SB Nation - Mario Fannin

Fear-o-meter: the Auburn offense.

Rodger Sherman — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 22:50:16 -0000

So, I told y'all about Auburn, the college, and Auburn's names, but I haven't told you much about Auburn's football team.

You might remember I used to do bi-weekly preview posts, one about the other team, and then one about how I expected Northwestern to play that team. Then, one week, I didn't do it, and we beat Iowa. So I didn't do it the next week, and we won again. Don't mess with success. So I'm doing it slightly differently.

I've constructed this: the fear-o-meter. As you can probably tell from the left side, I'm a big fan of o-meters, so, here's another one. I'll tell you how scared on a customized scale you should be of a varying aspect of our opponent's team and gameplan.

It goes from things you should be the least scared of to most scared of:

Chinchillas. Soft, furry, and adorable.
The Swine Flu, represented by the cover to Tony Yayo's mixtape of the same name.
Public speaking. Not really that scary, but the one thing people generally say they're scared of.
The Most Dangerous Game, represented by the poster to the film "Surviving the Game" starring Ice-T and Gary Busey. The Most Dangerous Game, of course, refers to either "game" as in "something you hunt", in which case the most dangerous game is man, or "game" as in "contest", in which case the most dangerous game is used to refer to one-on-one ten-beer, ten-cup beer pong, but probably should be used to refer to something more dangerous, like six-bullet Russian roulette.
Clowns. Yeesh.
Zombies. Self-explanatory.
Kidney stones, highly inaccurately represented by a picture of a kidney bean and a stone, because I really didn't want to google image search "kidney stone".
Flying sharks. The image is taken from the motivational poster.
The 2012 apocalypse. I was debating whether to put this or kidney stones, but they're both pretty bad.

Ignore the km/h markers and the red line pointing to zombies: I made this using Preview in about 13 minutes, so chill out. I'll tell you exactly how scared of each thing you should be.

First off, disclaimer time: to be honest, I don't know as much as I'd like to about Auburn as I'd like - I only got to watch a half of one of their games this year. I planned on watching a few of their archived games on ESPN360, but apparently I can't do that because I'm not on a college campus anymore, and don't get the service. So everything you read below is based on me doing a lot of reading, perusing stats, and watching highlight footage. But for the real scoop, you should probably ask an Auburn fan.

So now, on to diagnosing Auburn's offense, after the jump:

Quarterback: All things considered, Chris Todd had pretty good season, throwing 21 touchdowns to only six picks, picking up 8 yards an attempt for 2377 yards, pretty good considering where he's come from. You see, Todd has had a rather freaky career: he started out at Texas Tech, where he played well in limited mop-up action in their crazy spread offense but obviously wasn't going to be a part of the plan. He wanted to transfer to Auburn, but rather than spend a year not playing, he went to juco for a season, where he played at a school called Hutchinson, and quite frankly, he was very bad there: he went 104-212 with six touchdowns and eight picks. Not stellar numbers, especially considering the lower level of competition. Last season, he looked shaky again, starting the team's second game and four more after that, but only completing 55% of his passes and tossing six picks to five touchdowns, and went down with a shoulder injury that ended his season early.

This year he threw six picks again - the difference is he threw 21 touchdowns to go along with it.

But I wouldn't get freaked out by that stat. Todd isn't an astonishingly great quarterback as a 21-6 ratio would seem, and after a very strong early part of the season, he's looked suspect at best as Auburn got deeper into their conference schedule. Todd is definitely solid: when his receivers are open, he'll hit them. (See: 17-18 with four touchdowns against Furman, 19-26 with five against Ball State, 25-35 as a Texas Tech quarterback with their freaky all-out passing Michael Crabtree offense.) But when they're not, we've got issues (see: throwing more picks than touchdowns two years ago at a junior college.). Todd has shown the maturity this season by not forcing stupid passes - hence the only six picks - but against good defenses, he's shown a really tough time getting anything going. (See: the games Auburn has lost this year, where he's thrown five of his picks and been dragged down for 13 of his 18 sacks.) In those situations, he just sort of holds on to the ball, and sometimes heaves up a pass that has no chance of being received. There's a reason that just four weeks ago, people were talking of benching him. He doesn't have a particularly strong arm due to a career riddled with shoulder injuries, and he can't run with it (negative rushing yards on the year), but he's pretty accurate with the short stuff, and at times can use this to pick apart defenses, although the golden boy that emerged over the beginning of the season tailed off towards the end.

Fear-o-meter: Zombies.

Also playing a little bit of time at quarterback is the decently named Kodi Burns, who plays Auburn's version of the Wildcat. He was a starting QB last year, tossing two touchdowns and seven picks, but after that sorta bad season, he was converted to wide receiver, where he's been pretty sub-par at that too, with only four catches on the year. But he's looked alright running the Wildcat, throwing for two TD's and running for five more, but he doesn't throw much - he's 4-13 out of the set passing, but has ran the ball 51 times.

Fear-o-meter: Public Speaking.

Running back: Ben Tate is a fantastic running back, and don't let anybody tell you otherwise. The senior ran for 1254 yards on 5.2 yards a carry with eight touchdowns, and that's not even telling the whole story. He's fast, strong, and long story short, was the second best running back on a team in the state of Alabama. There's only so many ways I can say "uh-oh" in a paragraph.

Fear-o-meter: Flying Sharks.

Onterrio McCalebb is Tate's change-of-pace backup, and he literally provides a change of pace, as he's probably speedier than Tate but isn't as good at finding holes up the gut as Tate. He got the ball 99 times - a decent amount for a backup - and turned that into 547 yards, 5.5 a carry. He ran for 114 and a touchdown against Mississippi State, and nearly outgained Tate against Georgia with 60 yards on the ground on only 11 carries while Tate had one of his worst games with 67 yards on 20. Basically, don't forget about McCalebb.

Fear-o-meter: Clowns.

Last but not least, Mario Fannin and his backup, Eric Smith. They're more in the vein of what we call "superbacks", but they actually have a vital effect on the game. They primarily block, but are the third options in Chris Todd's passing game as he loves to throw to guys these two out of the backfield, particularly on screens, and the pair racked up a combined 629 yards receiving, including 82 on this brilliantly edited youtube clip of a screen against West Virginia. Fannin also gets the ball a decent amount, rushing for 271 yards on 8.5 - 8.5! - yards per carry, while Smith added 99 of his own. Teams might overprepare for guys like Tate and wide receiver Darvin Adams, but these guys might slip under the radar and help Auburn's spread offense dink and dunk down the field a la NU.

Fear-o-meter: Clowns.

Wide Receiver: Basically, there's one guy to worry about. Darvin Adams is Chris Todd's first, second, and third options on most pass plays, and it shows, as nobody else on the team is close to his 855 yards and 10 touchdowns. By comparison, Terrell Zachary has 466 and five touchdowns, and four of those scores and 241 of the yards came on four passes. Adams is the team's only deep threat, but he's worth paying attention to as he will get open down field - the question is whether or not Todd hits him.

Fear-o-meter: Kidney Stones.

The rest of the unit, as noted, is rather slipshod. Lots of dropped passes, and not much production. Terrell Zachary has been able to get open for big plays, generally against inferior opponents, but he's not the type of guy worth double covering or anything. If you're wondering, Auburn's leaderboard for receiving yards goes like this: wide receiver, wide receiver, H-back, H-back, tight end, running back, wide receiver, tight end. Tommy Trott is a decent tight end, but he's a goal line threat and little more.

Fear-o-meter: Swine flu.

O-line: Haven't been great at giving Todd a lot of time, but Auburn's spread isn't necessarily predicated on that. They've been good at opening up holes for Tate and at giving Fannin room to run off of those screens, and it shows. All in all, a pretty decent o-line. They gave up only 1.5 sacks a game, and as noted, 13 of those came in their losses, when the failure was probably on any receiver to get open, causing Todd to hesitate and take too long. The line produced two all-SEC second teamers in left tackle Lee Ziemba and Ryan Pugh, and this is pretty much all I can say about them. For what it's worth, Ziemba is one of the few offensive linemen in the country to have recorded a reception, as Auburn runs a trick play in which he runs a screen route but unfortunately for Ziemba's stats, it went for -3 yards.

Fear-o-meter: Zombies.

Auburn's offense: It's a good one. You don't score 32.9 points a game in the SEC by accident. That being said, it's a stoppable one. Teams have shut down Chris Todd rather easily, and when they do that, regardless of how otherworldy Ben Tate is, they generally aren't going to win with a spread offense if they don't have any semblance of a passing game. (Theory in numbers: Todd has thrown under 200 yards five times this season. Four resulted in losses for the Tigers, and in those four losses, Tate averaged 107 yards on the ground, which isn't too bad. The fifth game was a 49-24 romp over Mississippi State that featured 390 yards on the ground.) (More theory in numbers: Darvin Adams recorded either a touchdown or 100 yards receiving in six of Auburn's seven wins, and failed to do either of those in four of their five losses.)

I look at this team and see a very good offense. But all things told, they're passing game, although it's worked well, seems just a few tweaks away from getting shut down completely. This is a team that lost five of their last seven games, and one of those wins was against Furman, and a major contributor in those losses was Chris Todd's inability to perform at the same level that he had at the beginning of the year, whether it be due to a nagging shoulder injury, not enough time being given from the line, or failure of his receivers besides Darvin Adams to do anything that could compel a defense not to focus their cover Adams with all they had. So although it's a unit with major scoring potential, and one that certainly causes a major threat, it's flawed.

Offensive fear-o-meter: Zombies.

So that's that. I'll have another one on the defense sometime, not necessarily soon, but sometime.

Gearing up for the Northwestern Wildcats!

Acid Reign — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 07:25:00 -0000

This highlight clip comes directly to you from the Northwestern Athletic Department. What a refreshingly modern approach to video! (As opposed to the SEC's antique model...)

War Eagle, everybody! It's time now for a look at Auburn's 2010 Outback opponent, the Northwestern Wildcats. Trying to imagine what will happen in this contest has NOT been easy. Auburn and Northwestern have never played each other in football. There are NO common opponents on the two teams' schedules. Both teams feature wide-open offenses that try to push the tempo. Auburn's spread attack has been more run oriented. Northwestern, without a feature back, has aired it out more. Both teams have tended to favor the 4-man rush on defense, and zone coverage. Both Auburn and Northwestern have had up and down periods, losing games they shouldn't have, and beating ranked teams. For those who are expecting a media-bandwagon "SEC is superior to the Big 10" post in this space, you are going to be disappointed. I think bowl history in the past ten years shows the two leagues to be remarkably even.

