To say the game was ugly would be an colossal understatement. The Bayou version of the Tiger was so superior that Auburn looked like a MAC team. Honestly, we should have expected this. Fortunately for Auburn and unfortunately for our sanity, Auburn managed to win 2 games against teams who weren't as good as we thought they were, to give us the illusion that this team might be competitive. If we had our wits about us, however, we would have remembered that this team lost over 30 players from last year's team, is playing about 75% freshman and sophomores, has only 5 healthy senior contributors, has had terrible injury luck, and is about 10 players short of the roster limit. Let's be honest- with everything that LSU has going for them right now and everything Auburn doesn't, this game looked about as it should have.
The offensive line was terrible. Gene Chizik can attempt to deflect blame away from them or call it a team breakdown, but there's no denying it. Clint Moseley rarely had time to get throws away, and the run game was almost non-existent outside of a few McCalebb sweeps.
Considering the circumstances, Moseley actually performed quite well. He was under duress all game and still came away with some nice throws and decent composure, though there were still times when he held the ball too long. That blame doesn't lie completely on him, however, as the receivers weren't doing a sterling job of getting open. Being without Emory Blake certainly did not help.
The special teams finally let Auburn down. Stephen Clark came back to earth in a big way, shanking a couple punts and failing to help Auburn win the field position battle. In the return game, Auburn lost its first fumble of the year (last team in the NCAA to do so) as Tre Mason got lambasted by Jarvis Landry. LSU's coverage units were flying down the field and laying the smack down.
The defense wasn't terrible. Looking at the score, you probably wouldn't believe this, but they were put in tough positions all game. Robensen Therezie and Chris Davis both got burned by Reuben Randle, and Auburn struggled to get stops late in the game, but it was still an improvement over the efforts during the beginning of the season. However,....
Gus Malzahn is definitely making adjustments to help the defense, and the offense is suffering because of it. Auburn is working to milk the clock during the entire game, which simply isn't Malzahn's style. You'll recall the last couple of years that Auburn frequently scored on drives lasting less than 2 minutes and were prone to take a shot deep or run multiple trick plays on one drive. To put it plainly, Malzahn can't do what he wants because if he does the defense is on the field more and then unable to stop opponents. Chizik denied this during press conferences each of the last two weeks, but if you have watched the games, you know he is blowing smoke.
There's always next week. Fortunately for Auburn, that means Ole Miss and a solid chance for a rebound and bowl eligibility.
SEC
This video is crunk, but even it doesn't do justice to just how amazing November 7th's Alabama-LSU matchup should be. This is a matchup of undoubtedly the top 2 teams in college football, 2 phenomenal defenses, and two uber-passionate fan bases. I'm have no loyalties either way, and I'm still a bit giddy in anticipation. Bama's victory over Tennessee on Saturday was a slow start, but that is part of the allure of both teams. They are big, strong, and deep enough to wear down the opponents and then smash them into oblivion.
Vanderbilt may have found a little offense in the form of Jordan Rodgers. The passing performance wasn't impressive by any means, but his arm strength and running ability open up the field for Zach Stacy to do his thing, which is what the 'Dores need in order to be successful.
Arkansas struggled out of the gates against Ole Miss, but you just knew that the Hogs weren't going to go away and that Ole Miss would blow it. That is exactly what happened, and the Razorbacks continue to roll.
Nation
Remember when I told you several weeks ago that I never believe in the legitimacy of Wisconsin? Saturday night is yet another in a long string of disappointing Wisconsin meltdowns under pressure. I still think this is the best Wisconsin team in recent memory, but this club has developed a pension for the letdown. That said, let's take nothing away from the great Hail Mary that won Sparty the game. Great ending.
Should we have seen an Oklahoma loss coming? Probably. Did I? Not this week. You get the feeling that the Sooners may have gotten caught looking ahead to games against Kansas State and Texas A&M in the coming weeks. As the season has gone on, wins against Texas, Florida State, and Missouri have looked less impressive, and I wouldn't be surprised to see the Sooners take at least one more under the chin before the season is over, especially with as well as Kansas State, Oklahoma State, and A&M are playing.
The Big East, whoof. Syracuse took down West Virginia, Louisville took down Rutgers, and I continue to wonder why the Big East has a BCS bid and why these other conferences are so eager to merge with their mediocrity.
Stanford, Clemson, and Boise continued to roll, as they should have. The Cardinal gets a bit of a challenge with USC next week, but Oregon is probably their best bet to fall. Speaking of the Ducks..
Watch out for Oregon as a sleeper to return to the National Championship game. Chip Kelly's squad currently ranks 7th in the BCS, so they would need some help, but its not unfathomable. Boise State will get jumped by any teams playing legitimate competition, and Oklahoma State and Clemson still have work to do. Beat Stanford, and the road to New Orleans for the Ducks doesn't look so tough. LSU-Oregon rematch? Bama-LSU rematch? The BCS may have a different type of controversy on its hand this season.
That's all folks. This week's schedule brings us Florida-Georgia, Nebraska-Michigan State, Oklahoma-KState, and Baylor-Oklahoma State (upset alert? Old allegiances die hard). Should be a pretty good week of games, with marquee games spread out throughout the day. Enjoy!
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