Not Getting The Feels

[Snaggletiger]

We've all heard it, and said it 1,000 times.  Auburn seems to do their best work when nobody gives them a chance.  Well, NOBODY is giving this team a chance. I can't say I've ever seen lower expectations for an Auburn foosballz team.

Copy/Pasta from Auburn Undercover


Auburn and head coach Bryan Harsin had a tumultuous offseason. In Harsin’s first season after arriving from Boise State, the Tigers lost their final five games to finish 6-7. The program announced Harsin’s return, but the drama surrounding job security caught the eyes of a couple of anonymous SEC coaches who spoke to Athlon Sports for their college football preview magazine.

“You could argue a lot of the wounds they’re nursing are self-inflicted by both the head coach and the people around the program,” one anonymous coach said. “It certainly drove coaches and players out of the program, and it absolutely made it easier to recruit against them.”

Harsin spoke several times about the ordeal on The Plains, and without a doubt faces an uphill battle in his second season. Auburn faces the usual tough slate in the SEC West and welcomes Penn State for an early-season clash.

“The upside is that you can’t say Harsin doesn’t understand the league anymore,” another anonymous coach said. “If he survives this, it will be the greatest trial by fire ever.”

Auburn saw three-year starter Bo Nix transfer from the program and land at Oregon. The competition is between LSU transfer T.J. Finley, who arrived in 2021, and Texas A&M transfer Zach Calzada who arrived this past offseason. Another anonymous coach does not seem to think too highly of either one and thinks the supporting cast of the Tigers lacks in several areas on both sides of the ball.

“As far as the football, they need a quarterback, they need a much better offensive line, they need to replace a ton of guys in the secondary and receiving corps, and they’ve bled a lot of Gus Malzahn’s guys in the portal because of all the off-field stuff,” another anonymous coach said. “Is it a lost cause? Maybe not.”

Athlon predicts Auburn to finish seventh in the SEC West with a 6-6 record and 2-6 mark in SEC play.

Despite some early offseason movement, not one player entered the transfer portal following the program’s April 9 spring game — something Harsin harped on in the weeks following it.

"I think it says a lot about where we are as a team,” Harsin said in May at an alumni event. “The things we do in the team meetings, those are sacred, we don't talk about that. But we have great leaders on this team. We have guys that want to win. We have a group of coaches that, I feel, is united. Every day I'd walk into the team meeting during spring, or any chance I get the opportunity to speak to our team, I'm always excited about it.

"I like where we're at. I'm not surprised that every single one of those guys are still here. They chose to come back. I think that's the one thing we're missing in some of these stories is that they chose to come back; they chose to be part of what we're doing. They want to lead, they want to win, they want to be part of Auburn football. They see the things that we're building. So those guys are the foundation for where we're going.”

Auburn opens the season Sept. 3 against Mercer at Jordan-Hare Stadium. The Tigers follow that with a home game against San Jose State before hosting Penn State. Then SEC play begins.

[Snaggletiger]

My quick take.

The defense will be nasty, front to back.

The O-line has been a big problem for several years.  We'll have 4 seniors and 1 junior starting, who between them all, have started, or played in about 150 games, against the best college football has to offer.  They have another year in Pittman's S&C program.  They'll be solid.  Not great, but solid.

Running backs will be a strength.  Tank is top 10 in the country, and I look for Damari Alston to burst all up in that scene.

Yuuuugely big question marks at QB and WR.  If nobody steps up big time at either position, we're cooked.

Coaching:  Cost us at least 3 games last year. Don't know, and don't care if it was coordinators or Havrinz making those decisions.  Fix that shit.


I got caught up watching the LSU/Climpsum game the other night.  What a difference watching a bunch of fricking studs like Tee Higgins, Justyn Ross, Ja'Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson, just buckle the knees of the DB's.  Bottom line, Coach Ike needs to find a couple of guys in that receiver room that can get separation and make defensive coordinators respect, and scheme for.  If we do, we're gonna' point and laugh at all the haters.  If not....