Northwestern began the season looking like a lower echelon Big-10 team. After blowing out Towson, the Wildcats struggled to a 27-24 win over Eastern Michigan. Losses on the road to Syracuse and Minnesota followed. The Wildcats appeared to be headed for a third road loss at Purdue, trailing 21-3 in the second quarter. The Wildcat D stepped up, forcing six turnovers. Northwestern would rally to beat Purdue 27-21, salvaging the season. A defensive win over Miami of Ohio followed, but then the Wildcats were shut down in East Lansing, falling to Michigan State 24-14. If you thought the 21-3 deficit was huge against Purdue, Northwestern fell behind 28-3 to Indiana at home. 26 unanswered points provided a miraculous 29-28 win over the Hoosiers. Northwestern appeared to be on the way to a major upset hosting Penn State. The Wildcats led 13-10 at the half, but quarterback Mike Kafka was hurt, the dam broke in the 4^th quarter, and Penn State won going away, 34-13. With a 5-4 record, and games left against Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, it looked like Northwestern was in dire trouble. In Iowa City, quarterback Mike Kafka was limited with a leg injury, and gave way to backup Dan Persa. Then Persa hurt his hand. Kafka limped back on the field, and led Northwestern to a stunning 17-10 upset of the BCS-bound Hawkeyes. In Campaign Illinois, again with Kafka hobbling, the Wildcats downed Illinois 21-16. A huge underdog in their home finale against Wisconsin, Northwestern led much of the day, behind a 326-yard passing effort by Kafka. In the end, it was the Wildcat defense turning the Badgers away again and again. Northwestern won it, 33-31. The Wildcats finished 8-4, 5-3 in the Big Ten.

Offensively, the Wildcats try to run a balanced spread attack. This year, with a young offensive line and a variety of backs, rushing totals have been down. Fireplug freshman Arby Fields is the team's leading rusher, with 294 yards. Quarterback Mike Kafka is close behind with 265. Many of the big Wildcat rushing plays have been on quarterback scrambles, which happens to be one of Auburn's defensive weaknesses. The Tigers have been plagued all year by 3^rd and long plays in which the quarterback pops through the middle for big yards. Auburn will have to contain Kafka, who should be 100% healthy after battling leg ailments in the latter half of the regular season. Northwestern's passing attack is dangerous, if Kafka gets time to throw. Senior H-back Zeke Markshausen has caught a whopping 79 passes, and lanky senior wideout Andrew Brewer has added 49 more. Five Northwestern receivers have at least 23 or more catches, and 8 receivers have ten or more catches. The Wildcats are averaging 266 passing yards per game, and 386 total yards per game. By comparison, Auburn is averaging 214 rushing, and 219 passing, for 433 total yards per game.

Defensively, Northwestern has a stout front seven that has weathered brutal Big-10 trench warfare well. A banged up patchwork Wildcat secondary has managed 15 interceptions. The bad news for Auburn is that all 4 starters should be healthy for the Outback Bowl. Lockdown senior corner Sherrick McManis has 4 interceptions and 7 pass breakups, and I'd expect to see him matched up on Auburn's Darvin Adams for much of the morning. Auburn's Chris Todd will have to be careful airing the ball out, as Northwestern's defensive backs all seem to play the ball well. Where Northwestern has had problems is against pounding running games, and against screens. On the line, the Wildcats look to senior defensive end Corey Wootton. Wootton suffered a major knee injury in last year's Alamo Bowl, and has battled a high ankle sprain all year. Despite that, he's still managed 6 tackles for loss and 4 quarterback hurries. All in all, a pretty salty Wildcat defense has tallied 62 tackles for loss and 27 sacks. By comparison, Auburn has 71 TFLs and 25 sacks. Defensively Northwestern gives up 344 yards and 23.3 points per game. Auburn gives up 354 yards per game and 26.9 points per game.

On special teams, Auburn has a few advantages, although a couple of glaring holes remain. Auburn has yet to locate a punt returner who doesn't drop the ball. While this has yet to cost the Tigers meaningful points off a turnover, it has seriously impacted field position. Auburn also has a porous kick coverage unit. Northwestern covers kicks and punts pretty decently, but their returns are only average. Auburn has struggled punting the football with only a 35.4 yard net, but Northwestern is worse, managing only 31.7. Both teams have good placekickers. Auburn's Wes Byrum only missed one field goal all year. Northwestern junior Stefan Demos has hit 18 of 23.

Unit matchups, after the jump!

Auburn defensive line vs. Northwestern offensive line: Auburn enters this bowl with a veteran line anchored by senior All-SEC defensive end Antonio Coleman, who led the SEC in sacks despite ligament damage in his arm. Northwestern is young on the offensive line. The veteran is junior guard Keegan Grant. There are three sophomores: center Ben Burkett, guard Doug Bartels, and left tackle Al Netter. Right tackle Neal Deiters is a redshirt freshman. Auburn has a pair of bullrushing tackles in Jake Ricks and Mike Blanc. And Auburn can bring Nick Fairley off the bench for a breather. Coleman against Netter is a good matchup to watch, but a better matchup will be on the other side, where junior Antoine Carter takes on a freshman tackle. Carter spent the early part of the year injured, but came on against Ole Miss and beyond. The combination gives Auburn speed rushers on both edges, and creates protection problems. Auburn's biggest problem on the D-line has been quarterback contain, and the Wildcats have the guy to exploit it in Mike Kafka. On the other hand, Northwestern has given up 29 sacks. Auburn has 25 on the season. Advantage: Auburn.

Auburn linebackers vs. Northwestern runners: Auburn has absolutely been ravaged by injury in the linebacker corps. Juniors Josh Bynes and Craig Stevens have had to play every snap in most games, and have had difficulty holding up as Auburn played 11 games in a row without a break. After a week off, the pair STONED Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram, holding the Tide great to 30 yards. Weakside linebacker has been a rotating cast. Sophomore Eltoro Freeman is perhaps Auburn's most talented linebacker, but injuries have held him back. He's trying to recover in time for the Outback Bowl, and is practicing. The only other scholarship linebacker available is true freshman Jonathan Evans. Northwestern runs the ball by committee. Quarterback Mike Kafka seems like the biggest threat, running the zone read with aplomb. The likely bowl starter at running back will be sophomore Scott Concannon, who averaged 3.6 yards per carry on the season. Advantage: Auburn.

Auburn corners vs. Northwestern receivers: Auburn's Walter McFadden, a senior, will likely spend the day matched up with Northwestern's Andrew Brewer. McFadden has handled a number of dangerous SEC wide receivers well, good for 4 interceptions and 8 pass breakups. Where Auburn may struggle is on the other side. Sophomore Neiko Thorpe has been suspect from time to time, although he does have 1 interception and 8 pass breakups. The battle between Thorpe and Northwestern junior Sidney Stewart will be interesting to watch. Both are tall and athletic. Advantage: Even.

Auburn safeties vs. Northwestern secondary receivers and quarterback: Auburn will need SERIOUS help here from the linebackers and corners. The Tigers start true freshman Darrin Bates at one safety, and sophomore JUCO Demond Washington at the other side. Washington has only started 3 games. Both guys have lots of speed and are hitters, but are short on experience. Redshirt freshman T'Sharvan Bell is first in off the bench in nickel situations. Northwestern has OPTIONS in the slot. As mentioned above, Zeke Markshausen is a mainstay. The Wildcats can go heavy with "superback" sophomore Drake Dunsmore, a 235-pounder with 38 catches. Northwestern is particularly good at running "clear-outs," where the corners are pinched in on slants and posts, and the slot guys go out and up. Quarterback Mike Kafka has the arm to make all of the throws. Huge Advantage: Northwestern.

Punting: Auburn senior Clinton Durst dropped two yards in his punting average this year, finishing at 40.7. In Durst's defense, special teams coordinator Jay Boulware has revealed upon occasion that Durst was instructed to kick the ball out of bounds rather than test our suspect coverage unit. Junior Stefan Demos has struggled likewise for Northwestern, averaging only 35.3 yards per punt. Coverage for the Wildcats has been shaky, giving up 9.9 yards per return. Auburn's been downright bad on coverage, giving up 13.8 yards. Northwestern's 6.6 yard per punt return average won't impress anyone. Auburn has gone through a merry-go-round of return men, and has probably dropped a dozen punts on the ground over the course of the season. The Tigers' 4.5 yard punt return average is among the worst in the nation. It's been a miracle that the punt teams' woes haven't resulted in a loss. This may be the game! Advantage: Northwestern.

Kickoffs: Auburn is slightly better on kickoff distance, averaging 62.0 yards to Northwestern's 59.9. Auburn coverage has been worse, giving up 23.6 yards per return, to Northwestern's 21.1. Auburn has kicked 5 balls out of bounds, to Northwestern's 1. Lately, we've cheered kickoffs out of bounds, because the other team usually does BETTER than the 40 on returns! Northwestern averages 20.4 yards on returns. Auburn averages 23.6. The thing to note about the Tiger kick return game is that they discovered sophomore Demond Washington's talents late. Washington wasn't used on returns till late in the season, and he's averaging 32.2 yards per return. Slight Advantage: Auburn.

Placekicking: Auburn junior Wes Byrum has had a nearly flawless season, hitting on all of his 49 extra points, and 14 out of 15 field goals. Northwestern's Stefan Demos has a good year, too. Demos has hit on 31 of 32 extra point attempts, and 18 of 23 field goal attempts. Advantage: Auburn.

Auburn offensive line vs. Northwestern defensive line: This is a strength vs. strength matchup. The Tiger line has held its own all year, and was only really beaten against Georgia and LSU. Auburn placed junior left tackle Lee Ziemba and junior center Ryan Pugh on some second-team All-SEC units. Auburn runs an array of traps, draws, and misdirection plays. Pulling guards Mike Berry and Byron Issom have been used almost like fullbacks, and have been very effective blocking on the corner. Despite playing in a spread offense, the Tigers have only given up 18 sacks this season. Where Auburn is weakest is handling the speed rush at right tackle. Senior Andrew McCain is a solid run blocker, but has trouble with speed off the edge. I look for Northwestern to at times move senior defensive end Corey Wootton to the right to try and get a mismatch. Wootton vs. Ziemba should be a good battle. Wootton vs. McCain worries me. Wootton is big, at 280, and fast. Wootton isn't the only capable lineman Northwestern has. Junior tackle Corbin Bryant and senior Adam Hahn are solid. Sophomore defensive end Vince Browne is tied for the lead on the team with 4 sacks. There is Wildcat depth in front four, too. Slight Advantage: Auburn.

Auburn backs vs. Northwestern linebackers: Auburn's backs have done well most of the year, and should benefit from weeks of rest. Running back Ben Tate made second-team All-SEC. H-back Mario Fannin was a blocking force and caught 39 balls. Backup H-back Eric Smith is a threat, too. Freshman tailback Onterrio McCalebb is a speed-demon. He's been battling ankle injuries in the last 8 weeks of the season, but should be healthy for the bowl. Juniors Nate Williams and Quentin Davie anchor the Wildcat defense. The pair combined for 160 tackles, including 14 for loss. Davie has been dangerous as a pass rusher too, with 4 sacks, 6 quarterback hurries, and 4 forced fumbles. These are prototypical Big 10-sized linebackers at around 235-240, and they won't be bowled over easily! Advantage: Even.

Auburn receivers vs. Northwestern corners: For the Tigers, this is the Darvin Adams show. Left out of All-SEC balloting, Adams finished in the top five in the league in every category, including a spiffy 17.8 yards per catch average. Terrell Zachary holds down the number two spot, and is a threat on the end around. Zachary only has 24 catches on the year, but is averaging 19.4 yards per reception. Northwestern will counter with senior Sherrick McManus and sophomore Jordan Mabin. Mabin has only two passes defended on the season in 12 games, so look for Auburn to try to test him. Advantage: Auburn.

