Catching up

It is my first post in over a month and much has happened. To start with the oldest, bama and lsu were selected to play in the national champ game. If you want to see my view of this click here: http://drivelforyou.blogspot.com/2011/11/bama-review-and-playoff-plea.html. 

Mike Dyer has been dismissed from the team for unspecified reasons.  Most people seem to think it was due to smoking pot, but I have heard grumblings all year about his attitude.  It was also said that Dyer was with the infamous 4 that got arrested before the season started earlier in the night.  He was, I heard, trying to talk them out of it, but that shows you the type of company he keeps.  Thugs come to mind.  He got mad at the way Chizik handled the situation (aka suspending the players); he thought they players didn't get a chance to tell their side of the story.  Um... maybe it's just me, but if you hold up someone at gunpoint, you have no side.  Anyway, he has a list of things he has to accomplish before he can be let back on the team and one of them (again, something I heard), was to complete 12 hours of credit this summer.  That is not impossible to do, but for a football player that is not known to be a great student it can be really tough.  Some seem to think Dyer will not be back next year, possibly transferring to a lower tier school.  That would be a really big shame, but no one player is bigger than the team so if he can't or won't do it, see ya!  Auburn has two 5-star running backs eligible next year and a four-star coming along with Tre Mason and possibly O Mac so that is one position where AU is ok.  I really do hope Dyer is back, but won't cry if he's not. 

Speaking of RB's coming in next year, a 5-star recruit TJ Yeldon from Daphne (a known bama stronghold) that has been committed to AU for 6 months, all of a sudden decommitted and committed to bama on the night before the dead period began.  It seems really really fishy and with all the crap that went on last year with Calloway and Cyrus K. it's hard not to think something is up.  I won't really comment on it, but I think that they way it went down was really shady. 

In the midst of all this, AU lost both coordinators.  Ted Roof "left" and took a DC job with O'Leary (his mentor) at UCF.  Malzahn decided that he probably should have taken a job last year when he was extremely popular and took the head coaching job at Arkansas St.  He is from Arkansas and going home was too much of a pull.  Alot of chatter about a sinking ship and such about AU, but that is not the case.  AU has incredible talent coming back next year and will have a great recruiting class as well.  Whoever inherits the coordinating jobs will get a wealth of talent and a year experience.  AU only loses 15 seniors and only 7 of those are scholarship.  7 scholarship players!  What a change from last year when AU lost 36 players plus 4 more after the arrests.  Chizik will be coaching the defense for the bowl game, and hopefully in the next few days, AU will hire some good coaches to fill the slots and finish the recruiting period really strong. 

Enough of football.  Today, my two boys had surgery.  Colt had his tonsils and adenoids removed and West had his tonsils and adenoids removed along with ear tubes placed.  They both did really well.  Colt and I are at home and he has already eaten really well and wanted to go play.  West had to spend the night, and on last check, he had eaten all his food and was working on a parfait and laughing like crazy.  So very thankful they are doing so well and hopefully will continue to do so.

Hopefully, I will have a Chick-fil-a/Virginia preview (dont hold your breath) and an update about the boys soon.  I am off work until next tuesday so I am going to enjoy the time off. 

Bama review and a playoff plea

The game was never in doubt; not even before kickoff did I think that AU could ultimately win the game. I knew that it could happen, I mean, AU would have to play a complete game and bama would have to play really poorly, but I knew that the better team would probably win. Having said that, it still doesn't lessen the feeling that losing causes.

Auburn had their chances to draw close even in the third quarter. Auburn took the opening kick in the 2nd half to the house to make it a 10 point game and then had the ball at midfield looking to make it a one score game. That is when the wheels fell off and has as a rule for all the losses this year. Auburn was facing a 4th and short and went for it and ran Dyer-cat. I don't know what Malzahn sees in that play, but it never and I mean never works. So, obviously, AU didn't get it and bama goes down and promptly scores essentially putting the game out of reach.

I sincerely hope that AU uses the bowl practices to groom Frazier to play next year. If Trotter or Moseley starts next year, I might have to boycott the football team. Trotter cannot throw and has no confidence and Moseley is the biggest baby I have ever seen. If there is any pressure at all he either folds like a deck of cards or throws an off balance throw that is no where near an AU receiver. He did that on the pick six yesterday. He was feeling a little pressure to his left, but the guard came over and rode him out of the play, but instead of stepping up in the pocket and making a throw, Moseley winced and threw an off-balance throw that sailed over Blake's head.

AU has been absolutely pathetic at QB this year and I'm hoping that either Frazier or Pike can come in and play much better. It really can't get much worse. I thought AU played well, but gave bama way too much, especially Richardson. He had a good game, but so has every other running back against AU. I mean, a freshman RB from Samford had over 100 yards. AU played weak on the ends and at corner and never challenged anyone. Au played scared and it showed up ugly in the 4th quarter.

Now, about bama. They may be one of the best two teams in the nation, but I firmly believe that if you cannot win your own division much less your conference, you should not play for the national title. The BCS is way too flawed and I really hope that a playoff will be looked at more seriously because of this. bama had their chance and lost. At home. So, they basically get rewarded for losing to LSU. They get to sit at home while LSU plays an extra game against a very improved and motivated UGA team. Doesn't seem right does it? People will say that a playoff will ruin the regular season making the games less meaningful. That is absolute crap. Don't tell me that there will less intensity when AU plays LSU or UGA or bama or when bama plays UT or LSU or AU. Also, you are playing for a chance at home field and everyone knows that home field in college football is huge. You lose, you may still make the playoff, but you will have to travel the first round. Also, there is no guarantee that you make the playoff if you lose even just one game. Look at Stanford. They were 4th and got beat and dropped to 9th. If that was the last game of the year, they would miss the playoffs after being in a position to host their first round game just the previous week. Also, every other division/sports use a playoff. Settle it on the field, not with some pencil-necked sports writer with an agenda and a vote. If you aren't a media darling like bama or Oklahoma or OSU then you have not shot unless you go undefeated. So far, only LSU has been able to do that this year.

Why is it fair or right to say bama is the best if they beat LSU in the natty after LSU already beat them on bama's home field earlier? Shouldn't they have a rubber match? So LSU has to beat bama twice to be champs, but bama only has to win once after they already lost to them? Just plain dumb. Please, please get a playoff. That is the only way we will know who deserves to be the champs. I know, just because you win one game doesn't mean you are the overall best, because anyone can win on any given day. But leaving it up to voters who are as biased and uninformed as me and you just can't be the best way.

Samford Preview

Auburn's Homecoming game today is Samford University out of Birmingham, AL. It also marks a homecoming for the current Samford head coach and former Auburn player and Heisman winner Pat Sullivan. Sullivan played for the Tigers from 68-71 and won the Heisman Trophy his senior year. He will be honored during the game today along with many of his teammates from the '71 team.

AU comes limping into this game after a shellacking at the hands of the Bulldogs. Auburn is looking for answers from both sides of the ball especially offensively. Defensively, everyone knew that AU would struggle this year, but offensively AU shouldn't be having this many problems. The line isn't blocking, the QB isn't looking to any other receivers besides Lutz and Blake and I believe Malazahn is being hamstrung. You say he isn't? Compare this year to '09 when the QB's were similar and the players were similar and AU put up big numbers and Chris "I can't run a lick" Todd broke records. I think Chizik is making Malzahn slow down the offense to help the defense. Add that to the fact that AU doesn't have a QB worth a poop right now and that equals a pretty pathetic offense.

On another note, rumors are swirling again that Malzahn is on top of the list for the head coaching job at UNC. Chizik says he hasn't been contacted but I think it's just a matter of time. Malzahn will be looking to leave for a good head coaching gig and to run his offense freely. UNC's AD was at Tulsa when Malzahn was there so I think it's probably a done deal. Chizik says he has a plan for when Malzahn does leave and I have no doubt he will hire someone that will do a great job. I think we will probably get a preview of our new Off Coord. today. His name is Rhett Lashlee and he is O coord at Samford. He was a GA under Malzahn last year and runs an offense very similar to Malzahn's. Of course Chris Morris from Clemson would be a great addition if he wanted to leave. Whatever happens, the new O coord will be loaded with talent and should do really well.

On to the game today: AU will roll but it may be closer than you think. I'm just not convinced this AU team can put anyone away early, even the FCS Samford team. Samford is very similar to AU in that they are very young and have played that way. AU will win and hopefully give some guys some rest to get ready for bama.

Throwing up and UGAly game

The title of this post is kind-of fitting. Early Wednesday morning my wife Erika woke up puking. Having three small children, if momma is sick, daddy aint going to work. Come to find out, my two oldest kids ended up getting sick a few hours later. Erika, ever the trooper, worked in her store for most of the day despite feeling nauseated and not being able to eat or drink anything all day. Let's just say that I couldn't do that. Ever. After cleaning up a two-year-old's vomit all day, I went to work the next day. I felt fine and was making plans to keep the kids on Friday afternoon after I got home. Erika and Addi were going to the American Girl Doll Store in Atlanta that morning and weren't going to be home til that night.

Thursday night about 10:30, I woke up to a raging case of diarrhea and vomiting that lasted all night into the morning and occurred about once an hour. Needless to say, I was out of commission all day Friday. Usually I can get over a stomach virus in about 12 hours but this one really kicked my butt. I felt miserable all day Friday and ended up losing 14 pounds in one day! Thus the reason why no Georgia preview.

