The Narrative: Auburn

Last season was the worst football season for the Auburn program in 60 years. The Tigers finished 0-8 in the SEC and last in the SEC West. Gene Chizik was fired and replaced by former Auburn Offensive Coordinator and current Arkansas State Head Coach, Gus Malzahn.

Malzahn and his new staff were able to pull together a top 10 recruiting class in limited time, and memories of his offense and confidence in his coaching hires led to Auburn leading the nation in Spring Game attendance. Nick Marshall, who would end up starting the first game of the upcoming season for the Tigers, was not on campus until the fall. Spring Game attendance demonstrated a hopeful fan-base, or at least a desperate one. With only a couple of SEC victories, spirited efforts against the key rivals and maybe even a bowl berth, Gus Malzahn would have been considered a success. 

Here's a week-by-week recap/what it felt like for Auburn fans:

Week 1:
·         Score: WSU 24 at AUB 31
·         Key Factors: Auburn forces 3 INT and holds WSU to 3 second half points.
·         Fan Feeling: Awesome win, because it isn’t a loss. Through one week we have 33% as many wins as we managed the entire previous season…we were soooo bad. 295 rushing yards is nice, but everyone should rush for as much against Yankee Football.

Week 2:
·         Score: Ark St. 9 at AUB 38
·         Key Factors: Auburn rushes for 301 yards and Nick Marshall finds some guy named Sammie Coates for a 68 yard touchdown. Ark St. does not manage to find the end zone.
·         Fan Feeling: Thank god Gus isn’t still coaching Ark St. Thank god we didn’t lose to Ark St., thus proving that moving from Ark St. to Auburn was a demotion for Gus.

Week 3:
·         Score: MSU 20 at AUB 24
·         Key Factors: Nick Marshall throws a pass to himself for a large gain. Down 3 with 1:46 left in the 4^th quarter, Nick Marshall leads a drive resulting in a TD pass to C.J. Uzomah with 10 seconds remaining.
·         Fan Feeling: I’m so glad that I don’t live in Starkville. An SEC win!! We can’t go two years without beating any of the teams that any of my family members root for.

Week 4:
Score: AUB 21 at LSU 35
Key Factors: Auburn punter Steven Clark drops the snap deep in LSU territory assisting a rushing attack that Auburn cannot stop in achieving a 21-0 lead. Auburn is playing in a place that we still call, in 2013, “Death Valley.”
Fan Feeling: Yeah, maybe it could have been closer, but only 14? That’s cool.

Week 5:
·         Score: Ole Miss 22 at AUB 30
·         Key Factors: Robenson Therezie 78 yd interception return. Ole Miss QB Bo Wallace sacked 6 times. Twice by freshman Carl Lawson, who also added 3.5 tackles for loss.
·         Fan Feeling: We looked even better than the score? If we can get by Western Carolina and Florida Atlantic we could go to a bowl game in a terrible city (Mobile)!!!

Week 6:
·         Score: WCU 3 at AUB 62
·         Key Factors: In place of injured starting quarterback Nick Marshall, true freshman Jeremy Johnson throws goes 17 of 21 for 201 yards and 4 TD’s.
·         Fan Feeling: “If we can get past Western Carolina” was a thing, a very recent thing.

Week 7:
·         Score: AUB 45 at Texas A&M 41
·         Key Factors: Auburn rushes for 379 yards. Johnny I Don’t Give A Shit Cause I Ball Football misses a key 4^th quarter drive with a shoulder injury.
·         Fan Feeling: Omg we beat a team that we shouldn’t. We won and Gary Danielson is still questioning why we passed from inside our own 5 at the end of the first half? Are we good at running the ball or was that the worst run defense ever of ever-time? At 6-1 Arkansas and Tennessee are looking like games that we could compete in. (Nobody says but everybody thinks: 8-3!!!).

Week 8:
Score: FAU 10 at AUB 45
Key Factors: Auburn rushes for 422 yards. FAU lost a fumble and an interception.
Fan Feeling: We weren’t nervous about this game until we realized that we weren’t nervous about this game and then we freaked the hell out. Oh? Their coach maybe does crack? Unnecessary freak out.

Week 9:
Score: AUB 35 at ARK 17
Key Factors: Tre Mason with 168 yards and 4 TD’s. Sammie Coates, who is no longer a stranger, with an 88 yard TD reception. Bret Bielma is afraid of tempo.
Fan Feeling: Hey Bret B., you’re a “bruh.” Also, “Son de Soul,” which I think that I just coined, is really good and nobody knows it.

Week 10:
·         Score: AUB 55 at TENN 23
·         Key Factors: Chris Davis with an 85 yard punt return for a TD and Corey Grant with a 90 yard kickoff return for a TD.
·         Fan Feeling: We’re starting to appear to be a decent football team with talent all over the place. I wish that I could talk out loud about how Auburn is way better than national pundits believe, but I'm still waiting for the hammer to drop.