Auburn secondary receivers and quarterback vs. Northwestern safeties: Auburn will go with senior quarterback Chris Todd and a battle tested bunch. Blocking tight end Tommy Trott has been off and on as a receiver, and Chris Todd has struggled to get him the ball late in the season. The main receiving threat of the secondary receivers is Mario Fannin. That bubble screen to Fannin is probably our single most popular pass play, and I look for Northwestern to have the short zone dialed up for that. With a pair of seniors deep for Northwestern, Auburn may have trouble in the middle. Brad Phillips and Brendan Smith are solid, and sophomore Brian Peters are all among the leaders on the team in tackles. Advantage: Northwestern.

Auburn is not going to wow anyone on special teams, but they MUST minimize mistakes! When Northwestern has the ball, Auburn must really run to contain Kafka and the spread. If Auburn loses the battle at the line of scrimmage, it will be a long day of chasing Wildcat receivers. When Auburn has the ball, they have to continue to be multiple. If the Tigers have to rely on either the run or the pass too much, Northwestern has the scheme and players to shut it down. Chris Todd needs to have an accurate game in his Auburn finale, for the Tigers to win.

Prediction: With an El Nino pattern firmly in place, the gulf coast is seeing wave after wave of low pressure systems, mixed with waves of cold air from the northwest. It's been one of the wettest years on record, in the Southeast. Expect rain, for this year's Outback Bowl. Both teams will struggle with the conditions, and Auburn's running game is the difference in this one. Auburn wins, 27-20.

Oh, What Might Have Been!

Acid Reign — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 18:40:51 -0000

More photos » by Butch Dill - AP

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Alabama escapes from Auburn, 26-21.

War Eagle, everybody. It's time now for the Acid Reign Report on the 2009 Iron Bowl. I'm of two minds about this game. Honestly, I think we should have won this game, but a few mistakes held us back. However, there is no questioning that Auburn put forth a superhuman effort. If Coach Gene Chizik and his staff can summon forth that sort energy in future Iron Bowls, we will do well!

In my keys to victory post 10 days ago, I said that the Tigers needed to chiefly do three things: run the ball, stop the run, and play turnover-free. There was a little bit of success running. Auburn stopped the run emphatically. Turnovers were costly. Both Chris Todd turnovers, a fumble and an interception, set up Bama field goal attempts. Leigh Tiffin honked one of those wide right, but the other was good, pulling Alabama within 1 point. Had we not had those turnovers, Wes Byrum might have been attempting a 54 yard field goal at the end to send it to overtime. I like Byrum's chances a lot better than a Hail Mary! Auburn also gave up avoiding kicking to Javier Arenas, and that cost Auburn. A 56 yard punt return set Alabama up at the Auburn 33, which resulted in another field goal. We'd have been better off punting it out of bounds for no gain, on that one!

The Tigers came out with a wide-open offensive game plan, utilizing all sorts of misdirection plays, reverses, double passes, and swinging gates. The scheme really slowed down the Alabama pursuit, and forced them to attack more than they wanted. When Alabama started crowding the line, that opened up the Auburn passing game. Unfortunately, the Tigers did not do a good job of taking advantage. Tommy Trott was doing such a good job blocking on the corner that Tide defenders were avoiding being in the same zip code with Trott. We tried several slant passes to Trott, and missed them all. We had a number of opportunities to get running backs loose on screens, but didn't pull the trigger till 3^rd down, when Bama was sitting back in zone coverage. We managed to burn Alabama's corner blitz package with an out and up for a 72 yard touchdown, but never tried it again. Alabama secondary members totaled 5.5 tackles for loss. There was opportunity to throw over them, but we could not do it.

Special teams had a few good plays, but were not very good, overall. There were multiple kickoffs out of bounds, multiple fumbled punts, short punts, and line drive punts. We let Javier Arenas get 3 returns, and he burned us for 102 yards on those. The few bright spots were a successful onside kick, 2 punts killed inside the 20 by Clinton Durst, and 99 kick return yards on 4 kickoffs.

For the first time all season, Auburn utilized a run-blitz package, and it paid dividends! Bama was forced to operate from the shotgun and try mostly short passes. When you've held Alabama to 73 rushing yards, with a first year linebacker and two first year safeties, you've done really well! With good pressure, Greg McElroy avoided the costly turnover, but he was forced into drive-killing bad throws. I'd say defensive coordinator Ted Roof called a brilliant defensive game plan, except for one play. On third and nine from the Auburn 33 in the second quarter, we went with a safety blitz and left a linebacker in man coverage with Colin Peek. That decision resulted in an easy Alabama TD pass. You just don't call safety blitzes on 3^rd and long! ESPECIALLY if you're going to hand an all-SEC tight end off to a linebacker to cover!

Unit Grades, after the jump.

Defensive Line: A. There is little to find fault with, here. Auburn had their best day of the season, up front! Antonio Coleman and Antoine Carter both proved that they could sacrifice personal glory and stats, to play great contain on the Alabama running game. When it was an obvious passing situation, Coleman took James Carpenter and Drew Davis to school a few times. The tackle-end twist worked well too, with Nick Fairley able to turn the corner on Bama tackles. Mike Blanc and Jake Ricks stoned the Bama line, and plugged the middle. Points off on one Jake Ricks offside penalty.

Linebackers: B+. This might have been the best game of the season for the linebackers. It certainly was, against teams with a pulse! True freshman Jonathan Evans stepped up and did not back down against Heisman Trophy candidate Mark Ingram. Bama ran it right at Evans and Evans responded with 8 solo tackles! Josh Bynes was a force, with ten total tackles. Points off on Craig Stevens vs. Bama's Preston Dial, Brad Smelley, and Colin Peek. Bama blockers mostly handled Stevens. Points off also on Josh Bynes letting Peek loose for a second quarter touchdown. Bynes should have never been put in that situation, though.

Secondary: B. Auburn did a good job in two deep zone, taking the long pass away from Alabama. The Tide did try to force a couple into coverage, and both Walter McFadden and Neiko Thorpe responded with pass breakups. Run support from the whole secondary was good, but not great. On Alabama's last drive, the safeties got played a bit. The big 17 yard catch and run on the screen to Trent Richardson was on the safeties. Bates barely hung on at the ten. The fullback on the game-winning touchdown was Washington's man. As you might expect, that was a difficult adjustment to ask of a first year player.

A note on the Auburn defense this season: When Gene Chizik first arrived in Auburn in 2002, he had a very talented defense to work with, including future pro stars Carlos Rogers, Carlos Dansby, Dontarrious Thomas, Reggie Torbor, Spencer Johnson, and Jay Ratliff. Still, it took awhile before those guys "got it." We were diced pretty badly, in the first half of the season, including giving up record rushing yards to Arkansas at home in a 38-17 loss. The light didn't really come on till late in the year, against Georgia, Bama, and Penn State. This year, Chizik and Roof have had to deal with a sub-par interior line, and a woefully thin back seven. Against Alabama, the light came on for this defense. There now seems to be some chemistry, and understanding of what the coaching staff wants. When the light came on in 2002, we were treated to some awesome defense for the next few years. For the 2009 Tiger defense, the light is now on again!

Punting: C+. If Clinton Durst had kicked every punt out of bounds for a 30 yard average, I'd have given the punting unit an A! Auburn did that early on, but in the second half they gave Javier Arenas some chances. Overall it was a solid performance. I hated giving up the 56 yard return, but we are hardly the only team Arenas has done that to! We ended up averaging a mediocre 40 yards per punt, with only a 31.6 yard net. Two punts killed inside the 20 helps this grade.

Punt Returns: D-. On five punts, dropped two on the ground. I pass this unit only because Auburn got both bobbles back. Priority one in the offseason is recruiting, priority two is finding and grooming a new quarterback. But I'd say that next on the list is finding a punt returner. This has been the worst year for Auburn punt returners EVER. We've had some bad years before, but nothing like this!

Kick Returns: C. Demond Washington averaged 24.8 yards on four returns. If that stat is compared to team averages this season, Washington would be tied for 3^rd in the SEC. Not bad, but against the last-place kick coverage team in the league, I had hoped for more.

Kickoffs: B. Morgan Hull kicked deep 3 times, and two of them went out of bounds. Against Javier Arenas, that's a favorable result. I'm surprised Bama didn't make us kick it again, on those! The two out of bounders gave Bama the ball at the 40. When we DID kick it to Arenas at the goal line, he returned it to the 46. Should have kicked all three out of bounds! The Tigers had a perfectly executed onside kick. It was brilliantly conceived, with the team acting lackadaisical, and not even lining up before Byrum suddenly just bunted that ball, and raced with it. It caught Alabama totally off-guard. That cat's out of the bag, I think. We won't be able to catch anyone else on that for at least five years!

Placekicking A+. Wes Byrum continued a near-perfect season by hitting all of his extra points. Byrum finishes the season having converted 14 of 15 field goals attempts, and 100% of his extra points. Magnificent!

Offensive Line: B+. It wouldn't be an Auburn football game without a Lee Ziemba false start. At least he got it over with in the first quarter. Ziemba had a pretty good day blocking on Lorenzo Washington and Brandon Deaderick, as did Andrew McCain. The two Tide ends combined for only 4 tackles, none for a loss. Auburn had less success dealing with Alabama blitzers. Eryk Anders was particularly elusive, racking up 3.5 tackles for loss, and 3 quarterback hurries. The Auburn line basically held their own, but didn't generate much push. Nearly all of Auburn's successful running plays were on trick plays to the outside. Pass protection was decent, most of the time.

Receivers: A. You can't ask for much more than these guys produced. They had great downfield blocking, no drops, and got a lot of separation on a very good Bama secondary. The greatest failure in this game was not utilizing these guys more. Both Darvin Adams and Terrell Zachary looked FAST against the Bama secondary.

Running Backs: C. Ben Tate ran hard, as did Onterrio McCalebb, but that's about all you can say. Great catch early for a touchdown, by Eric Smith. Blocking was quite poor, in this one. The only times the backs slowed Tide defenders down was when Ben Tate picked up a holding call. Mario Fannin bobbled a screen pass away that had the potential to go for a long TD. This might have been the worst day by the backs all year. Bonus points for no fumbles. Still, we needed a LOT better production blocking.

Quarterback: C-. Auburn had a plan to exploit the Alabama defense. When it moved to phase two, and we had to hit some short passes, we couldn't. Chris Todd had some nice downfield throws to Darvin Adams, but none to any other outside receivers. Terrell Zachary can run down the field all alone, and Todd will never look his way. Todd completed a decent amount of screen passes, but these were usually on third and long, and ended up well short of the first down. Todd missed the slant to Tommy Trott three times way high, ending up with an interception on the last one. Todd missed the quick hitch three times. Todd had a sack-fumble. Sack-fumbles are somewhat excusable from the blind side, but Todd was hit from the front. Sometimes a QB just has to fall down and eat it. After the first quarter, Todd kept us in the game with the 72-yard pass to Adams, but did very little beyond that. A half dozen better throws would have given Auburn a double digit win over the Tide.

