Review - UT 24 AU 0
This was the first game of the year my wife and I were able to attend. Believe it or not, although living in Cleveland, TN (80 miles away) from age 9-18, I had never been inside Neyland Stadium. This completes my odd-year, rotational game road trip schedule that also took me to Vandy in '93, Kentucky in '95 and South Carolina in '97. Before I get to discussing the game, I have some road-trip advice for anyone going to Knoxville for a game from west of town. Take the Campbell Station Rd exit off I-40/75 and turn right. Go just past the BP Station (very soon after you turn) to what is the KAT (Knoxville Area Trans) Park and Ride and take the bus. It's only $8.00 a person and it's fast and easy. You need to get there 1 1/2 to 3 hours before kickoff to take advantage. A word about tickets, we had no problem finding folks selling anywhere form 1 to 10 tickets. They are all around the stadium and at the bus stops near the stadium. Don't let a sold-out stadium scare you away.
Now for the game...
The game started out like deja vu from 1998 - with the first play involving an interception run in for a TD by the Vols. This sparked a crowd of 106K (mostly Volunteers)who were already loud before the game because of the amazing 40-39 upset win by Alabama over Florida in the Swamp. I was proud of our defense for keeping the Vols out or the end zone several times in the first half and holding them to just another field goal. Auburn ran the ball decently in the first half, and Clifton Robinson should only continue to improve if the Offensive Line can get healthy. Riverboat Gambler Tuberville tried a fake punt from the TN 41 yd line and Duval threw a very high pass that could have been caught for a TD if thrown with less projectory. He and TT exchanged words and he did not return to the game. Bironas later missed a short field goal.
Auburn could not overcome the good UT Defense which allowed them reasonable yardage at times, but kept the endzone clear. I thought Klein resisted the rush better than last week and was not sacked as much as the week before. Ronney Daniels had a 90 yd TD catch nullified by a holding penalty. This was the only play that got my wife and I excited enough to jump up and cheer and we realized that there was not another Auburn fan anywhere around us. It was sort of embarassing when the penalty flag was announced. I liked to see the secondary and linebackers making some interceptions on Tee Martin - who really did not impress in this one. For 3 quarters, the defense held Jamal Lewis and Travis Henry in check too. However fatigue and lack of depth led to two 4th quarter TDs on mostly rushing drives.
Game Tidbits and Analysis:
Preview:
This game is hard to call. I don't really give our Tigers more than a 1/4 chance in winning this one. However, the fact that there is a chance at all is amazing. I feel fairly confident that our defense will be able to contain Lewis and Henry and force Tee Martin to execute to beat us. On our side, our suspect offense, which had shown some life under Ben Leard will now have to adjust to yet a third starting QB in just 5 games.
[Last year it was Centers, this year it's Quarterbacks.]
Jeff Klein, by all accounts and what I saw Saturday, has the physical tools to play. However he must learn QUICKLY to handle
the blitz and be able to read defenses and audible at the line as needed. This is a lot to ask of a redshirt freshman against the defending national champion. Our only chance is to defense
the Vols as well as Memphis did and force some breaks our way.
Prediction: UT 17 AU 10
TV: ESPN (gametime 6:30 PM CT)
Oct. 09 (Mississippi State Univ.) at Auburn
Review - MSU 18 AU 16
This one is hard to write about. We were so close, but really so far if you take a closer look.
It is disheartening to know that we could easily be 5-1 but I won't belabor that point. Could
haves and should haves are for whiners...not winners. it was a heart-breaking loss. We had a 13
point lead with 3 minutes left and we stil lost. Rewind to the Idaho game - a 23-0 lead ended
up a 30-23 win and Idaho had a chance to tie toward the end. if our lead then had been 13 points,
we'd lost that one as well. The Tigers have no stay power and cannot make a knockout punch.
in this one, you can really spread the blame around to everyone - players and coaches, offense and defense,
special teams too. First of all, if we could run the ball, we'd have gotten a few first downs and kept Wyatt off the field
at least the second time. Also, on the safety kick, we simply could not affore the long return to mid-field.
That negated the advantage of the safety. Then, the defense giving up the longest play of the day to
the 12 yard line not only put MSU close to the goal line with plenty of time, but it also gave them
the momentum to close the deal. This team knows how to win. Our team tries not to lose.
A look at the stats shows that we had our worse offensive effort of the season. Even if you take away
the QB sacks and the safety, our yds/carry are still under 2yds. Even our passing game became more
one dimensional. It was basically Ronney Daniels and then everyone else. Now Daniels is destined to
become a superstar, there's no doubt about that. But with experience, Klein will have to learn how to
find the second and third receivers. This is how you keep the defense off balance and guessing your
attack. Otherwise, they can just watch Jeff's eyes and make some big plays. Our defense played well
until they went to a 3 man rush otherwise known as "prevent defense." This is a defense that often
prevents a win, as it did this time. Wyatt, with plenty of time to throw, picked out his received
with near perfection in the two TD drives. I am impressed that we once again stopped a running game.
Teams are abandoning the run early each game - except Tennessee who found our team tired in the fourth quarter.
Game Tidbits and Analysis:
Preview: Once again, it's my alma mater against the one of my Father. It's sad that Auburn is not favored in this one like they once were every year. However, this time, it's not just a down year for Auburn. MSU is off to their best record since 1944 at 5-0. This is a team that will probably play for the SEC West Title on November 13th in Tuscaloosa. Jackie Sherill has a good thing going over in Bulldog country. They are a throwback to the SEC of old - stingy defense and just enough offense to win. It will be difficult for Auburn to score this week against a defense that is possibly better than Tennessee's. However, I expect at least one break to go our way. Wayne Madkin (from here in Huntsville, AL - J.O. Johnson HS) is making his mark this season as just a sophomore. He has not had gawdy numbers, but he's played well. MSU's problem has been not playing mistake-free football. They have had a lot of penalties and several turnovers, which so far, have not hurt them in the end. Auburn's chance to win is for Klein to have learned a lot from last week and to improve in his decisions. Our kicking game must return to its successful ways, and our running game must be good enough to run the clock so our defense can rest between series. This will be a home game so the crowd will be an encouragement. I cannot predict an upset in this one, but you never know.
