for Harsin for sure, but nowhere near the most important game in the last 20 years.

It won't be catastrophic to lose, but should breathe some life, and more importantly confidence into the team should we win. 

I've seen seasons turn on much lesser games. 

[AUinMS9528 1,086]

Short answer, No.  Not even close.   

[NoALtiger 3,873]

This is an important game that would really help Harsin sure. It’s a big name ooc game that we would really like to win certainly. But it’s not ‘13 important, that’s still the big boy. 

[gabo4au 228]

23 hours ago, AUght2win said:

That’s being intentionally dishonest about what this game represents. Penn State doesn’t look very good. Certainly not the caliber of SEC teams we are going to face. If we lose, we likely aren’t making a bowl.

 

Ok, so you can voice any opinion you want about this game, this season, AU Football, or any other sport. You are free to disagree, offer rebuttals, and give evidence to support your position. But in the above response, you called me a liar! That's what "intentionally dishonest" is. That is totally out of bounds on a public forum, especially about someone you know nothing about who is participating in a sports (entertainment) forum and offering their HONEST opinion.

 

As an AU Alum, I try my best to live my life by the AU Creed. It's more important than FB or any sport, it's about working hard, being honest, and respecting others. Here's a quote from the creed.

 

"I believe in honesty and truthfulness, without which I cannot win the respect and confidence of my fellow men."

 

AU Alums and Fans should treat all their fellow Alums and Fans with respect and dignity. We're one big family, as the site (aufamily.com) suggests, so please be a good citizen and try to refrain from calling your "family" liars. It might not hurt to go read the rest of the creed, I read it from time to time and I always find some helpful tips there.

[AUinMS9528 1,086]

On 9/13/2022 at 11:14 AM, woodford said:

Perhaps I'm not conveying the message as well as I should. Yes, an Iron Bowl or DSOR are bigger ball games than an OOC game against a P5. My point is, regarding the 13 IB, had we lost that game it would not have been the end of the world. It would have sucked, but we all would be stoked that Auburn was back and probably winding up in a BCS bowl going 10-2.

Given everything that has happened in the past few years this program seems to be at a crossroads. That's my point. This could be a massive step forward in terms of momentum like that 2003 IB.

This might be the biggest game of Harsin’s career at AU, SO FAR!   If he wins Saturday, there’s a chance he might possibly win enough to not get fired.  But there will be several much bigger tests later!  If he loses, it’s pretty much a foregone conclusion that he is done.  Just a matter of which week the PTB pull the trigger.   As for AU, we’ve fired coaches before, we’ll fire more.  We have had plenty of highs and lows, and we’ll have more.   But this is a really bad and unranked AU team vs a pretty bad and barely ranked PSU team.  No one outside of those 2 fanbases could care less.   In the last 20 years we’ve had dozens of games at JHS that the college football world was eagerly watching.   Just my $.02

[PowerOfDixieland 3,226]

No chance any game in the last five years and for the next two or three years qualifies as "the biggest" anything....

[sevenlee36 1,654]

Auburn USC 2003 was huge although a bust