Auburn vs Georgia: The View From the Couch

Well. That sucked. There's really no other way to put it.

This one is going to be quick because I really don't have a lot to say.

What was good? The defense. Sure, they allowed some 3rd down conversions, but they held strong and only allowed six points. There were some questionable personnel packages. It seemed like the 2nd team defense was in until the Bulldogs crossed the 50 in the second half, and then the starters were put in. Lawson and Adams played an amazing first half but were worn out by late in the second half.

What was bad? Pretty much the entire offense. The one drive the Tigers moved the ball featured a lot of wildcat with Kerryon Johnson and Chandler Cox taking snaps. After that? Nothing. The Tigers went 3-and-out on every drive in the 2nd half with the exception of the first drive. That one went for a pick-6 on 3rd down.

It says quite a bit about Auburn's confidence in John Franklin III to throw the football that they kept sending Sean White out there to throw it even when he was obviously not himself. You may be asking why they wouldn't try Jeremy Johnson, then, but I've heard he may be redshirting since he only played against Clemson. They may, perhaps, be setting up to allow him to transfer as a grad transfer. The only other options would be to burn Woody Barrett's redshirt or maybe even give Tyler Queen a shot. None of those happened.

It was strange to me that they kept trying to throw the football, particularly on the 3rd and shorts. While White was nowhere near his usual self, he wasn't exactly helped by his receivers, either. Marcus and Ryan Davis both missed first down grabs, and Kam Martin let a wheel route pass right between his hands that would have gained a good 20-30 yards at the least.

Auburn wasn't helped by the injury bug, either, that's for sure. Stanton Truitt left the game in the 1st quarter and didn't return. That left only Kerryon Johnson to run the football. Chandler Cox was hurt early in the 4th quarter at the worst possible time, too.

This game harkened back to the Clemson and Texas A&M game for questionable play calls. It was just an all around bad game of the type I hoped Auburn was through with since Rhett Lashlee took over. Sure, injuries played into it, but not having the depth to work around those injuries falls at the feet of the coaches, too. There's no excuse for Auburn not to have a second QB who can throw the football.

Auburn has Alabama A&M next week, and I'd honestly be shocked if Sean White, Kam Pettway, or a number of other players play. The Tigers should be able to beat those Bulldogs with John Franklin III, at least, and they're going to need everyone healthy that they can get against Bama in two weeks.

It was a fun ride while it lasted. Now we're definitely looking at some questions that will need to be answered in the coming weeks and in the offseason. We'll see what happens.

War Eagle. Always.