As only Nick Saban can so eloquently say, "it was what it was." Auburn used a strong first quarter performance and, in true Tommy Tuberville fashion, punched in one last score as time dwindled off the game clock in the fourth quarter to record a school-best sixth-straight victory over the hated Crimson Tide by a final count of 17-10.
First off, I have to say that I can't remember ever being this sore following a game from screaming and yelling. It's crazy to think of all the tense moments I've missed cheering on from being on the sidelines or in the press box from times between 1999-2004. I think it made Saturday night all that more special. Sure, I got loud and a little crazy last year in Tuscaloosa but I never expected to lose that game. This one was different. After listening to 200Saban this and that for 11-plus months, it was time to take care of business.
Much props should be given to an unsung hero, Jonathan Wilhite. I wrote in this blog roughly 48 hours prior to kickoff that DJ Hall would be licking his chops to go one-on-one with Wilhite, and he got his wish. However, No. 24 hit Hall harder than his local weed dealer when the "star" wideout failed to pay up last spring and caused him to sit out a crucial fourth quarter series in which the Tide was desperately trying not to lose momentum or a chance to win the ball game. Heck, I may even go as far to say that DJ Hall was the best player on our defense thanks to his refusal to bring down a perfectly-thrown John Parker Wilson pass to the corner of the end zone, which subsequently ended up in the hands of Jerraud Powers.
Speaking of Powers, I'm so excited about this kid's future and potential to be that shut-down corner we've been missing since Carlos Rogers. Its almost a shame (well, wait, it is a shame) that Eric Berry chose Tennessee over us because those two would make it very difficult for 2008 offenses to complete deep passes. So we move on, but Powers has definitely shown a knack for creating havoc on the opposition this year. If only he could have knocked down that last pass against LSU, but he was (as he is almost always) in perfect position and got beat only by a great pass and great catch.
A couple more defenders who deserve mention are Josh Thompson and, of course, Tray Blackmon. All Stump did Saturday night was play the game of his life, racking up 12 tackles that helped him to take home SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week honors. Tray "I just want to hit people" Blackmon laid some serious smacks to Glenn "I Swear I Didn't Know That I Did Something Wrong" Coffee and Keith McCall, causing the Tide offense to earn every yard at a dear price throughout the course of the contest. He may be the best linebacker to only play 15 or so games in his AU career in school history.
Do you think AU's defense (namely Quentin Groves) was in JPW's head Saturday night? Every time he felt a hand on his jersey the kid tossed the ball away or took off running for his life. I'm not sure this guy has the mental stability to win a huge game, which is why I would gladly take Brandon Cox over him any day of the week and twice on game days.
Which brings me to...Say what you want about AU's starting QB (and my friend Paul has definitely exercised that liberty throughout Brandon's career), but he got the job done yet again in the biggest of games. While his performances against USF and Miss. State left a lot to be desired, he came through in the clutch against UF, Arkansas, LSU and Alabama - nearly leading us to an improbable 4-0 record in those contests this year. His legacy will forever be sealed as a winner - and I can't ever remember a quarterback being hit as many times as he has. We are going to miss him next season, especially early.
I'm beginning to believe more and more that Will Muschamp had more to do with LSU's national championship and five-year run earlier this decade than Nick Saban will ever want to admit. Major Applewhite had no answers for our defense at all Saturday night, and Applewhite's not alone in that category. The guy is ready for his own program, and he'll have his choice of jobs sooner rather than later. I just hope its not too soon and we have a chance to offer him the possibility of being the highest-paid DC in the country. I can't think of any other defensive coordinator that is more deserving.
It was nice to have very creative plays called for the first 15 scripted plays of the game Saturday night. We seemed much fresher on the offensive side of the ball and this helped to intensify our efforts to march down the field on both our first two drives. Aside from the Georgia game, we were thisclose to hitting the big play yet again but had one player not execute, which was the difference in touchdowns and field goals/punts.
I'm a huge Al Borges fan and will always be one thanks to his contributions to the 2004 season, but it may be time for a change in philosophy. His one flaw that I can see is that no one has developed into anything better than what they were when they first started playing for AU as freshmen. It will not hurt my feelings if he is retained, though. We showed that we're still capable of the shifts and motion that were so prevalent in 2004 and 2005 - we just need to call for that a little more often against teams like Miss. State, Arkansas and Georgia and not just against Alabama and LSU.
