- I saw a lot of great things tonight. This was a HUGE win for our program. I'm leaning towards calling this the Resurrection Season.
- Arkansas State wasn't Arkansas Pine Bluff Academy for the Young. They won their conference last season. An 8+ win team for multiple years. Where Hugh Freeze and Gus Malzahn took their first big steps to becoming SEC head coaches. Where a Boise State guy is beginning his ascent to big time coaching gigs. And we beat them 38-9.
- I'm going to wait for an SEC win, but I'm very very close to saying we are playing Auburn football again. Real Auburn football. The kind of football where our defense is nasty and hits hard. The kind where our defensive line is the most dominant group on the field. The kind where our DBs pop you if you catch the ball. The kind where our running backs hit the hole hard and shake and bake and break tackles and score lots of points. The kind where we have more running back depth than most teams have on their 1st string.
- But we still have to wait. Because there's two glaring holes in our rise to football.
- It's official - Nick Marshall sucks at throwing the ball. He threw 20+ interceptions last season. He was wildly inaccurate last week, and he had some really poor throws this week. Like numerous quarterbacks before him, I believe he will continue to struggle to be consistent and will be a liability on the field. It's inevitable that his turnovers and costly errors will give the other team enough opportunities to beat us. I don't have an answer. I don't believe we can call on back ups to fill in. It's just what we'll have to adjust to if we're going to win ball games.
- Marshall CAN run the ball. He's small and quick and has insane straight line speed. You know who else had insane straight line speed? Pat White. I really can see us just running the ball 90% of the time and running the option and beating most of teams on our schedule. LSU, Georgia, and Alabama would be tough. I think we could take everyone else.
- We have enough of a running game to keep up with anyone. We can drain clock. We can strike in multiple ways. We can score points.
- The second problem is middle linebacker, and it'll be worse the 1st half of the MIss State game. Frost stepped it up tonight. He looked like he was starting to come around as a 5 star, 250 pound athlete that can manhandled offensive players. Then he was ejected. So we're stuck with Jake Holland who again showcased his uncanny ability to be a 35 year old dad who loves Auburn and somehow has been allowed to suit up as a starter. He's slow. He's small. He's out of position. He's most of what you don't want your defensive captain to be. But he's our guy. He's our burden.
- As for the penalty, I don't mind Frost getting called for that hit. It is a cheap shot. It's something I remember Tuberville defenses doing often - taking a shot at the quarterback's upper body after they threw the ball. So throw the flag. March the offense 15 yards. Give the player a stern talking to and move the fuck on.
- Tell me how it makes any sense to equate a late hit with a punch to the face? You punch someone, you miss a game. See Mike Blanc in 2010 for reference. Frost was not being malicious. He was hitting high in order to deflect the pass or get a shot in to the quarterback to prevent him from scrambling. And now he's ejected and suspended? Why? How does that consequence match the penalty? It doesn't. It's all about the concussion lawsuits, which the NFL settled and I'm sure the NCAA can to. Just give them some money and then make all players sign a waiver. It's asinine that our game could be impacted next week because the NCAA doesn't want to get sued for something that happened in the past.
- We're playing pretty much every defensive lineman we have on roster. I don't think I saw Daniel, but I saw lots of numbers and names going out there.
- Carl Lawson is a tremendous talent, but when he was in late in the game, I watched him closely. He takes plays off. He comes off the ball hard and if it's not there for him to make the play, he pretty much jogs until the play is over. He pursued the running quarterback for a few yards and then slowed up. Maybe he was gassed? But then the next play it was a quick pass to the side away from him and he literally just stopped. Just stood up and walked quickly towards the ball. I hope the coaches see that and fix it. A 6'2 260 guy who is pure muscle and fast should be destroying the line of scrimmage every play no matter where the ball is headed.
- If we had a passing game and a middle linebacker, I would be predicting 9 wins right now with the possibility of upsetting any team on our schedule. It's still possible. Marshall is very young in Malzahn's offense and hopefully will get coached up. Frost could get his head on right and become the beast we expect him to be. But as of right now, I'm thinking 7-5 with a bowl win to finish 8-5. I just don't see how we can beat LSU, Ole Miss, A&M, Georgia, or Alabama.
OTHER TEAMS:
- Todd Gurley will go down as an SEC legend. He's right there with Lattimore and DMac.
- Jadaveon Clowney is just a defensive end. He's not Cam Newton. That's what the media wants him to be though - the Cam Newton of defense. I was watching him play against Georgia and then comparing their other ends and Auburn's ends to his play. It is mind boggling how fast and powerful he is off the ball. He slides through 300 pound lineman like they're a waterslide. He is unblockable one on one. Absolutely unblockable, and Georgia gameplanned away from him. That's what happens to great defensive players especially guys on the outside like ends and corners. You go away from them and take them out of the game. Dude will be a top 5 pick. Teams have to be drooling at what he can do even if it's only on third down.
- Texas is getting drilled by BYU as I write this. Mack Brown is done. He has to be. Who will replace him? I'll tell you who. Lane Kiffin. It's inevitable. That's his whole career. He sucks and then moves on to the next better gig. He'll suck at Texas for three years then Nick Saban will retire, and Alabama will have 85 5 star recruits on roster. Then Alabama will hire Lane Kiffin from Texas. Then he'll suck at Alabama and then be hired by the US Olympics to coach the basketball team.
- I do not care about Michigan-Notre Dame. It's a game for old people. It's a game for guys that are cranky and crotchety and ready for the young kids to pay for their retirement. Neither team is pulling in the hot NFL prospects. Neither team has a respectable coaching staff. It's a mid-major bout that deserves an 11am spot on ABC or ESPN2. No matter how much Gameday and Sportscenter try to hype it up, it's still a weak football game.