really good marshal article

[aubiefifty 17,487]

ONE GAME DOES NOT TELL A STORY

I saw Pat Dye-coached teams have to kick field goals in the final seconds to beat Louisiana Tech and Southwest Louisiana and another trail then-FCS foe Georgia Southern 17-0 in the first half. I saw an Auburn team that went 11-0 need a goal-line stand to win 14-10 against a Vanderbilt team that finished 4-7. I saw LSU lose to Troy and then, two weeks later, knock off an Auburn team that would win the West.

 

The truth is college players and teams don’t play the same week in and week out. Reading too much into one game, good or bad, can be a significant mistake.

 

I don’t know why Auburn played so poorly in the first quarter against San Jose State. Were players really ready to play? Did they prepare to play at the highest level during the week? Did coaches take San Jose State seriously? What I saw, especially the rash of penalties, indicates maybe they didn’t. They managed to pull themselves together and win 24-16.

 

I don’t know how the Tigers will fare against Penn State, but I also wouldn’t have known if they had won 52-0. As an old coach once told me, “Never, ever apologize for winning.” Auburn will be good enough and play well enough to take down Penn State or it won’t. But it won’t have anything to do with what happened against San Jose State.

 

TOO MUCH, TOO SOON

A week ago, based on one game against Utah, Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson was being touted as a Heisman Trophy candidate and a first-round pick in the NFL draft. He was being compared to former Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton.

And then Ricardson went 14-for-35 against Kentucky with two interceptions. He gained four yards rushing. Proclaiming a player an unstoppable force, putting him on a level with a quarterback who had one of the great seasons in college football history, was ridiculous.

Richardson was great against Utah. He was terrible against Kentucky. He is in his first season as a fulltime starter. He will be good again. He will be bad again. It’s college football.

 

WHAT AUBURN NEEDS TO BE SUCCESSFUL

What is it going to take for Auburn to have a successful season? One man’s opinion of some things that would help:

--More explosive plays. They are crucial in today’s college game.

--Spread the ball. Auburn has lots of wide receivers. We don’t know if they can make big plays because most of them have rarely had the ball in their hands.

--Tighter pass coverage. I’m no expert on defensive schemes, but it seems to me Auburn has the talent in the secondary to challenge receivers more than it has.

--Force turnovers. That has been an issue for a while, even predating the current coaching staff. Auburn has turned the ball over four times in two games. That isn’t awful, but it becomes problematic when the opponent has no turnovers.

--Make teams pay when they stack the box. Without that, running the ball will be extremely difficult against the defenses the Tigers will see.

--Create more negative plays on defense. Auburn had three tackles for loss against Mercer and four against San Jose State, including three sacks. That is not enough.

--Control the fourth quarter. That has been a challenge in head coach Bryan Harsin’s time at Auburn.

 

SOMETHING NEW FOR PENN STATE?

Will we see things against Penn State we haven’t seen in the first two games? I believe we will. Auburn’s coaches knew they could win the first two games keeping things basic, and they did. It will take more than that against Penn State, Missouri, LSU, etc.

 

CAN AUBURN BREAK THROUGH IN A BIG GAME?

Saturday’s game will be an opportunity for Auburn to win a big game against a nationally ranked team. That hasn’t happened since a 31-20 win over Ole Miss last season, though it could have/should have happened against Alabama.

An Auburn victory would make lots of people feel better. A loss would be hard to swallow for a team that hasn’t beaten a power-five opponent since that win over Ole Miss last season.

 

AUBURN’S QUARTERBACK ROTATION

I am convinced that the quarterback rotation Auburn showed in the final three quarters Saturday is what we will see going forward. T.J. Finley seems to be locked in as the starter. Robby Ashford will be more of a wildcat quarterback. It seems Ashford has work to do to execute in the passing game.

The Zach Calzada story remains mystifying. You have to wonder how long he will hang around if something doesn’t change.

Until next time …

 

FROST’S FALL IS NO SURPRISE

Scott Frost is out as Nebraska’s head coach. That should come as no surprise to anyone after Saturday’s loss to Georgia Southern. Remember when Frost was the coach everybody had to have? He went 13-0 at Central Florida. He could have had the Florida job, but he chose Nebraska, his alma mater. It never worked.

That’s another reality of college football. Success at one place doesn’t automatically translate into success at another. That’s especially true for group-of-five coaches moving to the power-five.

 

WHY IS TEXAS A&M STILL RANKED?

Why in the world is Texas A&M still ranked No. 22 in the coaches’ poll? Because of a win over Sam Houston State and a loss to Appalachian State? Or maybe it’s the one season (2020) Jimbo Fisher has had when he lost fewer than four games.

I guess people really do consider recruiting rankings. That should not happen. The only thing that should matter is what happens on the field.

 

REALITY HITS HARD AT NOTRE DAME

Notre Dame is out of the rankings after losing at home to Marshall. Marcus Freeman is 0-3 as a head coach after being praised nonstop during the offseason. I couldn’t understand why the Irish were ranked No. 5 in the preseason poll. Clearly, they should not have been.