In conclusion, this was one of our most satisfying victories over them to date. Nothing will ever be able to replace the memory of Quentin Groves and Sen'Derrick Marks directing the band in the "Hey Song" just after the final seconds ticked off the clock.
***TAILGATE NEWS***
We'll discuss some of the tailgate news later on this blog, but it was definitely our best one of the season. All season, we were looking for year two production out of a first-year tailgate, and I think we finally began to accomplish this in the last two games (Ole Miss and Alabama). We'll take some time to recharge our batteries before getting together and going over what worked and didn't work in the 2007 season before making preliminary plans for 2008.
***COACHING CAROUSEL***
I'll address my thoughts on the craziest day in college football since Sept. 29. I'm just glad that we get to keep Houston Nutt in the SEC and that his fun bag of tricks will be saved for a different school from now on. Hey Arkansas, enjoy trying to defend the Fish "hide behind the offensive line before sneaking around for a 90-yard gain" play next season in Fayetteville.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Its time to leave a legacy
Well, we've made it to the most important week of the year, just a little later than I'm accustomed to (thanks again, Mal Moore). Some folks have said that this may be the quietest Iron Bowl week they can remember. There isn't a lot of talking going on, but that doesn't mean that Saturday is going to be anything less than electric inside Jordan-Hare Stadium. If Auburn wins, look to hear nothing but "the process, aight?" If Alabama wins, well, I don't want to think about something like that.
My friend Coach Hal (he of www.coachhal.com fame) says that we are more worried about this game because its our "championship" every year. Well, what other championship are we playing for Saturday? As my boy Andy Shores will tell you, a win in this game (regardless of what is on the line as far as championships are concerned) is "great success." It's been said over and over again that the game will come down to the quarterbacks, and that's not far from the truth. It sounds like a lot of Brandon's problems this year have been matched by those of John Parker Wilson. That's not all those two have in common.
Both came out of the gate and had sensational statistical seasons as first-year starters their sophomore seasons. Both also regressed - especially in the teams' losses - as juniors. We'll see how JPW's senior season comes to fruition in 2008. A lot of Bama fans I have talked to the last two years, including my uncle, have said that they would rather have John Parker over Brandon. That's fine, I'll take Brandon's wins the last three years over JPW's losses.
Speaking of Brandon's wins, he has 25 of them heading into Saturday - something no other starting quarterback can say in the SEC this season. There is only one SEC stadium the kid has started in (Tiger Stadium - Baton Rouge) that he hasn't won at least one game, and the kid pitched two one-hitters down there only to be let down by special teams and one of the freakiest plays in the history of Auburn football. All that being said, he'll go without a championship which is how all QBs are defined. This fact means that Saturday's game will be his legacy - 3-0 or 2-1? The difference in those two records is tremendous.
AU caught a break if Javier Arenas cannot play, which has been reported out of Saban's camp this week. The guy is a game changer with his electric returns both on kickoffs and punts. If there is any team in the conference and maybe the entire country that can relate to injuries, it's Auburn. Do you think that Tristan Davis could have helped change a couple of those early games in the season? I sure as heck do. I also think that we had a ton of options in the playbook that weren't able to come to fruition thanks to his injuries, especially when thinking about Tuberville's quotes about him during two-a-days that it was "a mistake" to not have him on offense last year.
This game, as always, will be decided by big plays and/or big defensive stops. I personally don't see 80 yards on the first play from scrimmage for anyone, but I wouldn't be shocked to see Tristan (if he is as healthy as the AU staff is letting on) take one to the house on a kick return. Brad Lester, a major player in our game plan against the Tide last year prior to going out of the game with an injury, is someone else I think will have a couple or 10 opportunities to rebound from a dismal performance at UGA. As long as DJ Hall has learned a lot from his suspension (and I use the term "suspension" lightly), I'm sure he'll have a chance to make a couple of plays on his own accord if he looks across the line of scrimmage to see Jonathan Wilhite. (By the way, was it two scoops or three that he was forced to endure before he was allowed to get into the game against ULM, Mr. Saban?)