Prediction: MSU 17 AU 7
TV: JP (gametime 11:30AM CT)
Oct. 16 (Univ. of Florida) at Auburn
Review - AU 14 UF 32
This game displayed more of the same for the Auburn Tigers. The running game is still awful and the defense is still very good.
Just like last year, the game was not very exciting, not like this rivalry once was. The only spark that Auburn produced was the two quick touchdowns that seemed to irate Spurier who thought they should shut us out. We were starting a drive that could have brought us to within 25-21, but an un-called-for personal foul away from the ball killed our last chance for such a ploy.
The first half was just about as bad an offensive performance I've ever seen for the Tigers. We were not even close to scoring, except for the interception return that was strangely similar to an interception that was returned for a TD in the 1993 game that really shifted the momentum and turned a probable 17-0 Florida lead into a mere 10-7. Our defense played a good "bend but don't break" style that allowed Florida a lot of yards but held them to 4 Field Goals form the red-zone. We are closing in on 3 consecutive years with a very bad rushing attack. It will take some time to build this offensive line into a winner. The individual talent is there, but injuries have prevented this group from playing a a cohesive unit. It also has been hard to turn this group into a rush-block unit after being recruited for their pass blocking.
Jeff Klein actually played his best game - completing 19 passes for well over 200 yards. Granted, most of that came on the two touchdown drives and was not consistent throughout the game. This is probably his last start until September 2001, but you never know what the future holds. He is the QB of the future and he has learned much from the school of hard knocks, playing against stiff competition for 3 1/2 weeks.
Clifton Robinson was the only regular rusher with 16 carries at about a 2 yd-per-carry clip. He did make 5 catches as well. Ronney Daniels continues to impress and he is going to continue to be a star.
Game Tidbits and Analysis:
Preview: Back in 1993-94 Auburn stunned Florida with a couple of unexpected 3 point victories. This helped to make Terry Bowden a folk hero and added to the Bowden family mystique. After four straight losses, which none were really close, this game is now seen as an "uh-oh" game in the schedule - a near automatic "L" in the standings. Last year's game was particularly bad - Spurrier turned the second half into a virtual practice scrimmage. Florida is not as mighty as they were in 1996, but they are still #7 in the nation. This is a team that plays well on each side of the ball, but is still prone to turnovers and penalties. They have a veteran senior QB - Doug Johnson who is quietly making his mark as a premier quarterback in the SEC. They have a player on defense - Alex Brown whom Tee Martin may never forget. He is a relentless pass rusher. This team is beatable - as our cross-state rival, Alabamna, found out, but you must run the ball on them. Well, we don't have anything even close to remotely resembling the running game Alabama puts on the field with potential Heisman winner - Shaun Alexander. Our passing game can be contained by double covering Ronney Daniels. Our QB, Klein is young, but shows promise for the future. The Gator defense will pressure him relentlessly knowing they can stop our woeful run with a standard defense. There is hope, though. Otherwise, they wouldn't even play the game. We have to play 60 minutes of football, have no turnovers, have a resonable running game, get some big plays via the pass and the special teams. We also need a defensive TD or two. If all of these things happen, our chance of winning goes to about 1 of 3. We will desparately need the bye week 10/23 to recover for the first 7 games. Maybe we will get Ben Leard back and give Arkansas a good game.
Prediction: Florida 38 Auburn 13
TV: CBS (gametime 2:30 CT)
Oct. 30 (Univ. of Arkansas) at Fayetteville, AR
Review - AU 10 UA 34
I will have to admit that I did not expect the dog to be dead on Saturday (see my preview for understanding). What an embarassing game and outcome! This time for the first time all season, the defense was no help to the offense. This kind of performance would have led to losses to all three teams we beat in September - wow those wins seem like distant memories. it would be hard to pick out those to criticize since it would be almost everyone. there were really only two bright points: Damon Duval had some good punts - field position is very important when you cannot move the ball. The other was Heath Evans who finally was given a chance to prove himself and he did quite well. I don't know how he will do against the rest of the schedule, but certainly noone else has shown any promise. Clifton Robinson is moving back to Wide Receiver - his shoulder cannot take the hard tackling that the TB postion lends. Ben Leard's injury was a scary moment, but he appears to be doing okay, but he is still not a definite start on Saturday. Jeff Klein may get another chance to gain valuable experience. This game is hard to talk about so I'll close for this one.
Game Tidbits and Analysis:
Preview:
You can only kick a dog so many times before it fights back. I have this feeling about Auburn going into an off week and then a road trip to NW Arkansas to play the Hogs. Arkansas has not been impressive, not as much as our recent SEC foes. Thay have a lot of talent at the skill positions and even a pretty good freshman tailback, but their young offensive line has not been able to help as much as hoped. Auburn is going to be celebrating the return of Ben Leard who I hope will pick up where he left off. Although he has not been able to practice much, I am confident that he has been studying film as well as the Auburn Offensive scheme. I just believe that they are going to play well against Arkansas and pull off the upset. Our defense will probable be able to stop the run again and will try to pressure Clint Stoerner into mistakes. I expect at least one big play on defense that will turn the game and one big pass completiong to Ronney Daniels where he crosses the end zone.
Prediction: Auburn 24, Arkansas 21
TV: TBA