Post game thread JSU

[dallaswareagle]

If you want to listen to a homerish review of this game https://soundcloud.com/war-blogle/bloglespot-40, you can check out WarBlogle's stuff. He's a nice guy and most definitely a glass 3/4 full guy.

I wanna live where he lives, all the puppies and rainbows must make that a nice place to live.

[chinook]

Don't think we have enough offense or good playing calling for 3 more points.

See this is where you fall short in life...one name Carlson.

[AUChizad]

At halftime last week, Auburn looked much improved. I was happy.

I rationalized the struggles in the second half by the fact that Louisville appeared to be a good team, but by pounding their dicks in the dirt in the first half, we took our foot off the gas, and got too complacent & conservative, but hey, we held on to the lead the whole game.

I was fine with that, and I still believe anyone melting down after that game was premature at best.

This shit this week? I got no rationalization for. I mean, I do, but it's shit. To get it out of the way now, it is possible (not likely) that exactly like the second half of last week's game, Auburn got way too complacent and conservative and pretty much stayed there until fucking OT. Also the fact that half the goddamn defense was out due to injury, COULD have been purely being over-precautionary since everyone believed our 2nd string could beat Jax St.'s starters brains in without much effort. Maybe we're saving it all up for LSU.

Or maybe all their bones are made of glass and we really do have major injury concerns after one fucking game. Regardless, our second string SHOULD be able to not get pushed around by a fucking FCS school. Both sides of the ball were the entire game. You'd think pride would kick in at some point before the end of fucking regulation that they were getting buttfucked by kids not good enough to get a scholarship to fucking Sunbelt or MAC of Conference USA school, but nope.

Oh yeah, and Louisville lost to Houston this weekend, LOL.

And the Jeremy Johnson problem is officially a major problem. It was so bad David Pollack was legitimately wondering if he was if he was actually blind from the booth. Once again, this is not competition that should give ANY SEC starting quarterback any concerns, let alone the fucking preseason Heisman front runner. NOW I think it's safe to say he's got the YIPS, bad. Can he get out of his own head? I hope to God he gets his shit together some time in the next five days.

I'm still not in burn it all down mode yet. That will come when we show up in Baton Rouge and look just as awful as we did last week. That's when we'll know that all hope is officially lost.

[Godfather]

At halftime last week, Auburn looked much improved. I was happy.

I rationalized the struggles in the second half by the fact that Louisville appeared to be a good team, but by pounding their dicks in the dirt in the first half, we took our foot off the gas, and got too complacent & conservative, but hey, we held on to the lead the whole game.

I was fine with that, and I still believe anyone melting down after that game was premature at best.

This shit this week? I got no rationalization for. I mean, I do, but it's shit. To get it out of the way now, it is possible (not likely) that exactly like the second half of last week's game, Auburn got way too complacent and conservative and pretty much stayed there until fucking OT. Also the fact that half the goddamn defense was out due to injury, COULD have been purely being over-precautionary since everyone believed our 2nd string could beat Jax St.'s starters brains in without much effort. Maybe we're saving it all up for LSU.

Or maybe all their bones are made of glass and we really do have major injury concerns after one fucking game. Regardless, our second string SHOULD be able to not get pushed around by a fucking FCS school. Both sides of the ball were the entire game. You'd think pride would kick in at some point before the end of fucking regulation that they were getting buttfucked by kids not good enough to get a scholarship to fucking Sunbelt or MAC of Conference USA school, but nope.

Oh yeah, and Louisville lost to Houston this weekend, LOL.

And the Jeremy Johnson problem is officially a major problem. It was so bad David Pollack was legitimately wondering if he was if he was actually blind from the booth. Once again, this is not competition that should give ANY SEC starting quarterback any concerns, let alone the fucking preseason Heisman front runner. NOW I think it's safe to say he's got the YIPS, bad. Can he get out of his own head? I hope to God he gets his shit together some time in the next five days.

I'm still not in burn it all down mode yet. That will come when we show up in Baton Rouge and look just as awful as we did last week. That's when we'll know that all hope is officially lost.

and you will be witnessing it in person.  I really hope we don't have to talk about the burn it all down.

Again I have a problem with the fact that Sean White was never even warming up.  At some point you gotta say ok lets see what Plan B has to offer.  Just for a little while, maybe see how it feels.

[War Eagle!!!]

At halftime last week, Auburn looked much improved. I was happy.

I rationalized the struggles in the second half by the fact that Louisville appeared to be a good team, but by pounding their dicks in the dirt in the first half, we took our foot off the gas, and got too complacent & conservative, but hey, we held on to the lead the whole game.

