Woke up early and saw the replay of the AU-A&M game from last season on as one of the top games of 2018.
Able to watch it dispassionately I was able to clearly see just how inept and mule-headed our coaching staff truly is. A&M came into that game with a proven inability to cover receivers in space. Did AU attack that weakness? No.
FIRST HALF
First drive: Run (-3), Run (-8), Inc
Second drive (down 3-0): Sack (-3), Inc, Pass (16 yds FD), Run (0), Run (0), Inc
Third drive: (after TAMU fumble) Pass 28 yards TD
Fourth drive (down 10-7): Run (+3), Run (+3), Inc
Fifth drive: Inc, Run (+3), Inc
Sixth drive: Run (+5), Pass (+7), Run (-2), Pass (+34 FD), Run (+2), Run (+15 FD), Run (+8), Pass (+11 TD)
Seventh drive (Down 17-14): Sack (-6), Run (+6)
-- HALF --
So in the first half, the first play of five of seven drives was a run or a sack. The average yards gained on those plays was NEGATIVE 0.6 yards per play. Further, if you also count the first play after a first down, this is what it looks like: Run (-3), Sack (-3), Run (0), Run (+5), Run (-2), Run (+2), Pass (+11), Sack (-6). That's a TOTAL of four yards gained on drive starting or post-first down plays. Only three total rushes of more than five yards, one of those coming on a draw on the final play of the half. Zero passes over the middle.
Did Auburn's offensive masterminds adjust? It looks like they tried, but were still clearly befuddled.
SECOND HALF
First drive (down 24-14): Pass (+4), Pass (+18 FD), Run (+1), Run (+1), Inc
Second drive: Run (-1) Inc, Inc
Third drive: Pass (+8), Inc, Inc
Fourth drive: Inc, Pass (-6), Sack (-9)
Fifth drive (down 24-14 and after an AU interception): Pass (+9), Pass (+15), Pass (+8), Inc, Run (+3 FD), Pass (+14), Pass (+21), Run (+1 TD) This was the first drive all game where Stidham took a step up in the pocket instead of cowering like a frightened armadillo. Was also the first drive where he had potential receivers running routes in the middle of the field instead of deep outs as the only option.
Sixth drive: Pass (+47) -- again to the middle of the field and let the receiver work in space, Pass (+11 TD).
--END GAME --
In the first nine drives of the game, Auburn gained less than two yards on first down EIGHT times. That strategy was not abandoned until 14:49 of the fourth quarter, down ten at home.
It took Gus and company 11 drives to figure out that A&M was bringing pressure and Stidham needed a quick release safety valve and shorter routes over the middle to be successful. It took them an entire half and two drives in the second half to figure out that diving into the line was not a successful strategy on first down. It wasn't until A&M missed a field goal and then turned it over on their next possession before the coaching staff pulled its head out of its collective anusi.
A&M was not a great team. It was not a good team. It was an average SEC team that AU should have handled with some difficulty, but handled decisively. Something like 35-13 or so.
Watching Gus stumble and bumble through this game and given the ability to view it through the lens of time doesn't fill me with hope for the future. There is a lot of offensive talent on that team. What I saw was a coaching staff squander it with a poorly-designed game plan, timid execution and playcalling and a baffling lack of understanding in regard to player abilities.
Maybe Gus' nuts were drawn all the way up into his sternum after three galling, humiliating and inexplicable losses. But why -- when you've tried to be conservative and humped the proverbial goat against LSU and UT for sure -- why not TRUST the guys to make things happen against an A&M team that was proven susceptible to an aggressive attack?
One of the most frustrating wins I've ever experienced and a microcosm of the can't-get-out-of-my-own-way-Gus dilemma. Wish I hadn't watched that.
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