Auburn University vs. University of Tennessee
This was probably the most intense game to watch all year. Auburn led most of the way but I never did feel safe as poorly as the Auburn offense (except D Craig and Hicks Poor and possibly others) played. I don't think there's ever been a more lopsided one-point game. Tennessee tried very hard to lose the game (6 turnovers!) but Auburn could not capitalize often enough to win. It was one of the worst games Auburn played all year on offense. (We lost 3 games and in each one our rushing yards were negative!) The problems that arose in the MSU game, missed the GA game and returned somewhat in the ALA game continued against the Vols. You could call this a tale of 2 games - the first 16:13 and the last 43:47 of the clock. The first part that continued just into the 2nd quarter saw D Craig 5 of 11 for 149 yards and a TD. We rushed 7 times for 6 yards and had (-25) yds in penalties. We scored 20 points (13 on offense). The second part (during which D Craig sprained his ankle) saw D Craig 9 for 23 for 113 yards abd a TD. We rushed 15 times for(-21)yds and a fumble. We also had (-53) yds in penalties - of which several were uncomprehensible illegal procedure penalties that killed drives. We had 5 of our 9 total first downs in those first 16+ minutes. We never did have what you could call a sustained drive. Our most prolific drive amassed a mere net 10 yards rushing. Unfortunately for Auburn, D Craig could not run, pass, catch and block by himself. He showed a lot of character and leadership as has been a regular occurance this season. (aside: I hope some NFL or CFL team gives him a chance in the Pros.) I was semi-encouraged that Craig attempted 5 passes to the Tight Ends, something that really diversifies the offense. This did generate 2 completions. Beasley out of the backfield was effective as a receiver as well and especially on his TD - the only good play in the second half. One disturbing note about the passing game only 8 completions were for over 10 yards. I was disappointed to see Auburn being afraid to use the occasional fumbler Demontray Carter. He had a sparce appearance, but was never given a chance to prove himself. On the other hand, Karstan Bailey was given numerous chances after a poor performance against Alabama. A full one-third of Craig's attempts were to Bailey but he only caught 2 for 16 yards. He has more trouble catching a pass than Carter does fumbling. Another disturbing stat was our third-down conversions: one for thirteen (1-13)! The OL can pass-block pretty well (they only allowed 4 sacks) but I don't know that they practice run blocking during the week enough to do it well. A close inspection of the running game shows that out of 21 rushing attempts only 6 were for positive yardage and the only rush for greater than 7 yards was an 11 yard scramble by D Craig while being chased out of the pocket. The other 15 were for no gain or a loss, 4 of which were sacks. (Combining this with the passing stats shows that all game Auburn only had 21 plays that produced positive yardage and only 8 plays for over 10 yards!) We had the most punts of the season - 10. As for the kicking game, Jaret Holmes performed well with no shanked punts and only one FG miss. We did not do very well stopping punt returns, but Terry Fair of TN helped us out by fumbling twice. On defense, we played very well considering the Heisman frontrunner and the Freshman TB of the year were in the enemy's arsenal. They helped to force 6 turnovers and seemed to be the teams only hope, which is also becoming a habit this season. The cirners did let one big play that sealed the TN victory, but they played better than many expected. Peyton looked frustrated in the first quarter. In the end, though, having Jamal Lewis really sealed the deal. Tennessee had several sustained drives that ate time off the clock and he was the perfect complement to Manning's passing. D Carter did this for Craig against GA but has not hardly been allowed to try since. In conclusion, we will never be a great team or a champion of anything without a running game.
Was this Auburn's worst Offensive Performance?...Don't let the points scored fool you...you be the judge
Stat....................MSU 11/01.........UT 12/06
First Downs................17.................9
Net Rushing...............(-3)..............(-15)
Net Passing Yards..........270...............262
Net Plays...................74................55
Sacks.......................2..................4
Pass Completions............20................14
Pass Comp >= 10 yds.........10.................8
Rushes for Positive yds.....9..................6
Rushes >= 10 yds............1..................1
The ONLY improvement was turnovers: MSU (6) UT (1)
Preview
This is the matchup (assuming it is Tennessee) I have hoped for all season. Not only a trip for my Tigers to play in Atlanta but to play Peyton Manning's Vols before he moves onto the NFL. Obviously, Tennessee is the favorite in this one, however I remember what happened when an even greater underdog Texas defeated Nebraska last year. It ought to be a great game. I hope that Auburn playes like they did against Georgia and LSU and only then do they have a chance. However, Tennessee struggled against Arkansas and early on against a few others teams. Interestingly, this matchup is the first one between these two teams since 1991, before the new SEC conference west/east division alignment that delayed a regular season meeting until 1998. This one will be a nice preview, except that next year it will be Ben Leard and Tee Martin at the controls with currently-starting sophomores Demontray Carter and Jamal Lewis leading the rushing attacks. Tennessee will be playing with high emotion as a win here and then against Nebraska followed by a Michigan loss would equal a National Championship for Peyton. Auburn will have emotion as well, having a chance to make the bowl alliance and therefore setting up an intriguing father-son Sugar Bowl against Florida State (in ironically, Tommy Bowden's Tulane home field).
Prediction: Tennessee 38 Auburn 27
TV: National prime-time telecast on ABC 8:00PM ET (approx.)