Disappointed but not mad

[Brad_ATX 13,654]

2 hours ago, AuCivilEng1 said:

You don’t think being at home swings this game a touchdown? I think we win by 10-14 if we’re in Auburn, personally. Hell, Bobo dials up a run instead of that fade and we win this one. 

Does it swing the game 8 points?  No, I don't think it does.

Being at home doesn't magically give us a pass rush.

Edited September 19, 2021 by Brad_ATX

[NoALtiger 3,875]

31 minutes ago, Brad_ATX said:

Does it swing the game 8 points?  No, I don't think it does.

Being at home doesn't magically give us a pass rush.

But man I wish it did! 

[bdc81 90]

I don't think we make the two yards if we ran with  a vanilla play.  CBH said they had planned for this situation.  Penn State had also, placed three receivers wide, confused the defense a little and we lost the edge.  That was a great call that had been planned for three months.

[Bro Johnny Mac 1,410]

The reason why I think this loss is different than the last few years is hard to quantity.

Lots of coaching mistakes. I think that a lot of mistakes can be rectified as the staff learns more about their team and what the players are capable of.

Back to the hard to quantify part..

the team looks a lot tougher than previous teams. More physical, more hard-nosed, more confident..they had an edge to them that previous teams have lacked. Time will tell if I’m way off  or not

but a championship team is not going to be built in one spring practice and three games. But it looks like the seeds are being planted to me.

[AU_Canoe 239]

This game was tough to watch but, like many of you, I tried to keep the game and outcome in perspective. 

I thought PSU would be a good "next-step" test for AU and it was, and in the end we didn't pass the test. Hopefully, AU can take a reflective stance to adapt and improve from this encounter, because there are "next-level" tests on the horizon. 

Fortunately, we live in a world where college football tends to exist with short term memory loss and we are still early in the season. Past grievances can be forgiven and forgotten with future wins. I will be interested to see if we adapt and improve as we continue to march on, or does history repeat itself and each game is unpredictable and the definition of insanity, or do we regress. 

War Eagle!

 

[Gowebb11 9,536]

1 hour ago, e808 said:

Mental and physical toughness was displayed. Coaching is TBD because that’s basically what lost the game. There may not have been as many events, but the events that happened loomed large.

I have a different perspective on coaching last night. Last years staff would have gone up 21-10 then surrendered the lead and lost. Last night we were down 21-10 and on the verge of getting routed in that environment. We ended up a play a way from tying the game. More than different play calls last night we need better playmakers at WR and a legit speed rusher. 

[AuMarine 1,372]

The call at the end was awful. I am confused about Harsins comments about the 5 options the only way you throw a fade is take a step and launch it up.. there are no other reads.. unless it was presnap and Nix made that decision based on one on one coverage but here in lies the problem.. the play calling. No way you even call that after the way the game has played put. You hand the ball to tank or hunter and if they stop you fine..  At least you put it in the hands of your best player and give the team a shot to score.. that play call had no shot regardless we don’t have the wrs or qb to pull it off. 

[NoALtiger 3,875]

1 hour ago, bdc81 said:

I don't think we make the two yards if we ran with  a vanilla play.  CBH said they had planned for this situation.  Penn State had also, placed three receivers wide, confused the defense a little and we lost the edge.  That was a great call that had been planned for three months.

So to clarify, you think the 4th down call was great? The call that’s been universally panned by most everyone right?

[W.E.D 11,070]

13 hours ago, TitanTiger said:

We fought like hell. The turnover to start the 2nd half was killer. I didn’t like the corner route in the end zone. We got burned by the TEs too many times. But overall I see so many reasons for hope. This is a hard nosed football team now. Put this game in Auburn and it’s a W. But unlike with Gus, we weren’t out there s***ting the bed on offense. 

War Damn Eagle

Agree with a lot of this and especially the title.

Think the game was winnable. We really need help at WR/OL/QB. Some of the calls on offense were pretty confusing 

[e808 3,028]

1 hour ago, Gowebb11 said:

I have a different perspective on coaching last night. Last years staff would have gone up 21-10 then surrendered the lead and lost. Last night we were down 21-10 and on the verge of getting routed in that environment. We ended up a play a way from tying the game. More than different play calls last night we need better playmakers at WR and a legit speed rusher. 

The counter to that would be the Oregon game which was worse. Just gotta see how this plays out. Yes there were improvements but all that matters is wins and losses. The last regime was let go because of boneheaded stuff and last night the same stuff lost the game.

[tbone4jc 2,250]

We played like we belonged there and like we thought we would win. We played with confidence! We did not play scared, it was like screw you and your white out , we are here to kick your butt.( I dont cuss so) I like that and I think we are in good hands. Our opponents better take advantage this year because I think we will be nasty good in the years to come... War Eagle!

Edited September 19, 2021 by tbone4jc

[Hank2020 3,232]

7 minutes ago, e808 said:

The counter to that would be the Oregon game which was worse. Just gotta see how this plays out. Yes there were improvements but all that matters is wins and losses. The last regime was let go because of boneheaded stuff and last night the same stuff lost the game.

