Grading Auburn’s 23-20 loss to LSU

[aubiefifty 18,222]

this is not coach ray good but it is all we got. i disagree with some grades being too high.

 

Grading Auburn’s 23-20 loss to LSU

Today 7:06 AM

10-12 minutes

No. 9 Auburn fell to No. 2 LSU in Baton Rouge on Saturday, extending its losing streak to LSU.

It has now lost to LSU three years in a row and 10 times in a row at Tiger Stadium. But like the last three games, the final score was close.

It was a three-point loss in a game where Auburn was a double-digit underdog. Auburn’s defense showed it can continue to perform well against an elite offense. Its own offense just couldn’t answer.

Here’s a position-by-position breakdown of how the Auburn Tigers did against the LSU Tigers:

Quarterbacks: B-

Joe Burrow had almost as many completions as Bo Nix had pass attempts. While the LSU quarterback went 32-for-42 for 321 yards, Nix went 15-for-35 for 157 yards. It earned him a passer rating of 84.3 compared to Burrow’s 143.5. Even without Burrow’s performance to outshine his, Nix did not look good in the pocket. Although he came out strong and threw a first down pass on his first play, the rest of the game was not his best showing. Nix overthrew his targets or placed balls out of bounds. On the ground, he had a long rush but it was negated by how many times he was sacked or caught scrambling behind the line of scrimmage.

Joey Gatewood was almost a non-factor in the game. He came in once and had a two-yard rush.

Running backs: B

It seems a No. 2 running back behind Boobee Whitlow has emerged. With Whitlow’s snaps limited by his injury, D.J. Williams played the majority of the game. He rushed for 130 yards on 13 carries with an average of 10 yards a carry. He was close to scoring a touchdown, which would have been the difference in the game. During that 70-yard run, he showed his speed and his ability to find a second wind when he hit the final stretch of field. Shaun Shivers also had a solid game, rushing for 22 yards on four carries for an average of 5.5 yards per carry. Whitlow came in for just a few snaps but helped set up a touchdown. The other three running backs who played didn’t contribute much. Even with Williams’ 130 yards, Auburn finished with just over half of its 239.6 average rushing yards per game.

H-backs / tight ends: B-

Jay Jay Wilson made two catches, including one for a critical first down that set up a touchdown. John Samuel Shenker also made a short reception. There were times when the tight ends set up a really good block but there were others where the pass rush or run defense flew right by. Auburn only rushed for 130 yards, partially because of all the negative yards Nix accumulated. While some of those negative yards were due to decision-making, others were because he had little protection.

Wide receivers: B-

On the first play of the game, Eli Stove caught an 11-yard pass for a first down. By halftime, only six more catches had been made for 54 more yards. A running back had the third most receiving yards and was tied for the second-longest catch. Auburn’s two go-to receivers, Anthony Schwartz and Seth Williams each had just one catch. While Nix had thrown a lot of uncatchable balls, there were also some that the receivers should have made a play out of. Williams made a catch while double-teamed, but he also lost the battle for a 50-50 ball, which resulted in an interception. The receivers finally got involved in the fourth quarter and helped spark a last-minute touchdown, but it wasn’t enough.

Offensive line: C

The offensive line finished with four false start penalty calls. Two were on the same drive. A third was on third-and-6, which forced Auburn into a third-and-11 situation. Nix was also sacked three times. The running backs couldn’t find any gaps up the middle and rushed for just over half of what they usually do. There were a number of bad snaps, including one that led to a loss of 20 yards. After that, center Kaleb Kim was taken out and replaced with Nick Brahms.

Defensive line: A-

Auburn’s defensive line kept up constant pressure on the quarterback but the run defense slipped a little. Granted, an argument could be made – and was made by some players – that they were being held and weren’t getting any calls, but LSU rushed for double what Auburn opponents typically rush for. Its 187 rushing yards beat its own season average by 33 yards. Despite that, Auburn’s defensive line still showed its dominance. Derrick Brown sacked Burrow and Marlon Davidson tripped him up when he ran with it. The line led the defense in two goal line stands. It also played through injuries to Brown, Davidson and Big Kat Bryant. LSU coach Ed Orgeron said it was one of the best defensive lines in the country.

Linebackers: A-

Owen Pappoe started the game off by sacking Joe Burrow on the first defensive play of the game. K. J. Britt also got to Burrow, and the linebackers were responsible for two of the team’s three sacks. Britt played through an injury. Like the line, the linebackers were placing pressure on Burrow but missed a few tackles on run plays by LSU. Auburn brought out a 3-1-7 defense for the first time, so sometimes there was just one linebacker on the field. Even so, they managed to make a difference.

