Mississippi State Reax: Cardiac Kids Do it Again

Call us when you beat somebody, Danny Boy.

There's nothing more enjoyable than sticking it to the world. With everybody disrespecting the reining national champs, what does Auburn do? In the words of Lou Brown in the movie Major League, "We go out there and give em all one big s$#t-burger to eat."

All of that and a nickel gets you a four point underdog status against a team that was on the ropes to the wife's Alma matre, the fightin Terriers of Wofford. I saw the score at the tailgate of the Clemson-Wofford game. I rushed over to Beth and said "Wofford's leading Clemson!" Her reply: "That's nice. Can you change Bryant's diaper?" I've mentioned before my wife does not care much about football, right?

As for the game, I keep thinking if these guys grow up a little bit every week, by the Georgia game we'll be a sight to see. Offensively, Dyer runs like he's angry. And you don't ant to make him angry.

Other than the pick six that looked like I threw it, Trotter was again better than advertised. The offensive line looks much better with A.J. Green at tackle. They continue to improve, and again, by week 7 or eight they should be pretty salty.

Am I the only person who thinks our kicking game is upgraded from last season? Parkey and Clark are boomers. Flipping the field is something we haven't seen from Auburn in quite a while. Those two guys will win us a game or two before the season is done.

On that note, the special teams are the best part of our team right now. Give Coach Bouleware some bodies to work with and all of a sudden it's the most important aspect of our team.

Defensively, we still have miles to go. That being said, I think we have come a long way. I like how much better we tackled Saturday, and other than 3rd down, I thought we played OK. Maybe if could just keep the scoreboard on 2nd down throughout? I still think this defensive unit will continue to improve, and be a pretty good defense by the end of the season. It is important to keep in my all of the pro-style offenses we'll face down the road. Ted Roof usually schemes better against those types of teams for whatever reason. Here's hoping that holds true as we make our way down the schedule.

So, there you have it, the nation's longest win streak is still intact. Chizik and Company take the kids on a road trip to Carolina Saturday. I hope they enjoy it better than my long road trips to the Palmetto Sate.

Mississippi State Review (AU 41 MSU 34)

Intensity level remarkably higher--players and coaches!



I was proud to watch everyone fight! Of course it wasn't always pretty. Sometimes it was downright tough to watch. But what stood out to me was the effort, the desire to compete from start to finish, the tenacity and belief in one another to do just enough to win the football game--all character qualities you can't coach! It was evident improvement up front, the physicality in the trenches, was astounding in one week of work. Yet, it's also evident there's an overabundance of room for growth; for improvement in virtually all areas of this football team. That's exciting! Knowing this young group is experiencing the growing pains we all expected, yet doing so while pulling out victories against talented football teams, when at times victory seemed an impossibility, is the mark of a special team. It's a reflection of the coaches and the direction of the program when you believe you're supposed to win games because you're Auburn! I don't care about the defense giving up 333 yards on the ground as long as I see fantastic effort being put forth and pads popping each play. Chris Relf gashed us for a ton of yards, but Chris Relf lost his helmet damn near every play and he felt each one of those carries well into Sunday evening I'm sure.

What I liked...

1. Starting the game by forcing a State punt, obtaining excellent field position, establishing the running game, and putting 7 early points on the scoreboard. Picture perfect start.

2. Vastly improved fundamentals. Tackling was noticeably better from week one, specifically from our safeties. Of course we gave up far more yards on the ground to call the defense a success, we still eliminated all the lunging into thin air and tackled the ball carrier when he arrived.

3. Corners played in the face of the receivers every snap. A far cry from the 10-12 yard cushion we gave the Utah State receivers. And for the most part, the corners did an excellent job of blanketing the State receivers down the field, particularly #11 Chris Davis. Thought he played his best game yet.

4. Emory Blake continues to impress! He has obviously become Trotter's go-to receiver and I don't blame him. Exciting after the catch, fearless in traffic, and as sure-handed as they come. Two games into the season, he's an All-SEC selection!

5. Demetruce McNeal played his best game in an Auburn uniform. Takes his first career INT to the house and tackled with sound authority.

6. Mike Dyer ran more determined. Unbelievable balance and great speed. Now ready to see Mike run over people at the second level.

