Wow. Even for a bad offense, that was offensive. It's only been about two hours since things wrapped up at Jordan-Hare, so I'll just give some brief thoughts about the game and go a little more in depth tomorrow once things sink in.
- For starters, the offense stunk. Plain and simple. Auburn had 83 yards through three quarters. One good fourth-quarter drive got the Tigers to 193, still nothing to get too excited about. I'm sure somewhere Tony Franklin and Al Borges can't help be a little pleased with that result.
- It appears that Auburn has no good choice at quarterback, but that if it comes down to Kodi Burns and Chris Todd, Burns has to be the choice. Todd really struggled in relief, going 3-for-10 for 18 yards and an interception. He was sacked three times, once on an 18-yard intentional grounding penalty. (I still contend the booing crowd for some reason holds him to a higher standard than Burns, though). The fact of the matter is the offense is a mess, and at the very least, Burns gives you someone who can improvise when things -- inevitably -- break down.
- Auburn ran for 56 yards, which suggests the Razorbacks were stacking the box with plenty of defenders (note to rest of SEC: there's you blueprint). But what strikes me is that the Tigers never really lined up under center and tried to ram it down Arkansas' throats. It's one thing if you try it and it doesn't work. But the Tigers didn't even appear to try it. They saw eight in the box and just assumed they couldn't run it. I mean, this was a Hogs defense that had given up 49, 52 and 38 points in its previous three games. Shouldn't you at least try to run right at them?
- What happened to the defense? The Tigers, who ranked seventh in the nation in total defense entering the game, gave up 416 yards and 25 points to an Arkansas group that scored a mere 35 points in its previous three games. After that showing, they've go some 'splaining to do.
- He won't say it, but you just know Tommy Tuberville is seething right now after losing to Bobby Petrino, who once served under him and nearly stole his job five years ago. I'll end it by posting this picture. So THIS is why they have state troopers guarding SEC coaches. I'll let you write your own caption on it.
Wow. Even for a bad offense, that was offensive. It's only been about two hours since things wrapped up at Jordan-Hare, so I'll just give some brief thoughts about the game and go a little more in depth tomorrow once things sink in.
2 comments:
That game was ugly, on both sides. Arkansas nearly gave the game to Auburn.
I agree, to me, Kodi Burns is the clear #1 QB. He's not great, but he performed better than Todd.
Auburn currently cannot pass the ball, so all any team has to do is stack the box and force Auburn to throw. Aubrun MUST develop a passing game of some sort to keep teams from doing this, or they won't even be bowl eligible at the end of the season.
I don't think the defense fell apart. I think the defense is just tired from carrying the team on its shoulders. If you have an offense that can't get a first down, you're just making your defense work harder and get tired.
I hope Auburn gets some new plays in the next 2 weeks. I'll give Tubbs a break this week, because Franklin was only fired three days ago, the team didn't have much time to prepare before the Arkansas game.
I really don't want to hear people calling for Tubbs to get fired. He has brought A LOT of success to Auburn and he deservse a chance to correct the current mess.
.....I was at the game, and didn't get to enjoy the good web updates here! Great stuff. Too bad the game result was so pitiful.
.....Frankly, I understood why they didn't try to run over Arkansas. No one else has done it, especially no one without blocking tight ends, and fullbacks. We tried what we had to try. We dithered around so much with the quarterback situation, that we've got no chemistry. Not with either guy.
.....With the defense, you had a great run-stopping front seven going into the season. They've gotten HAMMERED with lots of extra snaps on the field, and a bunch of tough games in a row. The cracks we've seen in the middle, all year, on pass coverage, were exploited to perfection. The lack of depth at corner hurt us badly on D, this time.
.....There are positives. This game, it took bad throws to really beat us. The o-line didn't lose it. The backs didn't lose it. The receivers didn't always look back, or catch it. They didn't block well. But they were open all over the field, most of the game, and we couldn't hit 'em. That's a LOT more fixable than boat-loads of offsides and holding calls. We're actually making progress on offense, even if it looks horrible right now...
Post a Comment