Crimson Red Sports

Auburn vs Bama

First, congrats to the Bama players and coaches on the victory versus Auburn.  I really thought the offensive and defensive game plan was outstanding.  This is a game where Bama dominated on both sides of the ball.  However, their mistakes kept Auburn in the game in the 1st half.  

OFFFENSE:  The offense put up 501 yards of total offense.  They had 298 yards passing and 203 rushing.  The crazy part about this is that Bama had more yards in the first half, 263, than they did in the 2nd half, 232.  I say this because they scored more points in the second half, 17, than they did in the first half, 13.  The fact is they killed themselves on drives instead of AU stopping them.  For negative plays, Bama had no sacks, 11 tackles for losses, 4 fumbles (none lost), and 2 interceptions.  Another strange fact here is that 7 tackles for losses were outside the tackle box.  Only 4 were within the tackle box and one was a result of a fumble.  Bama also had only 1 three and out in the game.  For plays of over 10+ yards, Bama had 7 running plays and 9 pass plays that met that criteria.  Bama got into the red zone 5 times and scored 2touchdowns and 3 field goals.  The other touchdown came from outside the red zone.  In the second half, Bama had 4 possessions.  These possessions led to 2 touchdowns and 1 field goal.  The last possession was a 9-minute drive to run out the clock.  

QB:  Hurts played a pretty good game.  However, there were mistakes.  First, I think he overlooked some open receivers looking for Stewart.   With the first interception, he had Dieter open.  It was more of an intermediate route which I think Bama utilized better this game.  Dieter was also open on the second interception as well as the deeper route.  I really can’t explain why these balls were thrown so poorly.  He did make some good throws and did a good job checking down on the TD pass to Harris.  Hurts is also going to have to do a better job with ball security.  I do think hat times Hurts gets comfortable with a rec and doesn’t see the field.

RB:  I thought all of them played well.  Harris fumbled and was fortunate it came right back to him.  I really thought Scarbrough ran tough.  Jacobs also came in and ran well.

Rec:  Stewart had a big game and could have scored again if Hurts had seen him.  However, his drop on the first drive stalled the drive. I also think Stewart got upset on a ball he didn't get but could have done a better job working to the ball.   Ridley made some big catches and Dieter had a chance for more but wasn’t thrown too.  Again, these guys were open especially on the intermediate routes.  

OL:   Too me they had one of their better games.  I thought they did a very good job on what is considered to be a very good defensive line.  If you really noticed, the AU defensive line rarely made contact with the running back on the offensive side of the LOS.  Their defensive line made some plays, but if you noticed the tackles for losses, a few were inside the tackle box which means the OL is making contact on the positive side of the LOS.

Defense:  The defense played an outstanding job.  They gave up a total of 182 yards which included 116 passing and 66 rushing.  They held one of the SEC’s leading rushers to 17 yards on 12 carries.  Bama defensive came up huge in the first half.  Considering the turnovers and the punt return, AU had great field position but could only manage field goals.  Here is an amazing stat for the game.  AU had 10 possessions during the game and 6 of those possessions were 3 and outs.  They only had one first down in the first half and if they hadn’t broken contain on a busted play they may not have had that.  AU had a total of 31 yards in the first half.  As far as negative plays, Bama had 1 sack, 7 tackles for losses, and 1 interception.  I know it is hard, but Bama would have been better off if the ball had been knocked down.  This would have improved the field position.  However, it didn’t hurt since the offensive went on a 9-minute drive to end the game.  For plays over 10+ yards, AU had 2 running plays and 3 pass plays.  AU got into the red zone once and got a field goal out of it.  The other field goals came from outside the red zone.  Something else worth mentioning was the fact that Brown was ejected for targeting and Bama’s defense didn’t lose a step with the changes that had to be made.  Another good sign for the defense was they pressure that was applied with the use of 4 and a few times 5 throughout the game.  I also thought this was one of the better tackling games as there were few misses and the way they went to the ball.

DL:  The DL dominated what was supposed to be the strength of the AU offense.  Their OL was supposed to be one of the tops in the SEC.  Everyone one on the DL made plays and seem to dominate their opponent.  They made the secondary and LB’s life pretty easy.

LB:  They made plays when called upon.  They did a good job no losing site of the ball on all the eye candy Gus likes to use.  

DB:  They really were not challenged much.  The best thing they did was come up and make sure tackles in the running game.  Humphrey was beat one time and looked like he pulled a hamstring. He was replaced by a Jr Wallace who got in on some plays.  Also, Thompson, a freshman came in a played some safety when they went to the dime package.  When Brown went out it moved Fitzpatrick back up and you had Jones and Harrison playing the safety positons.
 
Special Teams:   The only bad part about the special teams was the first low punt that AU returned and set themselves up for a field goal.  Scott made a big play by taking a good angle and pushing the return man out of bounds.  Kick-off coverage was good as well as the punting after the first.  Of course, they only punted once more.  I did think Stewart, if he is going to bring the return out he should not hesitate.  

Penalties:   Bama had 4 penalties for 28 yards.  The bad part of this is that one of the drives in the first half was stalled because they were not able to overcome the penalties on that drive.

Finally:  I thought Bama played well and with emotion.  They must keep this intensity up for the championship drive.  

Feel free to comment:

16 and Counting

Thanks hscoach. Man your notes are always an eye opening experience for me the way your able to pinpoint everything. I have a valuable question as to why have you never been in college football the way your able pick things apart so well? RTR!

Those guys know so much more than me, but thanks for the complement.

I knew it all along!  hscoach is really Verne Lundquist!

 :lol:

In all seriousness, another great job of breaking down the game for us.  Truly appreciate your efforts...   #+ #+ #+

Thanks again, Coach! Outstanding assessment!

IMO, this was the difference in the game:


 :worship:

Thanks much, coach.   :worship:


Cam Robinson and Jonah Williams played especially well.  Loved watching the blocking on several plays (Utah pass to OJ; Ardarius jet sweep).  Excellent play by 2 guys who needed a big game.

Good stuff as always!  Thanks, coach!