Which leads us to...coaching. Believe it or not, I look at this as an Auburn advantage. Our staff is better when the games have more riding on them, but Mr. Process has put everything into two games this season - Tennessee and LSU. Something tells me we'll see that Bama team Saturday, not the one that pissed around against Miss. State and La-Monroe. Will Muschamp has been schooled two years in a row (and three-straight games) against Mark Richt - something he definitely needs to look into reversing next season - but he usually does a tremendous job against offensive coordinators he can out-coach and out-smart. Does Major Applewhite fall into the Mark Richt category or is he more like Dan Mullen? Al Borges will most likely be fighting for his job, while I'm sure both defensive gurus (Muschamp and Saban) will give their OC a lot of tendencies the two know of each other after working together for so long.
I'm sure we'll hear nothing but "it's all a process, aight" from folks of the Crimson-clad section no matter what the scoreboard reads all night. It'll rank right up there with "he's still learning on the job" and "we are still being affected by probation" that we've had to endure during the five-game winning streak. I can promise you this, though: either fan base will take a victory no matter what the score reads, process or not.
Some things I'd like to see on our offense:
1.) The ole Ben Leard to Lorenzo Diamond special where Ben would take the entire defense to his right only to throw back across the field to a wide open Lorenzo to waltz into the endzone. Say what you want about Noel Mazzone's Big Purple Wheel offense, but this play was spectacular.
2.) The fake pitch that we ran at will in 2005 against Bama to hit Montez or Rod Smith across the middle to give them a little separation from their defenders. When Rod has had separation, he's been able to make huge plays (look at the TD catches against Ole Miss and New Mexico State). This will be much more effective than playaction which isn't as affective without the running backs to sell it that we had in Carnell, Ronnie and Kenny.
3.) Chris Slaughter and/or Tim Hawthorne used in the crossing patterns we used against Alabama in 2002 with Devin and Ben. This would work a little better than the bubble screen (unless we're tossing it to Tristan or Mario). I don't even care if we throw deep down field like every other AU fan...this could be the quick route that Brandon's almost perfect at completing.
4.) Having Brandon and Kodi out on the field at the same time, which is something we haven't seen since Florida. The bowl game doesn't matter and you have an offensive coordinator who has been embattled for nearly two seasons - open the possibilities up. That's all I'm asking. If there ever was a no-lose situation for our offense, it's Saturday night.
This is the most important Iron Bowl I can remember. As a fan base, Auburn is tired of hearing about Nick Saban. I'm more nervous about this game than I've been since 2002. Its crazy that the worse their season has gone, the more nervous I feel. One other fact that hasn't been mentioned much - Tommy Tuberville has told anyone who would listen that he doesn't like having this game after the Thanksgiving holiday. He's pretty upset (as is the rest of the AU nation) about the SEC forcing us to do this upon Bama's wishes, and I'm sure it'll put added motivation on our team to punish Mal Moore and his croons for forcing these guys to not spend Thanksgiving with their families for the first time since they've been at school. Another interesting note: the last time we had an open week leading into a big rivalry game, Georgia limped out of Jordan-Hare in the form of 24-6 losers.
I think the game will be a 23-13 type of game, depending on which team gets the big plays. War Eagle, and we'll be in Auburn Saturday to cheer on the guys one last time for 2007.
***Tailgate News***
The camper has been set up on Donahue Ave., and my family will be getting to Auburn late Friday evening. Dinner at Buffalo Connection is the first item on the agenda for Friday night. We should be rocking and rolling by 9 a.m. Saturday with lunch being served in the 1 p.m. vicinity. We're going to have a lot of steaks, some turkey, a platter of wings and tenders from Buffalo Connection and various snacks including but not limited to cheese dip, chips and assorted candies. If you are attending and haven't yet gotten ahold of me, please let me know by calling the cell.
***Other Game Predictions***
Florida vs. Florida State - Geno Hayes, Tim Tebow and my friend Zack Higbee will have one word for you after the game is over Saturday: "Scoreboard"...You can run your mouth during the week, but you'll suffer a fate similar to that of Le'Ron McClain and Kenneth Darby - a fourth-straight loss to your arch rival, no matter how big and bad you are when you're talking to a guy with a pen and paper. Florida big, like 2005 big.