This all lead up to the debaucle that was the Auburn Tigers "playing" against Georgia on Saturday. It started off poorly but AU hanging in there. After AU recovered the fumble at midfield and then promptly gave it right back, I believe that is when the team lost confidence and therefore the game.

There is, I believe, a lack of confidence in the huddle and that starts with the QB. I did not see the penalties and the fumbles and the missed blocking assignments last year. I know, an older, more experienced and better team, but the basics are not being done this year. Also, what is going on with the play calling? Is this all that Malzahn is comfortable allowing this team to run? AU tries to run a bubble screen and there is no blocking whatsoever from any receiver. Jay Wisner cannot block. If there is any pressure on Moseley at all, he folds. Why don't they roll him out every now and then? And why, if Keihl Frazier is the QB of the future, did they not put him in during the second half Saturday to get some experience? Did the coaches actually think that AU could come back from 38-7 down?

I know this team is young and learning, but good grief! AU took a step back this weekend and that was after a week off! What did they do? Defense, tackling, missed assignments, getting beat on coverage over and over and over. I'm so sick of the safeties getting beat every deep ball. Neiko Thorpe cannot cover. At all. Chris Davis took a few steps back Saturday. Darren Bates cannot play assignment football. All he wants to do is go blow someone up. Hey, how about play your lane, shed a blocker for once and make a play. Or at least slow the ball carrier up so someone else can make a play. I truly believe it is coaching and it's disappointing because Chizik is a defensive coach. Roof's technique has failed us three years now and it's time for a change. The only semblance of a good defense was last year and that was for only two and a half games at the end. When you have Bynes, Fairley and a senior laden D-line, you don't have to be a good coach to be successful. It's past time AU got a defense worth a crap.

Overall, AU is still in good shape. They should beat Samford this weekend and will in all liklihood get throttled by bama to end the regular season and then make a decent bowl game (Chick-fil-a most likely, maybe Outback). 7-5 is not bad considering most pundets had AU not going bowling at all and 7-5 as a miracle season. Looking back, maybe it was a miracle season. I'm sure I'll look back in a few years and realize how successful this team really was, but for now, it is frustrating. All I can do is cheer them on no matter what.

Ole Miss reax

This week has been crazy thus the late post. Auburn played a complete game in the 2nd half to pull away and beat the Rebel Black Bears 41-23 last Sat night in JHS. Auburn started really hot and got out to a 14-0 lead, but two turnovers and shotty run defense allowed Ole Miss to tie the game at 17 heading to half. Auburn came out with a vengence in the 2nd half and scored 24 straight points before giving up a meaningless touchdown with 1 second left. Funny thing, Ole Miss got an offensive penalty with less than a minute to go. By rule, 10 seconds were supposed to be taken off the clock, but Penn Wagers (the head ref) did not do that, thus allowing Ole Miss to have time to run another play and score against our 2nd string. I hate giving up late meaningless TD's but oh well, such is life.

Auburn played well in the 2nd half but the first half effort was not up to par. Auburn made too many mistakes and the D-line was getting pushed around. That cannot happen! Our D-line has underperformed for the most part this year and has been a big disappointment overall. I know they are still young, but I have not seen them play a complete game even against inferior opponents like FAU. Hopefully, they will continue to improve and play lights out the last three games. Moseley played really well going 12-15 for 160 yards and four touchdowns. Auburn has to have that kind of effort from now on to have a chance to win at least two out of the next three.

Auburn has this week off to rest and heal to get ready to play the Dawgs in Athens. This will be a hard fought game and will really test the meddle of this group. I think they have a great shot at winning, but will have to play all four quarters. Georgia will be looking to win to probably win the East this year and keep Mark Richt around for a little while longer.

Ole Miss preview

Auburn takes the field this weekend back in the friendly confines of Jordan-Hare Stadium to take on the Rebel Black Bears of Mississippi. Auburn is coming off one of its worst defeats in recent memory against arguably the best team in the nation. Ole Miss is limping in as well, sporting a 2-5 record, but is coming off a gutsy performance against Arky last week. Ole Miss led 17-0 at one point before Arky came back and won by 5.

Houston Nutt is still the coach at UM despite not being able to win consistently. Most say this game and the egg bowl will be his defining games this year and will likely decide his future as the coach of the Rebels and probably as an SEC coach. Miss has plenty of playmakers but has been hampered by the injury bug. Look for all the stops to be pulled and Ole Miss to play with nothing to lose. Miss has only won one SEC game since 2009 and that was Kentucky. Nutt usually pulls one out that he isn't supposed to and I hope that this isn't this weekend.

Auburn needs to regroup and decide how the rest of the year is going to play out. They have a chance to land a pretty good bowl game with a win Saturday almost guaranteeing them 7 wins. A month of extra practice is so critical at this point with all the young players, that Saturday is very important. I am interested to see how Moseley does with more time to throw the ball and not running for his life. Dyer has to get some carries and the line has to block and the receivers have to get open and catch the ball. Sounds elementary, right? Well, if that happens Saturday, AU wins. If not, it will be close. AU's defense has played better and I expect them to rebound this weekend.

Prediction: Look for AU to bounce back nicely from last weeks beatdown. I do expect UM to play well and possibly way over their heads for a while. If AU can withstand the initial barrage and stay close, I think they win. The key will be if AU can get ahead early, I believe UM will pack it in and AU should win going away. Eliminate stupid penalties and the big play and AU gets bowl eligible and looks forward to a much needed and deserved off week. A 3-2 record during this brutal stretch (not to mention hardest in the nation) with the nation's youngest and most inexperienced team would be a HUGE testament to this coaching staff in what a phenomenal job they have done. Losing 32+ players last year hurt so much more than I thought, but this team/staff has never once complained nor given excuses. They have practiced hard and gotten better and will be great sooner rather than later. Now that I'm off my soapbox:

AU 24 UM 16

LSU reax

Domination. That's all there was to it. LSU was not overlooking AU for bama or anyone else. That's why they are the #1 team in the nation. They take of business and punish you for mistakes. As much as I hate to say it, LSU played like I want AU to play: intense, fast, brutal. I did admire the way AU continued to play tough and not quit, despite being down 45-3 in the 4th. That was close to being AU's worst beatdown ever, but the good news is, AU will learn and get better from this.

Likes: Clint Moseley did really well despite being pressured EVERY single time he stepped back to pass. In his first start, he only made a few bad throws and had one BAD interecption. Against an elite group like this, that will kill you.

Cody Parkey hit his only field goal attempt and had two really good kickoffs out of three.

Running backs did pretty well even though they were running against what seemed like 15 guys at times. Lutz blocked well on the edge as did the receivers for the most part. When McCalebb got outside, he was able to make some good yardage (didnt happen much, tho).

D-line played hard and were overmatched but never quit. Despite being outweighed by about 30-40 pounds, I thought they held their own. However, LSU had 4.8 yards per carry so that won't get it done.

Dislikes: O-line. They got whipped in every aspect of the game. Many times, LSU had guys coming unblocked into the backfield. No, these were not safety blitzes. This was a tackle coming through unblocked; a missed assignment. A.J. Green, playing left tackle, the QB's blindside, got beat multiple times and Moseley rarely had time to set his feet much less make a decent throw. Very dissapointed in their play. I really thought these guys had taken a step forward and now they are about 3 back. Multiple injuries and playing freshmen and sophomores doesn't help, but these guys have to get better. It all starts in the trenches.

Punting was atrocious. Clark had his worst game of the year having 4 out 7 punts go for less than 30 yards. Most times these were not trying to pin LSU deep, either. HAVE to have a good game from him EVERY time, especially if this offense is going to continue to struggle.

DB's - young and inexperienced will get you beat by a good team. A great team will destroy you and that's what happened. Randle is an All-American and he showed why Saturday, running by the AU secondary at will. Good thing is, they will get better and learn from this (hopefully).

Overall, I'm not terribly dissapointed with the team even though it was an epic beatdown. AU played the possible national champions and held their own for a half. Take away the stupid, very avoidable and correctable penalites and AU may force LSU to punt sooner and possibly kept them from scoring their first TD. Also, take away the two big plays for TD's in the first half and AU has the lead. I know, that's alot of take aways but you know what I mean.

Everyone said that AU would probably go winless in October possibly winning one. Well, AU is 2-2 with a good chance to go 3-2 after this Saturday. As of this week, AU has the toughest schedule in the nation and the three losses have all come on the road against the #1, #6 and #8 teams. That is not bad at all. How many 3 loss teams can say that?

Ole Miss is this weekend and after the showing they put on against Arkansas, anything can happen. I expect AU to bury this loss and come out playing better, just like they have after the other losses. AU has a chance to play for a good New Year's bowl, but two big games loom with UM and UGA (I know bama is last, but barring a miracle, that's an L) to determine how the rest of the season goes.

LSU preview

"The Honey Badger doesn't give a s*** because he is too high."