I was fine with that, and I still believe anyone melting down after that game was premature at best.

This shit this week? I got no rationalization for. I mean, I do, but it's shit. To get it out of the way now, it is possible (not likely) that exactly like the second half of last week's game, Auburn got way too complacent and conservative and pretty much stayed there until fucking OT. Also the fact that half the goddamn defense was out due to injury, COULD have been purely being over-precautionary since everyone believed our 2nd string could beat Jax St.'s starters brains in without much effort. Maybe we're saving it all up for LSU.

Or maybe all their bones are made of glass and we really do have major injury concerns after one fucking game. Regardless, our second string SHOULD be able to not get pushed around by a fucking FCS school. Both sides of the ball were the entire game. You'd think pride would kick in at some point before the end of fucking regulation that they were getting buttfucked by kids not good enough to get a scholarship to fucking Sunbelt or MAC of Conference USA school, but nope.

Oh yeah, and Louisville lost to Houston this weekend, LOL.

And the Jeremy Johnson problem is officially a major problem. It was so bad David Pollack was legitimately wondering if he was if he was actually blind from the booth. Once again, this is not competition that should give ANY SEC starting quarterback any concerns, let alone the fucking preseason Heisman front runner. NOW I think it's safe to say he's got the YIPS, bad. Can he get out of his own head? I hope to God he gets his shit together some time in the next five days.

I'm still not in burn it all down mode yet. That will come when we show up in Baton Rouge and look just as awful as we did last week. That's when we'll know that all hope is officially lost.

All of this.

[smooth_operator]

and you will be witnessing it in person.  I really hope we don't have to talk about the burn it all down.

Again I have a problem with the fact that Sean White was never even warming up.  At some point you gotta say ok lets see what Plan B has to offer.  Just for a little while, maybe see how it feels.

Just the tip, eh?

I get the impression that Gus thinks the best thing for a quarterback is knowing he's not gonna lose his job. Gus seems to think its all psychological and JJ just needs to know Gus is behind him. I'm not a psychologist or a football coach but I'm having a hard time giving a shit what is best for JJs psyche, I'm more worried about being competitive this year. Guess what? Gus should probably be too. Auburn has shown it will slam the lid on a dumpster fire.

For the record, I think Auburn still has it in 'em, but if they don't have an attitudinal adjustment on Saturday they're fucked.

[AUJarhead]

and you will be witnessing it in person.  I really hope we don't have to talk about the burn it all down.

Again I have a problem with the fact that Sean White was never even warming up.  At some point you gotta say ok lets see what Plan B has to offer.  Just for a little while, maybe see how it feels.

Exactly, in 94, at the LSU game, Nix got benched, and Craig came in.  Nix went on to have a really good season.

[dallaswareagle]

Just the tip, eh?

I get the impression that Gus thinks the best thing for a quarterback is knowing he's not gonna lose his job. Gus seems to think its all psychological and JJ just needs to know Gus is behind him. I'm not a psychologist or a football coach but I'm having a hard time giving a shit what is best for JJs psyche, I'm more worried about being competitive this year. Guess what? Gus should probably be too. Auburn has shown it will slam the lid on a dumpster fire.

For the record, I think Auburn still has it in 'em, but if they don't have an attitudinal adjustment on Saturday they're fucked.

Never in my mind leading up to this season did I think the 3rd game of this year could make or break us. 

[WiregrassTiger]

This shit this week? I got no rationalization for. I mean, I do, but it's shit. To get it out of the way now, it is possible (not likely) that exactly like the second half of last week's game, Auburn got way too complacent and conservative and pretty much stayed there until fucking OT. Also the fact that half the goddamn defense was out due to injury, COULD have been purely being over-precautionary since everyone believed our 2nd string could beat Jax St.'s starters brains in without much effort. Maybe we're saving it all up for LSU.

Or maybe all their bones are made of glass and we really do have major injury concerns after one fucking game. Regardless, our second string SHOULD be able to not get pushed around by a fucking FCS school. Both sides of the ball were the entire game. You'd think pride would kick in at some point before the end of fucking regulation that they were getting buttfucked by kids not good enough to get a scholarship to fucking Sunbelt or MAC of Conference USA school, but nope.

Agreed with most of what the gay racist said except the bold. Not the case. Biggest difference between a good 1aa team and an avg. 1a team is depth. Too many examples to cite.

Jax state starters are pretty damn sporty. Most of our team was not on Saturday but still. Take nothing away from Jax state or fcs. They got boys that can ball. And the better ones have and will continue to beat a hell of a lot of 1a teams. It's depth. Depth is the biggest difference.

[Buzz Killington]

Just the tip, eh?