Vandy vs. Wake Forest - It was fun while it lasted, but another 5-win season will be as much as you can anticipate Commodores. It's interesting to think how Vandy would fare in the ACC if Wake Forest can rise from the ashes to win the conference championship. The 'Dores have played well at home, but probably spent their emotion last week against Tennessee. Wake edges this one out with a late field goal, the Vandy special if you will.
South Carolina vs. Clemson - Well, Spurrier came out and said it was a mistake to tell everyone his team would contend this year. Bad luck and injuries took them out of the running, not to mention an untimely loss to Vandy back in October. This game is about pride, and both teams are coming off gut-wrenching losses that altered each team's postseason hopes tremendously. Clemson is better, and they should prove it again. Don't count out Spurrier because he's much better than Tommy Bowden, but if D-Mac and Felix Jones ran wild, how are they going to fare against James Davis and CJ Spiller? Clemson by at least 10.
Kentucky vs. Tennessee - The year of lifelong streaks coming to an end is upon us, and Kentucky is a team that will look to put the finishing touches on that trend. Our friend Nittany Lions (a.k.a. Dickie Lyons, Jr.) will have a big day against that awful Tennessee secondary. Say what you want about Kentucky, but aside from the Miss. State loss, they never quit playing. They've rebounded from deficits one time after another at home, and I can promise you Tennessee won't be able to sleep-walk to a 24-9 deficit and come back to win this weekend. Kentucky wins 24-20 in another Blue Grass classic.
Georgia Tech vs. Georgia - The Yellow Jackets have lost six-straight and have never beaten Mark Richt. Georgia is playing as good, if not better, than anyone else in the country right now. They've got a running back who is all-SEC in Knowshon Moreno and a QB that gets more confidence every week, especially when he faces a team from the state of Alabama. I don't think Georgia Tech is going to allow them to wear black unis and I don't anticipate hearing "Souldja Boy" over the loud speakers in Bobby Dodd Stadium, so that's a plus for the team fighting for its coach. Georgia is still much better than Tech, though. It will probably look a lot like last weekend's win over Kentucky - 24-13, UGA.
Miss. State vs. Ole Miss (Friday): State is playing its best ball since 2000, and they've done things the right way in this long, painful rebuilding process (sorry, Saban - I'll try not to use your word any more). A seventh win should get Croom SEC Coach of the Year, and that should be an afterthought against a team as bad as Ole Miss. There's a reason these guys are 0-7 in conference play, folks, and that's simply because they are the worst team I've seen play in a very, very long time. There aren't enough clock radios or pillows in the world to stop State's onslaught Friday afternoon. The Bulldogs wrap up a Saturday afternoon date in Memphis against Central Florida with a 10-plus point victory over O's Wild Boys.
UPSET SPECIAL: Arkansas will run wild on LSU again and will take down the Bayou Bengals on Friday, 31-28 with a late score. Then, you'll really hear a ton of questions about Les Miles' future.
My friend Coach Hal (he of www.coachhal.com fame) says that we are more worried about this game because its our "championship" every year. Well, what other championship are we playing for Saturday? As my boy Andy Shores will tell you, a win in this game (regardless of what is on the line as far as championships are concerned) is "great success." It's been said over and over again that the game will come down to the quarterbacks, and that's not far from the truth. It sounds like a lot of Brandon's problems this year have been matched by those of John Parker Wilson. That's not all those two have in common.
Both came out of the gate and had sensational statistical seasons as first-year starters their sophomore seasons. Both also regressed - especially in the teams' losses - as juniors. We'll see how JPW's senior season comes to fruition in 2008. A lot of Bama fans I have talked to the last two years, including my uncle, have said that they would rather have John Parker over Brandon. That's fine, I'll take Brandon's wins the last three years over JPW's losses.
Speaking of Brandon's wins, he has 25 of them heading into Saturday - something no other starting quarterback can say in the SEC this season. There is only one SEC stadium the kid has started in (Tiger Stadium - Baton Rouge) that he hasn't won at least one game, and the kid pitched two one-hitters down there only to be let down by special teams and one of the freakiest plays in the history of Auburn football. All that being said, he'll go without a championship which is how all QBs are defined. This fact means that Saturday's game will be his legacy - 3-0 or 2-1? The difference in those two records is tremendous.