Auburn travels to Baton Rouge, or the threshold of hell as some like to say, to take on the #1 team in the nation. A few of LSU's players made some headlines this week by getting themselves stupidly suspended for smoking some reefer. The Honey Badger himself Tyrann Mathieu, Spencer Ware and another CB were caught smoking synthetic marijuanna and have been suspended for this weekend's game vs AU. I'll bet you my left kidney that they will all be available to play in Tuscaloosa in two weeks, though.

Even with these three starters out, AU's chances of a win are slim at best. AU will have to play their best game of the year and will have to be able to consistently move the ball and control the line of scrimmage. This is a tall order against an LSU team that is dominate on the line on both sides of the ball.

Clint Moseley will be making his first start of the season in a very tough environment. Death Valley will be one of the loudest places he will have ever been to and to make his first start there can be an eye-opening experience. He will have to make plays and manage the game extremely well in order for AU to have a chance. AU must be able to pass block and Moseley has to find an open receiver and be able to complete it. The receivers HAVE to get open and then catch the flippin ball.

Mike Dyer will get alot of carries this game and the line must block for him in order, not only to open up the passing game, but also move the chains and control time of possession. The offense will need to be clicking and that is not something that has happened since the first half of the Clemson game.

The defense has been playing really well lately but against some pretty bad offenses, sans Arkansas. AU usually does a good job stopping power running teams and I believe that the defense will play well Saturday. Again, the D-line must put constant pressure on the QB's and force some bad throws. AU must win the turnover battle.

Special teams need to continue doing what they have been doing. Clark needs to flip field position with monster punts and high hang times and Parkey needs to continue to get touchbacks and hit field goals. Kick coverage needs to be spot on, get to the returner and tackle quickly.

All these things need to happen and then AU still only has a chance to win. This is probably going to be the toughest game AU will play all year. I know, bama is coming, but AU plays them at home so it drops below playing in BR, where AU hasn't won since Clinton was in office.

AU will keep it close, but LSU has too many athletes and is too deep on defense to lose this game. Playing in BR, albeit not at night woo hoo, will be hugely in favor of the home team.

Prediction: AU - 17 LSU - 28

Florida Reax and Jury Duty

Sorry about the late post this week but I have been doing my civic duty and have been stuck at jury duty all week. Sitting, reading, sitting some more, playing on the phone, sitting. Yeah, loads of fun. It has been nice being able to sleep past 0500 in the morning and being able to take my daughter to school in the mornings; however, it is pretty boring just sitting all day. I was called to be chosen for questioning for a jury three times only to be unchosen at the last minute. Oh well, it was my first experience at jury duty and I'm sure not my last.

Now, on to the Florida game. I also say a win is a win and I would take it no matter what (sort of like the 3-2 MSU game a few years back), but I'm not real sure what to make of it. Auburn looked great at times and awful at times. Trotter started the game slow, as usual, and really never got it going. Auburn would move the ball some, but a holding or a false start or a terribly thrown ball would cause AU to have to punt. Auburn got some huge breaks in this game, mainly that Demps could not go and Brantley was hurt and out. Two of Florida's best players kept out of the lineup definitely helped Auburn's chances, but not to the point of making it completely one-sided. Auburn was without their two best receivers, Blake and Reed, and had Cooper leave with a hurt leg.

Auburn scored first on a free play, UF jumped offsides, with Trotter hitting Benton in the endzone on a great throw and catch. This happened after Rainey muffed a punt at his own 30 yard line. Over the next quarter, Auburn gave UF 30-45 yards of additional yards by two facemasks and a late hit that led to two UF field goals. Auburn led 7-6 at half, but neither team really had anything going for it. Auburn looked really bad for most of the first half and needed a boost of some sort. Chizik decided to start Moseley in the 2nd half to provide just that spark.

Auburn, despite the multiple 15 yard penalties, played really really well on defense. Limiting UF to only 6 points and holding them with only 1 third down conversion was awesome, especially compared to how they played earlier in the year. Tackling was much better and T. Bell intercepted an underthrown ball on the 2nd play.

Moseley came out in the 2nd half and started off with two runs and then a badly overthrown ball to a wide open receiver. He did complete a safe pass to Lutz on a thrid and long but the team seemed to respond to the new QB and the spark was there. Auburn defense held strong and McCalebb scored a TD on the first play of the 4th quarter. Auburn was up 14-6 and after trading several punts, Auburn had the ball on inside their own 20 with about 5 minutes left. Of course, they couldn't get a first down to run out the clock, so they had to punt. And for the fourth time, Rainey dropped another punt and Auburn recovered and was able to kick a field goal with 38 seconds left to go up 17-6. That is how the game finished. Auburn is now 5-2 and 3-1 in the SEC. Who would've thought AU would be 2-1 so far in October? I didn't think is was very probable.

This young team is getting better, but they have experienced the injury bug pretty harshly. Blake and Reed are still questionable for LSU and Jared Cooper and Ladarious Owens are out for the year. Auburn has 3 upperclassmen (juniors or seniors) on defense! That's all. The whole defensive line is sophomores and freshmen. Unreal that AU has had any success at all! Remember, Dyer, 3 now 4/5 OL and the new starting QB are only sophomores along with Blake, Reed and Stallworth. Lutz, McCalleb, Benton and Trotter are the only juniors getting any playing time. There is only one senior on the entire offense and two on the entire defense. This team will get better and better and will be great sooner rather than later. However, this year, they need to grow and get better and learn how to play. I expect this team to play well and play hard, but probably won't beat the more elite teams (mainly LSU and UA).

LSU preview coming soon

Florida preview and a little redemtion

Let me first start off by stating again what I have gone on and on about since this first came to light almost a year ago. Auburn is innocent of any wrong doing. Hear that media, bloggers and fans world-wide? INNOCENT!! Not only of the Newton recruitment, but also of anything else the NCAA could find including the HBO 4 and any other recruitment. When the NCAA investigates, it usually finds something. Auburn was clean throughout. That is a huge testament to the compliance department at Auburn and of how Chizik runs this program. So, as a parting shot, put that in your pipe and smoke it! Anyone who cannot accept this is either delusional or so filled with hatred toward AU that he/she will not ever accept it, no matter how many letters the NCAA sends. Some may say, if you were innocent all along, why all the happiness and "told you so's?" The answer is, because all of you naysayers and prophets of doom have made it where we AU fans feel the need to rub it in your face. There, I said it.

Ok, got that off my chest, on to UF. UF is fast, very fast. They have two huge playmakers in Rainey and Demps and will use them with dump screens and crossing routes over and over and over until AU stops them. Then, they will run them some more. Bad news is, AU has been terrible at stopping them. The good news mixed with bad is that UF has been forced into using a true freshman at QB due to injury. However, AU is notorious for making these guys look like a Heisman contender (see Tyler Wilson last year and Chuckie Keaton this).

AU needs to get back to the game plan that worked so well with USCe. Pressure the crap out of the QB and tackle immediately after the receiver catches the ball. UF will rely on big plays to score and move the ball so containing the two playmakers will be key. UF's offense has struggled in the last two games (granted, they were against the two best defenses in the country) and are looking to open things up. If AU can put some pressure on the QB, hopefully it will cause Brissett to force some things and maybe cause some turnovers. AU must win the turnover battle.

On offense, Trotter needs to be more of a manager and not a playmaker. Stop trying to throw the ball a hundred miles an hour and for goodness sake, throw the ball away if you need to. UF's defense has been really good this year, except against the run. That bodes well for AU because that is what they want to do. Trotter needs to make some completions early on to open up the running game because UF will implement the same plan that Arky did; stack the line and force AU to throw. Trotter has to make those throws and make smart decisions in order for AU to move the ball and succeed. Also, the receivers have to catch the ball! I know, sounds elementary doesn't it? They are SEC receivers on scholarship so that is what is required of them.

UF will move the ball early and score early (Weis has the first two drives scripted. see bama game), so if AU can weather that storm and either get a turnover or stop them or score with them, I believe AU has a great shot of winning. Trotter will continue to struggle but will make enough plays and the defense will come up big when it counts. Playing Saturday night in JHS is a big advantage and I am so jealous of those that are going. Scream loud and let them know you support them no matter what!

Prediction: AU 24 UF 20

Arkansas reax

AU took some lumps Saturday night in Fayetteville as the Tigers dropped their first SEC game in over two years to the Razorbacks. Despite the score, AU was in this game until around the end of the third quarter. AU was driving to tie the game and, I believe, had a penalty that forced them to punt. AU downed the punt at the 8 yard line and still were in pretty good shape until Lemonier lost containment on the edge and Adams ran for a 92 yard touchdown. By the way, that was the longest touchdown play given up by AU, ever. After that, AU was never able to get any kind of offensive threat going and Arky kicked a field goal to make it a three score game and out of reach for any kind of comeback.

Likes:
Special teams stepped it up once again. Jay Boulwere deserves every bit of money/raise he got this year. This unit has been amazing and has kept us in games more than any other. Despite the 11 yard shank early in the game, Clark had a 40 yard average on his punts and the majority were downed inside the 20 and Arkansas returned exactly zero! Parkey continued his booming on kickoffs and had two of three for touchbacks. Mason almost had a huge error when he muffed one kickoff and let it lie there as the ref looked at him (live ball my man!). Also, D. Benton kicked a punt and although it was ruled he was blocked into the ball, it could have just as easily been ruled a live ball. Bray did well fielding the ball on punts and Mason hit the line hard on kick returns.

