StatTiger doin what he do....

[wesfau2]

Entering the game, I feared the team might have rubber legs after 8 consecutive games but you have to give credit to the players for being resilient and to the coaches for limiting the physical contact in preparation for the Ole Miss Rebels. There was no doubt the Rebels had their backs to the wall with a 3-4 record and Coach Houston Nutt wanted to make this game, their Super Bowl. The crowd was big and the uniform change by the Rebels had the team fired up at kickoff. It did not take long for Ole Miss to score on their second snap of the game, with freshman, Jeff Scott torching the Tigers on an 83-yard touchdown run. To Auburn’s credit, they responded right back with a 5-play touchdown drive, never to trail again. The Auburn offense answered the bell time and time again not having to rely on the legs of Cameron Newton. Instead it was the duet of Michael Dyer and Onterio McCalebb that rushed for a combined 288-yards on 30 carries.

 

Gus Malzahn continues to call a terrific game as he took advantage of everything Ole Miss was willing to give to stop Cameron Newton on the ground. Michael Dyer recorded his 3rd 100-yard game of the season with a career high, 180-yards on 21 carries. Cameron Newton passed for 188-yards in the first half, connecting on 15 of 21 passes as the Tigers built a 34-17 lead. Part of the lead came on a Demond Washington 95-yard return for a touchdown, which was aided by an Ole Miss player taking a shot on Onterio McCalebb, failing to record an easy tackle on Washington. Even after the score, the same Ole Miss player was laughing it up on the sideline, which will likely be addressed by the Ole Miss special teams coach. The Auburn defense continued to struggle but did register five “3 & out” series and the pass defense was much better tonight than expected.

 

At 9-0, Auburn will be rewarded with a slight off week as the Tigers prepare for Tennessee Chattanooga before playing host to the Georgia Bulldogs in 2 weeks. This might not be the most complete team Auburn has fielded but the offense might be the best in school history. With ¾ of the regular season in the books, Auburn has put itself in position to play for it all and that alone is plenty of reason to overlook the shortcomings of this football team. Though they are far from perfect, they play hard and have risen to every challenge this season. Last season, we witnessed a team that simply ran out of gas late in games but this year’s version appears to have a reserve tank to make the plays needed to secure the victory. We’ve heard the media talk as if this team is a one-man show but I would imagine Ole Miss would see it differently after tonight’s victory by the Tigers.

 

Inside the Numbers:

 

    * Cameron Newton was held to just 45-yards rushing on 11 carries but it was evident the game plan was to throw the football early on. Newton finished the game with a passer rating of 175.6. He had 4 impact pass-plays but still managed to register 2 impact run-plays.
    * Part of Michael Dyer’s career 180-yard rushing performance was 4 impact run-plays, also a career high for the freshman.
    * Auburn averaged 6.91 yards per play on first down, holding Ole Miss to 5.11 yards.
    * Through 9 games, the Auburn has now scored on 53 percent of their offensive possessions and 60 percent of their plays executed have gone towards a scoring drive.
    * Last season, Auburn rushed for 2756-yards, which was the 8th most in school history. Auburn now has 2771-yards rushing through 9 games, which is the 7th most in school history. They are 668-yards away from becoming the most prolific rushing offense in school history.
    * Michael Dyer now has 723-yards rushing, which puts him on pace for a 1000-yard season. Onterio McCalebb has 551-yards rushing on 8.6 yards per rush. In the last 5 games, McCalebb is averaging 10.4 yards per rush.
    * Auburn has now registered 92 impact plays on the season or plays of 15-yards or more. The Tiger offense is easily on pace to break the school record established by the 2009 Auburn offense.
    * The Auburn offense has now registered 24 plays of 30-yards or more, closing in on the 29 totaled by the 2009 Auburn offense.
    * With over 300-yard rushing against Ole Miss, Auburn has now rushed for over 300-yards in 5 consecutive conference games, which is a school record. It’s also Auburn’s 6th game with 300-yards rushing, tying the school record of six 300-yard games in one season previously held by the 1979 and 1983 Auburn teams.
    * The Auburn offense has now recorded five 500-yard games in total offense, tying the school record held by the 1970 Auburn offense.
    * Auburn’s 51 points scored against Ole Miss marks the 4th time Auburn has surpassed 50-points, a new school record. The 1969 Auburn Tigers held the previous record of three 50-point games in one season.
    * Cameron Newton has now been involved in 62 of Auburn’s 92 impact plays (67.4 percent). That’s 36 passing, 24 rushing and 2 receiving.
    * Michael Dyer and Onterio McCalebb have totaled 25 impact plays.
    * Cameron Newton is currently averaging 304.0 yards per game in passing, rushing and receiving along with 30 touchdowns on the season.
    * Cody Parkey did a great job with kick-offs, averaging 68-yards per kickoff.
    * Auburn is now 53-0-0 since 1990, when leading by 17 or more points at halftime and 71-1-0, when leading by 14-points.