Week 11:
·         Score: UGA 38 at AUB 43
·         Key Factors: There is a benevolent God in Heaven, and he heard the cries of the suffering.. 
·         Fan Feeling: Grab a 90 year-old woman in the bar, kiss her and carry her around for a while. Scream. Pick up another girl and run with her back towards where you came from. Scream. Kiss her too because it doesn’t matter who you are kissing. Set her down as well. Try to buy drinks for the entire bar but fail because everyone else at your Auburn bar already did. Watch this gif that somehow exists immediately. Watch it again. Watch it again. Black out. 

Week 13:
·         Score: Alabama 28 at AUB 34
·         Key Factors: Auburn with 296 rushing yards. Cade Foster ruins his college experience.
·         Fan Feeling: “They’re not gonna keep ‘em off the field tonight.”   

Week 14: SEC Championship Game
·         Score: MIZZ 42 vs. AUB 59
·         Key Factors: Son de Soul strolls for 304 rushing yards and 4 TD’s. Gary Pinkel explains hopelessness.
Fan Feeling: Go Sparty.

The Narrative: FSU is forthecoming

Stats and History Compared: Auburn & Florida State

With less than three weeks separating us from the much anticipated BCS National Championship game, and the much feared finale of the college football season, it’s time to begin an all-too-in-depth analysis of the programs, teams and matchups that will meet on January 6^th in Pasadena. This, the first of three installments, is a quick comparison of the general stats and histories of the Seminoles and Tigers.

Florida State

Florida State football as we know it began in 1947, but decades earlier and prior to becoming an all-women’s school (Auburn fan makes joke about FSU still being an all-women’s school), there was a football club known as the Florida State College Eleven. This group competed between 1901 and 1905 and Florida State fans would have you know that in the first contest between The Eleven and what was to become the University of Florida, The Eleven were victorious.

Officially, however, Florida State is in its 67^th season of competitive football. The ‘Noles have produced three Heisman winners in Charlie Ward (1993), Chris Weinke (2000), and Jameis Winston (2013). Coach Bobby Bowden is generally credited with FSU’s emergence from football mediocrity. Bowden, who through a myriad of twists and turns is the owner of the most wins as a college football coach, is arguably the greatest coach of all time. During his 33 year tenure, from 1976 to 2009, Bowden directed the Seminoles to an AP National Championship, a BCS National Championship, and 12 ACC titles. Every year from 1987 to 2000 the Seminoles finished the season in the AP top 5. No other college football programs can say the same.

In 2009 Bowden retired---sort of the same way that Mack Brown retired---which is sort of the same way that aging parents consent to moving into “the home.” On January 5^th, 2010 Jimbo Fisher redeemed his coach-in-waiting title for the preferred Head Coach title—and salary. Fisher has gone 44-10 since inheriting the program and consistent top-5 recruiting classes indicate an encouraging trajectory for FSU fans.

Auburn

The ancestry of Auburn University football dates back to 1892. The Tigers became a charter member of the SEC in 1932 and are currently ranked the nation’s 13^th winningest college football program. The three Heisman winners to wear Auburn’s orange and blue are Pat Sullivan (1971), Bo Jackson (1985), and Cam Newton (2010).

The two coaches whose names adorn Auburn’s football stadium and field are Ralph “Shug” Jordan and Pat Dye. Jordan, who coached from 1951 to 1965, is the winningest coach in program history. Dye, for his part, orchestrated a 99-39-4 record and four SEC Championships while at Auburn. His greatest accomplishment while on The Plains may not have been the record or the championships, but that as Auburn’s Athletic Director he was able to bring The Iron Bowl to Auburn's campus. 

In January of 2004, Auburn, Oklahoma, USC, Boise State and Utah were all undefeated at the end of the regular season. Ranked #1 and #2 in the preseason AP poll, USC and Oklahoma were able rely upon that preseason poll to remain ahead of Auburn, who defeated more top 10 teams than USC and Oklahoma combined, in the final BCS poll. USC defeated Oklahoma handily and has since been stricken of that title as a result of NCAA sanctions. In 2010 however, led by Heisman winner Cam Newton, the Auburn Tigers were able to capitalize on the opportunity to play in the Championship game by leaving with a victory over Oregon. 

