Hindsight is 20/20: Cupcakes are Good for the Soul

Auburn did what they were supposed to do Saturday, to no one’s surprise. Alabama A&M was not going to challenge Auburn in the least bit. Auburn rested key players and filled in for injured players. Rudy Ford even played 2 ways for the Tigers.

Jeremy Johnson came in and played well in relief of Sean White. Jeremy has been good for years at coming in to relieve injured quarterbacks against substandard opponents.

Auburn’s defense was again stellar. Monty Adams is the best defensive lineman I’ve seen this year. Carl Lawson is no slouch either.

So here we are, on the Monday of Iron Bowl week, and most of us have little hope of a victory come Saturday. If Pettway and White were 100%, I would have said it’s even money. Without those guys, well, it’s going to be tough.

It has been done before. In 2002, Auburn had just lost a gutwrencher to David Greene and Georgia. It also lost Ronnie Brown, who was Auburn’s second star running back to go down that season after Cadillac Williams had broken a bone in his lower leg earlier in the season. That same Georgia game, Auburn lost fullback Brandon Johnson as well.

That 2002 team went up to T-Town and shocked the Tide 17-7, with Tre Smith in the backfield no less.

Granted, that Bama team was no number one and Dennis Franchione is no Nick Saban. But this Auburn defense is good, folks. They will keep us in the game.

Whether or not Auburn can win the game depends on the quarterback situation. I think the best choice is to go with JFIII and go with the 2014 strategy. Run the ball and take some deep shots down the field to big receivers. Auburn has the big physical receivers in Stevens and Kyle Davis. With Sean White limited or ruled out altogether, Auburn cannot afford not to give the most athletic guy a chance. Make his reads simple, run it enough, and play action.

That offensive plan worked well in 2014, but the defense was so awful it didn’t matter. I truly believe that if Auburn can get half the offensive output of 2014, they can win the game this time. Now it is still a pretty tall order.

If Auburn comes out with Jeremy Johnson starting, then they do not have a chance. Sorry to all the JJ backers. I’ve seen enough to know he doesn’t have the field vision, the accuracy or quite frankly the confidence to do it. That plus he is not a threat to run like Franklin.

I’ll be making the trip to T town this year. I will hold out hope that miracles can happen. And as Andy Dufresne said, Hope is a good thing.