AU did really well running the ball and the O-line did a pretty good job blocking for the most part. Dyer was his usual tough self and often dragged a couple of defenders for extra yards.

I thought the defense played pretty dang good considering the opponent and given the fact the offense left the defense with a short field multiple times. AU held Arky to 33 yards less than their average for the season and kept UA from hitting big plays, sans the Adams run. Also, this was the first time AU held Arky under 300 yards passing since Houston Nutt was roaming the sidelines for the Hawgs.

Dislikes:
Penalties! I haven't had to mention that this year, but Saturday AU had 11 for 105 yards. WTC? Multiple drive killing holding calls and another (ANOTHER!!!!!!!) unsportsmanlike penalty. Coach, please get these guys under control with that. I understand emotions run high and these are kids, but still. Those penalties kill and AU isn't good enough to overcome those.

Dropped balls/WR play - Trotter was 6 of 19 and 7 of those were dropped balls and his only interception went through D. Benton's hands. Usually sure handed Lutzenkirchen dropped two! This was supposed to be Benton's time to shine in the wake of Blake's injury, but he did not have a very good game at all. He dropped at least two (that I can remember) and kicked the ball on a punt after it hit the ground. Blocking on the edge was not great and really has to improve if AU is going to be successful running the ball.

Linebacker play against the pass - AU is just slow at LB. Run stopping was fantastic (again, sans Adams run), but against the pass, AU LB's cannot keep up with TE's and RB's. They just can't. It is frustrating b/c all a team has to do is run screens and drags across the middle and they get 6-9 yards every time.

QB play - ok, we all know Trotter has not played really well the last 3 games. Saturday, it came to a head for me. Granted, he had many dropped balls but the general hesitancy and lack of scrambling ability is killing me. I know Frazier threw two picks, but he is a freshman and I expect him to make mistakes like throwing into double coverage. I don't expect that with a fourth year junior that's been in the system 3 years. Yes, this is his first year to start but he should be better and getting better with each game and Trotter is not. Frazier does add an ability to run that Trotter does not so teams will have to account for that. I am almost to the point of letting Frazier get more involved and implementing more of the playbook for him. Let's face it; Trotter is not a top tier QB. I knew that from the start, but I didn't think that the whole offensive scheme would change. AU was running the ball, down by 3 scores with 10 min left probably because of the lack of the passing game.

The question now is, is it time to start Frazier and work on next year? I wouldn't mind that, but knowing Chizik and Malzahn, that's not going to happen right now. They didn't do it with Todd in 2009 and putting Frazier in for his first start against UF and then @ LSU would not be wise. Those decisions are why they make the mega bucks.

If Trotter continues to digress, I do expect to see at least a change to Moseley, however, he is comprable to Trotter, i.e. not a threat to run. Time will only tell.

Last minute Arkansas preview

AU takes on the Razorbacks today in a game that I really don't know what to expect. Like last week, this game could go either way, but I think one of two things will happen. Either AU wins a close game that comes down to the wire or Arky will blow it out.

AU needs to have a similar game plan against the Hawgs that they did against USCe; stop the run and pressure the QB. If given enough time, UA QB Wilson will pick AU apart and rack up major yards. It is, as usual, up to the D line to step it up and play lights out to give AU a chance. Jake Holland is going to have to play the game of his life in calling defenses and recognizing UA's formations, defending tight ends and running backs and tackling well. Arky has big tall receivers that can run and catch and will be a huge task for anyone to cover. Alabama actually had the right approach to defending them: give up the underneath stuff and tackle as soon as the receivers catch the ball and put major pressure on the QB. Need the defense to create some turnovers and get off the field on third downs to give us a chance to win.

On offense, Barrett Trotter HAS to be productive and throw the ball down the field. If you thought it was tough in the previous games, AU is without (probably) leading WR Emory Blake and playmaker Trovon Reed. Someone will have to step up and make some plays for the receiving corp. The gameplan will be give the ball to Dyer and let him run til his legs fall off. Arky has not been good against the run this year giving up over 300 yards rushing to TAM last week. AU has to be able to move the chains and have long sustaining drives that end in touchdowns, not field goals. This not only keeps UA's offense on the sidelines, but scoring TD's will help keep pace with Arky's ability to score.

If the offense that played against MSU and the defense that played against USCe shows up together, AU will win. If not, who knows? I feel that AU will play well, but stopping Garcia is one thing, Wilson a complete something else. He showed last year how dangerous he was against a suspect pass defense. Being on the road in a place where AU tradionally doesn't play very well will be tough for this young team. However, I do believe AU will get back on track on offense and keep it close for a while, but in the end Arky makes a few more big plays.

Prediction: AU - 30 Arky - 45
like I said, it will be a close AU win or an Arky blow out. Here's hoping I'm wrong for the 2nd week in a row.

USCe reax

Well, well, the team we all hoped would show up, in fact, did. I was very very pleased overall with how the team played Saturday considering it was AU's first SEC road game and against a top 10 team with three (possibly more) first round picks. The defense came to play and play they did. AU was able to get pressure on the QB most of the day and not allow Lattimore to run freely. And the offense did just enough to win the game. I really didn't think our D-line would be able to stop Lattimore, but once again, I am so glad my prognostication skills are terrible.

Likes:
D-line played really well. Getting constant pressure on Garcia forcing him to make ill-advised throws and rush into making decisions he obviously wasn't comfortable making. Also, getting some sacks was huge! Many of them set up long 2nd and 3rd downs where AU could rush the ends and play the pass. Getting turnovers really helped keep USCe's defense on the field and allowed the O to run as many plays as they did. Tackling was soooooo much better. AU wrapped up and made the plays when needed. There were only a couple of instances where I can remember not tackling well (a huge improvement).

Mike Dyer - what can I say. The man is a beast and one of the best backs in the SEC if not the nation. He is underrated and overlooked when compared to his counterpart in Tuscaloosa but he is a very important component to the offense. He rushed 41 times Saturday and most times, the play calls were exactly the same. He really stepped it up.

And on that same note, the O-line rush blocked awesome!

Special teams were awesome yet again. Clark had 5 of his 7 punts downed at the 11 yard line or back. That is incredible and making USCe start that deep was huge for the defense. Of course Parkey kicking the crap out of the ball for touchbacks and nailing the field goal was big.

The never say die attitude of this team is amazing. After an interception, Lutz chased the guy down and stripped him of the ball and recovered. Also, being down, late in the game, on the road and Trotter leading the team down the field for the game winning score was a sight to see. This after he threw an interception in the endzone on the previous possession.

Dislikes:
The O-line must pass block better. As good as they were rush blocking, it was almost that bad pass blocking. Trotter was running for his life many times.

On that note, Trotter must stay in the pocket and deliver the ball sooner/better. There were many times one guy would get semi-free and Trotter would bail and start running out of the pocket. And for some reason, he cannot throw well on the run. He took way too many sacks that put AU in a huge hole, especially when they were in position to score. It seems like he is hesitant to throw the ball either because he is scared he will throw an interception or the receivers aren't open. I believe it's the former. Hopefully, he will gain more confidence and be able to deliver the ball and take some pressure off Dyer and the running game.

Parkey missing an extra point is completely unacceptable (he knows it too) and almost came back to hurt them.

Turnovers, especially in the redzone killed them. Two interceptions in the endzone and one right after AU recovered a fumble cannot happen if AU wants to win consistently.

Like I said, I am so proud and pleased with the overall effort and result of Saturday. I think the young team is starting to understand what it takes to play in the SEC and how to be successful.

This week, AU travels to Fayetteville to play the Razorbacks in what promises to be a possibly high-scoring definitly crazy game. It always is. Preview to come soon.

South Carolina preview

Hopefully, we will be seeing this alot on Saturday.

AU begins its October murderer's row with a trip to Gamecock country in Columbia, South Carolina. Auburn has been struggling all year stopping the run and they face a huge test in future all everything Marcus Lattimore. Auburn had really good success last year defending him, but this year, AU's D-line has not shown it can slow down FAU's rushing attack, much less Lattimore. AU comes in a 10 point dog and it could possibly be alot more.

Keys to the game:
AU has to show some life on defense, aka, getting off the field on the third downs, slowing down the run and pressuring the QB. If AU cannot do these things at least the majority of the time, you can forget about a chance to win; I just hope it wont be a 60-point beatdown. Losing Dee Ford for the season hurts, but it was at a deep position so it's not as devastating a loss. Ford was playing pretty well, though, and is one of the more experienced defensemen AU has.

My armchair QB is coming out again, but oh well, here it goes. I think for AU to have a chance, based on the previous four games, they will have to put 9 guys in the box. AU has to make Garcia beat them through the air. Garcia has a tendency to make mistakes and force throws which lead to turnovers. The key is to get pressure on him. If he has all day to throw, he will pick AU apart, especially having an All-American in Alshon Jeffrey. Au has to disguise what they are doing on defense and send man blitzes from everywhere. The zone or "gap" blitzes have not worked at all this year and have been picked up even by FAU. It might not be a bad idea to employ a Joe Lee Dunn blitz scheme this week; just send a bunch of people from a bunch of different places all the time. It is a high risk high reward defense, but I don't know if we have a choice at this point.