They weren’t fired for the “same” stuff at all. Malzahn was fired due to inept offense and consistently doing the same things over and over. That’s not at all what happened last night. Am I happy with the game outcome , absolutely not. Do I believe we have the people on staff that can improve the situation, absolutely.

[e808 3,028]

34 minutes ago, Hank2020 said:

They weren’t fired for the “same” stuff at all. Malzahn was fired due to inept offense and consistently doing the same things over and over. That’s not at all what happened last night. Am I happy with the game outcome , absolutely not. Do I believe we have the people on staff that can improve the situation, absolutely.

Ok inept is bad play calling. What lost the game last night bad play calling. Yes it may have been minimal compared to the past but it’s still the biggest reason for the loss. The 3rd and 1 really sticks out . U rush to run the play before the end of the quarter. A touchdown there and Auburn is up instead of down

[auburnatl1 5,565]

First post in 5 years. Probably last. Dear lord it never changes for some. AUfamily. We are already attacking this coaching staff. Not questioning, attacking.  Like these posts are the voice of reason.  Most have “water is wet” kind of insight. And of course  the media snd refs are out to get us.  I agree there were some frustrating calls last night. But PSU did too. . It’s was 2 evenly matched teams who played hard as hell. Well coached.  I believe our  long term feels bright. Momentum if we don’t self implode.

For those who are PO’d and want their pound of flesh for the loss and early season mistakes, that’s your choice.  But please just scream into your backyard and not on a public website that other fans and recruits read.

Our differentiated quality is our family brand/culture - its ok to question, disagree, and be disappointed. But some posts just cross the line - it’s a friggin brand new staff. It’s a bad, dysfunctional look. 

My fear. Some of the rants I read las night and today are straight from Tennessee’s forums over the past 15 years.  Verbatim.
 

That’s worked out well for them. 

 

Edited September 19, 2021 by auburnatl1

[SumterAubie 3,033]

So Auburn goes into this crazy ass, white out, loud as hell atmosphere, against a team, led by a pretty good head coach who has been there for 8 years, by the way. and is good enough to win at Wisconsin. All the while led by a brand new coaching staff, with only a Spring and summer to recalibrate and coach the team. Falls behind by 11, fights back to within a point. And ends up losing by 8. OH and with an entirely new defensive scheme in place. (It is folly to expect the defense to play without making any alignment mistakes. but some of us must've expected that) 

And Penn State is going to win the Big 10.

Still some Auburn fans among us bitch about how the game was played. Sheesh.

PS. This game will serve Auburn well in two weeks.

[Gowebb11 9,536]

6 hours ago, Hank2020 said:

Malzahn was fired due to inept offense and consistently doing the same things over and over. That’s not at all what happened last night.

Exactly! Also fired for poor game planning, blowing huge leads on the road, and looking like a rookie coach nervous wreck while his players keep looking to the sideline, confused as hell about what’s going on. NONE of that happened last night. The foundation is being laid for sustained success, something missing since then ‘80s. To get there will require 2-3 years of culture and recruiting rebuild, not 2-3 games. I look forward to watching this team grow each week. War Eagle 🦅 

[Tigerbelle 5,299]

7 hours ago, AuMarine said:

The call at the end was awful. I am confused about Harsins comments about the 5 options the only way you throw a fade is take a step and launch it up.. there are no other reads.. unless it was presnap and Nix made that decision based on one on one coverage but here in lies the problem.. the play calling. No way you even call that after the way the game has played put. You hand the ball to tank or hunter and if they stop you fine..  At least you put it in the hands of your best player and give the team a shot to score.. that play call had no shot regardless we don’t have the wrs or qb to pull it off. 

I do not understand why Coach Bobo didn't recognize that. He is not young nor is he inexperienced as a coach. It's slightly troubling....

[TJRanger175 209]

Quite a lot of emotional responses still going on.

Here is an unpopular opinion-

I would council patience.

I think the model that is being built right now is not something that is going to be built in a season, though we will see continual improvements this year. I think the saying goes something like, "Most people overestimate what can be achieved in a year and underestimate what can be achieved in three years".

In order to build a strong culture, we also have to take into account that a certain amount of "deprogramming" has to occur. We still have quite a few players that have bad habits, but I think the majority of them are "getting it".

It is a complete 180 from what we have seen the past decade.

The model that Coach Harsin introduced is quite like "The Process" used by Saban.

It is based off of an approach called, "Built for Life" and was heavily developed by Chris Peterson.

The approach is to build men, and then win a few football games on the way. 