Cornerbacks: B

Roger McCreary turned and picked off Burrow’s pass at the Auburn 2-yard line. It was a huge play that stopped LSU momentum and gave the offense another chance. However, there were also times that McCreary and the other cornerbacks lost the battle for 50/50 balls and LSU made a big gain off of it. They made good tackles but they also missed a few, which is out of character. Javaris Davis went after Burrow when he was running for a first down and just barely made contact with him. The bump pushed Burrow away from stepping out of bounds and allowed him to move the chains. They were also caught a step behind the receivers a few times. But overall, they managed to hold an offense known for its talented quarterback and receivers to just 23 points. LSU’s 321 passing yards was below its season average of 387 yards.

Safeties: A-

Auburn’s top three tacklers were all safeties. It came out in a 3-1-7 with four safeties to try to combat LSU’s passing game. As a result, LSU had less passing yards than average. They were all over the field trying to pressure the quarterback, stop the run and defend receivers. They got caught a few times – one receiver was left wide open in the end zone but Burrow missed him – but they helped control LSU’s offense. Jamien Sherwood had a chance for an interception at one point but missed it and recorded a pass break up instead.

Special teams: A

Along with the defense, the special teams helped keep Auburn in the game. Arryn Siposs played a big role in the field position battle. He averaged 46.5 yards per punt and had a 55-yard punt. Only two of his 10 punts were returned. On a punt in the second quarter, Dinson forced the returner to fumble and Sherwood recovered it, which helped Auburn score its first touchdown of the game. The special teams also helped block an extra point attempt, which kept Auburn within one field goal instead of down four to end the third.

Coaching: B-

Defensive coordinator Kevin Steele managed to do what no one else has yet: shake up Burrow. He devised a new strategy on defense that Burrow had never seen before, and Burrow said it took them a while to figure out how to attack it. Steele’s defense held LSU to less than half of its average points per game. But the defensive performance was not matched by the offense. The offense had some bright spots. When Whitlow came out in the wildcat, it was effective and got the job done. At the beginning of the game, its quick pace threw LSU off and forced it to call early timeouts. But it stalled at other times. Some of that was due to execution but the play calling also affected it.

[auburnphan 6,050]

4 plays.             :45

17 plays.          4:04

5 plays               1:23

3 plays              :46

4 plays             :43

7 plays          3:17

3 plays           :27

4 plays         2:07

3 plays         :44

3 plays         :34

3 plays        1:14

5 plays       1:44

4 plays       :38

11 plays      2:51

5 plays.   :57

 

 

 

F

 

[aubiefifty 18,222]

13 minutes ago, auburnphan said:

4 plays.             :45

17 plays.          4:04

5 plays               1:23

3 plays              :46

4 plays             :43

7 plays          3:17

3 plays           :27

4 plays         2:07

3 plays         :44

3 plays         :34

3 plays        1:14

5 plays       1:44

4 plays       :38

11 plays      2:51

5 plays.   :57

 

 

 

F

 

take away the couple of long runs we had and i believe we ran about thirty plays averaging two yards a carry.

[tgrogan21 6,198]

1 hour ago, auburnphan said:

4 plays.             :45

17 plays.          4:04

5 plays               1:23

3 plays              :46

4 plays             :43

7 plays          3:17

3 plays           :27

4 plays         2:07

3 plays         :44

3 plays         :34

3 plays        1:14

5 plays       1:44

4 plays       :38

11 plays      2:51

5 plays.   :57

 

 

 

F

 

Looks even worse when you post it like that. No words can express better just how bad the offense was.

[japantiger 4,116]

1 hour ago, auburnphan said:

4 plays.             :45

17 plays.          4:04

5 plays               1:23

3 plays              :46

4 plays             :43

7 plays          3:17

3 plays           :27

4 plays         2:07

3 plays         :44

3 plays         :34

3 plays        1:14

5 plays       1:44

4 plays       :38

11 plays      2:51

5 plays.   :57

 

 

 

F

 

Fixed it for you....

F-

[CR 2,463]

If Nix was a B-, I would hate to see a C.
And Steele should demand a reclassification of his coaching grade separate from Gus's. I guess an A and an F equal a B-.

[TigerOne 1,231]

So what do the coaches see in the meetings today?

do they see f- or we had a great game plan the players just didn’t execute?