I get the impression that Gus thinks the best thing for a quarterback is knowing he's not gonna lose his job. Gus seems to think its all psychological and JJ just needs to know Gus is behind him. I'm not a psychologist or a football coach but I'm having a hard time giving a shoot what is best for JJs psyche, I'm more worried about being competitive this year. Guess what? Gus should probably be too. Auburn has shown it will slam the lid on a dumpster fire.

For the record, I think Auburn still has it in 'em, but if they don't have an attitudinal adjustment on Saturday they're fudgeed.

I am leaning toward agreeing with this 100%

[WiregrassTiger]

Just the tip, eh?

I get the impression that Gus thinks the best thing for a quarterback is knowing he's not gonna lose his job. Gus seems to think its all psychological and JJ just needs to know Gus is behind him. I'm not a psychologist or a football coach but I'm having a hard time giving a shit what is best for JJs psyche, I'm more worried about being competitive this year. Guess what? Gus should probably be too. Auburn has shown it will slam the lid on a dumpster fire.

For the record, I think Auburn still has it in 'em, but if they don't have an attitudinal adjustment on Saturday they're fucked.

I see where you're coming from and I think you're right about what Gus is probably thinking. I imagine he thinks that he has to show confidence in him by leaving him in. And he may also think that JJ needs the trial by fire for us to have a shot. In other words, he's our best option.

At the same time, I agree with GF. And after the second interception, I have the white boy warming up.

I am not close to losing confidence in Gus but I still question things. Like, when is it time to try the surfer, run some wildcat with Jason Smith or something.

[Jumbo]

I am leaning toward agreeing with this 100%

I'm somewhere between that and burning it to the ground.

[dallaswareagle]

I'm somewhere between that and burning it to the ground.

I don't think we have fully recovered from the great fire of 2012?

[AUJarhead]

I'm somewhere between that and burning it to the ground.

[bgreene]

Greg Ostendorf, ESPN Staff Writer
AUBURN, Ala. -- Jeremy Johnson threw two more interceptions Saturday, and it nearly cost Auburn the game against Jacksonville State, a 41-point underdog going in. The Tigers needed overtime to squeak out the 27-20 victory.

Yet Johnson didn’t seem worried afterward. There was no real concern, no sense of urgency from the Auburn quarterback when he took the podium for his postgame press conference.

“It’s football. Interceptions are going to happen,” Johnson said. “All the greats throw interceptions. I feel really good about where this team is at and where I’m at. I have a lot of confidence in myself and so does my team.”

Auburn coach Gus Malzahn took some of the blame when asked about his quarterback’s struggles and inconsistency through the first two games.

“I thought Jeremy did some good things [Saturday], but I need to help Jeremy too,” Malzahn said. “I need to help put him in some better situations at times. It all works together.”

And as you’d expect, Johnson’s teammates still believe in him. They’ve seen how good he has been in the past and how good he is every day in practice.

“Jeremy is a great quarterback,” Auburn wide receiver Melvin Ray said. “He doesn’t make those mistakes coming into these games. People don’t see what we see on the practice field and in the scrimmages. He’ll figure it out. He’ll get it together.”

But maybe now is the time to start worrying.

The three interceptions in Week 1 against Louisville were bad, but it was the season opener and it was Johnson’s first start as Auburn’s No. 1 quarterback. You could chalk those up to first-game jitters. But there was no excuse for the two on Saturday against Jacksonville State. Auburn was at home, against an FCS opponent, and twice Johnson threw it right to an opposing player.

“Sometimes we call plays to the wrong defense,” Johnson said. “Still, I made a bad mistake throwing the interception(s) right to the guys. But it was all good. I just have to take what they give me.”

Is it all good? Johnson has thrown five interceptions, and we’re not even through the first month. That’s the most interceptions an SEC quarterback has thrown in the first two games of a season since 2009 when Tennessee’s Jonathan Crompton threw five.

This is the same guy who is supposed to lead Auburn to an SEC championship and a spot in the College Football Playoff, the same player who some thought might even be a Heisman Trophy contender by season’s end.

Did we jump the gun a little bit?

Sure, Johnson has looked great when he’s played in the past, but the sample size was small. He’s already attempted more passes in two games this year than he did in either of his first two years on campus. As a freshman, he played significant minutes in only two games, against Western Carolina and Florida Atlantic. Last year, he started and played the first half against Arkansas, but he didn’t attempt more than five passes in a game the rest of the season.

When you’re No. 1 on the depth chart, there’s added pressure.

“This is his first year really owning the offense, and I think sometimes it just goes a little fast,” Ray said. “But he’ll be fine. He’s very smart. He can make all the throws. And we think he’ll get there.”