I hate losing to Alabama, make no mistake about it. At home, it's an even more bitter pill to swallow. This one is easier than the last two Iron Bowl losses in Jordan Hare, because we appear to be on an upswing with our program. This is a game a more experienced Auburn squad might have dominated. It also makes one wonder where we'd be if we had played like this against Arkansas, against Kentucky, against LSU. Carrying the momentum over will be a challenge for the returning players and coaching staff.

My hat's off to Alabama. They got a lot more than they bargained for on this road trip, but they didn't panic. They didn't turn the ball over, and they didn't give up. Perseverance gave the Tide their second perfect regular season in a row. I think the Tide folks also know that they'll need a LOT better performance in the SEC Championship game, if they are to defeat the Gators.

It will be an exciting bowl and off season, for Auburn, but we must temper our expectations with realism. As Pat Dye said last week, next year's team won't be much better than this one. Problems will have to be worked on, and newcomers brought in that will play immediately. Nowhere will Auburn be hit harder by graduation than on the defensive line. The loss of Antonio Coleman and Jake Ricks will be huge. The loss of Walter McFadden will be big, too. McFadden was a top-flight cover corner, AND a great leader. Auburn will be solid kicking the ball, but will have to find a new punter. Returns and coverage were an absolute mess this season, and should see a lot of work. The offensive line will have to replace a tackle, and the replacement of seniors Tommy Trott, Ben Tate, and Chris Todd will not be easy. The quarterback race will be critical. Unless Kodi Burns makes a dramatic comeback, we'll be starting a green QB, next fall. If we learned nothing this season, we know that Malzhan's offense is heavily tied to quarterback play.

War Eagle to all, and have a great finish to Thanksgiving Weekend!

The Iron Bowl Preview

outsidethesidelines — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 13:00:14 -0000

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Alabama's Mark Ingram (22) runs on a 14-yard touchdown as Auburn's Josh Bynes (17) and Sen Derrick Marks (94) fail to tackle him in the 2008 Iron Bowl. (AP Photo/Dave Martin, File)

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No fancy introductions needed this week, you know exactly what this game is all about. Alabama comes in at 11-0 with their sights on a national championship, while 7-4 Auburn has proven to be a pleasant surprise in the debut campaign of Gene Chizik. Nothing more really needs to be said, so let's just straight into the match-ups.

Alabama Offense v. Auburn Defense

When the Alabama offense takes the field in Jordan-Hare Stadium, it will have the luxury of facing probably the worst defense it has faced all season in conference play. Auburn ranks dead last in the SEC in scoring defense, and even though they still have two games remaining, they have already allowed more points this year than any other defense in the history of Auburn football. First year defensive coordinator Ted Roof has probably done as well as reasonably could be expected with the group he inherited, but the issues for this defense run deep in terms of both top-end talent and quality depth. Specifically, there is almost no top-end talent on this unit, and absolutely no depth whatsoever. You do the math. The end result has been about what you would expect given those two harsh realities.

At the point of attack, Auburn's defensive line is led by senior Antonio Coleman, arguably one of the most underrated players in the conference. Coleman is great off the edge -- see the 7.5 tackles and 13.5 tackles for loss -- and he will play on Sunday. Opposite Coleman you generally find a rotation between Antonio Carter and Michael Goggans. Carter is good off the edge, but struggles against the run have kept him from being a full-time starter, and while Goggans is bigger than Carter and brings a better force against the run, Auburn loses some of its pass rushing ability off the edge with him in the game. Coleman is the clear breadwinner here, and he's the one that makes the unit go. Thanks to his efforts, Auburn is fairly respectable seventh in the conference in sacks, which is about as good as they are in any defensive metric. It's not a great pass rush by any stretch, but it's at least respectable.

The real issue for Auburn is an inability to stop the run, and a lot of that is the result of a lack of run-stuffers on the defensive line. Coleman isn't particularly good against the run, and the same goes for Antonio Carter. Playing inside they have Mike Blanc and Jake Ricks, and while they are decent players, both are a bit undersized and they tend to get swallowed up by good offensive lines. And when you mix that with the fact that there is no quality depth on the line, it just gets ugly in the running game. Auburn is 88th in the country in run defense, and it's not hard to see why.

The real train wreck of the Auburn defense, however, is at linebacker, where everything that could have gone wrong for the Tigers has gone wrong. They came into the year with no depth at the position, and it hasn't gotten any easier since. Josh Bynes is the leader of this group, and while he's an outstanding physical specimen, he has struggled this year with injuries and adjusting to a new scheme. He hasn't made the plays behind the line like he did a year ago, and even though he has still been the strength of the linebacker corps, he has been a disappointment this year. Meanwhile, Eltoro Freeman was a five-star JUCO recruit that Auburn was hoping to be an instant impact player, but he has really struggled this year and only has a couple of good games to date. At any rate, he's not likely to play in this game after suffering a concussion and a leg injury against Georgia. Craig Stevens has quietly had a solid year, but he effectively rounds out the depth chart. Aside from him, all you have left is Jonathon Evans... he backs up all three position, but he's really undersized and probably only an average player even on his best day. After Evans, it's nothing but the walk-ons.

The train wreck doesn't look to fix itself by Saturday, either. Again, Freeman is seemingly unlikely to play against the Tide, and with him out Bynes will likely have to move over to middle linebacker. With him there, Stevens and Evans will get the start opposite him, and either they will literally play every snap or Auburn will be forced to give walk-ons some meaningful playing time.

The situation in the defensive backfield really isn't a lot better. Cornerback Aairon Savage suffered a season-ending injury prior to the opener and Harry Adams was kicked off the team in late October. The attrition has left Auburn only three cornerbacks on scholarship. With that in mind, Walt McFadden and Neiko Thorpe will get the start for Auburn, and D'Antoine Hood will see a good bit of time too. McFadden is a pretty good player in his own right, and while Thorpe has shown some good things, he's still a young guy who has made a lot of mistakes as well.

At safety, things really aren't much better. Mike McNeil looked to be a star this year but he hasn't played a snap in 2009 thanks to a broken leg suffered this Spring, and starting opposite McNeil was Zac Ethridge. Unfortunately, though, Ethridge suffered a season-ending neck injury against Ole Miss, and that has forced Auburn to search the bench looking for starters. Demond Washington and Darren Bates, both first-year players, will start at safety thanks to the attrition, and while both have shown some good things at times, they have also had their rough spots as well.

All in all, this is just a bad unit. They rush the passer relatively well, but they cannot stop the run and they have no depth whatsoever. The depth situation is so bad that the likes of Ball State and Furman put up 30+ points when the second and third team defenses went into the game, so that should tell you all you need to know. Those guys have given their all, but just being brutally honest it's probably the worst Auburn defense I've seen in my lifetime.

Offensively for Alabama, this is really where you have to win the game. We've got a Heisman Trophy candidate at tailback and a strong rotation behind him, so there is no reason why we shouldn't gut these guys and move the ball up and down the field. Likewise, they don't match up with us particularly well at the skill positions either. What more can you say? Even LSU and Georgia put up 30+ against these guys, and frankly if we don't do the same we have no one to blame but ourselves.

Alabama Defense v. Auburn Offense

The real show for the 2009 Auburn Tigers has been on the offensive side of the ball, and it is there that Auburn has gotten the job done. And if you look at this group from the outset, what makes it so difficult is that they don't fit conventionally into any one category. The only thing I can compare it to was the Houston offense we faced in 2007 with Art Briles... the Cougars pretty much did whatever Briles felt like doing at the time, and that is effectively what we have with Auburn and Malzahn. There is not really a rhyme or reason to the flow of the structure of the offense. And the hell of it is that, despite the success, if you look at Auburn in terms of pure talent on the offensive side of the ball, and it's not an overly impressive group.

The offensive line is a solid group, but not a spectacular one by any stretch. Left tackle Lee Ziemba has a great frame and very good athletic ability, but he has been plagued by false starts all year long. Ryan Pugh at center is easily the dirtiest player in all of college football -- don't be surprised to him at least try to take one of our guys out again this year (he went after Luther Davis last year) -- but when he's not trying to end careers he's a fine center. The guards, though, are somewhat cogs. Neither Mike Berry or Byron Isom are bad players, but neither are really difference-makers either. Likewise, Andrew McCain at right tackle is below average. A legitimate run of injuries would kill this group simply because there is no depth whatsoever, but they've been relatively fortunate on the injury front.

Quarterback Chris Todd has surprised everyone by his solid play this year, but even so I don't think anyone would really dub Todd a high-end player. He doesn't have very good mobility, and that limits the dual-threat options that Malzahn would surely like to employ, and he has one of the weakest arms in the SEC even after having shoulder surgery this past offseason. His strengths are his decision-making ability and his accuracy, but even those have gone incognito at times this year. As a whole he has put up a strong season statistically, but credit for that likely goes more to Malzahn for putting him in good situations than it does any inherent ability on Todd's part.

The backfield does have its fair share of talent. Ben Tate is no Mark Ingram -- despite what he might like to tell you -- but he's a fine player in his own right. He's a senior with a lot of raw talent, and he'll play on Sunday. Likewise, Onterrio McCalebb is a highly-talented player, and honestly the only reason we didn't pursue him out of high school was because he had poor academics (he had to do a tour of duty at Hargrave before qualifying). When healthy, those two form quite the potent 1-2 punch.

On the outside at receiver has really been the issue. Darvin Adams has stepped up and became a legitimate playmaker -- and he may in fact be the breakout player of the SEC -- but aside from Adams it just hasn't developed. Terrell Zachery and Mario Fannin have shown flashes of brilliance, but they've also had stretches where they have gone almost completely incognito as well. Likewise, tight end Tommy Trott has really never been able to live up to the recruiting hype that he had coming out of Montgomery in 2005, and he doesn't give them the threat that they would like.

Again, if you look at this offense on paper, it's nothing particularly impressive. They've got a fairly decent line and a good rotation at tailback, but they've got issues at quarterback and at wide receiver, and there is no depth. Based on that, you would probably think that Auburn would normally be an average-at-best offense, but that hasn't been the case. All the credit in the world goes to Malzahn, and he has done nothing short of a fabulous job down on the Plains. There is no question whatsoever that he is the SEC Assistant Coach of the Year. He has taken an average-at-best group with no depth and made them one of the most prolific offenses in the country.

Defensively, Alabama has its work cut out this week. Auburn is confusing as hell on offense, and the end result for much of the year has been that they have generated a ton of big plays via defensive confusion and busted assignments. I'm sure we've devoted a much larger chunk of time than normal to assignment work this week just because of that. Our defensive players will have to be fully aware of their assignments at all times, otherwise Auburn will generate some easy big plays at our expense. More so than just about anyone else, Auburn pushes you to the edge of in terms of forcing you to play disciplined football, and they have largely struggled when opposing defenses have played sound, assignment-based football.

At the very least, this is a unit that gives you a lot of legitimate challenges, and it's a dangerous group. The Auburn offense of a year ago was worst than anything Mike Shula ever put on the field, but Malzahn has legitimately transformed them into one of the best offenses in the country, and they will give us some problems this Saturday. They are probably the best offense we've seen since Arkansas left town, and unlike last year this group will definitely score some points on us.