On offense, AU just has to get in a rhythm and keep it going. Give Dyer the ball a bunch and block for him. Don't make Trotter win the game for you but allow him to make some plays down the field. And for goodness' sake, let him run some on the read-option. He has to in order for this offense to be consistently successful.

I believe AU will be able to move the ball on USCe and score some points. The question lies, as usual, with the defense. Will AU's defense show up and play lights out? Or will Lattimore and Jeffrey have a field day? This game is hard to read because it could be a USCe blowout or AU could win going away. I think AU plays well, but based on what I've seen so far this year, AU cannot consistently stop anybody. I think AU plays hard and keeps it close for a while, but in the end, with it being on the road, USCe will be too strong and pull out the victory.

Prediction: AU - 31 USCe - 41

FAU reax

So FAU rolled into JHS with the worst offense in the nation and one of the worst defenses in the nation and AU only won by 16. All week, Chizik talked about working on us and working on defense and tackling. You would think that AU wouldn't really have to study too much film on FAU in order to stop them, right? I mean, they only had one first down last week against Michigan ST. ONE!!!! Oh, by the way, they had 19 against AU. They were 3-23 on third down all year and they were 5-14 last night (which isn't too terrible on defense).

It all started badly when on the first play, Trotter threw a pick and FAU, with a short field, kicked a field goal to go up 3-0. The offense did respond scoring a TD but were only up 10-6 at half. The second half was a bit better, intercepting FAU three times returing one of those for a TD.

The defense played sloppy most of the time: running past the play, giving up too much yardage on pass plays, not getting ANY pressure on the QB except for a few times and more missed tackles (though not as many as last week).

The offense looked completely out of rhythm with a lack of tenacity. It really looked like the players didn't want to be out there and were just going through the motions. The O-line got no push and Dyer only had around 60 yards rushing. Did I mention this was against one of the worst defenses in the nation.

The only bright spot was the play of a few freshmen, Therezie and Frazier. Therezie tackled really well and was in position to make plays while he was in the game. Frazier played well and ran the ball really hard and made nice cuts to avoid tacklers.

Now for the couch QB's 2 cents. It looked as if Malzahn is either running vanilla plays or is running only half the offense. Everytime AU runs the read-option we hand the ball off to Dyer or McCalebb (except a couple times). And everytime, the DE crashes down and takes the RB and leaves the QB wide open. Why, oh why is Trotter not running more? Is it because he can't, he's not fast enough or the coaches have no faith in him to run? I don't know, but he HAS to be a threat to run in order for this offense to work. Otherwise, you get the offense that was on display during the Clemson game and last night. That ain't gonna cut it the next 4 weeks. I think that if the coaches don't think Trotter can run, then put in Frazier and let him run the offense. Don't get me wrong, I think Barrett is a fine QB and does alot of things well, but if AU is only running half the offense because of him, then he can't run it! I would rather Frazier get in, get some reps and experience and you might get more production. Trotter may know the offense but executing it is something completely different. All I'm saying is I think AU has reached a ceiling with Trotter and may not get much more than they already have.

This will probably not happen because it reeks of desperation. But, I think this may be where AU is in terms of having a productive offense. Have you seen Trotter throw it between 7 and 15 yards much? Me either. Why? Why does he hold the ball and take sacks after the O-line gives him a good 5 seconds to throw? Is it because the receivers aren't open or because Trotter is unsure? I think the latter.

AU is about to go head first into the brutal part of their schedule playing four ranked SEC teams with three on the road and all looking for revenge. AU better figure this out and get it together, otherwise, Samford may be the next and only victory AU gets to enjoy this year.

FAU preview

There isn't much to say here other than the worst team in the nation comes to JHS at the best possible time. AU needs a game to recoup and learn who they are and learn how badly they want to be a decent team this year. All the pieces are there, except experience.

I practice anesthesia and I relate this young team to my training early in my career. I can read all about providing anesthesia to patients in books and watch film on it and go to seminars and watch others do it, but until I actually get in the OR and do a case, I am not going to be very good. Even after doing many cases for many weeks or months, I'm still not going to be very good until I have done it over and over and over. It takes time and being placed in various situations to be able to predict what's likely going to happen and then how to respond. After doing this for many years, I know (most of the time) what to look for and how to respond to any situation. In a sense, that is what this team is, especially on defense. They have played three games together and are still learning how to respond and play. Until they get more reps, the players may get confused and their reaction time will be slower thus bad angles, poor coverage, etc. This doesn't even take into consider the multiple looks that an offense may run.

The point of my rant is to give it time. I believe we will see this young team play better and better and be pretty good by the end of the year. They will not quit and that is what I like about them and this coaching staff. Now, this does not excuse the poor tackling that they have exhibited so that should have been and needs to be corrected immediately if this team is going to succeed.

As far as the game goes, AU will score at will and have no problem beating FAU. What I want to see is if AU can consistently force FAU to punt and put pressure on the QB and stop the run. 3rd down conversions have to improve! I know it won't tell us much because of how bad FAU is, but if AU cannot do this consistently against FAU, there is no way they can against any other team, much less the brutal SEC schedule that is coming.

Prediction: AU 56 FAU 16

Exercise part 2

I meant to post this last week but got busy so here it is:

After the intial workout I posted earlier, I follow that day with a lighter exercise. I ride a stationary bike, but you can run or whatever with this one. You do a five minute warmup and then alternate going fast (on the bike) or running fast (9/10) for a minute and going slow or walking for a minute. Do this for 15 minutes and then cool down for 5 min. On the third day, the exercises go as follows:

6 jumps
10 spiderman pushups
rest one minute
15 underhand inverted rows
20 Bulgarian split squats
rest one minute
10 burpees
45 seconds side plank
repeat x2

On day 4, repeat the lighter exercise as stated above and then on the 5th and last day, you get to do a circuit test. There is no rest inbetween these exercises and you do it as many times as you can for 30 minutes.

5 pullups
10 jumps
15 close-grip pullups
10 walking lunges (each leg)
5 chinups
10 mountain climbers (each leg)
10 inverted rows
10 1-leg deadlifts (each leg)
25 bicycle crunches
15 step-ups (each leg)
10 decline pushups

I do rest one minute after I complete one total set and I can usually do 3 of them in 30 minutes. It literally kills me to do this, but I am getting better and less likely to have a coronary afterward.

So, this is what I'm doing for the next 4 weeks. It usually works best while eating correctly, but I haven't quite got the hang of that yet. Oh, I know how to eat right, I just don't like to do it. Maybe I can get motivated soon.

Clemson reax

Well, it was bound to happen eventually, albeit not the way I thought it would. AU came into the Clemson game with a rabbit's foot shoved up its.....well, you know and relying on an explosive offense and a porous but opportunistic defense. Both things came crashing down on the Howard Field this past Saturday.

AU was a 4.5 point dog and came out guns blazing in the first quarter. THe defense stopped Clemson on two 3 and outs and a six and out and scored two TD's in the process to take a 14-0 lead. But, it all fell apart after that. CU shredded the AU defense, especially in the 2nd half to a tune of 600+ yards and 38 points. Meanwhile, the AU offense decided it wasn't going to block or catch or do anything it was doing in the first half and only scored 3 points in the 2nd half.

Everyone has been calling for the coaches' heads, but I'm not one to go completely ape over one loss. I will say this, though. The team took a step back this week and it really surprised me. I know, I know it was on the road against a team looking for payback from last year, but I expected AU to play much better. I can handle a loss, as bad as it is, but I can't handle digressing and playing unenthused.

Likes:

Parkey was his usual self with a perfect field goal and touchbacks on kickoffs. Special teams coverage was good. Mike Dyer ran like a man possessed (16 for 152!!). First quarter all around a good job. Darren Bates finally played really well and tackled really well (that's saying something).

Dislikes:

Tackling, once again was atrocious. Third downs absolutely killed us with CU converting 10 in a row at one point. That in itself will cause the defense to have a let down and keep the offense out of rhythm. AU coaches didn't seem to make any adjustments, at least that showed on the field, and CU make adjustments and executed them to perfection. Blocking on the perimeter was not very good and pass protection could have been better, but wasn't bad. Trotter staring down Emory Blake before he throws it to him (or an interception). D-line getting no push and no pressure on the QB. Have to have this to be successful.

I'm not using young as an excuse, but this was only the 3rd start for alot of these guys and the first one on the road. It's time for the coaches and players to regroup and reassess and come out and play inspired, hard-nosed AU football. No, AU won't win 9 games (like I predicted rather optomistically earlier), but they still have a chance to get to a bowl. What will be interesting to see is how well the team handles this loss. It's easy to get along and be a leader when you win. Now is the tricky part. Knowing these coaches, players and AU, I think AU will bounce back and get better. They won't win every game but will play competitively and will beat somebody they aren't supposed to. Stayed tuned for a wild, probably frustrating but entertaining season.

Clemson preview

The Tigers of Auburn take their young team to a hostile environment for the first time this Saturday into the confines of Death Valley, home to the Clemson Tigers. Clemson, I'm sure you have heard, is very similar to AU in that the people who built AU, moved to South Carolina and built a similar campus, etc. After last year's game, where Clemson was one pass away from winning, they have had this game circled on the calendar and have wanted another shot. AU was fortunate to win last year and that game really catapulted them into the conference games and playing with more intensity and physicality (word?, it is now). Clemson's season spiraled out of control and the team that probably should have beaten AU ended up 6-7.

