GalensGhost 0 Posted January 3, 2006 Share Posted January 3, 2006 The loss in the bowl game was bad enough. Putting the hurt and embarassment aside for the moment, what is the potential long-term fallout? 1) In all likelihood an average Alabama team will finish the season ranked ahead of Auburn. So will Georgia and LSU. This year's poll really doesn't matter. If you finish third or thirty-third, what's the real difference? The only thing that hurts us here is in recruiting. It gives the Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, LSU (and perhaps even Bama) contingent an angle. 2) There is now precious little chance of Auburn opening the 2006 season in the top ten. That one is the killer. If AU is to ever have a shot at the brass ring, it is imperative for the Tigers to be poised to move up. As we've learned the hard way, teams that start out in the middle of the pack simply can't make up enough ground on the pre-season favorites unless something out of the ordinary happens. Others...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jared52 4,354 Posted January 3, 2006 Share Posted January 3, 2006 The loss in the bowl game was bad enough. Putting the hurt and embarassment aside for the moment, what is the potential long-term fallout? 1) In all likelihood an average Alabama team will finish the season ranked ahead of Auburn. So will Georgia and LSU. This year's poll really doesn't matter. If you finish third or thirty-third, what's the real difference? The only thing that hurts us here is in recruiting. It gives the Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, LSU (and perhaps even Bama) contingent an angle. 2) There is now precious little chance of Auburn opening the 2006 season in the top ten. That one is the killer. If AU is to ever have a shot at the brass ring, it is imperative for the Tigers to be poised to move up. As we've learned the hard way, teams that start out in the middle of the pack simply can't make up enough ground on the pre-season favorites unless something out of the ordinary happens. Others...? 208458[/snapback] I think this will have some effect on the voters at the start of next season, but there's a lot of questions about everyone right now. What is USC going to be like in the post Bush/Leinert era, will Texas be able to replace Vince, who's gonna play DB for AU, etc. I dout the voters are making their picks now. Also, who knows what's gonna change in the BCS next year. There could be a big shake up that keeps the preseason polls from having so much pull. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raven_tiger 5 Posted January 3, 2006 Share Posted January 3, 2006 The loss in the bowl game was bad enough. Putting the hurt and embarassment aside for the moment, what is the potential long-term fallout? 1) In all likelihood an average Alabama team will finish the season ranked ahead of Auburn. So will Georgia and LSU. This year's poll really doesn't matter. If you finish third or thirty-third, what's the real difference? The only thing that hurts us here is in recruiting. It gives the Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, LSU (and perhaps even Bama) contingent an angle. 2) There is now precious little chance of Auburn opening the 2006 season in the top ten. That one is the killer. If AU is to ever have a shot at the brass ring, it is imperative for the Tigers to be poised to move up. As we've learned the hard way, teams that start out in the middle of the pack simply can't make up enough ground on the pre-season favorites unless something out of the ordinary happens. Others...? 208458[/snapback] Excellent points. When was the last time a team, that was ranked outside the top ten giong into a season, won a NC? Stat? I bet that it doesn't happen very often. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TitanTiger 20,510 Posted January 3, 2006 Share Posted January 3, 2006 Just looking back at the last 25 years: 2003: LSU started the year ranked 14th. 2002: Ohio State started out 12th 2000: Oklahoma started out 19th 1997: Michigan started out 14th 1990: Georgia Tech was unranked 1988: Notre Dame started out 13th 1984: BYU was unranked 1983: Miami was unranked (piss on 'em) 1981: Clemson was unranked 1980: Georgia started out 16th All of the above preseason rankings are from the AP. Don't have a coaches poll site to look at but generally teams aren't far off in each poll. Bottom line: it's been done several times...eleven out of 25 to be exact. No reason we can't be the twelfth if that's how we start out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUTrey 0 Posted January 3, 2006 Share Posted January 3, 2006 I was thinking about it, and I'm really not sure that the bowl game result will play into next year's rankings all that much. Just looking at this year, and right off the top of my head, Va Tech and LSU both lost their bowl games last year, but began this season in or near the Top 5. I know their losses were different last year, but still, losses nonetheless. The loss may be the difference in us beginning next year number 7 instead of number 5, but I don't think it will cause us to begin number 17 instead of 5. It seemed like this year, in the preseason rankings, little