Darkness Falls

I don't know whether to cry or throw-up. I think that was the worst game I have seen Auburn play in about three years. Even the loss to Wisconsin didn't feel this bad. So here are my thoughts on what went wrong.

Offensively, we sucked. Plain and simple. But, who's fault was it? I rest blame on Borges and the offensive line. First, let's deal with Borges. The first two plays netted over twenty yards, and somehow, he believes it's time for a trick play. Two things need to be mentioned about trick plays: (1) Don't use them if you don't have to, and (2) they usually require some sort of set-up. We had all the momentum in the world and were marching the ball down the field. Instead, we were facing second and forever and never regained the spark we had out of the gates. Thanks, Al.

And then there's the offensive line. That was horrible, guys. Really. I think we realized today just how valuable Joe Cope is. I'm not saying our second-string center played horribly for his first start, but um...I think the game-play had a lot to do with him. Several bad snaps and an out-of-sync offense usually points toward the center.

And, branching out from those two main points, I have to say that the backs, receivers, and QB didn't play that poorly. Cox did make some bad throws, but he also did some good things. Of course, the play that will haunt my dreams like Ben Obomanu's dropped TD pass against Ole Miss was Courtney Taylor's blantant miss play of a sure TD pass. Come on, fellas. Look like you want to be there. Nobody showed up for this game. Nobody. We had kickoffs going out of bounds, shanked punts, bad snaps, dropped passes, missed blocks, missed tackles, etc etc.

And then there was the defense. Muschamp....this is Arkansas, buddy. They RUN THE DAMN BALL EVERY DOWN!! Figure it out. Yes, the Hogs have two very good tailbacks and a great offensive line, but they should not have been able to run the same four running plays for seven yard gains throughout the course of the game. That is unforgiveable. When we're putting eight guys in the box, it might be nice to force a punt every once in a while. Defensively and offensively, Auburn was out-coached.

I hate to pull out this analogy, but for those of you that have every experienced this, you'll understand. Sometimes, when you are playing Dynasty Mode in NCAA 2K6, your team will be the heavy favorite against some horrible team (not that Arkansas is horrible, but hear me out). Regardless, the computer will decide that you won't win the game. It's not a matter of bad calls. I can only think of one call against Auburn tha was actually a "bad" call. It was all the little things. Fumbles that weren't. Penalties that could have gone either way that went against us. Guys falling forward the extra inch they needed or QB's getting the extra 1/4 second they need. All of the little things that, when added up, can make the fight a vertical war as opposed to simply an uphill battle. That, in my opinion, is partly to blame for this three possession disaster of a blowout. I can hardly say I am truly surprised, particularly since I called the game a "trap" game, but it seemed like the deck was stacked against us today.

So, where do us Auburn fans go from here? We weren't screwed by anyone other than ourselves and what appeared to be fate. Sometimes, that's just the way it goes. From here, we root for LSU to lose to Florida, Arkansas to lose to USC and LSU, and Auburn to win out. That's quite a tall order, but stranger things have happened. Besides shooting ourselves in the foot yet again, we've given the ESPN talking heads more reason to dislike Auburn. If nothing else, we've insured we'll be the underdogs next week.

Well, this post was more of a catharsis for me than a necessary recap, but I welcome anybody else's thoughts on the game, the future, or any other positives we can take from this game. Despite the heaviness in my heart, I'm still not ashamed to end with WAR DAMN EAGLE!