This weekend's game will be a shootout, I believe. Both teams have struggled this year defensively and I don't really expect that to change Saturday. Auburn has had the opportunity to play MSU, a bit more of a challenge than Wofford or Troy, but both teams have given up huge chunks of yardage. Clemson brought in a Malzahn protoge who runs a very similar offense as AU. CU's QB, Tajh Boyd is a smaller version of Relf: runs better than he throws. He is complemented by Andre Ellington, who gashed us last year for 140 yards, in the backfield along with a pair of 5-star freshman phenoms in RB Mike Bellamy and WR Sammie Coates. Clemson, like AU, is a young team trying to get a feel for their identity and has had some issues with production and execution.

I feel that Clemson's struggles in the first two games are nothing to write home about, because they were probably overlooking/preparing in advance for AU and the two HUGE games that follow, FSU and VT. AU will have to stop the run, especially the read option that is sure to come, and make Boyd throw the ball in order to beat Clemson. The interior D line has to play big and make some stops and the rush ends cannot over-run the play. And for goodness sake, someone please punish the QB on the option read. If AU does, Boyd will think twice about running and he will more than likely pitch it sooner, allowing our defense to rush to the ball. On offense, we need to continue to play physical and push them off the line of scrimmage. I think AU will be able to move the ball, but will have to put points on the board. A deep ball every now and then would be nice too. Malzahn has a knack for setting up plays, for example: AU may run the bubble screen every game and then, out of the same formation, AU may run a reverse flea-flicker against bama for a TD. The point is I expect to see more bubble screens Saturday.

Another 11am kick and the temps are supposed to be in the upper 60's to low 70's. The crowd will be loud and the young team will have to be able to communicate and respond. This is a huge game for both teams, however, 4 of Clemson's coaches either played or coached at bama, so a little more incentive for them. I think Clemson will come out fired up and hot and will take a lead, but AU will respond and be able to move the ball consistently. Again, I see a shoot-out and a back and forth score until Parkey kicks the game winner with no time on the clock.

Prediction: AU - 31 CU - 28

Exercise

Since this isn't supposed to be a blog just about AU football (although that wouldn't be so bad :) I have decided to write about my exercise routine so not only will it help me keep up with what I'm doing, but also keep me accountable. I'm back to doing an exercise routine from turbulence training which it basically a circuit routine doing mainly body weight moves. I usually respond better to routines that involve more lifting, but I dont have a power rack and until I do, it's way too dangerous to lift heavy with no spotter. I started last week, but here is what my routine is:

Day 1:
warmup - 12 squats, 10 pushups, 10 mountain climbers and 10 lunges. (x2)
1A) 8 pullups
1B) 8 1-leg squats
rest one minute
2A) 15 elevated shoulder presses
2B) 10 walking lunges (each leg)
rest one minute
3A) 15 inverted rows
3B) 4 sets multi-directional lunges
rest one mintue and repeat

do this 3 times. after doing this, I'm wiped out. It doesn't sound like alot, but doing it with little to no rest and 3 times will put a hurt on you. It only takes about 30 minutes to do and that's about all the time I have to work-out. Hopefully I can keep it up.

Miss St. REAX

My heart literally stopped a couple of times during the game. Wow, what a finish. I have to say that I am very impressed by the way the Tigers never quit and showed some heart. The team is gaining valuable experience that will not only help them this year during the tough games, but also in the years to come. Knowing that AU has some where around 5 or 6 seniors that play significantly only adds fuel to the fire of AU being a contender for years to come. But I'm not one to say "wait til next year" so, I'll take what I can get this year. Now, on to the game:

AU came into this game a 6-7 point underdog at home. That's basically the same as being a 10 point dog because you get 2.5-3 points for playing at home. This was going to be MSU's signature game and a statement about how the rest of the season was going to be played out. Many considered MSU to be a dark horse in the SEC West and the first step was AU. MSU had come off of a blowout victory over Memphis and AU struggled and barely beat WAC bottom-dweller Utah St at JHS. MSU had 9 guys back on offense and Relf and Bullard were two huge guys that had the potential to shred the D-line for big gains each time they touched the ball. Nobody really gave AU a chance.

AU kicked to start the game and forced Miss St. to punt. My first thought was that the defense was much improved and had come out with tenacity. AU scored first on a Mike Dyer run around the end where he left everyone (suprising speed) and raced down the sideline. The next posession for MSU, Relf threw a pass that hit an AU defender in the helmet and deflected into Demetruce's arms and he ran for a pick 6. AU is up 14-0 at this point and although I'm extremely happy, I'm also somewhat subdued cause I know there is way too much time left and MSU had a good offense coupled with our spotty defense. Sure enough, MSU responded with their own end-around and scored on a 40-yard run. I have to say this: Neiko Thorpe took a terrible angle at the runner and then looked like he just slowed up and let him run right by him. Surely not, but that's what it looked like (even after watching it on replay four or five times). MSU scored again after that with running the ball down our throats. I knew then that it would be a long day. After trading punts, AU has the ball at their own 20 and Trotter throws it in the general direction of Benton but an MSU defender is right there and picks it off and takes it for a TD. MSU up 21-14. AU takes the ball and starts to drive and then Trotter hits Emory Blake on a crossing route and Blake outruns everyone to the endzone for 6. Blake is becoming a very good option for Trotter, but I'm still waiting on that solid number 2. Thought Stallworth had it from last week, but he was a no-show this week, as well as Benton. Dyer scored again on short run and AU is up 28-21 getting close to half. MSU had to settle for a field goal on their next possession and left AU with about 40 seconds in the half. All of the previous coaches would have knelt and taken the 4 point lead into halftime, but not our coaches. AU was able to get a great return from Tre Mason on the kickoff and then move the ball into field goal range for Cody Parkey to make his first college field goal from 43 yards. AU leads 31-24 at half and gets the ball to start the 2nd half.

I'm feeling pretty good right now despite the fact that the MSU offense has shredded our Dline but, AU still led. The 3rd quarter AU and MSU traded field goals and AU finally got a TD from the Lutz early in the 4th to put AU up 41-27. Still way too much time left to feel too good. True to form, the AU defense gave up a TD with 5 min left. Up 41-34 with 5 min left, AU needed a couple of first downs to run some clock, but did they get it? Nope. AU, of course, goes three and out and punts it back to MSU with 3.5 min left and MSU will all 3 timeouts. MSU gashed our line with option reads, end-arounds and Relf right up the gut until they reached the 1 yard line with about 20 seconds where AU called timeout to regroup and rest. The next play Relf handed off to Bullard and AU stopped him for no gain and MSU called timeout (the last one). On the last play, Relf kept it himself and ran to the left where Ryan Smith came out of nowhere to make the tackle at the one inch line.

Positives:

AU special teams: Great kick and punt coverage. Mason is a beast at kick return. In his 2nd game, MSU avoided kicking him the ball. Awesome! Reed making positive yards after punts. Run game improved and moved the ball well. Emory Blake is a sure-handed go to guy and can make major YACs. Heart and desire to find a way to win despite losing the statistical battles.

Negatives:

Down field passing - everytime AU threw it downfield, good things happened. Mostly AU just threw screens and bubble passes that didn't work most of the time. I wonder if Malzahn has seen something in practice that makes him leary of Trotter throwing it down the field more? Obviously the defense but especially on 3rd and 4th down. MSU killed us in those situations and it looked like we were lost and not lined up correctly. The Dline has to get better at making stops more consistently, but this takes time and they will get better.

All in all, a great win over the 16th ranked team in the nation. Now, on to Clemson, where it's a great chance to beat a BCS team at their place. This will be a major test for this young team and a huge step in possibly earning a bowl trip. Clemson preview coming later this week.

Mississippi State preview

AU plays MSU tomorrow for another breakfast edition of college football. I know I said in my last post that I think this game could be ugly and it still could. MSU definitely has the ability to put a hurt on AU and not think twice about it. However, I think that AU plays better and comes out fired up and ready to show that last week was not how AU plays football. MSU is a good team with a good offense. Their defense is still a bit of a mystery, however, because they have only played a really bad Memphis team. Chris Relf is back at QB for the bulldogs and has the ability to make plays. He will not win many games if the offense relies on just him, but, in light of that, they return 9 offensive starters. I don't care who you are, that helps.

As for the game, I think AU plays inspired and is able to move the ball. We will pass more if warranted, but I think Gus still wants to run the ball. The offensive line will need to get tough quickly and open up some holes for Dyer and McCalebb. The defense will have to make stops especially against the run. They have to get off the field after 3rd downs and not miss tackles. I think AU gets up and then MSU makes a comeback but AU wins in the end 38-35. It will be a high-scoring affair with question marks remaining for both defenses and both offenses clicking along nicely.

Auburn needs to win this game, first off because it's at home and one of the probable few AU can win. Also, this will kick-start the SEC season into gear and will get us ready for the trip to Clemson and the brutal October. Wake up early AU fans and cheer loud! War Eagle!

