Tempo Tempo Tempo jason caldwell

[aubiefifty 17,478]

Tempo Tempo Tempo

It’s something I have been talking about since 2017 when Jarrett Stidham was playing for Auburn, but getting into tempo with the passing game is the single most important correlation to having success for the quarterback in today’s game, at least in my opinion. It happened with Stidham and it has been the case with Bo Nix since his first college game against Oregon in 2019. That’s how these quarterbacks grow up playing the game in high school so it makes sense to do those things when they get to college.

We saw that again on Saturday night when Auburn went with tempo in the passing game while trailing 13-0 in the second quarter. The Tigers put the ball in Nix’s hands and used almost a two-minute offense to get things going against LSU.

On the drive Nix finished things off with a wild, scrambling touchdown pass to Tyler Fromm on a fourth down that was probably the game for Auburn. If you don’t make that play it’s another empty possession, but instead it was just the momentum Bryan Harsin’s team needed.

It all started with going with tempo in the passing game. This team still needs to run the ball to be successful and that will be the case again this Saturday, but a huge thumbs up to Mike Bobo for not waiting until it was too late to go up-tempo and unlock the passing game against LSU.

Speaking Of Bo

When things don't go well and there's a quarterback change you automatically start hearing negative things about how one guy isn't liked by his teammates or there are issues in the locker room. On Saturday night I saw a quarterback that his teammates and coaching staff backed up 100 percent. That came from offensive coaches, defensive coaches, offensive teammates and defensive teammates.

Whether it was Colby Wooden going to him after a field goal drive to give him a fist bump or DL Coach Nick Eason patting him on the head, those inside the locker room showed that Nix is a guy they believe in. Those guys know a whole lot more about the team and what makes things go and also a whole lot more about what happens on plays that fans and "experts" can't see or don't know. I saw a team that was unified and in the end that may have been my biggest takeaway from my trip to Baton Rouge.

Giving The Rabbit His Due

It has been apparent since late in the 2019 season that ZaKoby McClain had a chance to be a special player, but over the course of the last two years the Valdosta, Georgia native has continued to prove that over and over again. He has done it so much that I’m beginning to believe he belongs among the best linebackers to ever play for the Tigers.

He’s not the biggest, but he may be one of the fastest and most instinctive linebackers to ever suit up at Auburn. His importance has never been more apparent than it was against Georgia State when the defense looked completely different with him on the field in the second half.

Crossing over the 200 tackle mark following his 11 stops against LSU, McClain is one of the huge keys for Auburn this week against a Georgia team that is going to challenge the run defense for the Tigers more than any team they’ll face in 2021. If Auburn has a big day on defense you can bet No. 9 will be at the center of things.

Auburn Fans Show Up

It was interesting to see LSU have more problems with noise than Auburn did on Saturday night in Tiger Stadium. Auburn never had any issues on offense with LSU’s crowd and never seemed to be bothered by the atmosphere at all.

On the flip side, LSU really struggled late in the game when Auburn’s fans got fired up and going despite being spread out throughout the stadium. Props to the Auburn Marching Band for the job it did making it feel like Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday night. They dominated LSU’s band in terms of noise and impact on the game and it was felt on the field. Auburn’s players realized that too with many of them running straight to that section when the game was over to give them some love.

Separation Saturday Part 2

7COMMENTS

Last week it was Arkansas-Georgia, Ole Miss-Alabama, Florida-Kentucky and Mississippi State-Texas A&M in addition to the Auburn-LSU game. This week it’s another opportunity for some huge impact games in the Southeastern Conference with Arkansas at Ole Miss getting things started at 11 a.m. Two teams that were riding high just two days ago, now one will have two conference losses in two weeks with still plenty of schedule left. LSU plays at Kentucky already with two losses while a Kentucky win probably cements them with at least nine wins this season.

Alabama goes to Texas A&M in a game that looked big before the year and even two weeks ago. Now it’s an Aggie team that still has to face Auburn at home with both Ole Miss and LSU on the road. As for Auburn-Georgia, this is a second-straight week for a statement for Bryan Harsin’s team, but it may be the biggest challenge of the season with the way Georgia is playing at the moment. It’s not November, but it doesn’t keep this game from being a big one for both teams. Going to be a fun week!

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[boisnumber1 2,844]

I honestly felt like AU fans in attendance made as much or more noise than the corndogs. It was loudest on TV when the good guys made a play.

Edited October 4, 2021 by boisnumber1

[Sizzle 3,932]

It was kinda hard to tell that was an LSU home game. It felt more like a loud neutral site game if anything. The Auburn fans were loud.
 

Also the LSU crowd didn’t really have anything to cheer about the whole 2nd half so Auburn fans was basically the only thing you heard in the 2nd half 

[Win4AU 4,055]

I was shocked to see soo many empty seats in that stadium long before the game was over.  If you believe Orgeron is about to get canned then that was probably the most damning thing.  Wonder how much money it'll take the Panther's OC to come back to Baton Rouge? 

[all4AU 379]

Great job by the band. People on twitter were upset that the AUMB got more screen time than LSU. You could tell all the AU people could sense it on LSU's final drive. Sounded more like a bowl game as @Sizzlesaid. 

[Guest MustardSeed]

1 hour ago, boisnumber1 said:

I honestly felt like AU fans in attendance made as much or more noise than the corndogs. It was loudest on TV when the good guys made a play.

I noticed that on the tv also and found it very odd