Good Morning Week 3
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Brought to you by our good friends at Baumhower’s Victory Grille in Auburn!
Head over to the Bent Creek Drive location for all your tailgate needs.
What a week it was in college football! Auburn outlasted California in an offensively explosive game 14-10, The Mighty Tide from Tuscaloosa took a bad beat from the hands of Ex-Offensive Coordinator Steve Sarkisian with The Texas Longhorns, Prime Time in Colorado continues to roll stealing the spotlight of college football to Boulder, Colorado, Head Coach Mel Tucker at Michigan State is out in East Lansing, and fans across the country already have gone ballistic with two more games left in September! Only in America will you find such a reaction to a game that children learn how to play in their backyards!
The story of the week began at 6:00 PM CST with Alabama taking on the visiting Texas Longhorns on ESPN. Most of the country, including yours truly, had The Tide going into this game taking care of business. The last time Alabama lost a non-conference game at home was in Saban’s first year when a transitional 2007 Tide team lost to Louisiana Monroe. If you had paid any attention to yours truly since August, you would have noticed Radio Free Auburn being big on Texas this season as one of the final four team picks for the college football playoffs. Like FSU, we knew Texas was good, but we did not know they were that good. The better football team clearly won in Tuscaloosa Saturday night. Texas was better prepared, had possibly better talent on both sides of the ball, was clearly more physical, better coached, better schemed, played better, and Steve Sarkisian, with his staff, designed an offense and defense that Nick Saban, Kevin Steele, and Tommy Reas really had no answers for. Alabama QB Jalen Milroe has taken a beating from Alabama fans and former players post-game all week for inadequate play by throwing multiple interceptions, but what was most shocking was how inept The Alabama Defense was controlling all aspects of Texas offense.
Nick Saban and Kevin Steele gave up 454 yards of total offense to Texas, 23 first downs, 6.1 yards per play, lost the Time of Possession battle by four minutes, gave up 34 points and had it not been for multiple dropped passes by Texas receivers early in the game, they would have given up even more points. Y’all miss former Defensive Coordinator Pete Golding yet?
Is the dynasty over? Former Alabama QB Greg McElroy thinks so. In a recent article on al.com, McElroy said the following.
“I always define a dynasty with complete dominance over the competition almost always, and I think that those days have definitely gone by the wayside.”
Yours truly has taken no less than two phone calls and multiple texts from Alabama fans this week and they agree. More than one has also stated without hesitation that it is time for Nick Saban to retire. Are you crazy? Listen to your old friend Uncle TBONE here folks. Calm down! There is a lot of football left, Nick Saban has earned the right to go out on his own terms, and there is plenty of time for all fans to see their teams’ season turn around. Be a better fan.
Around The SEC
LSU -9.5 at Miss State – The all-time old Jefferson Pilot game of the century.
K State -4.5 at Missouri – Mizzou will need the Outlaw Josey Wales to win here.
South Carolina +27.5 at UGA – Dawgs will bark loud and often all day in Athens.
Alabama –31.5 at South Florida – Since when did The Tide travel for this?
UL Monroe +36.5 at Texas AM – That seems like a lot of points to give.
Tennessee -6.5 at Florida – UT has not won in The Swamp since 2003.
Samford at Auburn – Tigers looking for an offense after trip to Cal.
Vanderbilt –4.5 at UNLV – If you bet on this game, you need help.
Ga Tech +19.5 at Ole Miss – Rebels marching towards top of SEC West.
BYU +8.5 at Arkansas – Trap game here before Hogs travel to LSU next week.
Akron +25.5 at Kentucky – See notes above about Vandy game.
Auburn Football - Highlights at Cal 2023
Hard to watch at times? Yes. Extremely fortunate or even lucky to win? Yes. Long way to go and a fleeting time to get there? Yes. 2-0 and Winner Winner Chicken Dinner in Northern California? Damn right!
It was downright ugly football to watch at times this past Saturday in Berkley when Auburn took on The Cal Bears. Auburn tried to do everything it could do to give that game away. Turnovers and anemic offense come to mind first, but a tough defense did just enough to keep The Tigers in the game with a chance to win late. That and a deficient performance in the Cal field goal kicking game that is. Nevertheless, would you rather be lucky and 2-0 headed to a tune up game at home this Saturday against Samford, or snakebit at 1-1 hosting Idaho at home like California? Always remember this from your old friend Uncle TBONE, “It is not how you drive but how you arrive!” Chalk it up to the first-year coaching blues, get behind your 2-0 Auburn Tigers, dear fans, and enjoy the ride. It will be bumpy, it will be up, it will be down, but it will be fun just like this past Saturday night was in California.
Moving forward, the old saying of “having two QBs means not having one” is holding true at Auburn. Look for the Tigers to settle on one QB against Samford and move forward with that concept the next week at Texas A&M. Auburn rushed for 136 yards Saturday and that must increase drastically for The Tigers moving into league play. Most pundits thought Auburn would be able to move the ball more on the ground against Cal, but most pundits also had no idea that The Bears’ Head Coach, Justin Wilcox, has and is a young star defensive minded coach in college football. Wilcox has coached several defenses in the past including Steve Sarkisian’s teams at both Washington and USC. If let go after this season, several schools including Alabama would be smart to give him a look as their Defensive Coordinator.
Final Thoughts
Keep underestimating Deion Sanders to your own detriment.
Watch out for Penn State in The Big 12 as they open league play this week.
FSU giving Boston College 26.5 points seems too little to me.
Add Texas QB Quinn Ewers to The Heisman Watch List.
Wyoming catching 28.5 at Texas this Saturday. Classic let down game?
Jimbo Fisher has gone off the deep end. Again.
If Saban were to step down at year end, and I doubt he does, Lane Kiffin would be one of the first calls The Tide would make.
Auburn cannot stand many more injuries on defense. Especially at linebacker.
AU linebacker Eugene Asante is a beast.
IN HUGH WE TRUST!