dcroz

They had a great portal haul this year, too, including getting five blue-chippers from Alabama. Proof that you can have all the great players you want, but if you can't coach them....

Also 'Bama is 7-2, not 6-2.

Yeah, and everyone thought the same about Vandy.

If this season hasn't taught you anything else, the number one lesson should be that anyone can beat anyone else on any given weekend.

Freeze isn't going anywhere just yet. Auburn fans are still blaming most of the mess on the Plains on Bryan Harsin--as they should--though Freeze could have fixed at least some of those problems in the portal, especially at QB (Freeze probably still has sleepless nights asking himself why he didn't go after Diego Pavia). But Auburn is recruiting at a level it hasn't in quite some time, and you have to think Freeze has learned some valuable portal lessons, so he'll get 2025 to prove that he knows what he is doing and he's more than just two wins over Saban a decade ago. But if he doesn't have the Tigers at least knocking on the door of the Playoff next year, he may not get a 2026.

Yes, that Tide from last night can win the natty. But let's not get carried away; Milroe did this to LSU last year because the Tigers have no idea how to handle a dual-threat QB. That may not apply to what's remaining on the schedule. Oklahoma and Auburn may not have the offenses to win a shootout, but they do have pretty good defenses and it would only take a couple big plays on that side of the ball to give each of them a chance at an upset in a low-scoring game. (And let's not overlook Mercer which, while FCS, is a pretty good team.) That's been the big question for Alabama all season: consistency. Will the Tide team we saw last night be the one for the rest of the year, showing things have finally gelled; or will the one that we saw from the second half against Georgia through the Tennessee game rear its ugly head? 'Bama's Playoff and SEC title hopes depend on the answer.

Milroe only made two turnovers: the pick-six and one fumble.

"...Bama hope that it might avoid its most embarrassing defeat since, well, probably ever." Let's lay off the hyperbole like so many who apparently seem to think Alabama didn't exist prior to Saban. I mean, first of all this is a better Vandy team than we have seen in some time; they beat Virginia Tech, they took Missouri to OT, and they lost in the final minute on the road to Georgia State. They're two plays away from 5-0 right now and definitely not the worst team in the SEC (that's Mississippi State with Auburn in close pursuit). Yes, the reaction is that it's Vandy, and yes it's embarrassing to beat Georgia one week and then lose to Vandy in a game that you not only lost but never led, but it's not the same doormat Vandy that it has been since James Franklin took himself to Happy Valley. But beyond that...Louisiana-Monroe in Saban's first season in 2007? Northern Illinois in 2003? UCF in 2000? Louisiana Tech...twice in four years? Memphis State in 1987 (and the subsequent brick through Bill Curry's window)? Georgia Tech in 1981 (Alabama's only regular season loss that year, and Tech's only win)? Yeah, I think there have been plenty of other losses more embarrassing than this one...especially if Vandy continues to improve as it has done so far this season. And congratulations to the Commodores on the win; you deserved it!

"The only issue AU has is turnovers. Nothing more, nothing less." Which is about as "not being able to get out of its own way" as you can get.

Yeah, I'm leaning that way, too. Unless first-half Georgia starts looking like second-half Georgia, I would not be surprised if Auburn leads this one at halftime. Auburn's defense has actually played well and kept them in the game in their three losses while the offense was busy handing the ball to the other team. I don't see Auburn winning this one even if they don't turn it over at all, but I think it's closer than the 24-point line.

They've been able to play Alabama tough in Jordan-Hare; in Bryant-Denny they haven't won since the Cam-back in 2010 and the closest they've been in that stretch is 11 points (55-44 in 2014).

Last year the joke was that Alabama was a second-half team; this year it's Georgia. Second-half Georgia is the best team in the country; first-half Georgia is struggling to be bowl-eligible. It cost them last week against Alabama and they still have a few games on the schedule where they could dig themselves a similar hole that they can't get out of (though they did for 13 seconds last week) but I don't think this weekend is one of those games as Auburn is probably the worst team in the league in terms of not being able to get out of its own way.

"...or if we want to think big, could overtake the NFL one day." And that, I think, is really the unspoken goal of the Big Ten and SEC. College football is an exciting product that still has lots of room to grow from a media standpoint. And it's trying all it can to emulate the NFL, from Saban introducing running the athletic department like an NFL front office to players now receiving money for playing (though that wasn't what the schools wanted) to even including a two-minute warning each half. So if it looks like the NFL and presents itself like the NFL, then it can compete with the NFL for viewers and dollars. The question is will it put off enough traditional college football fans who love the game precisely *because* it's not the NFL that it doesn't work?

Pretty much what I am thinking as well, GeauxTigers8. I'm expecting us to be sluggish for a bit (normal for the game after a huge game) and Vandy will hang around for a while, but eventually our talent and depth wear the 'Dores down and we pull away late. Of course DeBoer and staff are warning us away from that with the rat traps, along with not looking ahead to Mizzou.

"In the AP poll era (since 1936), he’s the first player ever — ever as in ever, in 88 years — to put up 300 yards passing, 100 yards rushing and 2 rushing touchdowns against a top-5 opponent." And add to that his streak of having at least two rushing and two passing touchdowns in a game continues for all five games this season.

