Early Season Thoughts on Auburn and the SEC
by Jay Coulter on Sep 7, 2010 9:08 PM CDT
in Football
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PrintAfter watching the replay of Saturday's contest with Arkansas State again, there's little question the Auburn defense is far from ready to face what's ahead in the coming weeks. Most startling was how often players were out of position Saturday. It was more than just tackling. And unfortunately, these things typically aren't corrected in a week.
Many will point to the absence of Craig Stevens or the liberal substitutions by Auburn defensive coordinator Ted Roof - including the play of many freshmen. Hopefully, that did play a role. But with Mississippi State, Clemson and South Carolina on the calendar in September, my suggestion is that Gene Chizik take off his head coaching hat and start working overtime with his defense. He may be their only hope.
One game doesn't warrant pushing the panic button, but there was not a whole lot of good out there Saturday night for this unit to hang its hat on. We should have a definitive answer on this group a week from Saturday night after Clemson visits.
Despite Saturday's opening performance, we still have a long ways to go before we know just how good quarterback Cam Newton will be in an Auburn uniform. But I'll go out on a limb and predict something now.
If Gus Malzahn returns as Auburn's offensive coordinator in 2011, Newton will be a Heisman Trophy finalist and make the trip to New York. With his talent and Malzahn's offense, Newton has a chance to break all of the SEC's single season passing records. If he succeeds, you can bet Auburn will be in the top five nationally. Put me on record now.
The SEC East could be decided on Saturday when Georgia visits South Carolina. This early in the season, it's hard to read anything into the week one results. Both schools were impressive in their openers. However, Florida struggled at times with Miami (Ohio); but it would be foolish to remove them as front-runners.
The winners of Saturday's matchup in Columbia will essentially advance to the division championship against the Gators later in the year. A loss by Steve Spurrier could signal the beginning of the end for him. For Georgia's Mark Richt, a loss will make the Florida contest in Jacksonville all the more important for his future.
Don't you love college football? Only in this sport can week two contests mean so much.
Don't forget that Acid Reign will be Live Blogging from here on Thursday night. If you've never watched a game while following his threads and giving your two cents, I highly recommend it. I hope you'll join us!
Until Thursday...
War Eagle!
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It's definitley a big weekend for the major SEC schools.
Mississippi State is going to be a good indication of how AU will fare down the road. If our D can put on a good showing and our offense can continue to produce confidence will be high. But if we have struggles, look for their to be a rocky road ahead.
War Eagle
...this conference is front loaded with tough schedule match-ups
really looking forward to the game in Columbia,SC this weekend. also will be watching the UF / USF game…
bama takes arky in wk4- that secondary better be tight!, and UF in wk5…
LSU faces west virginia in wk4, Arkansas vs. UGA wk4,
AU is in a good spot to get challenged through the sept. month and also get great film on these mid & late season opponents.
wappa
I put no credence in 1st week results against inferior opponents
Based upon last weeks game you would think MSU would be meeting UT in Atlanta come December. Remember, these games are being played by kids who make mistakes and look awful one week, and the next week look like Heisman hopefulls….or vice versa. ESPECIALLY IN WEEK ONE.
This week is the real start of the season and we’ll see what Cam Newton is really all about. I hope he surprises me as much as he did last week. Likewise I don’t think you can put too much into our defensive woes last week. When our corners played up on the line and pressured Arky St, we didn’t have many issues. You have to make your opposition make plays to beat you….not leave a lot of space for them to maneuver in. I think Roof will tighten the coverage up this week and Etheridge and McNeil will learn from their mistakes. Bates and Evans looked very good from what I saw, so hopefully with Stevens returning and those two contribuiting more in Nickel packages, the LB play will improve as well.
On what day did the Lord create Bear Bryant and couldn't he have rested on that day too?
Sept definitely looks a heck of a lot more difficult than it did back in June.
Anybody calling this a trap game hasn’t been paying attention to Miss State. I agree Mullen has got them playing solid football and they will take us to the wall Thursday. Miss State has always played a very physical brand of football and I don’t suspect Thursdays game to be any different.
With Kyle Parker coming back to Clemson, they are going to be a handful and by now we all know South Carolina looks VERY stout. You just hope that they have a bloodletting against Georgia.
If we can survive September undefeated, we will be looking good indeed, but surviving is a realtive term because we may be beat to all hell. But thats life in the SEC…..something Boise State knows nothing about.
On what day did the Lord create Bear Bryant and couldn't he have rested on that day too?
Me being a bright light...
and not Mr. Pessimistic for once is a shock, but if Auburn can get out of September undefeated the team will be in great shape and that goes for more than just a good record. Honestly, I think AU fans are already taking this Mississippi State game for granted. It will be a hard fought battle and Auburn will have to win the turnover battle to survive this game. I am sick of hearing about Thursday being a trap game though. I mean when Coach Mullen started picking this game out for everyone, that ended the opportunity of a trap game. Now, it’s a battle for both schools and it should be really physical. This one has me really concerned I’m not sure why I am picking Auburn by five but I am.
yeah... its not like you to pick AUB.
how dare you…
i have only a guess for the game…that is it.
no real peg on this one at all. i suspect this will turn into a real war… there is just a TON on the table to grab for both teams. with the landscape of the West smellin a bit like there will be some room to move up a good bit…both these teams know how important this head to head is.
i agree this is absolutely NOT a trap game… to many details beyond the traditional that will make it a special trip for newton, dyer, reed expected to get his first play …
there will be no shortage of WANT on either side…
i also think these 2 coaches have a good measure of respect for each other as class guys in the SEC… there is a line to be drawn on Thurs. night…and both won’t walk away happy.
i do think that both teams will earn some national respect after this game. this game, after all, is the first SEC match-up of the year…and will prove to so many who have been in the dark…that this conference wasn’t ever top heavy…it was just catching its breath.
i’m proud of Auburn for where they are going into this September stretch. a TON of work put in… and now it is time to blow it up.
wappa
You know...
It probably won’t ever happen again, but I had the best prediction for Auburn against Arkansas State last week.
Newton for Heisman?
It would be wonderful if Cam Newton could be in the Heisman running.
Also Jay, I just want to say I really enjoy your work and the whole TrackemTigers site. I usually follow some of the minor sports more. I don’t know why but this year I find myself more interested in football than I have been in a long time. I think part of the reason is checking out TrackemTigers more often lately. Anyway, thanks and keep up the good work. There are a lot of us that appreciate you and the staff.
I like your prediction on Cam.
I think we’ll win against Miss State, probably a close one and that the east will be between SC & Fla. Georgia will struggle but wind up in a bowl.
i was thinking the same...
got to expect that FR QB for UGA, Murray, is going to be tight in Columbus this weekend.
??
i was very impressed with s. carolina last week.
wappa
I am not sure who did it...
But the last time somebody mentioned the 1994 game Auburn won 3-2 and that game was an abysmal performance. I really hope it isn’t the opposite with our defense this year. I wish people would stop trying to make this team like previous Auburn teams. Win or lose, this team is a different kind of team this year from years past. I’m not saying it’s good or bad, it’s different.
Let me clarify
When someone mentioned the 1994 game with Mississippi State in which Auburn really set the tone for the rest of its season. No, I’m not saying that 1994 was 3-2. I remember the 3-2 score in 2008 being so painful to watch. It was the worst offensive display I’ve ever seen from Auburn and I don’t want to see that again. I still hurt when I think about that year.
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