Johnson better get there quickly because SEC play begins this week and Auburn opens with a trip to LSU. It will be the quarterback’s first start on the road, and Death Valley will not welcome him kindly.

“I’m not worried at all,” Johnson said. “I know it’s going to be a great atmosphere, great team. All we can do is just get better from this point and get ready for LSU.”

That’s the type of confidence you want from your quarterback, but how real is that confidence at this point? It’s one thing to be confident at the podium after a game. It’s another thing to be that way after you’ve thrown an interception, or five.

Now would be an opportune time for Johnson to regain his form. The fate of Auburn’s season likely depends on it.

[AUChizad]

http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2015/9/14/9322107/auburn-tigers-football-ranking-jacksonville-state-lsu

Auburn has 3 fixable problems, but there's no time to waste. LSU's up next.
By Bill Connelly
 
The preseason SEC favorite almost lost to FCS Jacksonville State. Here are three things the Tigers must fix in a hurry, with their conference schedule starting in five days.

Rarely does a win damage you as much as a loss, especially in a poll system designed to move you up when you win and move you down when you lose. But the SEC media's conference favorite and the AP Poll's preseason No. 6 team, Auburn, now finds itself 18th.

Such is life when you nearly lose to an FCS team. Jacksonville State is one of the best FCS teams, mind you, but Auburn nearly suffered college football's biggest upset since Appalachian State took down No. 5 Michigan in 2007's opening weekend.

The Tigers survived, 27-20, thanks to a touchdown in the last minute of regulation and a defensive stand in overtime. But things are not going according to plan. Why?

1. Not explosive on offense, and ...

In 2013, Auburn ranked first in rushes of 10-plus yards (147 in 14 games) and first in rushes of 30-plus (23rd). In 2014, those rankings slipped to eighth in 10-plus, 23rd in 30-plus. Gus Malzahn's ability to create numbers advantages for his runners, combined with Auburn's stable of blue-chip ball carriers, has been a devastating combination.

It is early, but thus far Auburn has managed only eight rushes of 10-plus yards (91st in FBS), and the next rush of 30-plus will be the Tigers' first. There have been only two gains of 30-plus, period; that ranks the Tigers 98th, tied with Akron and Kent State among others.

Auburn is breaking in a new combination up front. The Tigers had to replace last year's center (All-American Reese Dismukes), right guard (Chad Slade) and right tackle (Patrick Miller); the three had combined for 118 career starts.

With the return of former blue-chipper Shon Coleman, tackle Avery Young and 2013 starter Alex Kozan, plus four-star sophomores Braden Smith and Austin Golson (an Ole Miss transfer), it appeared Auburn had plenty of talent up front and a non-zero amount of experience.

Then again, the line hasn't been the problem. Auburn's run efficiency has alternated awesome and decent; the Tigers had a 59 percent rushing success rate against Louisville and 45 percent against JSU; the national average is around 43.

One problem has been that the backfield has fallen apart. Jovon Robinson (a five-star junior college transfer) and Roc Thomas (a five-star 2014 freshman) got hurt against Louisville and combined for eight carries. Thomas returned for JSU but saw only 10 touches (he scored on a 51-yard touchdown catch but rushed eight times for only 22 yards and lost a late fumble), and Robinson didn't play.

Instead, Peyton Barber has become the leader. He had 24 carries for 115 yards in helping the Tigers run out the clock against a charging Louisville; against JSU he had 23 carries for 125 yards, plus a gritty nine-yard reception on third-and-9 in overtime. Barber has proved capable of navigating in tight spaces, but he hasn't showed serious burst.

2. ... not efficient on defense.



Shanna Lockwood-USA TODAY Sports

For the most part, Auburn's defense is fine. "Fine" isn't good enough for new defensive coordinator Will Muschamp, but it still marks improvement.

Louisville averaged only five yards per play, and JSU managed 4.9. Considering the national average hovers around 5.7, that's great. But while the Tigers have prevented big plays, efficiency issues are obvious.

JSU's success rate on standard downs on Saturday: 60 percent. The national average is 47 percent. The Gamecocks had almost no passing downs success (17 percent, nearly half the national average), but they were brilliant at avoiding passing downs.

Dual-threat quarterbacks have been able to keep Auburn's edge defenders on their heels. Louisville's Lamar Jackson completed nine of 20 passes while splitting time with Reggie Bonnafon, but he rushed 15 times for 111 yards. JSU quarterback Eli Jenkins' sleight of hand on the zone read was a major weapon. Excluding sacks, Jenkins gained only 59 yards in 16 rushes (3.7 per carry), but his decisions and some nice power blocking freed up Troymaine Pope and Josh Clemons to gain 121 yards in 25 carries (4.8).