Putting It All Together

All in all, Alabama is clearly the better team in this game. Regardless of how you look at it -- high-end talent, quality depth, position match-ups, etc. -- Alabama is the better of the two teams. There are a lot of reasons as to why we are a 10-point favorite going on the road.

On the other hand, though, this game is far from a breeze. Last year in his column I wrote that because of Auburn's complete and total lack of an offense, Alabama would have to create a path to victory for them to win. This year, though, that's far from the case. Auburn has an explosive offense that can legitimately score a lot of points, and that can clearly put this game in jeopardy. We're favorites for a reason, but this game isn't the open and shut case that it was a year ago.

And for Auburn, that is really how they win they likely look to win this game. Offensively, they are clearly going against a very good unit, but we've struggled with spread teams in the past and they have to hope to score some points offensively. Defensively, they look to have a hard time stopping us, but we've been our own worst enemy at times and we may very well do that come Friday. And that's Auburn's hope. Hope that they have some success offensively, and that their defense plays well enough / our offense shoots itself in the foot enough to squeak out a narrow victory.

At the least, a blowout like we saw last year should not be expected. Any Alabama fan legitimately expecting a repeat of 36-0 is likely fooling themselves. As I mentioned yesterday, blowouts in this rivalry are quite rare, and it would be a major surprise to see something like that happen again this year. On the other hand, though, it's not like Alabama necessarily needs it. We control our own destiny at this point, and we don't need style points. We just need to win and stay healthy doing so, and as long as you do that the exact margin of victory is irrelevant.

For Alabama, a hot start would be nice. We have been slow starters all season, particularly on the offensive side of the ball, and you have to hope that changes this weekend. Whenever you face a team with no depth, a hot start practically breaks their back from the outset because they don't have the depth needed to mount a comeback down the stretch. If Alabama can do that, victory is almost assured from the very beginning. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to do that all year, and I really don't see any reason that would definitively lead me to believe this week would be any different.

All in all, we're the better team here, and we should get the win. We should be able to score enough points on their weak defense to keep them at bay, and our defense should give them some hard times offensively. But Auburn is like the other SEC teams we've faced this year. They have their own set of strengths and they present their own unique set of problems for you, and you must respond accordingly. If we move the football like we should on offense, don't shoot ourselves in the foot, and play sound, disciplined, assignment-based football on defense, we should win this game. If not...

Hope for the best.

How to Win The Iron Bowl.

Acid Reign — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:00:12 -0000

Bama's last visit to the Plains didn't go so well!

War Eagle, everybody! Like the Auburn football team, I've taken a few days off from college football. For the team, it was all about the fatigue. Auburn has played 11 straight weeks in a row. Only Vanderbilt has it worse. The Commodores will have played 12 in a row, when this season ends. They'll be rewarded by a 2-10 season, most likely. For me, the time off has helped me purge the taint of a bad weekend all around. Auburn's loss was painful, but I salute the effort of a fatigued, undermanned squad. I can't say the same for my Dallas Cowboys. When the first frost hits, the Cowboys' collection of superstars and veteran free agents pack it in. Who would you rather have pulling the strings: Bobby Lowder, or Jerry Jones? Things could be worse, Tiger fans!

After some well deserved rest, it's time to gear up for a visit by the Alabama Crimson Tide. Many Auburn folks I've talked to this week are already conceding a Tide win. I say that it doesn't have to be that way! Auburn can play with anyone, when they are executing well. The Tigers can beat Bama, if they run the ball, stop the run, and don't turn the ball over. The Iron Bowl last year was a tight game, till Auburn handed Alabama the ball 3 straight possessions in the 3^rd quarter. We can't do that, this year at home!

Keys to Auburn victory, after the jump!

Auburn needs to effectively rotate defensive linemen. There was a Zach Clayton sighting in the Georgia game, and here's hoping he's healthy for the Iron Bowl. We need to rotate both the tackles and ends, and keep them fresh for Bama's 4^th quarter push. If we have Antonio Coleman and Antoine Carter playing every snap of the first three quarters, we won't be able to stop Bama in the 4^th with the game on the line.

At linebacker, Auburn SORELY needs Eltoro Freeman back. It's no coincidence that Georgia outscored Auburn 31-10 after Freeman left due to injury. With Freeman, Auburn stopped the run. Without him, Georgia moved the chains. Craig Stevens, and Josh Bynes need to have career games. Auburn's linebackers must attack, and shut down Bama's running game.

Rotation in the secondary will be important, too. Safeties WILL have to come up and make tackles, in this one. Bama gets a lot of successful blocks out of their receivers, tight ends, and fullbacks. While I applaud the efforts of young Darren Bates and Demond Washington, we need meaningful snaps out of Mike Slade and T'Sharvan Bell, too. Neiko Thorpe MUST keep his man in front, this game. Alabama WILL try a few play-action bombs at Thorpe, and he's GOT to be ready! If Bama tight end Colin Peek returns for this game, I wouldn't be surprised to see Alabama throw some passes in the flat to him. Auburn safeties will have their hands full trying to cover Peek. Walter McFadden must continue his excellent play. Last season in the Iron Bowl, McFadden limited Julio Jones to 3 catches for 36 yards. If Jones is held to 36 or fewer yards this year, Auburn has a great chance.

Clinton Durst needs to have a great game in this one. His numbers may not be helped, but he should avoid punting the football where Javier Arenas can get it. Arenas is averaging over 13 yards per return. A 35-yard kick out of bounds is an improvement over letting Arenas possibly break the game open. Likewise, this might be the one game where I'll approve of the squib kickoff strategy. On returns, we've got to find some way to keep Demond Washington fresh for these. Did you know that Bama is dead last in the SEC, in kickoff coverage? Bama averages 38.6 net yards per kickoff, which is even worse than Auburn's 39.7.

Auburn's offensive line will have a tough task in this Iron Bowl. Bama has three HUGE defensive linemen, and big backups as well. All three linemen nearly DEMAND a double team block, then Bama usually sends an outside linebacker (Eryk Anders, Cory Reamer) as a rush-end. You don't know till the snap which side that end is coming from. The double team on Terrence Cody is probably inevitable, with the other guard pulling, for Auburn. I'd expect Alabama to attack Andrew McCain, who's been very vulnerable to the speed rush this season. On passing downs, McCain MUST get that first step back with the correct foot, and get his shoulders turned. On run downs, he's got to get his head across. Auburn must get the front four blocked, to get the running game going. Bama is number one in the league in run defense, giving up only 2.4 yards per carry. Please! No false starts or illegal shifts! Lastly, if we've got 3^rd and 1 or 4^th and 1, we've GOT to STOP trying to pull linemen!

Guess which Bama player leads the team in tackles for loss? Would you believe that it's Javier Arenas? Nick Saban LOVES him some corner blitz! Arenas is tied for 3^rd in the SEC, with 10.5 tackles for loss. How do they DO that? Well, safety Mark Barron slides over when Arenas blitzes. Barron has 7 pass breakups and 4 picks, which ties him for the lead in the SEC in passes defended. Justin Woodall, the other safety isn't bad either. Auburn needs some sort of "automatic" check when Arenas slides down the line just before the snap, both the receivers AND Todd. Bama always tips it, a second or two before the snap, AFTER you've meercatted to the sideline and changed the play. Auburn needs a two man route and quick throw underneath, to defeat that Arenas corner blitz. No one blends coverages like Alabama. Auburn's going to HAVE to be patient, and rely on crisp throws under the coverage. The Tide defends from the inside-out. To attack that, you've got to throw successfully to the outside. Auburn's greatest offensive failure in last year's Iron Bowl was only TRYING two passes to the sideline. Bama will bait quarterbacks into trying deep balls. Chris Todd must choose his times carefully.

For Auburn backs, it's really simple, this game. Eric Smith and Mario Fannin have to block like they've never blocked before, and Ben Tate and Onterrio McCalebb have to run like there's no tomorrow. Extra hard fought yards move the chains, and are the difference against really good defenses like Alabama. There won't be big holes and lanes. The backs are going to have to create. Above all else, Auburn must hold onto the ball no matter what! A deep interception is kind of like a punt. But even a single fumble in Auburn's own end of the field could lose the game.

Chris Todd, this is it. This is your big chance! Todd has had an amazing story this season, coming back from the brink to lead this team. It's been an up and down year, but now Todd can cement his legacy. If Auburn beats the Tide, Todd will go down as a legend. Todd needs crisp, accurate throws, and must avoid throwing into coverage. We'll certainly need that 5^th year senior maturity and leadership, in this tough ball game.

In other strategy notes, I'm not sure we need to run the Wildcat at all. Alabama has a series of defensive packages for it, including a two deep zone that still manages to overload the sweep side of the formation. A counter might work against that, but a Kodi Burns lob ball against that zone could be disaster. One thing I'd like to see occasionally is a flipped offensive line, and a Todd half roll to the right. With Ziemba out front, and McCain somewhat protected by the motion, Todd can do some damage throwing to the right, especially on the wide side of the field. I'm not sure about the hurry-up offense, in this one. I think it backfired, last week. We got tired on the line faster than Georgia got tired on defense, it looked like. Bama's not really a team you can wear down, defensively. We need to run some reverses to Fannin, Zachary, and McCalebb. Bama will not likely be vulnerable like some teams, but we need those plays to keep the Tide defense honest. Defensively, we've got to use more run blitzes. We're not going to be able to sit back in cover-two all day with Josh Bynes dropping in the middle. Bama will run it till we stop 'em.

It's soon to be Iron Bowl week, folks! I'm fired up already! I'm looking forward to a great week of analysis and fever pitch!

Dogs Bite Tigers in Athens.

Acid Reign — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 04:48:18 -0000

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Another one slips away from the Tigers.

War Eagle, everybody. It's time for an abbreviated Acid Reign report on Auburn's 31-24 loss to Georgia. For one quarter, Auburn dominated the Bulldogs. For the remainder of the game, it was an uphill battle. One thing is evident. No matter how overmatched, this team never quits! Prior to the start of this season, I worried about the strength of Georgia's lines. That worry proved to be on the money. When Georgia settled down, they dominated up front on both sides of the ball. Auburn continued to find a way to stay in the game till the end, but the game was tough to watch, for this Tiger.

Auburn continues to run the ball well, but a lack of an explosive downfield passing game hurt. Darvin Adams is a good one, and with continued development, both he and Terrell Zachary might be great. Still, it took a horrible defensive bust to get a touchdown pass to Zachary. The running game continues to confuse, but never really picked up consistent yardage. On Auburn's three scores, the first was a sandlot play that happened when Georgia rushed themselves out of contain. Todd found Burns on that one. Then there was the awful bust. Auburn's third score was on a kickoff return. We've known all along that Chris Todd does not have a gun for an arm. The most disappointing aspect in this one was the offensive line getting whipped. Not even LSU was able to massacre us with a four man rush like Georgia did. All I can figure is that 11 straight weeks have taken a toll.