7. Cody Parkey- excellent on kickoffs and smooth with his field goals. Both field goals were right down the middle.

8. Coach Chizik coaching with fire! He was constantly on the refs and much more animated with his players and assistants than I can recall. He was emotional for his team from start to finish which tells me he didn't feel he coached his heart out last week against Utah State. He's asking his players to leave it all on the field, and I felt he did the same against State!

9. Offensive line play- protected Trotter well, and paved the way to 235 yards rushing (6.5 yds/carry).

10. Tre Mason and the kickoff return team. Never seen a team stop kicking to a player in his second collegiate game. Unbelievable back there. Reminds me of Javier Arenas returning punts...a threat every time to change field position or go the distance!

11. Coach Chizik not sitting on the ball and running out the clock to end the 1st half. Huge decision to go for points with minimal time remaining.


Dislikes...

1. The Barrett Trotter INT!? Not sure what he saw, but he gift wrapped 7 points to State!

2. The Barrett Trotter moustache!? Typically I wouldn't mind it, but as a father of five including three little girls...to reminiscent of a perverted child molester. Sorry dude, but I say shave it off...unless you think it's good luck. In that case, I can adapt!

3. The defensive philosophy against the option. Slow playing the QB with a defensive end allowed Chris Relf to keep the ball in hands longer and hold the defense hostage. I would have liked to see our defensive ends punish Relf immediately. Get the ball out of his hands, force an early decision/pitch, and rally to the football and bring down the tailback. The option hurt all game long, but if we had punished Relf immediately every time he started down the line of scrimmage, State would have stopped running the option to protect the QB.

4. The golden eagle, Spirit, colliding with the sky box. WTH?! Kudos for shaking off the hit and finishing strong however!

5. 3rd down efficiency. Defensively we must learn to win the third down battles. What's most frustrating is many of the third down conversions the defense allowed were third and long. Can't continue to stay on the football field for 97 plays! Will ultimately catch up with us if not corrected. Offensively, 4-12 on third down for the game. Both units must improve here.

6. The celebration penalty on Robensen Therezie. As a ref, you have to want to make that call. The kid did a fist pump with a head bob. Not in front of his opponent. In no way was it taunting. It wasn't a "look at me" moment. It was a classic example of out-of-touch old white men making rules that limit spontaneous enjoyment of college football players. Start paying attention to what refs do when players score or make a big play. They immediately get in their face and limit celebration, sometimes pushing players to their huddle or sideline. Relax and let these guys enjoy a few moments of grandeur. They work year round to have the opportunity to make a play for their team. They make a play, get excited, and the rules punish them for it. It's ridiculous and has gone overboard. Choreographed celebrations and taunting the fans or your opponent deserves a flag. But what Therezie did or Nick Fairley in the Iron Bowl last year did drawing a flag is laughable.

7. Defensive ends are creating super-sized running lanes by screaming up the field without squeezing the tackles. Speed off the corners is great, but we're making the tackles life easy on running plays by running ourself out of the play. State allowed us to do it, then ran right through the lane our ends left.

8. Trovon Reed? Where is he? Keep waiting for his impact to be felt. I'm growing impatient.

Can't wait to hear how fast Mississippi State's stock falls this week. Last week they were Alabama of the 1970s. After losing to Auburn when no one picked them to do so, they'll be labeled Mississippi State of the 1970s. Because no one that loses to Auburn could be a decent football team, right?! 2-0, 17 in a row, and sitting alone atop the toughest division in college football! War Damn Eagle!

Dr Z's Miss. St Preview

We're simplifying our defense this week. So easy a Caveman could do it?

I have to say, this one has me uber-worried. Mississippi State demolished a really bad Memphis team last week. But to put it into context, Memphis likely one of the bottom 10 in D-1. You never thought you'd hear someone say they missed Tommy West, but they're saying it in Memphis right now. Mike Dubose has worked wonders with that defense over there.

My big concern is Auburn. No matter how you spin it, that victory last weekend showed some glaring deficiencies on both sides of the ball. The defensive line battled like the French circa May 1940 against Utah freakin State. We flat out got pushed around the entire game. Ted Roof's answer is to simplify. To that I have to say two words- "Uh-oh.".

My colleague Rob spent the better part of his review wondering aloud why we didn't show more to confuse a freshman quarterback. Chris Relf comes in with tons of experience backed a by a very good running attack. Let's not forget Dan Mullin was the guy behind arguably the best 3 years in Gator history. We saw what happened to Urban Meyer after Mullin packed his bags for Starkville. Again, to reiterate, Ted Roof's answer is to simplify. Again, color me less than optimistic.

