Thoughts - Week Hello Chizik, My Old Friend?

[WiregrassTiger]

The thing that upsets me about this team is that it reminds me very much of 2003.  We had high expectations.  That year we blew it from the start.  This year we felt good, but reached sky-high limits after destroying an LSU defense that has pretty much shut everybody else in the world down. 

I'll be honest.  After we skullfudgeed LSU and I saw how badly A&M played, how flawed MSU was (and is), how vulnerable Alabama was (and is) and how weak SC turned out to be I truly thought we'd methodically grind our way unbeaten into the Iron Bowl.  I figured Bama would have two losses by then.  I expected the Ole Miss loss and really thought Arkansas or LSU would tag them too (both should have, but Bama is the luckiest team in the history of the universe). 

We have the talent.  We got the benefit of the doubt from the committee.  So, again, I (and I think most of us) bought in yet again. After 2003 I damn sure didn't completely buy in back in 2004.  Didn't want to get burned again.  I didn't buy in back in 2010 until the very end.  I kept thinking something had to break, we were so close in seemingly every game.  I didn't buy in last year because, well, we weren't supposed to be there.  Every game was a happy surprise. 

And then this year.  It was all right there in front of us.  We looked invulnerable on offense, we seemed to have found a comfortable groove on defense.   And then we seemed to get complacent.  Defense started half assing. Offense played well, but only when it absolutely had to.  We let a Mississippi State team we should have broken escape with some really sloppy play.  Then we let a really bad Texas A&M team run over us because, in my opinion, our players saw the point spread, saw what Alabama did to them and figured all we had to do was show up.  Instead we fudgeed up. 

That hangover (and perhaps some internal finger pointing) carried over to the Georgia game.  And we fudgeed the entire season. 

Is this a bad team?  Nope.  The team that mauled LSU is still out there somewhere.  That team would beat Alabama like a rented mule.  The Tide are as vulnerable as they've been in seven years.  They don't have a quarterback, there are big holes to exploit on defense. They can be stopped, easily.  But I don't know if the coaching staff can bring the Auburn team that dominated LSU back.  That's the challenge. 

All isn't lost, but we are staring at the abyss right now.  We shoot the bed once again and we'll be back in the same position we were several years ago where we have to "prove" ourselves all over again.  We'd climbed that mountain already (See the committee rankings early on).  We don't need to fall so far that we create that perpetual doubt again.

That doubt is already here. A&M and the thugs back to back have spread it like wildfire. A close game with Uga would've contained it.

[War Eagle!!!]

The thing that upsets me about this team is that it reminds me very much of 2003.  We had high expectations.  That year we blew it from the start.  This year we felt good, but reached sky-high limits after destroying an LSU defense that has pretty much shut everybody else in the world down. 

I'll be honest.  After we skullfucked LSU and I saw how badly A&M played, how flawed MSU was (and is), how vulnerable Alabama was (and is) and how weak SC turned out to be I truly thought we'd methodically grind our way unbeaten into the Iron Bowl.  I figured Bama would have two losses by then.  I expected the Ole Miss loss and really thought Arkansas or LSU would tag them too (both should have, but Bama is the luckiest team in the history of the universe). 

We have the talent.  We got the benefit of the doubt from the committee.  So, again, I (and I think most of us) bought in yet again. After 2003 I damn sure didn't completely buy in back in 2004.  Didn't want to get burned again.  I didn't buy in back in 2010 until the very end.  I kept thinking something had to break, we were so close in seemingly every game.  I didn't buy in last year because, well, we weren't supposed to be there.  Every game was a happy surprise. 

And then this year.  It was all right there in front of us.  We looked invulnerable on offense, we seemed to have found a comfortable groove on defense.   And then we seemed to get complacent.  Defense started half assing. Offense played well, but only when it absolutely had to.  We let a Mississippi State team we should have broken escape with some really sloppy play.  Then we let a really bad Texas A&M team run over us because, in my opinion, our players saw the point spread, saw what Alabama did to them and figured all we had to do was show up.  Instead we fucked up. 

That hangover (and perhaps some internal finger pointing) carried over to the Georgia game.  And we fucked the entire season. 

Is this a bad team?  Nope.  The team that mauled LSU is still out there somewhere.  That team would beat Alabama like a rented mule.  The Tide are as vulnerable as they've been in seven years.  They don't have a quarterback, there are big holes to exploit on defense. They can be stopped, easily.  But I don't know if the coaching staff can bring the Auburn team that dominated LSU back.  That's the challenge. 

All isn't lost, but we are staring at the abyss right now.  We shit the bed once again and we'll be back in the same position we were several years ago where we have to "prove" ourselves all over again.  We'd climbed that mountain already (See the committee rankings early on).  We don't need to fall so far that we create that perpetual doubt again.

Pretty much spot on.

[Godfather]

Samford will help to cure the loss woes, my hope is that it is contagious enough for the team to show-up against bama. 

Also I would like to see us play balls out (Snaggle it's an expression), rather than scared like we did at UGA got nothing left to lose at this point.

[The Six]

Samford will help to cure the loss woes, my hope is that it is contagious enough for the team to show-up against bama. 

Also I would like to see us play balls out (Snaggle it's an expression), rather than scared like we did at UGA got nothing left to lose at this point.