Utah State review

Well, all I can say is wow. This game provided a wide array of emotions and ups and downs to last all season. Auburn came into this game very young and inexperienced just about everywhere and not really knowing what to expect. If you ready my previous post on how I though the season would go, I thought AU would play well and improve as it went. I, however, did not expect the game I saw Saturday. I won't sugarcoat anything, but I will preface by saying it's hard to win and be consistently good when half the team was playing highschool ball last year. That said, on to the review:

I was anxious to see the new guys get in and show off what we as Auburn fans had been waiting on all summer. Auburn kicked to start the game and right off the bat, it was apparent that it might be a long day. The first half was a blur, but I don't remember AU ever stopping USU on a three and out. They may have, but I don't remember. I do remember the defensive front getting pushed around and the linebackers not being in position to make a tackle and playing too shallow in the Tampa 2 defense on a 3rd and 20. These are all due to inexperience and should be correctable. Yes, even the line's toughness. If you recall last year, the O-line was having a hard time being tough and then turned it on. We may not be able to do it this year, but it can be fixed. On offense, it looked like we would be running the ball come hell or high water. USU stacked the box with 9 and 10 defenders and we kept trying to establish the run. I will never second guess Malzahn on play calling but I do wonder what the philosophy behind it was. When we passed, we made good plays. We never could get a decent push from the O-line, either from them stacking the line or just AU not being physical enough. Hopefully, all these things can be corrected before Saturday. Trotter looked good and did not do anything to hurt AU. It looked as if he may have checked down too soon but that may have been by design. He still threw for 261 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Auburn was behind 31-28 mid 4th quarter and USU had the ball. AU needed a stop in order to get the ball back and have a shot at going ahead. The defense could not get one. The closest AU had was late in the drive when USU was facing a 4th and 1 from the 4. USU got a delay of game penalty most thought in order to move back and get a better angle for a field goal. Except they didn't kick; they went for it. USU ran a fake and completed a pass down to the one and scored on the next play to go up 10 with about 6 minutes. I honestly thought the game was over. I should know better. Auburn took the next possession and scored a touchdown with around 2:30 left. Down by 3 and only one timeout, AU elected to kick an onside kick and try to get the ball back. If it fails, the game is probably out of reach. Chandler Brooks did a perfect kick and it bounced right into Emory Blake's hands. AU took it and scored with 30 seconds left and completed the miracle victory.

People will say AU deserved to lose and should have, etc... but AU won and since they won, they deserve it. The defense played really badly and the offense was not too bad, sans the running game. Special teams were really good with 4 of 7 kickoffs going for touchbacks and Tre Mason returning a kickoff for a TD. Auburn will get better but how much and how fast? AU could be looking at 2-2 at the end of September with the October gauntlet waiting. Mississippi St. is next and I will have a prediction up for them but right now, it doesn't look great.

Good: Trotter, Blake, Stallworth, Mason, DE ends, kicking game

Average: Dyer, McCalleb, defensive backs

Poor: Defense as a whole

Auburn preview

The 2011 college football season starts in one week people! I, for one, love this time of year: the cooler weather, the leaves changing colors, football being played. My last post was the SEC West preview and I left Auburn out so I could devote an entire post for them. I know I'm a homer, but so what? so are you. Anyway, Auburn returns the fewest starters of any national champion ever, thus the reasoning behind AU being ranked lower than other national champ ever. The tigers start off #19-23 depending on which poll you look at, but it really doesn't matter because it usually evens itself out.

The offense: Auburn will start Barrett Trotter at QB. Trotter has been in Malzahn's system for the last 3 years and knows it better than anyone. He is a redshirt junior and played a little mopup duty for Cam last year. He came out of highschool playing the spread and should be able to lead the team. He won't be counted on to be as big a part of the offense as Cam was last year, but that's the great thing about Malzahn's offense: he designs it with the type players he has at his disposal. Trotter has a good throwing arm and his forte is his accuracy. While he won't run over you, he might fit a completion into a tight spot. He can run, however that is not what he will do too much of, probably. Trotter has better than average speed and will run if need be, but I would be willing to bet that passes more often than he tucks and runs. Dyer and McCalleb are back as the one of the most productive back duos in the league. The receivers will be new except for the reliable Emory Blake who emerged as a go-to guy last year. DeAngelo Benton, Q. Carr, and a host of freshmen will be asked to step up and produce this year. The offensive line must replace 3 out of 5 starters (A.J. Green was a starter until he got hurt in the Clemson game). As many as 3 freshmen may see significant playing time and may even start. There is a ton of talent there, just really short on experience.

The defense: The secondary will be better and deeper than in the past 3 years. Chris Davis and T Bell will lead the corners with extremely talented freshmen Jonathon Rose and E. Florence backing up. The safety position is held down by Neiko Thorpe and D. McNeal. Lots of talent and more experience here than most other positions. The linebacking core will have Jake Holland leading the group along with Eltoro Freeman and Daren Bates. Harris Gaston and Jonathon Evans will probably be (capable) backups. Holland is a smart kid and will take some time to learn on the fly but he is very good and I expect by the end of the year, to be very productive. The D line is the biggest question mark of the defense this year. Nosa Eguae and Corey Lemonier anchor the ends with Dee Ford playing alot. Sophomores Kenneth Carter and Jeffery Whitaker will be the interior linemen and will have to be studly to counter the SEC's big boys up front. I think they will be able to eventually but just need that big game experience.

The kicking game: Cody Parkey and Steven Clark will handle the place kicking and punting duties respectively. Parkey had a hand in a handful of extra points and kickoffs and Clark was pretty inconsistent at times last year, but had a good spring game and fall camp. I think we will be just fine here.

Overall, I think AU will go 9-3 and be in every game this year. The losses will come at Arky (dont play well there usually), LSU (haven't won in BR since Clinton was president) and either South Carolina or Bama. I think we handle MSU and Clemson and beat UF at home. USC will be too close to call and we have a great shot at beating UGA this year (esp if UGA loses early and packs it in for the rest of the year). Bama will be tough but we usually play them close.

Predicion: Auburn will go 9-3 with a close loss to USC and a win over bama to end the regular season. Auburn will play in the Cotton or Outback Bowl and have 10 wins to follow up the national championship season. Not too bad, esp considering no one thinks they will win 6 games. Now, this is homerism at its best and my prognostication skills are terrible. I don't think AU will be as bad as people think but won't win every game either. With a little experience and keeping the injury bug away, this team has a chance to finish really strong. It will be a fun year, no matter what, and like I said before: I love this time of year! Play ball!

SEC WEST PREVIEW

Ok, I've had enough of this talk about conference expansion, Miami, Danny Sheridan and everything else that drags down college football. It's time for my prognostication skills to come forward and predict how the West will pan out. I will list my order of finish but will save my Auburn preview for another post.

1. Alabama: unfortunately (haha) the tide have 10 starters on defense returning this year and 6 on offense so they are the odds-on favorites to win the West and possibly the MNC. Questions arise however because of the vacancy of some pretty crucial positions, esp on offense, that bama has to replace. The first is quarterback. A J McCarron and Phillip Sims are vying for the top spot. McCarron filled in (mop up duty) for McElroy last year and has the most experience albeit a handful of snaps more than Sims. Saban has said Sims is an amazing athlete, but as we all know, athlete doesn't necessarily mean great leader/QB. Another is the top wide receiver now that Julio has become rich with the Falcons. Will Marquis Maze be able to handle the load now that there really isn't anyone that will demand a double team? The other is a dominant defensive lineman. Saban said himself that this defense will be different from his other ones because he doesn't have that dominate lineman that can disrupt so much. But, since when do we take anything Saban says to the media without a grain of salt?

I think bama will be favored in all their games and will probably win most if not all of them as well. Saban does not require alot from his QB, so if Richardson stays healthy all year and can carry the majority of the runs (due to injuries), bama will be just fine. If a team is going to beat them, they will have to play a perfect game b/c bama's defense is going to be really tough to score against. I don't really see a big hurdle in the schedule except maybe LSU, but it's at home. Auburn on the road will be tough, but certainly has proven manageable (see 2008/2010). I don't think bama will run the table (wishful thinking maybe?) but will go 11-1 and play in the SEC championship game against a very beatable SEC East team. A 12-1 tide team playing for the national championship is very probable.
My prediction: 12-1 and playing for the MNC.

2. LSU: LSU will have a great defense and if they can get any production out of the QB, LSU will be very very tough to beat. If Jefferson plays at all like a QB and not throw stupid interceptions, I believe the winner of the LSU and bama game wins the West. LSU does have a much tougher schedule than bama (who doesn't this year?) starting with a HUGE game vs. Oregon. LSU plays Auburn and Arkansas at home, but has bama and West Virgina on the road. I think one or two of those games trips them up and keeps them out of Atlanta.
My prediction: 10-2 and possibly playing as an at large team in a BCS bowl.

3. Arkansas: Arkansas' success will largely depend on new QB Tyler Wilson and the newly revamped defense. Arkansas' defense failed them miserably last year (see Auburn game) with the offense failing them less but in a big way (see bama game). Tyler Wilson has the best receiving corp in the SEC and possibly the nation and the running game was something that could have been really good until Knile Davis broke his ankle last week and is out for the year. That is why I put Arkansas third behind LSU. Ronnie Wingo is ok, but he is no Davis. If the defense plays well, Arky could win 10 games. If not, it will be a shootout every game and I'm not sure that Arky could hang like that with bama or LSU. I choose the latter.
My prediction: 10-2 with losses to bama and LSU but beating AU and a good Texas A&M team. Probably playing in Cotton or Capital One bowl.