Offensively, I think Trotter and company hold hup just fine. Gustav is too good not to find ways to exploit the State weaknesses, espcially at linebacker. I look for Dyer to have a better day, and for Lutzie to show why he's the best tight end in college football.

7 point home dogs? I find that hard to believe no matter how bad we looked. Mullin is still looking for a signature win. So far, the best thing on his resume is beating a bad Florida team last year. I have to believe that last week was a wakeup call for our young team. I'd be willing to bet practice was a bit more physical. Hopefully, our guys respond.

I may be incredibly wrong here, but I say...

Auburn-31

Sore Losers in the Cam Newton Sweepstakes-30

Mississippi State Preview

Mississippi State always represents a physical challenge. Even when State is not a legitimate contender they have always played a hard-nosed brand of football. They've always filled their roster with players carrying an enormous chip on their shoulder because the recruiting process made them feel less desirable, less talented, a step slower, an inch shorter, a few pounds lighter to the upper echelon SEC teams. Therefore, State always plays pissed off for 60 minutes desperate to prove their worth, particularly against Alabama and Auburn, two teams many on the Bulldog roster believe overlooked them.

The importance of this game is not lost on any player, coach, or fan base. All desire wholeheartedly to begin the SEC division race from the top rather than digging out of a hole. Every year we hear how improved Mississippi State is...they're over the proverbial hump...true western division contenders...Dan Mullen is a genius capable of solving any defense, etc. Though I do agree Mississippi State is a much improved football team under Dan Mullen, State still has a hindering, uncoachable issue they've yet to overcome. This issue was raised by Mississippi State beat writer Logan Lowery from BulldogBlitz.com on our radio show this week...State is not used to winning. Not used to the pressure of being the favorite. Two wins against the West in Dan Mullen's tenure...both against Ole Miss! Contrast to Auburn, a team not used to losing, a team expecting to win no matter how the game unfolds...an invaluable intangible!

Last year this game was the coming out party for Nick Fairley. He entered this game a virtual unknown outside of Auburn, AL and left a household name. In order for Auburn to match the physical attack of State, this game must also be the coming out party for someone along the front seven! Who will it be? How about Corey Lemonier, or Jeffery Whittaker? Maybe it's Jake Holland? Perhaps Eltoro Freeman becomes the force we've hoped for since his arrival? Defensively, our intensity and tackling have to be light years ahead of last week or it's not even close (an analysis you all know)!

Keys to the Game:

1. Our offense needs to control and protect the football. No turnovers allowing a short field against a vulnerable defense. Take what State gives us and utilize the athleticism of the QB (whoever takes the snap) in the running game to hold linebackers for the split second it takes to get Onterio to the corner, or Dyer through a gap.

2. We can't just win the special teams battle, we must dominate it. This is the one area we're actually quite experienced and it must show. Field position will be priceless. Special teams needs to generate a score!

3. Crowd must come to ready to play! With morning games we lose the buildup, the anticipation as fans. Same is true only magnified as a player. It's difficult for the players to be as jacked up at 11:00 AM as they are at 6:00 PM. The crowd must create the energy and it needs to start from Tiger Walk and never cease! This is especially important for a young group. They need you and I to be loud, to be energized, to make things as difficult for State as we possibly can. Jordan-Hare is one the greatest home field advantages in all of football when it's rocking. Make it a miserable place for State to be!

4. Defense must grow up, wrap up, fist fight for four quarters, arrive at the ball angrily, swarm to the football, get lined up, communicate, create turnovers, be multiple, be great on third down, refuse to allow a State to run the football at will...basically they must be everything they weren't in week one!

I don't buy into the Mississippi State hype. The boy has cried wolf too many times and rings hollow with me! That being said, the play of the defense last week, at all levels, was too poor for me to believe it is capable correction in one week. I think it will be a dramatic improvement, but it remains a work in progress. The saving grace will be superior talent in orange and blue combined with an immense desire to prove the Utah State performance was an anomaly. Until the longest winning streak in college football comes to an end...a loss won't be predicted here by me. Auburn players believe they're supposed to win. Mississippi State players are not so sure.

Mississippi State- 31
Auburn- 34

Utah St. Reax: Better Get Better

Just continuing with the French Revolution mantra.

