A new era begins at Auburn!

Defensive Line: B+. I can't give this an A, because of a few errors. We lost the B-gap twice on third down in cover-zero, which enabled the Tech QB to scramble right up the gut for big yards. With brand new starter Nick Fairley out there, mistakes were probably inevitable, but the timing on those was not good. The two facemasks on Goggins were costly. Tech did a good job of scheming against Antonio Coleman, alternating between double-teams, and rolling away from him. Fairley really messed up things, though, for the Tech line. They had no one who could handle him one on one. When Auburn rushed 5 guys, Jenkins had no time to do anything but run for his life.

Linebackers: B. I griped during the game, but these guys had difficult assignments. At first they were responsible in the short zones, and got worked over a bit. Nothing like a typical game last year, but there were 5-10 yard completions. Worst play was Josh Bynes grabbing nothing but air on a screen to Daniel Porter, on which Bynes seemed to have the play contained for a loss. The right thing to do was break down and wait for help, but Bynes attacked and missed. Herring got turned around on the TD pass to the tight end, but for the most part these guys did a lot better job doing what they were assigned to do, than things seemed. When Tech ran the ball, those lanes were filled.

Secondary: A-. I count off here only because we dropped a couple of interceptions, and McFadden got a late pass interference call that looked legit. That first quarter one was ridiculous. Not only was the ball 10 feet too high, but McFadden didn't even make contact till the ball was past. Thorpe and McFadden both made some great one on one defensive plays on deep balls to the outside guys, preventing catches. Zach Etheridge was a force playing a sort of hybrid robber-style, and the true freshman Bates actually made plays, too, including his first career interception on a ball thrown up for grabs.

Punting: A. If you only punt twice in a game, it means either a prolific offensive day, or that you had a lot of turnovers. Clinton Durst's first effort was a hooker to the sideline that got a good roll, and was downed after 47 yards. Durst's second only went 35 yards, but it was a towering shot that Phillip Livas had to fair catch at the 14. That's a respectable 41 yard average on the day, with no returns, and one pinned inside the 20.

Punt Returns: D. I won't give an F, because we didn't turn one over. But we had nothing, here. Mario Fannin fumbled the first one. The second, he signaled fair catch, let it hit and roll, then picked it up and ran. I couldn't believe they didn't throw a flag. True freshman Anthony Gulley replaced Fannin, fielded his first one in traffic, and got belted hard. Should have fair-caught. After that, Gulley was unable to even get to the remaining 3 punts. They were short, but it's important for the return man not to let those things hit and roll.

Kickoff Returns: C-. We did not block these well, at all. An 18 yard average doesn't look good, but one of those 4 returns was Trott's squibb return, fumbled out of bounds, a 7 yard gain. Fannin opened the game with a pedestrian 15 yard return. He was in traffic nearly from the point where he caught the kickoff. Onterrio McCaleb did well, picking up 49 yards on 2 efforts. The blocking wasn't there, but McCaleb tore through the coverage on his own.

Kickoffs: B+. Auburn held the dangerous Phillip Livas to 20.1 yards per return, and we averaged kicking to the 5 yard line. Wes Byrum averaged 64.8 yards per kickoff, and Morgan Hull did slightly better, hitting an average of 66.7. One of Hull's kicks even made the endzone.

Placekicking: A+. With no misses, and field goals of 47 and 49 yards, it doesn't get any better.

Offensive line: B+. Protection was awesome, and run blocking was good. Tech was really whipped badly, in this matchup. Points off on a false start by Lee Ziemba, and holding penalties on Byron Issom and Mike Berry.

Receivers: B+. There were timing issues, particularly in the first half, and a drop by Emory Blake late. Darvin Adams staying up in a crowd and getting stripped of the ball keeps this from being an A. These guys blocked well, though. And, the outside guys got separation downfield, something we haven't seen in about 5 years. When was the last time you saw deep throws by Auburn, with guys as wide open as Terrell Zachary and Darvin Adams were, on their TDs? It's time to rename Tommy "not a blocking tight end" Trott. Maybe he's still not a blocking tight end, but he's a brutal blocking wide receiver! He reminded me a lot of Frank Sanders, pancaking DBs on the edge. We'll be able to sweep folks to death on the outside, if that keeps up!

Running Backs: A-. Usually I count off a letter grade for fumbles, but it's hard to find fault with much past Ben Tate's fumble in the red zone. When was the last time Auburn had 264 on the ground and 92 receiving out of the running backs? That was the most consistent running game I've seen out of Auburn in a long, long time. Great blocking by all concerned, too. Tate and McCaleb on blitz pick up, and Fannin and John Douglas on lead blocks, it was a great unselfish day all the way around.

Quarterbacks: A. I'm tempted to count off a little on a few throws that had no chance, but really, I think just about every such play was due to routes being run wrong. Our QBs had no turnovers, and wise decisions by both Chris Todd and Kodi Burns. We need a bit more diverse Wildcat package, but that falls under play-calling. Burns kept it too much, but I think that was by design. In the end, we ran a shotgun spread the whole game, had no quarterback turnovers, no sacks, and 3 touchdowns. How awesome is that, after 3 years of offensive misery?

     Next week, the Tigers open SEC play, with the Mississippi State Bulldogs. The teams had similar stories this week, struggling early, then blowing out their opponents. The difference is that Auburn faced a tough WAC team that won 8 games last year, including the Independence bowl. MSU beat Jackson State of the SWAC, a 7-5 team a year ago, 45-7. It took the Bulldogs a half to really get going. Due to penalties and fumbles, the Mississippi State only led 14-0 at the half. The Bulldog D was impressive, as was quarterback Chris Relf, but it was against a middle-of-the-pack FCS team. Against an SEC team on the road, it may be a different story. The Auburn Tigers must continue to plan the work, and work the plan, as Gene Chizik would say! An effort equal to the one this week, should spell another victory for this Tiger Team!