JSU's longest run was for 18 yards, but the ability to avoid negative plays (Auburn had six tackles for loss in 89 snaps) allowed the underdog Gamecocks to control the football. JSU's time of possession was 36:23, and Auburn managed only 70 snaps.

For as well as Auburn has recruited, depth up front was a major concern heading in. The Tigers did return tackle Montravius Adams and ends Gimel President and DaVonte Lambert, but the rest of last year's two-deep was gone. With President struggling and sophomore end Carl Lawson out because of a hip injury, Muschamp has had to lean on newcomers. That doesn't often work. Four-star JUCO transfer Maurice Swain has 0.5 tackles so far; blue-chip freshman Byron Cowart has one. Redshirt freshman Dontavius Russell (7.5 tackles, 2.5 for loss) has been as advertised, but he's the only one.

 OUR AUBURN BLOG
AUBURN TIGERS
Auburn Tigers blog College and Magnolia
 
3. No mojo for Jeremy Johnson

Two games into his tenure as Auburn's starting quarterback, Johnson has yet to take a sack and is completing a healthy 60 percent, albeit at only 11.7 yards per completion. But of his 21 non-completions, 52 percent have been defended (33 percent is usually the national average). And of the 11 defended, 45 percent have been intercepted (22 percent is the average).

That's unlucky, but Auburn cannot let opponents get their hands on passes that frequently. This suggests a combination of poor separation for receivers and poor decisions/accuracy from Johnson.

Johnson started aggressive against Louisville, but with little payoff. He overthrew Ricardo Louis on a 40-yard bomb in the first quarter, then was picked off on a 45-yarder in the second. That appears to have made him gunshy, settling for shorter passes in cluttered areas. A couple of long shots would do wonders for his confidence.

Of course, so would a better connection with Duke Williams. The preseason All-American has caught only 5 of 10 passes for 62 yards. They've been important -- four have gone for first downs, and three have come on passing downs -- but far more production was expected.

Also ... Auburn, of all teams, has been unlucky

Opponents have fumbled seven times so far, but Auburn has recovered only one. Combined with Johnson's seemingly bad luck, the god of bounces hasn't been kind to the Tigers. (Those who remember 2013 might call this fair.)

Based on fumbles and the ratio of INTs to passes broken up, Auburn's expected turnover margin so far has been plus-2.3. Auburn's actual turnover margin has been minus-3, a difference of 5.3. Turnovers are worth about five points on average, so you could say turnovers luck has cost Auburn about 13 points in each game so far.

Granted, Auburn's lone fumble recovery was huge. The ball squirted out of a potential pile and into the hands of linebacker Justin Garrett, who returned it for 82 yards and a touchdown, in a game decided by one score.


The good news? Most of this is fixable, and luck tends to even out. If running backs get healthy, the offensive line jells and a healthy Lawson and newbies like Swain and Cowart begin to produce, Auburn could resemble the team it was supposed to be.

The question is how much damage will be done before these nos turn into yesses. Malzahn's Tigers visit Baton Rouge this Saturday, then draw  Mississippi State. This Auburn would be lucky to survive those games. A tuned-up Auburn would be expected to win both.

If you can keep your goals on the table, you can grow into yourself. Early in Auburn's 2010 championship run, the Tigers nearly lost to Clemson and Kentucky teams that finished 6-7. Early in the runner-up campaign of 2013, it was the same story against Washington State (6-7) and Mississippi State (7-6).

Both of those teams improved in October, then hit fifth gear in November. Saturday's win most resembled another near miss -- the 42-38 win over Utah State in 2011, Malzahn's final season as offensive coordinator. Auburn did win eight games that year, but fans were thinking much bigger than that two weeks ago.

[djsimp]

http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2015/9/14/9322107/auburn-tigers-football-ranking-jacksonville-state-lsu

I feel a lot of this, like mentioned, will fix itself when the guys injured will be back on the field. Still though, the most important fixable item is JJ. This is entirely up to him which is hard to weigh one way or the other. There is no doubt that his bad start was not foreseen by anyone and is downright puzzling. I have to think all this heisman hype go in his head a little bit. Hopefully, HOPEFULLY, this near loss to JSU will wake some mfers up and play some damn good football this week.

[CCTAU]

This is his first year really owning the offense, and I think sometimes it just goes a little fast,”

This. Except a lot fast!

This makes the whole team look slow.

[Kaos]

I thank he played pretty good 'n all.

[Buzz Killington]

JJ turned me into a Newt!