Following two years of subsequent decline under the direction of former coach Gene Chizik, Athletic Director Jay Jacobs replaced Chizik with Chizik’s former Offensive Coordinator Gus Malzahn. Auburn will not lose an offensive starter to graduation at the end of this season, and only four starters on defense will graduate. Adding a top ten recruiting class to a team that has already established an expectation of success, as it appears that Auburn will do, suggests a top three preseason ranking to begin next season

Numbers

            All-time record/ Bowl and Postseason Record/Claimed National Titles:

FSU: Regular season 498-237-17 (.674). Bowl/Postseason 25-14-2. Nat’l Titles in 1993 & 1999               AUB: Regular season 725-415-47 (.631). Bowl/Postseason 22-13-2. Nat’l Titles in 1957 & 2010

            2013 Passing comp, attempts, yards, and YPA, TD/INT:

FSU: 268 of 407 for 4,186. 10.29 YPA. 40/13

AUB: 159 of 258 for 2,205. 8.55 YPA. 18/7

2013 Rushing carries, yards, YPA, TD:

FSU: 474 attempts for 2,696. 5.7 YPA. 41 TD’s

AUB: 676 attempts for 4,364. 6.5 YPA. 46 TD’s

2013 Kicking Game:

Robert Aguayo has made 90 of 90 xp’s and 95% of fg attempted.

Codey Parkey has made 62 of 63 xp’s and 73.7% of fg attempted.

Line/ Over-Under/Records:

From FSU -7.5 to -8.5. O/U 66. FSU 13-0, AU 12-1.

The Unlikely Circumstance that is The SEC Championship

In the 1973 Sun Bowl the 7 – 4 Missouri Tigers defeated the 6 – 5 Auburn Tigers by a score of 34 to 17. Missouri belonged to the Big 8 conference and Auburn to the SEC. The two programs have not met on the football field since then, but after 30 years of change the two programs with identical records and similar story-lines will meet in Atlanta for the SEC Championship.

Alabama fans shouldn’t have shoelaces, belts or sharp objects . South Carolina fans get to watch a team from the SEC East that lost to USC play in Atlanta, again. Georgia fans are this . LSU fans are not sober . Texas A&M fans feel the spotlight slipping away. Sadness and confusion abound. This was not supposed to happen.

Twelve months ago Missouri and Auburn were finished playing football. Auburn’s then coach, Gene Chizik, was on his way to the chopping block and Gary Pinkel wasn't listening to Christmas music because Christmas music makes Gary Pinkel happy and Gary Pinkel did not want to be happy. The Tigers of Missouri had just entered the SEC ass-first with a 2 – 6 record in its new conference and a 5 – 7 record overall. Auburn, separated by only one season from a National Championship, was wallowing in the completion of a winless campaign in conference and three miserable wins against three miserable non-conference teams.

So it was not a surprise at SEC Media Days when Missouri and Auburn received a combined zero votes to win the SEC Championship . Missouri was predicted to finish above Kentucky in the East, and nobody else. Auburn was forecast to conclude their season fifth in the West.

I would attempt to chronicle how we find ourselves on the precipice of this particular SEC Championship game, but who would believe me? If something like this was integral to our current reality as college football fans, then words are useless and we should just be thankful that in 2013 we can re-watch things that we would otherwise chalk up to nightmares or fan dreams (fan dream being very similar to the wet dream).

On The Line

So, let’s not try to make sense of the past but instead focus upon the future. These two programs are playing with house money, so an SEC Championship victory and automatic BCS birth would certainly satisfy either fan base, but even more is possible. A Missouri win combined with either an Ohio State loss to Michigan State or a Florida State loss to Duke would almost definitely result in Missouri playing for the BCS National Championship. The path for Auburn is likely the same, with the slight possibility that a weak OSU victory and a big win for Auburn could result in Auburn jumping OSU in the BCS Standings for the number two spot. If the SEC Champion is playing in Pasadena for “it all,” it is also probable that Alabama would be invited to New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl. And because really crazy things happen in college football it should also be noted that losses by both FSU and OSU could mean an all-SEC National Championship game between Alabama and whoever wins in Atlanta on Saturday.

The Match-up 

Auburn running back Tre Mason and Quarterback Nick Marshall have combined for 2,239 rushing yards and 28 TD’s, but last Saturday Missouri's defensive ends, Michael Sam and Kony Ealy, showed Johnny Manziel and the Aggies that a mobile quarterback and misdirection are no concern of theirs. Missouri receivers Dorial Green-Beckham and L'Damian Washington are 6’6” and 6’4” respectively while Auburn cornerbacks Chris Davis and Jonathon Mincy are 5’11” and 5’10. Auburn has played in and won five games decided by one score while Missouri has played in only two such games, walking away with a loss to USC in one of them. Auburn has rushed for 976 more yards this season than Missouri, but Missouri has passed for 958 more yards than Auburn. Missouri has posted 37 total sacks so far, a mark good enough for fourth in the country, and 18 interceptions, which is only five behind Florida State’s nation-leading 23. Auburn’s 40.2 net yards per punt is only .03 from the best in the country, and kicker Codey Parkey leads the nation in touchbacks.

Who Wins?

We win. The stats and this season’s track record suggest that all 3,600 seconds of Saturday’s showdown between the East and West will be needed to determine a winner. Fans of either team or neither team recognize that something awesome is happening this Saturday in Atlanta. Auburn is playing Missouri for the SEC Championship and that should not have happened.