4. Auburn - coming soon

5. Mississippi State: I'm not buying into Dan Mullen's resurgence of MSU into a team to be reckoned with just yet. He is a good coach but until I see MSU win a bunch, I can't put them high in the SEC West. Jackie Sherrill, largely regarded as the best coach ever at MSU, only won 9 games in his best season (I think that is right, I could look it up but I'm lazy. Nevertheless, it wasn't that many). MSU will be better and may even beat AU, but playing at JHS is tough and AU will be better than most think. With road games at Arky and UGA and playing LSU and bama at home will be too tough... even with a better team.
My prediction: 6-6 with losses to AU, LSU, UGA, USC, UA, Arky. Playing in a lower tier bowl, possibly in B'ham.

6. Mississippi: Ole Miss is just bad. They had Jeromiah Misoli last year and still stunk, mainly because of their defense. They allowed something like 6.1 yards per play which is atrocious. They replace alot of starters, but the schedule helps with the only road games being at Vandy, Fresno (what?), AU, UK and MSU. Home games, however, include BYU, bama, UGA, Arky and LSU. Houston Nutt has his work cut out for him.
My prediction: 4-8 (very generous) and maybe a close Egg Bowl game.

Fishing Trip

I wanted to talk about the trip I took about three weeks ago. It was a guys trip to Gulf Shores, AL to go deep sea fishing. Me and 8 other guys from work went down there on a Friday night and came back Sunday morning. The morning of the actual fishing day (Saturday), we awoke to a huge thunderstorm and torrential rain. We were supposed to meet the captain at the dock at 6 am but he had called and told us to wait an hour and then call back because it was raining too hard. The rain did slack some but never did stop completely. When we got to the dock, the captain met us there and asked if we really wanted to go out. We told him we were there to do some fishing so if it was safe, then let's do it. We, of course, knew of the risks of getting sea sick so we took precaution and each had a scopolamine patch on. We set out with it still raining and the trip out wasn't so bad....until we lost sight of land. Once that happened, there was nothing you could really focus on so it was easy to get carried away by the swaying of the boat. Oh yeah, did I mention there were 7 foot swells? I looked out at the horizon at one point and saw a huge base of black clouds that looked like a wall cloud of a tornado. The deckhand (Drew) told us it would probably behoove us to go inside the cabin while we went through that storm. So we did and really regretted it. I started to get really light headed and my mouth started watering and my stomach was turning. Before I puked, I got outside and was able to get a little better. Two guys were not so fortunate. They puked like crazy. Drew told us he had only ever seen one person get sick while wearing a scope patch and we had two. Once we stopped to fish, I felt fine. And boy did we catch some fish. Amberjack and Grouper were closed but we caught a ton of snapper and king mackerel and a fish Drew called albacore jack. It's in the amberjack family but not quite the same fish. Robert, one of the guys on the trip, caught a HUGE amberjack. He weighed at least 50 pounds and Robert worked on reeling him in for a good 30-40 minutes. Drew picked him up to his chin and his tailfin was dragging the deck. After the picture was taken, Drew dumped him overboard. It was really depressing, especially for Robert, to work that hard and then let the fish go. Oh well, it was still fun. We ended up going about 42 miles out to sea and the sun shone for about the last hour of fishing. Other than that, it either rained or was very overcast. Not too bad really, because it wasnt so hot. It took us 3 hours to ride back into shore and once we got back, we had Drew clean the fish for us and said we caught about 400-500 pounds of fish total. I was able to take back 4 gallon size baggies of filets back with me. I had a cookout for family (about 12 people) and still had 2 gallon and 4 quart size bags of fish left over. We had an amazing time and I would love to go back and do it again. In my next post, I want to talk about the trip Erika and I just took to Dismals Canyon near Phil Campbell this past week to celebrate our 7th anniversary.

Interesting state of affairs

Last week the SEC media days took place at the Wynfrey hotel in Hoover, AL. This is usually a time where you can bridge the doldrums of the summer into the start of fall practice. This year would have its share of story lines and crazy fans. It started on Monday with an Alabama graduate oddsmaker from Mobile making a huge accusation on the Paul Finebaum (Jerry Springer of sports talk radio) that the NCAA has found a "bag man" in the Cam Newton case and is trying to get him to come forward and admit he gave the Newtons money. This oddsmaker, Danny Sheridan, said he had two sources in the NCAA giving him this info. Really Danny? An oddsmaker that has two sources with inside knowledge of an ongoing case that will just willingly give up this info to you so you can spread it around? That makes alot of sense. Finebaum relies on people calling his show and listening to boost ratings so he doesnt care what lies he tells or who he ticks off to get those ratings. Well, he got Sheridan to boost ratings for media days. Apparently, Sheridan realized what a mistake he had made and started backtracking as soon as he started getting killed in the national media. Too late, though. He looks like a big idiot and now his credibility is shot. Wow, sounds a lot like other members of the media who have tried to lie and deceive their way to a big story only to make themselves look foolish (cough, cough, Thayer Evans, cough, Pete Thamel). Alabama has also had a story in the news, although since they are the chosen ones, not as big as AU in the news. A couple players have been seen signing merchandise and posing for pics and going to dinner with/for the owner of T-town menswear. This is an NCAA violation. Bama has sent a cease and desist letter to the store and the compliance dept has said no benefits have been received. But that doesnt matter because a student athlete cannot provide services (autographs, pics, etc for money or advertisement) for a retailer. I dont think anything will come of this, nor do I think that they should get in trouble, but what bothers me is the media will downplay this just like they do for everything else that bama does. Remember the text book scandal? Yeah, I remember when it first broke and the compliance dept from bama and the media downplayed the heck out of it and guess what happened? Yeah, it was a little bigger than and more serious than they made it out to be. I know this is a different situation but it amazes me that the media is still hanging on to this Newton story so hard after 9 months and after the NCAA has numerous times stated that they have found nothing to implicate Auburn in anything. I guess I should just expect the media to do this b/c apparently AU doesnt belong in the elite of college football. Oh well, this is what happens when you are on top... unless you are bama.
Next post I will talk about the deep sea fishing trip I and some guys from work went on.

Lockouts, Cam, Pageants and the Beach

Hi everyone,
Its been a while since my last post, but we have been very busy. This past weekend, my daughter was in the Little Miss Alabama state pageant in Huntsville, AL. She participated in this because she won a prelim pageant and had her entry fee paid. Anyone could be in the pageant but there were only 7 girls in my daughter's age group. There was a sports wear and gown section involved. Addi did really well! In fact, she won. She got a huge trophy as you can see in the picture and the crown that she is wearing is not the one she will get but very similar. An interesting fact, the crown is imported from Hong Kong and costs about $150! No wonder the entry fee is so much. A friend of Addi's, Ashton, was also in the pageant in the age group just younger than her's. She got first runner-up, but in my biased opinion, she should have won. Addi, Ashton, and Ashton's sister Ally all got to spend the night in a hotel the night before (with the moms of course) and get pedicures and eat ice cream and have a great time. They all had such a good time and I'm so glad they got to do that. My sister lives close to Huntsville and the rest of the family got to spend the night with her and visit. We all had a great time. After the pageant, we drove to the beach. We spent about a week there and had a blast. We played on the beach, went to Gulf World, rode the SeaScreamer and saw tons of dolphins, played in the pool and built sandcastles. This was the first beach trip the baby has been on. He absolutely love the water! A friend from work was staying close to where we were so we were able to spend the morning playing with his kids. The weather, for the most part, was great and not too hot.

The NFL and NBA are now officially locked out. This is great. I can't imagine a more petty and stupid reason to lock out and not play a freakin game than over money. I know, I know it's about more than that, but let's be honest. The bottom line is this is about money and how much money people can get and they call it "revenue sharing." Look, I could care less about the NBA and I have made that clear, but I know there are a lot of people that do like it, so for the fans, please come to an agreement and stop being so freakin greedy. Same for you NFL. It's never about the fans, but money. No, you say? How many times have the prices been lowered on tickets or food and drinks at the game in comparison to them raising the prices? How about ease of access to the players for autographs and such. I understand the need for security but a designated time and place for autographs would be very awesome. Also, with the gigantic salaries these guys are making, you would think that they would be a little more accommodating to the fans and act in a professional manner, but you can polish a turd but in the end it's still a turd.

As far as the Cam saga goes, Auburn's compliance director went on record yesterday for the first time describing, in detail, the events of Cam's eligibility issues last fall. But I thought you couldn't talk about that until the NCAA is finished with its investigation. You do the math. So, I hope all the haters out there will shut their pie-holes. There will be no games evacuated, forfeited or likewise. The National Championship will count and Cam will get to keep ALL his awards (as i say this I feel like doing the X across the lower half of my body, but i digress). Now, the NCAA, I'm sure, is interested in pursuing more info regarding the HBO 4, but, still to this date, no official letter of investigation has darkened Auburn's compliance door. Until then, no other word will be spoken of it (unless new developments occur).