 

Inside the Red Zone:

 

Is there any doubt we are witnessing the best Auburn offense in school history? Based on yards per game, yards per play and TD ratio, the 2010 Auburn offense is the best offense in school history, rating higher than the amazing 1970 Auburn offense that averaged 485-yards per game to lead the nation. Coach Gus Malzahn put an end to the myth that Cameron Newton was the Auburn offense. Even Coach Houston Nutt felt like Ole Miss had shutdown the Auburn running game at halftime despite the Tigers having nearly 150-yards on the ground. It was the false perception that Newton had been limited in his 5 carries during the first half but the failure to recognize the damage Dyer and McCalebb had accomplished.

 

Its evident Michael Dyer is close to being 100 percent and it’s coming at a critical time in the season. He looked quicker through the hole and was explosive when he came off the edge. Tonight was the closest Auburn looked to being a traditional Gus Malzahn offense with the quarterback being featured in the pass-offense and the running backs carrying the ground game. Michael Dyer has slowly transitioned in as the featured running back and he along with Newton should be a terrific tandem the remainder of the season. Add in the explosive ability of Onterio McCalebb anchored by one of the best offensive lines in the country and it’s easy to see why Auburn’s run-offense is one of the best in the nation.

 

I thought the key moment in the game was when Newton and McCalebb fumbled the exchange during a zone-read play, giving the Rebels the football at the Auburn 18-yard line, trailing by 3-points. Demond Washington robbed the Rebels of what appeared to be sure points for Ole Miss. Washington intercepted a Masoli pass and Auburn drove 98-yards on 12 plays to take a 24-14 lead. The Rebels did respond with a field goal drive but Washington answered right back with a 95-yard kick-return for a touchdown. As inspired as Ole Miss was to start the game, those back-to-back plays by Washington created the separation Auburn needed to secure their ninth victory of the season. The Auburn defense won’t be a dominating defense in 2010 but as long as they can make plays during critical moments of the game, they can still create separation for an Auburn offense that is on pace to shatter many school record.

http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=6&f=1010&t=6621895

[wesfau2]

Game #9 Statistical Evaluation (Ole Miss)

Offensive Report Card

1) Average 6-yards per play on 1st down: 8.9 (check)
2) Convert 40-45 pct of 3rd downs: 69.2 pct (check)
3) Average at least 4.5 yards per rush: 7.5 (check)
4) Score on 1/3 of your offensive possessions: 72.7% (check)
5) Keep "3 and out" series under 33%: 9.1% (check)
6) Average 8.0 yards per pass attempt: 9.16 (check)
7) Score above 75% in red zone: 100.0% (check)
8) Average 30-yards per possession: 52.0 (check)
9) 40% of offensive snaps being part of a scoring drive: 84.5% (check)
10) TD / Turnover ratio above 1.6: 5 TD’s / 1 turnover (check)
11) TD ratio of 1 every 17 plays: 14.2 (check)
12) 8 impact plays: 13 (check)
13) 2-3 big plays: 2 (check)
14) 130.0 pass rating: 175.6 (check)

 

Score: 14 of 14 (100%)

 

Defensive Report Card

1) Average under 6-yards per play on 1st down: 5.11 (check)
2) Convert below 35-pct of 3rd downs: 42.8% (failed)
3) Average below 4.0 yards per rush: 7.03 YPC (failed)
4) Score below 1/3 of their possessions: 38.5% (failed)
5) Keep "3 and out" series above 33%: 38.5% (check)
6) Average below 7.5 yards per pass attempt: 5.7 YPA (check)
7) Score below 75% in red zone: 75.0.0% (failed)
8) Average under 30-yards per possession: 31.3 YPP (failed)
9) Less than 40% of offensive snaps being part of a scoring drive: 62.5% (failed)
10) TD / Turnover ratio below 1.6: 4 TD’s / 1 turnover (failed)
11) TD ratio of 1 every 30 plays: 16.0 (failed)

12) Less than 8 impact plays allowed: 8 (failed)
13) No more than 1 big play allowed: 3 allowed (failed)
14) Pass rating below 125.0 allowed: 112.6 (check)

 

Score: 4 of 14 (28.6%)


Special Teams Report Card:

1) Punt Average (Above 41.3):  36.0 (failed)

2) Punt Return Defense (Below 7.8 YPR): 0.0 (check)

3) Punt Return Offense (Above 9.8 YPR): -2.0 (failed)

4) Kick-Return Defense (Below 21.2 YPR): 19.2 (check)

5) Kick-Return Offense (Above 22.3 YPR): 35.2 (check)

6) PAT’s (100%): 100% (check)

7) FG Pct (75% or above): 100% (check)

 

*Bonus Points for 95-yard TD kick-return

 

Score: 5.5 of 7 (78.6%)


* Remember the key is to pass 50% of the categories.

http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=6&f=1010&t=6621901

[jmar]

Just for kicks...

and though the frequency of red zone scoring was higher at this point in frequency overall last season, we should eclipse the  '09 teams in attempts and scores (13 games) before halftime of the UT Chattanooga game, or in 81/2 games or less.

[The Prowler]

* Last season, Auburn rushed for 2756-yards, which was the 8th most in school history. Auburn now has 2771-yards rushing through 9 games, which is the 7th most in school history. They are 668-yards away from becoming the most prolific rushing offense in school history.

Wow...This year's rushing offense will be #1 in the records book for a very, very long time.