mention was made of the bowl games in justifying LSU or VT ranked where they were. Just my opinion, I may end up being totally wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GalensGhost 0 Posted January 3, 2006 Author Share Posted January 3, 2006 Just looking back at the last 25 years:2003: LSU started the year ranked 14th. 2002: Ohio State started out 12th 2000: Oklahoma started out 19th 1997: Michigan started out 14th 1990: Georgia Tech was unranked 1988: Notre Dame started out 13th 1984: BYU was unranked 1983: Miami was unranked (piss on 'em) 1981: Clemson was unranked 1980: Georgia started out 16th All of the above preseason rankings are from the AP. Don't have a coaches poll site to look at but generally teams aren't far off in each poll. Bottom line: it's been done several times...eleven out of 25 to be exact. No reason we can't be the twelfth if that's how we start out. 208521[/snapback] Good info. Encouraging. The BCS didn't exist for eight of those, however. The BCS formula makes it much more difficult. OU, OSU and LSU all benefitted from some inexplicable losses by teams ahead of them. But your point is taken. Even if you start third, unless one of the teams ahead of you falls, third is your glass ceiling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarolinaTiger 0 Posted January 3, 2006 Share Posted January 3, 2006 i think the fallout won't be as bad as you guys are projecting....at least w/ the polls. i have no idea how recruits will see it. i think that in 2-3 months, when people look back at the bowl season, they will see that one team came to play and another didn't. one team was motivated by a departing coach, one team wasn't. one team whipped the other team, but the beaten team was still a good squad with lots of potential. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoAU 1,600 Posted January 3, 2006 Share Posted January 3, 2006 At the risk of sounding like a hipocrite, I think this can be as bad for recruiting as we make it. If the fan base blows this out of proportion and starts ripping our own team and coaches to shreds the recruits will listen, and believe. I strongly believe they do read message boards (I know I would), and can be turned on or off by the fans, and how they react. Which would you believe more (assuming you're a young, defensive bluechipper), a Bama coach telling you that Auburns defense was on a downhill slope and you would be better off going to a different school, or an Auburn fan saying just about the same thing? As I said, I know I posted while quite upset yesterday, but hopefully the coaches and players learned a lesson, and it's time for us to support them and move on - next season still looks VERY promising, and this season wasn't to bad in the big picture either War Damn Eagle!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abrnfanatc 6 Posted January 3, 2006 Share Posted January 3, 2006 Amen. I haven't heard a better perspective on this yet. It is only as bad as we the fans make it. Sure, they had a terrible day yesterday and they had a rough first game with a new offensive backfield. Even though I was fuming as a fan after the GT game, I knew better days were ahead for this squad. I hate to see the Seniors go out on such a sour note, but I also think it will make the Freshmen, Sophomores and Juniors more focused on what they need to do next year. What a recruit should see out of all this is that the staff at Auburn could put together a 9-3 team in a "rebuilding" year that beat its 2 biggest rivals to close the regular season. Just imagine what they can put together next year with more experience in the offensive backfield. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoJtrueAUman 4 Posted January 3, 2006 Share Posted January 3, 2006 Amen. I haven't heard a better perspective on this yet. It is only as bad as we the fans make it. Sure, they had a terrible day yesterday and they had a rough first game with a new offensive backfield. Even though I was fuming as a fan after the GT game, I knew better days were ahead for this squad. I hate to see the Seniors go out on such a sour note, but I also think it will make the Freshmen, Sophomores and Juniors more focused on what they need to do next year. What a recruit should see out of all this is that the staff at Auburn could put together a 9-3 team in a "rebuilding" year that beat its 2 biggest rivals to close the regular season. Just imagine what they can put together next year with more experience in the offensive backfield. 208570[/snapback] I totally agree with you. If you had told me after the Tech game we would finish the season 9-3 with wins over UGA and UAT I would have said you were crazy. Yeah I was pissed about the game but I think we had a damn good year for a team that lost 4 1st round draft picks. I can't wait to see what the future holds for these guys. WAR EAGLE! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GalensGhost 0 Posted January 3, 2006 Author Share Posted January 3, 2006 Amen. I haven't heard a better perspective on this yet. It is only as bad as we the fans make it. Sure, they had a terrible day yesterday and they had a rough first game with a new offensive backfield. Even though I was fuming as a fan after the GT game, I knew better days were ahead for this squad. I hate to see the Seniors go out on such a sour note, but I also think it will make the Freshmen, Sophomores and Juniors more focused on what they need to do next year. What a recruit should see out of all this is that the staff at Auburn could put together a 9-3 team in a "rebuilding" year that beat its 2 biggest rivals to close the regular season. Just imagine what they can put together next year with more experience in the offensive backfield. 208570[/snapback] I totally agree with you. If you had told me after the Tech game we would finish the season 9-3 with wins over UGA and UAT I would have said you were crazy. Yeah I was pissed about the game but I think we had a damn good year for a team that lost 4 1st round draft picks. I can't wait to see what the future holds for these guys. WAR EAGLE! 208591[/snapback] I think you guys are missing the point. Nobody is complaining about this season or the general direction of the program. The question is to the ramifications this loss will have. Because of the circumstances, I believe they are more than a normal loss. AU had a chance to make a statement. A chance to pound an inferior team and get the national media thinking of the Tigers as a team to reckon with in what has the potential to be another great season. Add a bowl win on top of awesome efforts against UA and UGA and you've got the same kind of momentum heading into 2006 that Texas had this season and Oklahoma had the year before. I'm proud of the season AU had. A nine-win season is great. Wins over UA and UGA are awesome. I'm happy with the progress. I think the program is headed in the right direction. I believe that yesterday's effort was just a bump in the road. But I am an Auburn fan. I'm trying to step back and look at things from a broader view. I'd like to see AU make the jump to the national stage where wins are expected and losses are a surprise. USC is in that zone. Texas is. Notre Dame is. That's where our Tigers should be. That's where Auburn was headed. This game was a chance to build that momentum and add to the AU buzz. Instead we got Ashton Kutchered. I can tell you without any reservation that when the national media thinks Auburn, some of the things that come to immediately mind are the 2003 loss to USC, not being good enough to make the NC game in 2004 (because they think we play such a weak schedule) and now the 05 loss to Wisconsin as a double-digit favorite -- that's two big rotten eggs on the national stage. It makes it easy for the media to dismiss AU. If Auburn is ever to gain a place with the USC's, Notre Dame's, the Miami's, the Oklahoma's, the ( ) Alabama's of the CFB world, the team HAS to find a way to live up to expectations. It's one thing to lose to LSU when the game is a pick 'em or the Bengals are favored. It's an altogether different exercise to cough up a hairball against a Wisconsin when favored by double digits. It reinforces the perception that AU can't handle success/expectations. Be honest. Wouldn't you rather the media/polls give us credit we don't deserve it (i.e. Bama, Notre Dame) so that when we do have a special team we're already in the running? Is it really better to have to fight for respect? Don't know about you, but I'd like to take off the "underdog" badge and beat it into a sword. And stick it in other team's hearts. I'd like the team to have that swagger and back it up. I'd like to see AU be the favorite and play like it deserved the distinction. *sigh* ...rant over.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tgr4lfe 220 Posted January 3, 2006 Share Posted January 3, 2006 Amen. I haven't heard a better perspective on this yet. It is only as bad as we the fans make it. Sure, they had a terrible day yesterday and they had a rough first game with a new offensive backfield. Even though I was fuming as a fan after the GT game, I knew better days were ahead for this squad. I hate to see the Seniors go out on such a sour note, but I also think it will make the Freshmen, Sophomores and Juniors more focused on what they need to do next year. What a recruit should see out of all this is that the staff at Auburn could put together a 9-3 team in a "rebuilding" year that beat its 2 biggest rivals to close the regular season. Just imagine what they can put together next year with more experience in the offensive backfield. 208570[/snapback] I totally agree with you. If you had told me after the Tech game we would finish the season 9-3 with wins over UGA and UAT I would have said you were crazy. Yeah I was pissed about the game but I think we had a damn good year for a team that lost 4 1st round draft picks. I can't wait to see what the future holds for these guys. WAR EAGLE! 