Past a few first quarter stops, the defensive line looked tired. There were a couple of hold the ball sacks of Joe Cox, but Auburn had to blitz to get pressure, and linemen were left chasing Georgia backs downfield, especially in the second half. Walter McFadden continues to play well, but receivers on other Dbacks get open at will. When the other team loads up jumbo, and runs over you for 169 yards per game, there's not much you can say. We were not man enough up front to handle the veteran Bulldog line. Georgia's 4.4 yard per carry average is exactly what Auburn has been giving up on the year.

In the midst of this disappointing loss, Auburn posted the best special teams effort of the season. Yes, Demond Washington fumbled a punt. We do that every game, I suppose. Nothing new. Auburn did get it back. At least Washington went forward when he got the chance! All four of Auburn's punts were downed inside the Georgia 20, including another Chris Todd pooch job that was killed on the 3. Clinton Durst was consistent, hitting for 44 yards per punt. Kickoffs were again weak, but Georgia was contained pretty well on the return. Auburn's kick returns were the best of the season, including a desperately needed 99 yard touchdown by Demond Washington. The biggest negative was on the 20 yard Mario Fannin return. Georgia had totally blown their coverage, lost their lanes, and there was nothing but green grass on the left side of the field, with a couple of loose Auburn blockers. Fannin seemed headed that way, but for some bizarre reason, he cut back into traffic to the right, and ran right into the first man and fell down. When the offense couldn't block, we NEEDED another touchdown, there!

Unit Grades, after the jump.

Defensive Line: C+. At times, this unit was blown off the ball, but they slid and still made tackles. It was probably the best game of the year for a tackling standpoint, highlighted by Mike Blanc's nine solo tackles. We were trigger happy too much, taking repeated offsides flags. Coleman, Carter, and Zach Clayton were all flagged.

Linebackers: D. When a team runs right at you 38 times, and your outside linebackers only tally 10 total tackles, you're going to give up yards and points. Auburn's problems here are not new. Georgia tight ends and fullbacks got to the second level , and drove us back repeatedly.

Secondary: D. Outside of Walter McFadden, we were pretty anemic. That's to be expected with three very young players in the starting four, and even less experience among the backups. Neiko Thorpe still has a ways to go, and the two safeties had difficulty following the ball. Georgia didn't throw much, but when they did, they were quite effective, averaging over ten yards per pass.

Punting: A+. It's hard to find fault, here. Auburn gave up one three yard return, and nailed all four punts inside the Georgia 20. Clinton Durst had a marvelous 54 yarder die at the three yard line.

Punt Returns: C. With yet another fumble, the outlook remains grim, here. Demond Washington had a decent fair catch, and an excellent 19 yard return. Then there were two punts Washington let go, and one was downed at the Auburn 12.

Kick Returns: A. We're starting to make blocks on these, and it's paying dividends. Georgia looked undisciplined, and Demond Washington made them look bad. His shortest return was 23 yards, and his 99 yarder for a TD came at a critical time. Points off on Mario Fannin going the wrong way on his one return. And on that last Georgia kickoff, where was Washington? He had 202 kick return yards, at that point. His last one went 99 yards, and you sit him down on the bench with the game on the line? Who was responsible for that?

Kickoffs: C. When you have to squib kickoffs, that's bad. A 56 yard kickoff average is poor. I suppose it was good strategy, though. Georgia managed only 17 yards per return, and Auburn tackled pretty well. A 39.8 yard net kickoff average is one of the better scores of the season for Auburn, unfortunately.

Placekicking A+. Wes Byrum hit all of his kicks again, as did Georgia's Blair Walsh.

Offensive Line: D. Lee Ziemba got caught jumping at a critical time at the end, but he played better than the rest of the line. We got torn apart on the other side, on the pass rush. We got several holding calls, and were totally unable to move the Georgia line past the first quarter. Bulldog tackles slid with impunity down the line, and filled lanes. Auburn backs had nowhere to go but to the corner. While I'm picking on the line, it's time to criticize the scheme a little bit, too. On short yardage, we need to STOP pulling linemen! I don't know why we do this, and then run Ben Tate right into an unblocked tackle! WHY? On third and short against the 10^th rushing defense in the SEC, you drive block! DRIVE BLOCK! Get the first down! OK?

Receivers: B. Auburn men did get open, and mostly made catches. Points off on a crucial holding flag on Tommy Trott. You can always count on a Trott hold, and a Ziemba false start, every game. Again, Trott's probably a victim of offensive design. He's split out, and is a lot more visible than the average tight end. No grabbing, or they'll surely see it! Auburn's biggest problem in the receiving corps is that no one but Adams is consistently getting separation. While we blame Todd for locking in on Adams, he's got to go to the open man. I'd be looking Adams' way, too!

Running Backs: C. Blitz pickup was absolutely horrible. We routinely used a blocking back, and they were not up to the task of handling a loose Bulldog defensive end. Lead blocking wasn't much better, and our power running game went nowhere. Ben Tate got most of his yards on his own. Onterrio McCalebb brought a spark, but he's clearly still not 100 percent. We've got to do better, against Bama. Saban will be sending blitzers all afternoon.

Quarterback: B. Todd didn't have much time in this game. Sometimes, he just had to chunk one up and see what might happen. Got a couple of picks, but we had to take those shots. Todd was off target on his deep balls, with a tendency to overthrow. On the last Auburn play, Darvin Adams made a heck of a move to split two defenders. We might have had overtime, with a better throw.

I missed most of the live game broadcast, but got to watch the last drive. Other fans in the room with me were SCREAMING when Georgia safety Bacarri Rambo went down on that post to Fannin throw at the goal line. They thought he was faking, to buy a tired Georgia defense time. After watching the replay, I'm of the opinion that Rambo took a serious shot. I know I'd not relish a collision with Mario Fannin! Still, if I were coaching defense against the Malzhan offense, I'd have some "fall-down guys" lined up to send in. It's something to think about. Georgia ran right around Ziemba and McCain on the next play, for an easy sack.

In the end, the Bulldogs were too strong for the Auburn lines. Auburn fought valiantly on the road, but took a fourth consecutive loss to the Bulldogs. You definitely can't say that the Tigers quit, though. Here's to a well-deserved week off, for the Tigers. And we hope they come back with a spring in their step Thanksgiving week, and give the Tide all they can handle!

Talking Bowls and Reminiscing About The Good Ole Days

Jay Coulter — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 02:06:11 -0000

Georgia's Pat Dye (60) chases Auburn's Ed Dyas (38).

It's funny how your perspective can change. After all the success of the past 10 years, you wouldn't think Auburn fans would get excited about the bowl opportunities of a 7-3 team. I guess the old saying is true, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder." After a one year absence from the bowl scene, all of them look more inviting this year.

We are in the heart of bowl projection season and that means every national web site has a different projected path for bowl eligible teams. Today I looked at three projections for Auburn and came away with three different bowls.

The most interesting is over at al.com where one writer insists that an Auburn win over Georgia almost guarantees them a spot in the Cotton Bowl. In case you forgot, this is no longer your granddaddy's Cotton Bowl. For the first time, this year's contest will be played in the new billion dollar Cowboy Stadium in Dallas. Maybe there is more than bragging rights on the line this weekend.

Other projected paths show Auburn heading to the Outback, Liberty or Chick-Fil-A Bowls. While Dallas would be a cool stop, my vote is the Chick-Fil-A Bowl in Atlanta. It's close to home, it's played inside and you always get a great ACC opponent. My guess is all these projections are not worth the paper they are written on. Two blowout losses could land all of us in Legion Field hell eating bad pizza. But let's choose to remain optimistic.

It's hard to not think of Georgia's Vince Dooley and Auburn's Pat Dye when reminiscing about the Auburn-Georgia rivalry. For those of us middle age, this was the golden era of the rivalry. From 1980 through the end of the decade, there wasn't a better annual game than this one. The list of characters was a who's who of college greats with names like: Herschel Walker, Bo Jackson, Buck Belue, Brent Fullwood, Terry Hoague, Lionel James, Lindsey Scott and Tracy Rocker. The list could go on forever.

It's hard to believe that Dooley has been gone from the sidelines for more than 20 seasons and Dye is not far behind. Even after all these years, I still miss that cough of Pat Dye during his Thursday evening radio call-in show. It was must listen radio in the days before the internet.

Speaking of radio, I still haven't gotten over the loss of Jim Fyffe and Larry Munson doing Saturday afternoon games. Maybe I'm just getting older, but I doubt we'll ever see two greats like Munson and Fyffe again. How blessed we were to be able to listen. Auburn vs. Georgia will never be the same.

While the Iron Bowl may be the most important game of the season for Auburn fans, for 20 Auburn players Saturday is as big as it gets. Those players call the Peach state home and there's nothing they'd like more than to snap Georgia's three game winning streak. When Auburn takes the field, look for Georgia natives Mario Fannin (Hampton) and Darvin Adams (Kennesaw) to have a little extra bounce in their step. Speaking of Adams, he needs just two touchdown catches to pass Auburn great Terry Beasley for the single season touchdown reception record.

We've talked all week about the unique relationship Auburn and Georgia share. It would not be a stretch to say that both programs owe much, if not most of their success to those who graduated from the other school. Here's a list of this season's inbreeding courtesy of Auburn Sports Information:

Georgia assistant head coach/defensive line/recruiting coordinator Rodney Garner and UGA offensive line coach Stacy Searels were teammates with Auburn defensive line coach Tracy Rocker at Auburn. Garner and Rocker both played on the defensive line during the 1985-88 seasons, while Searels was an offensive lineman from 1984-87.

Garner starred at nose guard at Auburn alongside Rocker, earning All-SEC honors as a senior while Rocker won the Lombardi and Outland Trophies. Garner also served in various capacities at Auburn (recruiting coordinator/tight ends coach/ assistant strength and conditioning coach) from 1990-95.

Searels was a first-team All-American in 1987 and a two-time first-team All-SEC selection, before working as a G.A. coach at Auburn from 1992-93. He later coached with Rocker at Cincinnati in 2002, instructing the offensive line while Rocker coached the defensive line...

Georgia defensive co-coordinator/linebackers coach John Jancek coached the defensive line at Central Florida during Auburn head coach Gene Chizik's first season as UCF's defensive coordinator in 1998...

Auburn Football Operation Coordinator Scott Fountain started his college coaching career as an offensive graduate assistant at Florida State from 1994-96, while Georgia head coach Mark Richt was the offensive coordinator for the Seminoles. UGA tight ends coach John Lilly was also a G.A. coach at FSU in 1996 after serving as a videographer in 1995...

Georgia associate head strength and conditioning coach Keith Gray was a strength and conditioning graduate assistant at Auburn from 1997-99.

Auburn takes on Georgia Saturday night at 6 p.m. CT from Samford Stadium in Athens, Georgia. The Bulldogs enter the game as four-point favorites. The game will be carried live by ESPN 2. Announcers for the Deuce are Mark Jones and Bob Davie - God help us. War Eagle and have a great weekend!

Auburn Runs Over the Paladins.

Acid Reign — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 03:16:44 -0000

Darvin Adams scores three times, in a 63-31 victory over Furman!