That could only have been uglier had we not pulled off the miracle of all miracles in the last 2 minutes. I had given up. And mentally I had done what many of the Auburn fans did Saturday...left early. But our guys showed they still have a little bit of magic left in the jar from 2010. A touchdown followed by the best onside kick I've ever seen, followed by another touchdown, and we get to celebrate (sort of) a win.

That fortunately masks the worst performance by a Chizik coached AU team. I include the 2009 LSU and Kentucky games in that bunch. It was bad enough that Rob goes Charles Dickens on us. I would've chosen Oliver Twist, where a poor young street urchin grows up before our very eyes, leaving a sad commentary on the welfare system of England in the 17 and 18th century.*

Rob raises some interesting points and questions about our defense. Did Ted Roof ultimately feel like he could stay in the game playing base defense? Was it complacency or genius that we stayed so vanilla against a freshman QB making his first start? Whatever the reason, the tackling was flat out awful. If that doesn't improve, it will be a long, long year for the boys in blue.

I will say I thought Barrett Trotter was pretty good in this game. His throws were right there. He got the ball to the receivers who in turn made plays. He did all we asked of him and more, leading two TD drives in two minutes to snatch a victory quite literally from the jaws of defeat. Our QB will be fine. He's the least of our worries.

The offensive line generated almost no push, and Gus, in my opinion, kept going back to the run when he could have (and maybe should have?) thrown the ball more on first down. I like Dyer in the wildcat, but something seems amiss with him. We saw him very little on the first two series. But then again, we saw the whole offense very little in the first half. Most of that we can lay at the foot of the defense, who absolutely could not get off the field on 3rd down.

Tre Mason will be a great one before he leaves. That kid has some wheels. I hope he touches it even more in the weeks to come, at least in a non special teams setting.

The meme for this week better be "Get better". And fast. The SEC schedule is brutal, and as Coach Dye said recently, The boys in Starkville will be licking their chops after watching us on Saturday.

Here's hoping our guys get better this week...and fast.

*Yeah, that's right, an Auburn blog with Charles Dickens references.

Utah State Review (AU 42 USU 38)

Photo by Todd Van Ernst/Auburn University



"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only."

—The opening paragraph of A Tale of Two Cities

Things are never as good as they seem. And as poorly as we played Saturday to open the 2011 campaign and defense of the national title, things aren't as bad as they seem either. Yes, I was just as flummoxed as you were at our inability to contain another true freshman 2 star QB. Our propensity to allow an unknown QB run roughshod over us has unfortunately become the norm under Coach Ted Roof. Before I get into our inability to stop the run (which can't be pinned entirely on the young defensive line alone), let's address this true freshman QB and our game plan with him. I am continually amazed at the lack of desire to confuse, blitz, be multiple, stack the box and make young, inexperienced QB's beat us their arm? There was no reason in the world to have our corners playing 10-12 yards deep, allowing a QB that's never attempted a collegiate pass to build confidence with each uncontested throw to the flat for 10-15 yard gains. Granted, if our defensive backs made an open field tackle at any point in the game, perhaps the yards after catch would have been less...nonetheless, why give a freebie to a newbie? Why not make the guy figure out where the next blitz in coming from? Why not bring more rushers than they have blockers and let your cover men run with receivers? Give the corners and safeties the opportunity to run stride for stride with WAC receivers (cause God knows they couldn't tackle WAC RB's) and make a Frosh QB beat you down the field repeatedly with precision passing under pressure? Sorry...I don't get the philosophy!

The more pressing issue was the inability to stop the run. This has to change in a hurry. If this continues, we lose more than we win this season. And as I said previously, the DL should not receive the brunt of the criticism. Granted, no one along the front four was dominant and disruptive of the Utah State running attack, but most quality defensive lineman aren't. The elite (i.e. Nick Fairley) are...but they are the exception, not the norm. Most excellent, capable defensive lineman are like Zack Clayton. Guys you don't see along the stat line because they're too busy taking on multiple blockers and holding their position in order to let the LBs, and secondary make all the tackles unimpeded. There in lies the problem. Our tackling. Atrocious! Part of me wonders whether the "smart" practicing (i.e. scrimmaging the young guys so much and holding out the guys the staff had penciled in as starters) caused a little rust to build upon our defender's basic fundamentals. This can't get much worse than what we witnessed Saturday, so improvement here is inevitable. I also wonder how much alignment was a problem. We took several timeouts on defense because of confusion. Who knows how many times we probably should have taken timeouts because we weren't properly aligned or didn't communicate the set to all 11 defenders? I've heard some rumblings this was a huge problem Saturday, which if is indeed the case, should be another area of improvement in the short-term.