AU caught a break if Javier Arenas cannot play, which has been reported out of Saban's camp this week. The guy is a game changer with his electric returns both on kickoffs and punts. If there is any team in the conference and maybe the entire country that can relate to injuries, it's Auburn. Do you think that Tristan Davis could have helped change a couple of those early games in the season? I sure as heck do. I also think that we had a ton of options in the playbook that weren't able to come to fruition thanks to his injuries, especially when thinking about Tuberville's quotes about him during two-a-days that it was "a mistake" to not have him on offense last year.
This game, as always, will be decided by big plays and/or big defensive stops. I personally don't see 80 yards on the first play from scrimmage for anyone, but I wouldn't be shocked to see Tristan (if he is as healthy as the AU staff is letting on) take one to the house on a kick return. Brad Lester, a major player in our game plan against the Tide last year prior to going out of the game with an injury, is someone else I think will have a couple or 10 opportunities to rebound from a dismal performance at UGA. As long as DJ Hall has learned a lot from his suspension (and I use the term "suspension" lightly), I'm sure he'll have a chance to make a couple of plays on his own accord if he looks across the line of scrimmage to see Jonathan Wilhite. (By the way, was it two scoops or three that he was forced to endure before he was allowed to get into the game against ULM, Mr. Saban?)
Which leads us to...coaching. Believe it or not, I look at this as an Auburn advantage. Our staff is better when the games have more riding on them, but Mr. Process has put everything into two games this season - Tennessee and LSU. Something tells me we'll see that Bama team Saturday, not the one that pissed around against Miss. State and La-Monroe. Will Muschamp has been schooled two years in a row (and three-straight games) against Mark Richt - something he definitely needs to look into reversing next season - but he usually does a tremendous job against offensive coordinators he can out-coach and out-smart. Does Major Applewhite fall into the Mark Richt category or is he more like Dan Mullen? Al Borges will most likely be fighting for his job, while I'm sure both defensive gurus (Muschamp and Saban) will give their OC a lot of tendencies the two know of each other after working together for so long.
I'm sure we'll hear nothing but "it's all a process, aight" from folks of the Crimson-clad section no matter what the scoreboard reads all night. It'll rank right up there with "he's still learning on the job" and "we are still being affected by probation" that we've had to endure during the five-game winning streak. I can promise you this, though: either fan base will take a victory no matter what the score reads, process or not.
Some things I'd like to see on our offense:
1.) The ole Ben Leard to Lorenzo Diamond special where Ben would take the entire defense to his right only to throw back across the field to a wide open Lorenzo to waltz into the endzone. Say what you want about Noel Mazzone's Big Purple Wheel offense, but this play was spectacular.
2.) The fake pitch that we ran at will in 2005 against Bama to hit Montez or Rod Smith across the middle to give them a little separation from their defenders. When Rod has had separation, he's been able to make huge plays (look at the TD catches against Ole Miss and New Mexico State). This will be much more effective than playaction which isn't as affective without the running backs to sell it that we had in Carnell, Ronnie and Kenny.
3.) Chris Slaughter and/or Tim Hawthorne used in the crossing patterns we used against Alabama in 2002 with Devin and Ben. This would work a little better than the bubble screen (unless we're tossing it to Tristan or Mario). I don't even care if we throw deep down field like every other AU fan...this could be the quick route that Brandon's almost perfect at completing.
4.) Having Brandon and Kodi out on the field at the same time, which is something we haven't seen since Florida. The bowl game doesn't matter and you have an offensive coordinator who has been embattled for nearly two seasons - open the possibilities up. That's all I'm asking. If there ever was a no-lose situation for our offense, it's Saturday night.
This is the most important Iron Bowl I can remember. As a fan base, Auburn is tired of hearing about Nick Saban. I'm more nervous about this game than I've been since 2002. Its crazy that the worse their season has gone, the more nervous I feel. One other fact that hasn't been mentioned much - Tommy Tuberville has told anyone who would listen that he doesn't like having this game after the Thanksgiving holiday. He's pretty upset (as is the rest of the AU nation) about the SEC forcing us to do this upon Bama's wishes, and I'm sure it'll put added motivation on our team to punish Mal Moore and his croons for forcing these guys to not spend Thanksgiving with their families for the first time since they've been at school. Another interesting note: the last time we had an open week leading into a big rivalry game, Georgia limped out of Jordan-Hare in the form of 24-6 losers.