Here are some of the building blocks:

• The thought process is it is very hard to have good habits in one thing not translate into having good habits in other things. Conversely, having bad habits in something will probably translate into not having good habits in other things.
• The approach (trying to be careful not calling it a process) is designed to build Men that will make an impact on not only the team and the game, but for their careers, their families, and their communities.
• It is standards based with high expectations and clearly defined ways of doing things.
• It is a very hard approach for college athletes to go through, but the understanding is that they will not do it alone. There is a ton of team building activities that take place (such as the "Tiger Olympics") that are designed to bring everyone together. Unity and building people up is a big focus.
• Some of the other main themes are Deliberate Practice, Accountability & Discipline, and High Standards.
• Its all about High Integrity, High Productivity, Low Ego. 
• The culture he’s set on creating is one where mistakes are accepted, effort is rewarded and belief in the possible is paramount.
• All of the fundamentals and techniques for playing all of the positions are clearly defined and refined.
• The principles of the program are laid out in a similar way as John Wooden's Pyramid of Success.
• The focus is on making small improvements every single day because those small improvements over time will stack on to each other in order to make massive improvements in longer time frames.
• The philosophy is taught so that players understand that adversity will happen and the individual and the unit will have to figure out how to intelligently respond when it happens.

 

 

 

 

[RHN1975 302]

On 9/19/2021 at 1:19 AM, AUwent said:

The more I think about it the more I think we miss a bowl this year and next. I think we have a very dark future as a program--the SEC has just never been better and it appears we are falling behind. I could see us becoming sixth in the pecking order in eh west. I'm sorry, I wish I could find something to convince me otherwise.

It is an absolute guaranteed lock this team makes a bowl and it will not be played in B'ham. There are more than 4 wins left on this schedule. I would bet the farm on Ga State, LSU, Miss St, Ark, and SC. 

 

Arky will not run on AU like they did Texas. LSU will be the second road test for this team in a tough environment and the atmosphere may be tough but they are not Penn St on the field. Miss St and SC are not there yet. For the others what has Texas A&M done to impress anyone other than have hype? Ole Miss is actually scary but lets see them play a full defensive game first. Can our backfield keep their offense on the sideline? After watching UF/bama our backs could control the ball for 45 minutes against bama. They will have to to keep that offense off the field and have a chance.  

 

I think there is still a good shot at 9-3. UGA is the one team I do not have much faith in beating right now. Win one between Ole Miss and bama and they can get to 9. Worse case lose both and finish 8-4 which would be a great start for this staff. I don't think AU has fallen off the cliff or too far behind. I think parity is starting to show up thanks to the transfer portal and dominance at bama and Clemson. Guys that want to play are not going to sit on the sidelines 2 or 3 years for an opportunity. 

[RHN1975 302]

On 9/19/2021 at 12:10 AM, AUwent said:

I would love for this to be like 1981. Because we quickly improved our record. But as Ive made perfectly clear, I'm not sure that's going to be the case. Don't forget that Bear was almost on the way out in 1981. And Wee Man could be there for 15 more years.

I think we are way closer to the end than the beginning at uat. What drives most of these guys is competitiveness and wanting to be the best. He is now the best when it comes to titles. Only two realistic goals left for him because it would take 15 years of 10+ win seasons to catch Paterno.

 

He is tied with Bryant for most NC's at Alabama. He is four behind him for most SEC Championships. I believe once he gets another NC he will be very close to done. His ego is big enough he will not let himself slide into the mediocrity that so many legendary coaches did at the end.  

[oracle79 3,569]

First game in 8 years that I haven't been mad as hell after a loss. Disappointed sure. If PSU wins the B1G then I'll be even happier. If they get 3 or 4 losses, I'll be a little more disappointed. Culture/atttitude looked great. Need better game planning and more preparation for special situations.

[AUwent 3,784]

6 hours ago, RHN1975 said:

I think we are way closer to the end than the beginning at uat. What drives most of these guys is competitiveness and wanting to be the best. He is now the best when it comes to titles. Only two realistic goals left for him because it would take 15 years of 10+ win seasons to catch Paterno.

 

He is tied with Bryant for most NC's at Alabama. He is four behind him for most SEC Championships. I believe once he gets another NC he will be very close to done. His ego is big enough he will not let himself slide into the mediocrity that so many legendary coaches did at the end.  

Bowl Cut might be just as big a beneficiary of the end of his master's tenure as us and TN.

[auburnphan 6,050]

The Harsin hate is strong with that one 👆👆👆👆👆👆👆🚎♥️

[Potatooooooes!! 1,389]

Some of y’all are freakin nuts. One loss to a top 10 team on the road with practically the same team we had last year minus some play makers and suddenly Harsin and his staff don’t know crap and we won’t make it to a bowl game. Good gracious. Sports may not be for some of you.

[SRBautigerfan 1,040]

10 hours ago, Potatooooooes!! said:

Some of y’all are freakin nuts. One loss to a top 10 team on the road with practically the same team we had last year minus some play makers and suddenly Harsin and his staff don’t know crap and we won’t make it to a bowl game. Good gracious. Sports may not be for some of you.

I could almost understand their position if we looked out of our league and got dominated by PSU.  But we didn't.  Lost by 8 in their amped up house and had a chance to win it.  No comment on the numerous "Auburn fans" that already want to run the coaches out of town.