What if Auburn wins the 2013 BCSCG?

[W.E.D 11,070]

I'm glad that game was late and I was heavily drinking.  I don't remember much specifically outside the fake punt, KO return

[Tiger Refuge 6,675]

1 hour ago, W.E.D said:

I'm glad that game was late and I was heavily drinking.  I don't remember much specifically outside the fake punt, KO return

I had a terrible hangover the next day. As a bonus, my wife backed into my truck in the driveway on the way to work the next morning. I wasn’t even mad. I just wanted to go back to sleep.

[Viper 3,139]

9 hours ago, tigeraddikt said:

This is very debatable, but even in real time watching it as it unfolded, that last second lateral play should have gone to Corey Grant rather than Tre Mason. Fresher legs and a better burst, and it was set up for a miracle TD run to cap off the NCG.

Yeah I've referenced that play multiple times. It was set up so damn well and the FSU D was out of alignment. If the O-Linemen had turned around to block the guy who tackled Mason, Mason was gone and it would have dwarfed the Kick Six.

[meh130 1,054]

12 hours ago, Viper said:

Yeah I've referenced that play multiple times. It was set up so damn well and the FSU D was out of alignment. If the O-Linemen had turned around to block the guy who tackled Mason, Mason was gone and it would have dwarfed the Kick Six.

Movies would have been made.

[meh130 1,054]

The problems that led to Gus's struggles and downfall would have been there regardless.

[Viper 3,139]

12 minutes ago, meh130 said:

Movies would have been made.

Yup. 30 for 30 immediately. Gus would have gone down as the luckiest HC in sports history. 

[Tiger Refuge 6,675]

Not gonna lie. This new, lovey @Viper has me super nervous.

[ScotsAU 1,343]

On 6/16/2023 at 2:10 PM, Viper said:

Because it’s the 10 year anniversary of that incredible overachieving miraculous team… if AU had beaten FSU for the 2013 National Championship…

1. What would it have changed for Auburn? (recruiting, national impact, other factors)

2. Does the 2013 team eclipse the 2004 and 2010 teams as the GOAT?

3. What does it do for Gus? Is Gus allowed to stay longer than the 2020 season? Or would it not have mattered?

1. Not sure much would’ve changed. Even coming up short, our recruiting was good the following year, and continued to be until Gus had to recruit against both the a$$ to the east and the a$$ to the west simultaneously. That steadily dried up our pipelines for OL.  Gus did more to adapt his scheme than some want to give credit for. But, even after adding some air raid and west coast passing concepts 2017-2019, he wasn’t able to adapt his route tree enough to continue to get SEC DCs off their game. Plus, without OL talent, he steadily wasn’t able to run open the pass line he wanted to. Too simplistic of a passing game+no run blocking+no pass protection= inept offense. Nothing about the end of that game would’ve changed that trajectory.

2. Hard to compare those seasons because they were so different. 2004 had the best skill position players and the best defense overall. But the offense was not as explosive as either of the other 2 years. (Albeit the game was just different, and the offense was much more ball control.) 2010 had the best offense overall, and I think a front 7 that would’ve rivaled 2004. But the secondary was weak. 2013 the scheme just opened up a lot. Gus’s addition of more triple option and RPO concepts and arguably the best OL of the three years opened up a lot on offense, especially as Marshall/Mason found their groove together. Defense that year was probably on par with 2010, but more balanced. 2010 had a good front 7 but a bad secondary. The 2013 team had a decent pass rush. The rest of the defense as a whole was just good but not great. If I had to rank them I’d say 2010, 2013, 2004. 2010 won it. Hard to not put them first.  For 2013, we were better than that FSU team and should’ve won the natty. In 2004, we were better than Oklahoma. But I don’t think we would’ve beaten USC. 
3. Probably answered this above. Though he adapted the offense more than he gets credit for, Gus had to keep recruiting good OL to keep a run- play action offense effective. The dip in OL recruiting after Kirby was hired and the still too simplistic passing game eventually destroyed offensive production. That was going to happen no matter what the outcome of the NC in 2013 was. When he got fired, I was very vocal about my thoughts that he was let go a season early. His records were still good. His overall record is still one of the better ones in Auburn football history. Also, there really weren’t any good options available that year (hence Harsin being the hire). And the Covid year was so strange that I think it needed to be really bad (e.g, coach completely losing the team) for a coach to be let go. But even though I didn’t think he should’ve been fired that year, I still thought his days were numbered. He was fundamentally a run first coach, and he was no longer able to recruit OL. He wasn’t likely going to be able to sustain much longer. 

[Viper 3,139]

11 hours ago, Tiger Refuge said:

Not gonna lie. This new, lovey @Viper has me super nervous.

As long as Pastor Hugh doesn’t hire anyone that has coached in the state of Idaho…

[Tiger Refuge 6,675]

26 minutes ago, Viper said:

As long as Pastor Hugh doesn’t hire anyone that has coached in the state of Idaho…

I flew out of DFW yesterday and passed a gate where folks were flying to Boy-C. I scanned that crowd long and hard…..

[gr82b4au 5,568]

On 6/20/2023 at 3:00 PM, Viper said:

Yup. 30 for 30 immediately. Gus would have gone down as the luckiest HC in sports history. 

Came here to post this. 30 for 30 for sure. You can almost do one without us winning the championship. One of the biggest turnarounds in NCAA history. 

That national championship game against fsu and the basketball game against Virginia are the most bitter losses in Auburn history. Gut wrenching. 

But I find solace in the fact that every time someone mentions the best college football games in history, the 2013 kick 6 is mentioned. And replayed. Over and over and over. And that makes me smile… 

[Viper 3,139]

3 hours ago, gr82b4au said:

That national championship game against fsu and the basketball game against Virginia are the most bitter losses in Auburn history. Gut wrenching. 

The FSU loss sucked, but IMO it was not in the same galaxy as gut wrenching as the Virginia loss. Why? Because we just won one in 2010 and we knew Marshall, CAP, Coates and the majority of the O-Line would be back in 2014.

We never ever ever sniff a title in basketball. Even tho we have Bruce, hoops is always a crapshoot with one and dones. It shouldn’t shock anyone if Bruce never gets us back to the Final Four. Getting there, for any team, takes a ton of fortune. Hell, we nearly lost to New Mexico St in the 1st round.

I was in a funk for 5 days following the Virginia loss. I boycotted the Virginia/TT game. Didn’t watch it. Have never watched it. I know who the best team in the nation was. And that team was screwed by ignorant, incompetent officials from being rightfully crowned as National Champions.

FSU beat us fair and square. They were who we thought they were and we let em off the hook. 

Edited June 22, 2023 by Viper