I think the game will be a 23-13 type of game, depending on which team gets the big plays. War Eagle, and we'll be in Auburn Saturday to cheer on the guys one last time for 2007.
***Tailgate News***
The camper has been set up on Donahue Ave., and my family will be getting to Auburn late Friday evening. Dinner at Buffalo Connection is the first item on the agenda for Friday night. We should be rocking and rolling by 9 a.m. Saturday with lunch being served in the 1 p.m. vicinity. We're going to have a lot of steaks, some turkey, a platter of wings and tenders from Buffalo Connection and various snacks including but not limited to cheese dip, chips and assorted candies. If you are attending and haven't yet gotten ahold of me, please let me know by calling the cell.
***Other Game Predictions***
Florida vs. Florida State - Geno Hayes, Tim Tebow and my friend Zack Higbee will have one word for you after the game is over Saturday: "Scoreboard"...You can run your mouth during the week, but you'll suffer a fate similar to that of Le'Ron McClain and Kenneth Darby - a fourth-straight loss to your arch rival, no matter how big and bad you are when you're talking to a guy with a pen and paper. Florida big, like 2005 big.
Vandy vs. Wake Forest - It was fun while it lasted, but another 5-win season will be as much as you can anticipate Commodores. It's interesting to think how Vandy would fare in the ACC if Wake Forest can rise from the ashes to win the conference championship. The 'Dores have played well at home, but probably spent their emotion last week against Tennessee. Wake edges this one out with a late field goal, the Vandy special if you will.
South Carolina vs. Clemson - Well, Spurrier came out and said it was a mistake to tell everyone his team would contend this year. Bad luck and injuries took them out of the running, not to mention an untimely loss to Vandy back in October. This game is about pride, and both teams are coming off gut-wrenching losses that altered each team's postseason hopes tremendously. Clemson is better, and they should prove it again. Don't count out Spurrier because he's much better than Tommy Bowden, but if D-Mac and Felix Jones ran wild, how are they going to fare against James Davis and CJ Spiller? Clemson by at least 10.
Kentucky vs. Tennessee - The year of lifelong streaks coming to an end is upon us, and Kentucky is a team that will look to put the finishing touches on that trend. Our friend Nittany Lions (a.k.a. Dickie Lyons, Jr.) will have a big day against that awful Tennessee secondary. Say what you want about Kentucky, but aside from the Miss. State loss, they never quit playing. They've rebounded from deficits one time after another at home, and I can promise you Tennessee won't be able to sleep-walk to a 24-9 deficit and come back to win this weekend. Kentucky wins 24-20 in another Blue Grass classic.
Georgia Tech vs. Georgia - The Yellow Jackets have lost six-straight and have never beaten Mark Richt. Georgia is playing as good, if not better, than anyone else in the country right now. They've got a running back who is all-SEC in Knowshon Moreno and a QB that gets more confidence every week, especially when he faces a team from the state of Alabama. I don't think Georgia Tech is going to allow them to wear black unis and I don't anticipate hearing "Souldja Boy" over the loud speakers in Bobby Dodd Stadium, so that's a plus for the team fighting for its coach. Georgia is still much better than Tech, though. It will probably look a lot like last weekend's win over Kentucky - 24-13, UGA.
Miss. State vs. Ole Miss (Friday): State is playing its best ball since 2000, and they've done things the right way in this long, painful rebuilding process (sorry, Saban - I'll try not to use your word any more). A seventh win should get Croom SEC Coach of the Year, and that should be an afterthought against a team as bad as Ole Miss. There's a reason these guys are 0-7 in conference play, folks, and that's simply because they are the worst team I've seen play in a very, very long time. There aren't enough clock radios or pillows in the world to stop State's onslaught Friday afternoon. The Bulldogs wrap up a Saturday afternoon date in Memphis against Central Florida with a 10-plus point victory over O's Wild Boys.
UPSET SPECIAL: Arkansas will run wild on LSU again and will take down the Bayou Bengals on Friday, 31-28 with a late score. Then, you'll really hear a ton of questions about Les Miles' future.
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