War Eagle, everybody! It's time now for the Acid Reign report, on the Auburn Homecoming Game against Furman. The Tigers took advantage of a suspect FCS defense, and rolled up an easy 63-31 win. Physically, Furman was overmatched against Auburn's playmakers, and it was evident from the opening kickoff. Mario Fannin ran over, through, and around hapless Paladin coverage folk for 35 yards. The Paladins had little luck trying to slow down the Tiger offense, which scored nine touchdowns on the day. After taking a 42-3 halftime lead, Auburn emptied the bench in the second half, playing several players out of position, and fielding a host of walk-ons and reserves. While the Tigers gave up 4 touchdowns in the second half to the Paladins, it was against a hodge podge of defenders. Freshman wide receiver Anthony Gulley played at cornerback, wide receiver, AND at running back, for the first time in his life.

The starting Auburn defense allowed a field goal drive on Furman's first possession, then slammed the door emphatically for the rest of the first half. In that first drive, Auburn jumped offsides twice, and allowed underneath receivers to make catches and run for first downs. The drive finally fizzled when Adam Mims dropped an out route pass at the two, and Furman settled for a field goal. After that, the Auburn pass rush derailed any chance for Furman to score again in the first half. In the second half, a host of freshmen, walk-ons, and guys playing unfamiliar positions allowed 28 points. UCLA transfer quarterback Chris Forcier is a speedy QB specimen, and he gave Auburn's reserves fits. I figure Forcier will start next season, and set Paladin records.

Special teams continue to hurt the Tigers, as has been the case in every game this season. The most glaring error was by punt returner Phillip Pierre-Louis, who attempted to field a fluttering punt inside the ten yard line. Louis attempted an over the shoulder catch at the five yard line, muffed it, and ran himself out of bounds. Furman recovered at the six, and cashed in with an easy touchdown. Louis also signaled "get away," on another punt, then grabbed the ball on the bounce. That cost Auburn 5 yards on a delay of game. We had the best kick coverage of the year, allowing only 21.7 yards per return. 21.7 is not a good stat, but it's a LOT better than Auburn has been doing. The kick distance by Morgan Hull remains mediocre, at best. Auburn averaged kicking it to the 7 yard line. Clinton Durst did well on two punts, averaging 45.5 yards with no returns.

The Auburn offense was stopped only twice, all day. Despite playing nothing but backups in the entire second half, Auburn continued to roll up the yards and points. The 655 yard output is the 4^th best total in Auburn history! There was a disappointing fumble by Eric Smith to start the first possession of the second half, but Auburn got it rolling again. Auburn passers Chris Todd and Neil Caudle set Auburn records for completion percentage, hitting on 27 of 30 passes, without a pick, or a sack. The 90% completion percentage goes down in history. I've been tracking net yards per pass all season. Auburn's numbers in this game include 14.2 for Chris Todd, and 9.8 for Neil Caudle. By comparison, Jordan Sorrells managed just 1.4 net yards per pass for Furman. Chris Forcier had a ridiculous 24.0 score, working on a depleted backup Auburn secondary. Auburn runners had a good day, averaging 7.2 yards per carry. If there's anything negative to take away from Auburn's offensive performance, it would be Chris Todd seeming to be locked in on Darvin Adams. Todd fired several in there, against good coverage. Furman pass defenders were pretty hapless, and could do little with the Auburn receivers. Still, one has to wonder how it will work, if Todd attempts those throws against Georgia and Alabama secondary members.

Unit grades, after the jump!

Defensive Line: B+. Most of the points off here are on the starters, for not getting a push on Furman's first drive. On that drive, both ends jumped offsides, too. We were dominant up front, even into the second unit, but mistakes early hold this grade down.

Linebackers: B-. The starters on this unit cut down on mistakes, and showed great discipline in dealing with Furman's option looks. The starters were not nearly as good dealing with middle screens to ace receiver Adam Mims, but Mims is a guy who'd be dangerous on SEC offenses. The backups gave up play after play, in the second half. Considering that it was freshman Jonathan Evans, and a host of walk-ons, that's not so bad.

Secondary: B+. Didn't expect to give a grade this high, but the starters did well. Demond Washington may yet be a liability against the links of A. J. Green and Julio Jones, but he acquitted himself well in his first start against Furman. From the safety position, we had trememdous closing speed from both sides, for the first time all season. It gave veteran QB Jordan Sorrells fits, and held Furman to mostly underneath throws. We gave up some deep passes late in the game, but it was with either walk-on Dbs, or Anthony Gulley playing corner for the first time. I think we really held up well, considering that we have three projected starters out in the secondary. That lineup last spring was supposed to be McFadden and Savage at corner, Etheridge and McNeil at safety.

Punting: B+. A 45.5 yard average with no returns is nice. Clinton Durst hit a great 49 yarder that was downed deep, but rolled a 42-yard pooch effort into the end zone.

Punt Returns: D. Honestly, I should probably give an F due to the horrible fumble inside the five, but I didn't because we showed overall improvement. The fumble was a complete freshman mistake. Aside from that, Phillip Pierre-Louis did a much better job of not dancing, and running that ball straight ahead, this game. While we Tigers are currently satisfied with JUST CATCHING THE DANGED THING!!!!!! you really expect your returner to essentially get you a first down on the return. We didn't do that consistently, but we are heading in the right direction. Kudos to the staff for sticking with Pierre-Louis. Most Auburn return men in recent memory have dropped balls inside the ten in their first season. This includes Robert Baker, Clifton Robinson, Roderick Hood, Tre Smith, and Robert Dunn. We have to get this kid's feet wet, coach him, and stick with him.

Kickoff Returns: B+. We racked up a 24.5 yard average, powered by Mario Fannin's tackle-breaking 35 yarder on the opening kickoff. I would have liked a touchdown against an FCS opponent, but at least we didn't show this unit to be a weakness, against the Paladins.

Kickoffs: C. This is the best grade in weeks for this unit, but one must remember that Furman is a lower division opponent. Morgan Hull's kickoff distance was pedestrian, at 63.5 yards. Furman averaged 21.7 yards per return, a mediocre number. Auburn's net kickoff average was 42.0, which starts the opponent out at the 28. This is much better than previous weeks, unfortunately.

Placekicking: A+. No drama, here. Wes Byrum is 13 of 14 on field goal attempts this season, and perfect on 43 extra points. I don't know if a kicker can make All-SEC on only 14 field goal attempts, but Wes is quietly having one of the best years in Auburn history.

Offensive Line: A. Points off on a Lee Ziemba false start. Lee had a good streak going, but messed up once on Homecoming. I suppose it is the nature of offensive line play, that folks only notice when a mistake is made. Lee Ziemba was just BRUTAL in this game. His monstrous blocks inspired the whole offense, and Auburn absolutely dominated at the point of attack. False starts aside, Ziemba has a chance to go down in history as one of Auburn's best linemen. Most surprising was the play of the backups, who handled the entire second half. Late in the game, Auburn was still protecting pretty well, opening up gaping holes, and providing lots of room for the Auburn backfield.

Receivers: A. Aside from a drop or two on difficult passes, this unit made strides. Early on, it was the Darvin Adams show. Adams has been breaking away from SEC defenders all season. Against a suspect FCS secondary, it was ugly. Even when the Paladins had Adams pretty well covered, he still got the ball, got away, and scored. Tommy Trott made a nice grab in traffic on a ball that shouldn't have been thrown, and it was really great to see the young guys like DeAngelo Benton getting loose and making catches. Downfield blocking was generally solid, too.

Running Backs: A. I'm tempted to count a letter grade off for the Eric Smith fumble, but I won't. These guys ran and blocked HARD. The first man never got an Auburn back down, in this one. Even when we lined receiver Anthony Gulley up in the backfield, with no practice time at the position, Gulley broke a 50 yard touchdown. It's nice to have at least one spot on the team with some depth!

Quarterback: A. Honestly, this grade should be an A+, with no sacks, no picks, 373 yards, 4 touchdowns, and a ridiculous completion percentage! I'm counting off on a few Todd throws into traffic that were caught, anyway. Points off on Caudle dumping short on third and long, on his first possession. I'm basically picking nits on those points. Both Auburn quarterbacks did a great job!

Obviously, no Tiger is happy with giving up 31 points to an FCS opponent with a losing record. Auburn is on pace to set a record for most points given up in a season. The worst unit in Auburn history was Terry Bowden's 1995 unit, which gave up 283 points in 12 games. Through ten games in 2009, Auburn has given up 266. If Auburn gives up 18 more against Georgia, Alabama, and a bowl opponent, Auburn will set a record neither Ted Roof nor Gene Chizik wants!

Meanwhile, the Gus Malzhan offense is on pace to be the best ever at Auburn, from a yardage standpoint. The record for total yards was set in 2004, with 5469. Auburn currently has 4503 yards, this year. Auburn needs 967 yards in their remaining three games to break that record. That's a target average of 323 yards per game. Auburn would have to average 30 points per game against Georgia, Alabama, and a bowl opponent to break the 1995 points record, at 438.

It's now Amen Corner time at Auburn. A road game in Athens, and a Black Friday Iron Bowl await the Tigers. If Auburn can continue the solid play of the past two weeks over in Athens, the Tigers have a great chance to knock of Georgia. Against Alabama, it will take an even greater effort. The Tigers will have an off week to prepare for Iron Bowl madness. Will the time off help, or hurt? Auburn can certainly use the rest, but many teams look discombobulated after a week off. Georgia is on pace to become the worst team in the Mark Richt era, and Alabama has already clinched the SEC Western Division title. Can Auburn win against both? I think it's certainly possible!

Tigers Hold On Against the Rebels!

Acid Reign — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 03:33:37 -0000

(Head Coach Gene Chizik never shows emotion!)

War Eagle, everybody! It's the first happy football weekend for the Tigers, out of the last four! It's time now for the Acid Reign Report, on Auburn's miraculous 33-20 win over the University of Mississippi Rebels. Auburn faced a mismatch on paper in nearly every phase of this game coming in, but managed to emerge victorious by double digits! Both teams made plenty of mistakes, but Ole Miss made more. Auburn got a few fortuitous bounces, and took good advantage. Both teams had penalties, and for the first time in weeks, it was fairly even on both teams.

The Auburn defense was facing a tall order against the talented Rebel offense, and were gashed to the tune of 394 total yards. Dexter McCluster, who Auburn absolutely HAD to stop, finished with 207 total yards. McCluster paid for it in blood, though. Auburn defenders lowered the boom when they could, pounding the diminutive Rebel speedster. McCluster had to leave briefly in the second half, but came back valiantly late. Auburn made a serious effort with stunts and a few blitzes, and delivered enough hits to shake Rebel quarterback Jevan Snead off his game. Some of it was schemed but mostly, the Auburn defensive line and linebackers rose up, and beat on a young Ole Miss offensive line. Snead was limited to 16 completions on 35 attempts, with two picks by Walter McFadden, 175 yards, and one touchdown. That's a 2.1 net yards per pass average. Coverage by the secondary improved enormously, but the guys dropped nearly a half dozen possible interceptions. On the most difficult interception attempt, Walter McFadden made the play. On a ball that nearly hit the turf, and bounced off the straining hands of the Rebel receiver, McFadden snagged the carom one-handed, heels just over the boundary, and sprinted to a pick-six-touchdown! (How's that for a comma-splice?) Auburn gave up yards in chunks, including a 79 yard McCluster run. In the end, Auburn was able to turn the Rebels back every time in the 4^th quarter, holding Ole Miss scoreless to preserve the victory.