208591[/snapback] I think you guys are missing the point. Nobody is complaining about this season or the general direction of the program. The question is to the ramifications this loss will have. Because of the circumstances, I believe they are more than a normal loss. AU had a chance to make a statement. A chance to pound an inferior team and get the national media thinking of the Tigers as a team to reckon with in what has the potential to be another great season. Add a bowl win on top of awesome efforts against UA and UGA and you've got the same kind of momentum heading into 2006 that Texas had this season and Oklahoma had the year before. I'm proud of the season AU had. A nine-win season is great. Wins over UA and UGA are awesome. I'm happy with the progress. I think the program is headed in the right direction. I believe that yesterday's effort was just a bump in the road. But I am an Auburn fan. I'm trying to step back and look at things from a broader view. I'd like to see AU make the jump to the national stage where wins are expected and losses are a surprise. USC is in that zone. Texas is. Notre Dame is. That's where our Tigers should be. That's where Auburn was headed. This game was a chance to build that momentum and add to the AU buzz. Instead we got Ashton Kutchered. I can tell you without any reservation that when the national media thinks Auburn, some of the things that come to immediately mind are the 2003 loss to USC, not being good enough to make the NC game in 2004 (because they think we play such a weak schedule) and now the 05 loss to Wisconsin as a double-digit favorite -- that's two big rotten eggs on the national stage. It makes it easy for the media to dismiss AU. If Auburn is ever to gain a place with the USC's, Notre Dame's, the Miami's, the Oklahoma's, the ( ) Alabama's of the CFB world, the team HAS to find a way to live up to expectations. It's one thing to lose to LSU when the game is a pick 'em or the Bengals are favored. It's an altogether different exercise to cough up a hairball against a Wisconsin when favored by double digits. It reinforces the perception that AU can't handle success/expectations. Be honest. Wouldn't you rather the media/polls give us credit we don't deserve it (i.e. Bama, Notre Dame) so that when we do have a special team we're already in the running? Is it really better to have to fight for respect? Don't know about you, but I'd like to take off the "underdog" badge and beat it into a sword. And stick it in other team's hearts. I'd like the team to have that swagger and back it up. I'd like to see AU be the favorite and play like it deserved the distinction. *sigh* ...rant over.... 208597[/snapback] HOO_RAY!!!!!!!!!! That is what I am talkign about GG. This was my belief also. THis should have been our spring board into next year. I think it will have an affect on the polls for next year. If it will affect anyone it will be AU. Our chance was there for the taking, coming in heavily favored expected to win, and we fall flat on our face!!! We will no doubt have a great football team next year and the year after that and the year after that, but as you said that was our time to earn the respect. We blew it!!!!!!!! Even if we start out ranked in the 10 to 13 range, we should be in good shape to make that move as long as we take care of business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WaReAgLe83 0 Posted January 3, 2006 Share Posted January 3, 2006 I do agree with GalensGhost. We're talking about a national media where the opinions of Lee Corso and Lou Holtz are valued. The word 'fickle' comes to mind often. We actually had it on our side coming into the game..."best team in the SEC" despite not winning the title (and I did agree with that)... and then flatlined. We'll still be ranked top 15 at least next year, but we threw away a lot of really favorable press. Other random thoughts... Auburn scores one touchdown and loses. Alabama scores one touchdown...against Texas Tech...and wins. This season was like a play where the main character suffers some hardship at the beginning, overcomes it by the end, gets the girl and all that, then just before the curtain falls, he trips, falls off a ledge and goes into a coma. For no reason. I guess AU's effort yesterday wound up falling between that of Georgia and Georgia Tech in the "Didn't show up for the bowl game" department. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TigerOne 1,152 Posted January 3, 2006 Share Posted January 3, 2006 above posts are right on in regard to the big picture. It is hard to fathom CTT's attitude on not putting big emphasis on the bowl unless it has NC ramifications like last year. Maybe it's his way of not putting pressure on the team, but it sure doesn't work. If the team is not hungry you lose. Auburn got fat n' happy in Orlando. Why didn't the coaches sit Brandon down for a series so he could get his mind in the game or see if we had better success. They did change out the OL . No emotion from CTT, he was ready for this season to be over with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abrnfanatc 6 Posted January 3, 2006 Share Posted January 3, 2006 I apologize Galen, I wasn't discounting the future ramifications, simply frustrated...as I know we are all now. I do agree that they had an opportunity to make a big splash going into next season and that probably was worth about 3-5 spots in the pre-season rankings for next year. Before the game, I was encouraged by everything that CTT and his staff had done to get the Auburn name into the national media outlets this year. Now, they have to go out and do it on the field as well. I have no doubt in my mind that they can do just that next year, but the spots they potentially have lost might have an adverse effect supposing that the top 2 teams win out next year as well. My only point is that there is nothing that any of us can do now by making a huge issue out of it except potentially scare away a recruit or two by acting like the fans of the smaller school across state. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LegalEagle 22 Posted January 3, 2006 Share Posted January 3, 2006 There is the positive possibility that we won't lose as many players (early) to the pros. I won't name names, but some of those considering leaving didn't fare so well in Orlando. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny AU-92 0 Posted January 3, 2006 Share Posted January 3, 2006 One woman's opinion, but I think that the pre-season polls will look at returning players and the potential they showed the previous season. Yeah, we laid a major egg in Orlando, but that was NOT the caliber of play we had demonstrated all year. There were plenty of other upsets this bowl season as well, so lots of other teams are in the same boat, but maybe without the same level of returning talent that we have. A sophomore QB, a junior and a freshman RB, sophs and juniors on both lines... no, we did not play up to our potential in this bowl, but we sure as hell played to potential AND THEN SOME in the regular season. I personally never imagined such a great season. Brandon Cox had a bad game in Orlando, but I will not judge this entire season on that one performance, not after the VAST improvement he made every single game after GT. And I don't think any poll goober worth his salt would do that either. THAT's what will make the pre-season rankings - improvement in areas of concern. I think the COB was an abberation, not a sign of things to come. I still predict a top 10 pre-season rank. Let's also remember that there are three or four regular season games before the first BCS poll - by then, we will know if we deserve to make a run for the BCS or not. We will either be outstanding or we won't. USC and OK and now TX were at the top because of the TOTALITY of their previous seasons - and Auburn's are looking pretty good right now, COB aside. As they kept mentioning, we have the third highest winning percentage over the last two years, behind USC and TX. THAT is important... Mack Brown always had trouble meeting the big expectations, but he persevered, and now look what Bowl game TX is in... CTT hasn't lost nearly as many big games as Mack Brown. We beat our rivals on a regular basis in the toughest conference in football. Our time will come. As for recruiting, I don't see any impact whatsoever. Losing is not a way of life at Auburn. 22-3 over 2 years ain't too shabby. CTT and the staff are world class. Either they will want to be an Auburn Tiger or they won't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Draven 0 Posted January 3, 2006 Share Posted January 3, 2006 One woman's opinion, but I think that the pre-season polls will look at returning players and the potential they showed the previous season. Yeah, we laid a major egg in Orlando, but that was NOT the caliber of play we had demonstrated all year. There were plenty of other upsets this bowl season as well, so lots of other teams are in the same boat, but maybe without the same level of returning talent that we have. A sophomore QB, a junior and a freshman RB, sophs and juniors on both lines... no, we did not play up to our potential in this bowl, but we sure as hell played to potential AND THEN SOME in the regular season. I personally never imagined such a great season. Brandon Cox had a bad game in Orlando, but I will not judge this entire season on that one performance, not after the VAST improvement he made every single game after GT. And I don't think any poll goober worth his salt would do that either. THAT's what will make the pre-season rankings - improvement in areas of concern. I think the COB was an abberation, not a sign of things to come. I still predict a top 10 pre-season rank. Let's also remember that there are three or four regular season games before the first BCS poll - by then, we will know if we deserve to make a run for the BCS or not. We will either be outstanding or we won't. USC and OK and now TX were at the top because of the TOTALITY of their previous seasons - and Auburn's are looking pretty good right now, COB aside. As they kept mentioning, we have the third highest winning percentage over the last two years, behind USC and TX. THAT is important... Mack Brown always had trouble meeting the big expectations, but he persevered, and now look what Bowl game TX is in... CTT hasn't lost nearly as many big games as Mack Brown. We beat our rivals on a regular basis in the toughest conference in football. Our time will come. As for recruiting, I don't see any impact whatsoever. Losing is not a way of life at Auburn. 22-3 over 2 years ain't too shabby. CTT and the staff are world class. Either they will want to be an Auburn Tiger or they won't. 208652[/snapback] I couldn't agree more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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