What a win it was for first-year Georgia Southern coach Clay Helton, a former reserve quarterback at Auburn, Helton did some really good things at USC but it didn’t work out there. He’s a good man and a good coach. If he can make Georgia Southern a winner, maybe he can kick start his career.

 

30COMMENTS

KANSAS MAKES SOME EARLY NOISE

The feel-good story of the season so far might be Kansas, which is 2-0 for the first time since 2011. The Jayhawks went on the road and dominated West Virginia on Saturday. Lance Leipold has done a terrific job of injecting energy into a program that once seemed beyond repair.

 

">247Sports

 

Edited September 12, 2022 by aubiefifty

[aubiefifty 17,487]

this is the type article mr marshall used to write back in the day that made me such a fan. this and the fact he loves Auburn unlike most beat writers covering us.

[woodford 3,688]

38 minutes ago, aubiefifty said:

this is the type article mr marshall used to write back in the day that made me such a fan. this and the fact he loves Auburn unlike most beat writers covering us.

I know he's old and doesn't get much access according to people around here who know more than I, but I still respect PM. I could sit there and talk Auburn with him all day. 

Reminds me of how I could listen to my late grandfather talk about pretty much anything all day.

[EagleEye67 1,948]

Couldnt believe the thread title, had to check it out for myself

[autiger88 3,777]

So still doesn't know anything as usual. I'm shocked I tell you shocked. 😂

[CoffeeTiger 5,382]

4 hours ago, woodford said:

I know he's old and doesn't get much access according to people around here who know more than I, but I still respect PM. I could sit there and talk Auburn with him all day. 

Reminds me of how I could listen to my late grandfather talk about pretty much anything all day.

Yeah, I don't get all the hate Marshall gets from a good many posters on here. 

Maybe there's a history with him that I don't recall or know about, but to me he's just a sports journalist that seems to love writing about Auburn. 

That said, I wouldn't pay money for his pay site today to read him. It doesn't seem like Marshall has much inside information or expert analysis to offer on most things like he may have once had earlier in his career. 

[aubiefifty 17,487]

1 hour ago, CoffeeTiger said:

Yeah, I don't get all the hate Marshall gets from a good many posters on here. 

Maybe there's a history with him that I don't recall or know about, but to me he's just a sports journalist that seems to love writing about Auburn. 

That said, I wouldn't pay money for his pay site today to read him. It doesn't seem like Marshall has much inside information or expert analysis to offer on most things like he may have once had earlier in his career. 

i am not sure how we got to this point but i never remember the fans being this harsh and get enraged over it. someone like thalmer or whatever that idiots name was i can see but just in general. people diss al.com but they are the only site that does not charge. most folks at best will give you three articles and then you have to buy a subscription. and they do listen. how many auburn articles has goodman posted since  paul got on him about covid. i will be dirt with a lot of people but sometimes we are our own worst enemy. i love helping the board but i cannot afford to subscribe to pay sites so i have to scramble and post what i can find.

[KnightTiger 205]

2 hours ago, CoffeeTiger said:

Yeah, I don't get all the hate Marshall gets from a good many posters on here. 

Maybe there's a history with him that I don't recall or know about, but to me he's just a sports journalist that seems to love writing about Auburn. 

That said, I wouldn't pay money for his pay site today to read him. It doesn't seem like Marshall has much inside information or expert analysis to offer on most things like he may have once had earlier in his career. 

I think it mostly because of his reputation of something big happening and then when it doesn’t he rarely gives an explanation as to why it did or didn’t happen 

 

But to be honest I trust Phillip Marshall’s sources more than I trust half the folks on message boards

 

im already waiting for the annual. “ my friend told my dad, who told my third grade English teacher who is a season ticket holder that we are going to hire Rhett lashlee as the next hc” threads on half a dozen auburn boards 

Edited September 12, 2022 by KnightTiger

[JerryAU 1,714]

25 minutes ago, aubiefifty said:

i am not sure how we got to this point but i never remember the fans being this harsh and get enraged over it. someone like thalmer or whatever that idiots name was i can see but just in general. people diss al.com but they are the only site that does not charge. most folks at best will give you three articles and then you have to buy a subscription. and they do listen. how many auburn articles has goodman posted since  paul got on him about covid. i will be dirt with a lot of people but sometimes we are our own worst enemy. i love helping the board but i cannot afford to subscribe to pay sites so i have to scramble and post what i can find.

You don't know how much I appreciate what you bring to the board 50!

Many thanks for making this place one-stop-shopping. 

[aubiefifty 17,487]

10 minutes ago, JerryAU said:

You don't know how much I appreciate what you bring to the board 50!

Many thanks for making this place one-stop-shopping. 

i love my auburn people jerry. auburn will always be my heart. my dad played for auburn on the frosh team. but it means the world you would give me a shout out! there were no videos this morning on the tube so i am going looking to see if any are available. thank you so much. at the end of the day i just want to help.