Another perceive problem I believe can be corrected sooner rather than later...the playing rotation. It's great to get a lot of guys on the field to keep guys fresh. I have a hard time believing however, it's a good idea to pull guys off the field because of a set rotation just as the guy is getting comfortable on the field. This is especially true for young players. Barrett Trotter would never get into a rhythm if he played every third or fourth series! What makes us think that our LBs or DLs or anyone else can? We need to find 11 guys that are fundamentally sound, understand their role in each scheme, and have a mad demeanor about them for 60 minutes. Substitute for them when they need it, or if they're not getting the job done. But not just for the sake of playing a ton of guys. It makes me think this game was viewed as a dress rehearsal of sorts, to see who's ready and deserving of SEC play. However, we found out Utah State came to win a football game, threw caution to the wind, and nearly handed us an embarrassing defeat!

Offensively, hard to get into a flow when you never have the ball! Scoring 5 TDs on 54 plays is pretty dang impressive in my book! And Tre Mason stole a possession from the offense too (I hope he steals many more!)! The inability to run the football was frustrating, but it's what Utah State was hell-bent on doing. That's why they were gashed in the passing game! They still haven't stopped a crossing route on us, but we were determined we could run the football on all downs, especially 1st and 2nd. It cost us a few possessions when we probably should have been airing it out. Coach Malzahn wants to run the football; has to run the football to be successful in most games, but the way Utah State was playing we probably should have been passing to set up the run rather than running to set up the pass. All that being said, I can't complain when 42 points are on the board.

Standouts for me...Emory Blake-fearless and consistent! Barrett Trotter-poised and confident, the picture of calm within the storm! Cody Parkey-a true weapon to have a kicker put the ball in the end zone (or stands) consistently! Tre Mason-hits the hole with reckless abandon!

This outing could be a blessing in disguise or a disgusting sign of things to come. My hope is it's a wake-up call heard loud and clear to group of talented kids that rolling out the AU logo on the side of the helmet won't get it done. They have to understand every team in the conference has circled them for retribution this season and expect you're opponent to play their best ball Auburn. Utah State was ready; I'm sure Mississippi State will be too. All offseason I wondered how this team would respond to adversity, having so many new faces playing key roles. We'll get our opportunity to find out Saturday morning on the Plains! And we'll see if the old adage, "the most improvement in a football team is from week one to week two" holds true! I hope it does. I believe it will! This team will improve each week. Hold on for the ride!

Dr. Z's Utah State Preview-Let's Get it On!

Finally, the 2011 season is upon us. I am so ready to see our boys in blue hit the field. We won't have to wait long Saturday. I hate these 11 AM kicks. Don't sleep late Auburn fans, or you might miss Ontario's 80 yard run in the first quarter.

So for week one we get the Utah State Aggies, located in Logan, Utah. When I think of Utah, I think of these guys...





You know, happy white people with lots of kids. (Wait, is Rob a Mormon?!)

The only other thing about Utah I know is they have strict alcohol laws. If you see a big happy family of white people mulling around campus, don't offer them any booz. Also no sweet tea, they can't do that either. That Mormon rule may actually be a good one, since Milo's sweet tea is the closest thing to crack there is.

Anyway, as far as the game goes, look for a slow start from Auburn. Our doe-eyed freshman will need to get hit in the mouth once or twice before they remember that they are here to play football. And when they do, I bet they'll be a sight to see.

Look for Omac and Mike Dyer to have big days, but Tre La Soul will be the guy we are talking about on Monday.

Defensively, I expect our guys to play well. I am pretty excited to see Jake Holland running the defense. I do not expect as big a drop off at LB as some may think. He played a good bit as a frosh. Look for him to step up and be a breakout player.

I also can't wait to see Craig Sanders. He has been an absolute beast in the weight room in the off season, going from 225 to almost 270 in a little over a year. We all saw this guy's motor on special teams. I cannot wait to see him on the defensive line.

I have no idea what to expect form this team. If some leaders show up, the sky is the limit with the talent we have. It's going to be a fun ride in 2011.

Auburn 54
Ragin' Mormons 24