Yeah, the first loss of the season is always the hardest. I’ve had to step away from my Auburn Elvis duties and question my role as a human being. A crushing defeat will do that. Anyway…
Auburn actually looked better in defeat than they had in previous victories. The offense proved that there’s something to running AND throwing. The defense is getting skewered by the press this week, but I could see during the Southern Miss game how a team with a decent passing attack (and time to throw) could find holes in Auburn’s defense. To me, there were only two areas of “real” concern: the punting game and clock management.
How did Auburn’s punting game go from a game changing ace-in-the-hole to an inconsistent liability? In Tuberville’s decade on the Plains, the team’s punting effort has never been this bad. Coach Tuberville was quoted, “special teams will decide this game”, before the game. He was right. LSU was able to flip the field after every stalled drive. Auburn was lucky to make LSU start inside their own 35. Uncharacteristic and unacceptable.
The other glaring weakness was with Tuberville’s late-game clock management. With a 1-point lead and 4:45 to go, LSU received the ball. They promptly picked up 2 first downs and were within field goal range. At this point, Auburn should have begun spending its remaining timeouts (of which, all 3 were unused). Instead, Auburn allowed a minute-and-a-half to tick away without calling timeout. In fact, LSU actually HELPED Auburn by scoring a touchdown so quickly. Otherwise, Tuberville would have likely allowed LSU to completely kill the clock before scoring the winning points. Think I’m too pessimistic? Think again. Tuberville let the EXACT same thing happened last year. Last year, LSU began the game-winning drive with 3:21 remaining with Auburn having 2 timeouts. Tuberville allowed LSU to work their way downfield without preserving any time for Auburn to answer. That strategy failed last year, and it failed this year. It’s sad that Tuberville hasn’t learned from his mistakes.
But, what’s done is done. It’s time to look ahead to the upcoming opponent - Tennessee. The Tigers have fared quite well in their last 3 outtings vs. the Vols. I expect the same outcome this year as well.
One bonus (for me anyway) - the Volunteer Band is due to stop-over here in Chattanooga on their way to Auburn tomorrow. Having the Big Orange Band perform a pep rally in downtown Miller Plaza is a nice noon-time treat. And, next season, Auburn’s band will likely do the same on their way to Knoxville.
UPDATE: the wife says the UT Band WILL NOT be performing here tomorrow. They’ll be here October 10th instead.