That bold part is what I don't get. At times, this offense flat out plays scared of its own shadow. And K is right on with the 2003 reference. That team's offense did the same thing with Tubs directing Nall and Ensminger calling plays out of the Petrino playbook. The Nallsminger Incident, as it came to be known.

[GH2001]

We seemed to get complacent. Defense started half assing. Offense played well, but only when it absolutely had to. 

Then we let a really bad Texas A&M team run over us because, in my opinion, our players saw the point spread, saw what Alabama did to them and figured all we had to do was show up.  Instead we fucked up. 

That hangover (and perhaps some internal finger pointing) carried over to the Georgia game.  And we fucked the entire season. 

Is this a bad team?  Nope.  The team that mauled LSU is still out there somewhere. 

The things above...all of them. Sums the season up entirely. PERIOD. Esp the bolded.

[Townhallsavoy]

I sincerely hope the team is coming together over the next few weeks. 

One great thing about college football is that with rivalry games, your season is never over.  This team can go down in Auburn lore if they beat Alabama and stop their hopes at an SECCG.  11/29 will be a great day for football.  Miss State-Ole Miss winner goes to the SECCG if Auburn beats Alabama.  It will be an epic upset that the entire conference will remember.

Not to mention, Auburn is on track for having its first back to back 10 win season since....?  Have we ever had one? 

[WiregrassTiger]

I sincerely hope the team is coming together over the next few weeks. 

One great thing about college football is that with rivalry games, your season is never over.  This team can go down in Auburn lore if they beat Alabama and stop their hopes at an SECCG.  11/29 will be a great day for football.  Miss State-Ole Miss winner goes to the SECCG if Auburn beats Alabama.  It will be an epic upset that the entire conference will remember.

Not to mention, Auburn is on track for having its first back to back 10 win season since....?  Have we ever had one?

I am currently almost as pessimistic if our chances as I was in 2012, which means, the second most pessimistic time re this game in my life. Usually, I can find a ray of sunshine to hang my hopes on. Now I'm resorting to hoping for key personnel injuries (nothing serious, mind you) for Bama and us getting Duke and Lawson back. Improbable hopes, except maybe getting Duke back.

[jmar]

I am currently almost as pessimistic if our chances as I was in 2012, which means, the second most pessimistic time re this game in my life. Usually, I can find a ray of sunshine to hang my hopes on. Now I'm resorting to hoping for key personnel injuries (nothing serious, mind you) for Bama and us getting Duke and Lawson back. Improbable hopes, except maybe getting Duke back.

Not feeling very optimistic either after seeing the Turd D in action v. Dak.
Bowling Ball was in the gutter the entire game and it looked as if Bama was playing 12.
Tuscaloosa too.

Most of us can remember some lean odds where we overcame but TAMU seems to have sent us into a spiral. Can only hope for Duke as it looks like we might need one hellified effort out of Marshall and our defense has to play out of its mind. Drugs maybe?
IDK but it's one tall order. 

[Buzz Killington]

Not to mention, Auburn is on track for having its first back to back 10 win season since....?  Have we ever had one?

Gene Chizik averaged 10 wins a season if you forget about that pesky 2012 squad.

[dallaswareagle]

Gene Chizik Gus averaged 10 wins a season if you forget about that pesky 2012 squad.

FTFY

[GH2001]

I sincerely hope the team is coming together over the next few weeks. 

One great thing about college football is that with rivalry games, your season is never over.  This team can go down in Auburn lore if they beat Alabama and stop their hopes at an SECCG.  11/29 will be a great day for football.  Miss State-Ole Miss winner goes to the SECCG if Auburn beats Alabama.  It will be an epic upset that the entire conference will remember.

Not to mention, Auburn is on track for having its first back to back 10 win season since....?  Have we ever had one?

87-88-89 saw us go 9,10,10 on wins. That 9 was ALMOST a 10, but a little blip happened. More impressive is there was no SECCG or 12 game schedule then.

[djsimp]

Still getting some love from the CFB Playoff Committee. AU only dropped to 14th.

[GH2001]

Still getting some love from the CFB Playoff Committee. AU only dropped to 14th.

Quality teams/wins and SoS are obviously huge in their eyes. Which it should be. FSU could continue to drop without a loss. If TCU, Ohio State, MSU or Baylor impress the rest of the way out, it could very well happen. No one is impressed by FSU getting drug for 3 quarters every game by inferior crap teams and having to pull them out at the end by throwing and landing bombs.

[djsimp]

Quality teams/wins and SoS are obviously huge in their eyes. Which it should be. FSU could continue to drop without a loss. If TCU, Ohio State, MSU or Baylor impress the rest of the way out, it could very well happen. No one is impressed by FSU getting drug for 3 quarters every game by inferior crap teams and having to pull them out at the end by throwing and landing bombs.

I think I really like this new system even if bama is the new #1. It makes much more sense to reasons that have been well covered by all of us since the first ranking came out.

I would love to see an AU/FSU rematch in a bowl game.

[GH2001]

I think I really like this new system even if bama is the new #1. It makes much more sense to reasons that have been well covered by all of us since the first ranking came out.

I would love to see an AU/FSU rematch in a bowl game.

Chick Fil A bowl? Were there!