[wesfau2]

Agree mostly with your assessment.

I think OL will improve not only for the reasons you state, but because they won't be looking over their shoulders to see where the fucking QB bailed at the first whiff of pressure.  I think between Calzone and Finley's Italian Chicken, we have serviceable to potentially very good QB talent.

WR is the only real concern in my book and that's only a problem if you don't loop the TEs into that group (and I think Landen King could be a wild hybrid).

Coaching tbd to a degree, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt in the early phases of his tenure (unless he goes full Chad Morris, of course).

I got us winning 8-11 this year.

[Snaggletiger]

Agree mostly with your assessment.

I think OL will improve not only for the reasons you state, but because they won't be looking over their shoulders to see where the fucking QB bailed at the first whiff of pressure.  I think between Calzone and Finley's Italian Chicken, we have serviceable to potentially very good QB talent.

WR is the only real concern in my book and that's only a problem if you don't loop the TEs into that group (and I think Landen King could be a wild hybrid).

Coaching tbd to a degree, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt in the early phases of his tenure (unless he goes full Chad Morris, of course).

I got us winning 8-11 this year.

Not that anyone's opinion will have squat to do with how they perform on the field, but think how different the outlook would be if we don't screw the pooch against MSU and Sakerlina.  We'd have a winning record, and people would be pointing to how we coulda', shoulda' woulda' beat Alabama.

Yep, Landen King is the one guy I'm really stoked about with the receivers.  Forget the tight end position, we've already got John David Michael Rob Shenker, and 12 others.  Put King out there as a match up nightmare for anybody.

[Kaos]

Not that anyone's opinion will have squat to do with how they perform on the field, but think how different the outlook would be if we don't screw the pooch against MSU and Sakerlina.  We'd have a winning record, and people would be pointing to how we coulda', shoulda' woulda' beat Alabama.

Yep, Landen King is the one guy I'm really stoked about with the receivers.  Forget the tight end position, we've already got John David Michael Rob Shenker, and 12 others.  Put King out there as a match up nightmare for anybody.

Prepare your butts. 

You’re looking at a 4-5 win team.  No bowl. 

It’s got the potential to rival chizik’s final year of futility.  Could possibly be the worst Auburn team in my lifetime.  Worse than any Barfield abomination. 

Thin at almost every position.  Abysmal at many critical spots.  Zero energy around the program.  Zero momentum.  No swagger.  Recruiting is in the toilet. 

I’ve told you.  You don’t want to listen.  Will make me sick but I’m right. 

[Snaggletiger]

Prepare your butts. 

You’re looking at a 4-5 win team.  No bowl. 

It’s got the potential to rival chizik’s final year of futility.  Could possibly be the worst Auburn team in my lifetime.  Worse than any Barfield abomination. 

Thin at almost every position.  Abysmal at many critical spots.  Zero energy around the program.  Zero momentum.  No swagger.  Recruiting is in the toilet. 

I’ve told you.  You don’t want to listen.  Will make me sick but I’m right.

I'll take my chances with this bunch over the Kadril Frazha/Fetal Mosely days. And here's the thing about Chizik's last year. Worst year in my long lifetime of AU ball.  I said this 100 times, and I'll say it again.  Only team I've ever seen quit.  Literally quit trying. Only time I've ever walked out of a game at half, disgusted and pissed off that I spent my time and money to go to a game in JHS.

Like I said above, if we find a solid QB, not named TJ, and a couple of playmakers in that group of receivers, this could be a surprisingly good season.  If we don't, I feel your 4-5 wins. 

A couple of sunshine pumpings:

This defense gave up a little over 21 ppg last season.  Great D in this day and age of offense, and skewed by that 43 point debacle against State.  That was good for 27th in the country. ZMac and McReary are the only players I hated losing.  They should be really good this year.