Special teams continued to run hot and cold. Clinton Durst hit great punt after great punt, till a shaky 33 yarder late. Chris Todd nailed the pooch punt of the year, coffin-cornering it out of bounds at the Rebel 1 yard line. Phillip Pierre-Louis didn't fumble a punt, but he let one go that was downed at the one, and danced like a man possessed on two others, netting only one yard with plenty of room. I fully expect that he will treat us to a Michael Jackson moonwalk, against Furman. Seriously, PPL, break it forward, please? Kick returns were decent, but kickoff net CONTINUES to be horrible. With the first return given up for a touchdown on the season, the kickoff team managed only a 33.8 yard net, even with Morgan Hull averaging kicking it to the 8 yard line. Wes Byrum continued his excellent ways, hitting on 4 extra points and a field goal. Byrum outkicked Ole Miss kicker Joshua Shene, who came into the game perfect on the year. Shene pushed a 44 yard field goal wide, and kicked an extra point into the line, which Auburn's Demond Washington scooped up and raced in for two points.

Auburn needed to stretch the field on offense. Everyone in the stadium held their breath on repeated tosses downfield, often into double coverage. Todd let it go downfield a bunch, and ended up with a great net yards per pass average, 9.6. Darvin Adams got open and made 4 clutch catches, and Terrell Zachary made a couple of GREAT ones! Tommy Trott had a terrible drop, and a magnificent TD on a ball slung up for the corner by Kodi Burns, off his back foot, being pressured. The Rebels were looking for Mario Fannin and Terrell Zachary on the reverse, but were hurt twice by freshman Travante Stallworth on that play. Ben Tate continued his outstanding play running the ball, powering for 148 rushing yards and a 53-yard back-breaking touchdown. The Tiger offense out-gained Ole Miss, 400 yards to 394. The Ole Miss defense's previous high given up for the season was 354, against Alabama.

Unit Grades, after the jump!

Defensive Line: B+. It was hardly a perfect game up front, especially given that the team gave up 394 yards. Still, there was some good pressure at times on Ole Miss, and eight tackles for loss. Auburn has been able to rotate six or seven up front all year, and it's going to help us going into Amen Corner.

Linebackers: B-. It was feast or famine in the linebacker corps. Sometimes we filled holes and blasted the runner, and sometimes we got pinned inside and burned. The swing pass to backs was KILLING the linebackers early, but adjustments were made well. A number of McCluster runs bounced off linebackers and gained a ton more yardage. Eltoro Freeman was again a force up front. He's very young , and when he gets out of position, it's ugly. It's the second week in a row that the young star has given up a 60+ yard TD run. Still, Freeman led the team in tackles, and was an inspiration. When he actually knows the defense well, he'll be really scary! The stat guys totally missed it, but Adam Herring got a few snaps, and made a huge tip on a pass when Ole Miss was in the red zone.

Secondary: B. This was a night and day improvement by this unit. Coverage was too soft early on, but as Snead started feeling pressure, the corners were able to crash the outs and hitches aggressively. When Zach Etheridge went out early, I was REALLY worried about the safeties. We lost a bit in tackling ability without Zach, but I think Mike Slade brought more speed to the equation. Ole Miss wasn't able to get it done downfield, even with that situation. T'Sharvan Bell and Demond Washington acquitted themselves well, and Neiko Thorpe made some plays. If this group continues to improve, they'll do well against Georgia and Bama.

Punting: B+. Durst hit some monster shots, but might have out-kicked his coverage some. The last kick, when we need to play for field position, was pretty poor. Durst averaged 42 yards on his six punts, but Marshay Green returned 3 of them, for 43 yards. The 29 yard Green return in the third quarter (the longest given up on the season) could have been costly, but Ole Miss fumbled it back on the Auburn 24. A net of 34.7 is a bit down, for us. I can't say enough about Chris Todd's pooch punt that went out of bounds at the one. That was a thing of beauty!

Punt Returns: D. No turnovers is an improvement. The dance moves, with room and blocking, were not. Phillip Pierre-Louis is a rookie at this gig, and I'm not suggesting we replace him. He just needs more coaching. When he learns to step fearlessly into the catch, and heads a few straight up field at a 45 degree angle or less, it will scare coverage teams to death. He's got some great (dreaded buzzword!) potential!

Kick Returns: B. This was a surprisingly solid effort. Ole Miss popped 'em up to about the 12 yard line, and Auburn returners Demond Washington and Phillip Pierre-Louis made 'em pay on field position, averaging 27 yards per return. That set us up on 3 returns outside the 35 yard line. That's pretty sweet, if we can keep that up!

Kickoffs: D-. Well, we tried kicking them deep this week, but Morgan Hull was not consistent. He managed two into the end zone, but 4 others were short. Auburn had a TREMENDOUS hit on the first return, causing a fumble that Auburn could not corral. Despite the negative on that play, Ole Miss averaged 30 yards per return, with one broken for a touchdown to pull Ole Miss within 11. Auburn did improve from a 26.0 yard net a week ago, to 33.8. I'll give a pass, this week.

Placekicking A+. Maybe I should count off on the 36-yard Byrum field goal that SHAVED juuuuusst inside the upright, but it counts 3 points, just the same. Byrum was perfect again. Foot Lauderdale has hit all 34 of his extra points, and is 13 of 14 on field goals. The only miss was from outside 40 yards. Magnificent, Sir Byrum, absolutely magnificent!

Offensive Line: B- This was a so-so performance, at best,but a winner nonetheless! Ole Miss has a great line, and depth. Auburn helped out on the scheme, giving the line help with several max-protect packages on the deep balls. Our tackles had maybe the worst day of the year trying to handle Greg Hardy and Kentrell Lockett off the edge. In this game, on 3^rd and +7, it was probably better to just run a draw. It would have saved Chris Todd some hits! Still, the Ole Miss ends had only 8 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, and 2 sacks. We lost the guard/center gap a couple of times, letting Jerrell Powe roar inside for tackles in the backfield. On a D-line that had Jerrell Powe, Lawson Scott, Kentrell Lockett, and Greg Hardy, Ole Miss only produced 9 tackles. No holding penalties for the line, and only one false start on Mike Berry. And of course, one delay of game on an early snap, courtesy of indecision by Roger's Redding's Buffoons.

Receivers: B. After the catch drought the past three weeks, one HAS to love 7 catches for 117 yards and 2 touchdowns from the starters. Travante Stallworth ran two key reverses for first downs, and Kodi Burns was actually used as a receiver on a nice motion in, reverse out catch for 8 tough yards. There were some bruising blocks downfield, too. Some of the best plays downfield weren't catches, but rather swat-downs by Terrell Zachary on deep balls he wasn't going to be able to catch. Todd chunked it deep for Zachary multiple times, and Zachary did a good job of protecting his QB on those. Tommy Trott had a BAD drop on one pass, but made up for it with a NICE over the shoulder catch on a Burns loft in the end zone.

Running Backs: B. There was some hit and miss on blitz pickup, but enough success to allow Todd to set up to go deep multiple times. There was some good screen offense early, from Mario Fannin and Eric Smith. Ben Tate does some awesome running in traffic. His 148 yards on the day gave him 1067 yards in nine games. He's on pace to finish the regular season with 1422 yards, which would be the third best rushing season in Auburn history, behind only Bo Jackson and Rudi Johnson. Ben's rapidly approaching some rarefied air, around these parts!

Quarterback: C+. Super improvement from the past couple of weeks, but there was some shaky play as well. First off, the Wildcat was pretty much totally useless, except for Kodi's beautiful heave for a TD. Neither Burns throw was proper form AT ALL, but the one we needed got there for six. Rushing out of the Wildcat was snuffed, as nine or ten Ole Miss defenders attacked the line when they recognized Burns in the shotgun. Todd made some big throws, but it was scary. There were two deep throws where Terrell Zachary really made him look good, and a coverage bust that allowed Darvin Adams free for a TD. Todd made an absolutely awful decision late, giving up a 20 yard sack-fumble when we were trying to run the clock down. Luckily, two negative plays, a hold and a sack forced Ole Miss to punt for a touchback. Is Todd's arm OK? At times, he overthrows, at times he bounces it. Against a scary front and linebacking corps, Todd did OK, except for the fumble.

Auburn came up with a great win today! I didn't hold out much hope after the LSU effort, but these Tigers don't quit! We needed to go downfield on offense, play hard against Dexter McCluster, and rattle Jevan Snead. Auburn accomplished all three things, and came up with a win a little bigger than I predicted back in July. No, Ole Miss fans, we didn't score 34 like I thought we would, but we'll take 33!

The win over Ole Miss makes Auburn bowl-eligible at 6-3, and gives the team a great lift going into Homecoming against Furman. If Auburn can continue the improving play in Athens, an 8 win season is still within reach, and if we win that one, we'll host Alabama with a rising swell of confidence! Black Friday might be the end of the Tide's unbeaten run, if we continue to play well and the breaks fall like they did today!

War Eagle, everybody! WAR EAGLE! Ain't it grand? Nothing like winning!

Rebel Roundup - 10/29/09 - Goofy YouTube Edition!

The Ghost of Jay Cutler — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:45:42 -0000

HT: Sam50 Years Later, Billy Cannon Still a Felon | Clarion Ledger
Okay, you caught me. That's not the real headline. Sheesh. It is important to note, however, that Saturday will mark the 50th anniversary of the single most important play in the LSU/Ole Miss rivalry is also the most exemplary of the series. A hard-fighting and undeterred Rebel team is bested by a lucky play made by an overrated LSU Tiger. Ugh. There is some comfort though in knowing that the most iconic Ole Miss Rebel, Archie Manning, is widely respected and admired; whereas the same for some of our rivals do things like go to prison on federal counterfeiting charges (Cannon) or get tossed in the klink for DUI on multiple occasions (Kenny "The Snake" Stabler--named not for his elusive scrambling, but rather the way his truck slides haphazardly amongst interstate lanes).

Plainslinks | War Eagle Reader
The first bit is what I want you to pay attention to here. Auburn ranks dead last in the SEC in terms of "penalties committed against." If our Rebels can keep that trend alive, a victory at Auburn shouldn't be tough to come by.

Mario Fannin could see bigger role | AL.com
rivalsposteractivate HA well Aubarn will need it cuz the LANDSHARKS will git him ha POWE and G-HARD will be lickin there chops out there agianst the kitties lol war BEATLE rivalsposterdeactivate... Seriously though, Auburn's got a good running game. We need to be on our toes on defense.

Red Cup Radio
In my opinion, last night's show was the best we've had. Jerry from WarBlogEagle rivals Kleph from RollBamaRoll as the best rival blog guest we've had thus far (the worst, whatever Smeargle did to make fun of SELA) and our well oiled--the pun you're about to see is very much intended--talks of interracial lovemaking, zany Arkansans, and the practice of sodomy by the West Virginia Mountaineers was some of the best we've had. Seriously, it was fun. Listen to it if you haven't yet and drop us some feedback.