We have 17 total starters returning from last year.  That's tied with Tennessee for the most returning starters for any team.  And that doesn't include Zach Calzoni, if he wins the job.

Bobo is gone. I admit, I was happy to have anybody not named Gus calling plays last year.  But a very disturbing pattern emerged halfway through the season.  We ran out early on Ole Miss, Miss. State, Sakerlina, and even Alabama.  We had two nice early drives against A&M.  But it became painfully obvious that either they scripted the first number of plays, or Bobo was that easy to figure out. Either way, the play calling has to be infinitely better.

The fact is, we should have won several more games last year. FUGA was the only team we really had no shot at.  This season could be as simple as an experienced team learning to win those close games.

[wesfau2]

I'll take my chances with this bunch over the Kadril Frazha/Fetal Mosely days. And here's the thing about Chizik's last year. Worst year in my long lifetime of AU ball.  I said this 100 times, and I'll say it again.  Only team I've ever seen quit.  Literally quit trying. Only time I've ever walked out of a game at half, disgusted and pissed off that I spent my time and money to go to a game in JHS.

It was nauseating.

[Snaggletiger]

It was nauseating.

BIL story.  At halftime of the A&M game, I told the BIL that I can take getting our asses kicked, but I can't take not even trying.  If they don't come out and at least look like they're giving some effort, I'm out of here.  First drive.....mailed it in.  The BIL said he looked up and I was headed down the steps, looking back at him and saying, "If you want a ride back to Dothan, I suggest you get yo ass up and come on."

I did actually leave a bit too early in the Clemson opener.  I had to park a loooonnng way away from JHS, and thought the game was over.  We just about came back and won.  But that was the 5 QB, double reverse fakey, whirley-bird game.  I remember the next day reading Kevin Scarbinsky saying that Gus Malzahn's offensive game plan looked like a Kindergartner took a handful of crayons, and started scribbling all over the page.

I thought it was more like Benny Hill's theme song of Yakkity Sax.  Look it up.  You'll agree. 

[Buzz Killington]

Aah...the whirly bird.  Good times.

I still remember eating a boob dog handed to me by a certain former poster on here and then gramma trying to fight me in the aisle after going on a f-bomb tirade that would have made Al Borges blush in the 2nd quarter of that aTm game. 

[Snaggletiger]

Aah...the whirly bird.  Good times.

I still remember eating a boob dog handed to me by a certain former poster on here and then gramma trying to fight me in the aisle after going on a f-bomb tirade that would have made Al Borges blush in the 2nd quarter of that aTm game.

I've heard good things.

[Buzz Killington]

I've heard good things.

There was mead involved.  Not one of my finer moments, fo sho.

[GH2001]

Agree mostly with your assessment.

I think OL will improve not only for the reasons you state, but because they won't be looking over their shoulders to see where the fucking QB bailed at the first whiff of pressure.  I think between Calzone and Finley's Italian Chicken, we have serviceable to potentially very good QB talent.

WR is the only real concern in my book and that's only a problem if you don't loop the TEs into that group (and I think Landen King could be a wild hybrid).

Coaching tbd to a degree, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt in the early phases of his tenure (unless he goes full Chad Morris, of course).

I got us winning 8-11 this year.

I think 8 has to happen or he’s pretty much a dead man walking. Not saying I agree but I think it’s the reality.

[Kaos]

I think 8 has to happen or he’s pretty much a dead man walking. Not saying I agree but I think it’s the reality.

He won't get close enough to eight to sniff it.  It'll be like Biden is at a playground but there's a chain link fence preventing him from getting inside. 

[dallaswareagle]

BIL story.  At halftime of the A&M game, I told the BIL that I can take getting our asses kicked,

And you gave what for to the trash bags that day.

[GH2001]

And you gave what for to the trash bags that day.

Not a very keen game that day.

[dallaswareagle]

Not a very keen game that day.

Even I left at 1/2 time. I needed  beer to unseen what I had just watched.