Yes, one thing I was screaming at the screen about was why with a 12-point lead midway through the fourth quarter and Georgia clearly with momentum we were still snapping the ball with 20 seconds on the play clock? Had Georgia wound up winning, you can bet that would have been a huge question being discussed today.

Not expecting an upset in Nashville, but I think this game is interesting for at least a half and would not be surprised if it was still in doubt headed into the fourth quarter. There's always a mental drop-off after playing a huge game like Alabama just did (it's just part of human psychology) and Vandy has had a week off to rest and prepare. If the 'Dores come out playing like its their Super Bowl, they can keep us Tide fans on the edge of our seats for a while, though like with South Florida I believe our edge in depth and talent will allow us to pull away late.

It was a combination of Georgia's halftime adjustments along with some suddenly-conservative offensive playcalling that slowed Milroe down in the second half. But he hit the one he needed at the most critical time possible, and that's what will be remembered.

"Now, there’s a good chance (Sluka's) not quite good enough to set off a cash-race...." Pardon the interruption, but some guy named Hugh Freeze is on line 1.

Smart is probably the best maker of halftime adjustments in the game at any level. Unfortunately for Georgia at least this season, "make adjustments in the second half" seems to be how he prepares for games, too.

Firing him would do more harm than good. Looking for who would be your fifth head coach in the last six seasons (counting Cadillac Williams' run two years ago as the interim HC, which right now Auburn fans wish that the interim tag had been taken off) is not the sort of thing that's going to get any good head coaches to even give Auburn the time of day. And the best guy that Auburn could get right now would be either James Franklin--whose welcome at Penn State may be wearing thin unless he can get over the Michigan/Ohio State hump) or Alex Golesh at USF, not exactly two guys who would make the fan base start making Playoff plans though they both very well make it. Freeze is going to have to be on Plains for at least another couple years regardless of whether he turns things around.

Smart is probably the best halftime adjuster in the game at any level. But from the way Georgia plays in the first half, he may not be the best game planner around.

Think you meant “first half” rather than “the game.” Still 30 minutes to play, though I certainly hope this result holds.

Surprising that they all went for Alabama; now just hope they're right.

"Alabama ranks fifth nationally in adjusted EPA per play and a huge reason for that is the pass defense. The Crimson Tide are second nationally in passing success rate allowed, per game on paper. Opposing offenses have a success rate of 25.4% against the Alabama secondary." But what has to be remembered was that in the South Florida and Wisconsin games, there were at least five should-have-been touchdown passes where the QB overthrew his wide-open receivers, so there is an element of the quality of the opposing QB involved. I doubt Beck will miss if presented similar opportunities, so the secondary is going to get its first real test this Saturday.

Woulda coulda shoulda...but you didn't. Instead even all that home-grown magic that Auburn experienced with the "Prayer in Jordan-Hare" and the "Kick 6" has abandoned you and gone over to the other sideline. (And you haven't won in Tuscaloosa since 2010...or really even come close.) Now you're stuck with Freeze--who you hired for no other reason than he beat Saban twice--for at least a couple more years as you can't afford to be paying yet another guy not to coach on the Plains while paying someone else the money to get him to come, and who really would want to be the fifth Tigers coach this decade with half of it left to go? And own the state in recruiting? That's your problem right there: you still don't want to recruit more than a few hours away from campus because your #1 goal is now, has always been, and always will be beating Alabama. And so you focus on recruiting guys that know what the Iron Bowl is and maybe care as deeply about it as you do. And you get up and play Alabama tough...but also lose to teams like Arkansas or Mississippi State or New Mexico State before then. Maybe one day when you focus more on the big picture of making the Playoff and having a shot at a natty you will be consistently better and be a perennial contender. Until then, enjoy your scrapping to six wins and a Birmingham Bowl bid each year.

Firing coaches every three or four seasons for the last 20+ years (except Meyer who got out while the getting was good) is a formula for turning a top-tier job into a dumpster fire that top coaches who otherwise may have been interested years before will want to avoid like the plague. Alabama, Auburn, Texas, Texas A&M, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Florida all have been in this century or are currently in that situation. If the Gators want to get out of it, they're going to have to pony up a lot of money and be sure they get the right guy this time; otherwise they'll be right back here in a few years which will only make the matter even worse.

We got lucky that Brown wasn't a better passer. He had at least three long touchdown passes where his receiver was wide open and he missed on all of them. Lost in all the consternation over the offense, the penalties, and the three second-half lost fumbles is that the secondary looked vulnerable as was stated at the start of the season. Otherwise, I think Golesh would love to have that decision back to kick the figgie at 21-13 instead of going for the touchdown, and I was really surprised to see them not do so. I figured that Golesh was thinking what he said was his reasoning, and yes it was sound in terms of the USF defense playing lights out against our offense, but the Bulls weren't burning up the scoreboard either so assuming they'd get another chance at a touchdown was taking a big gamble. In the end it was our edge in depth and talent that spelled the difference as South Florida finally ran out of gas after that point.

But why pull all your tricks out of the bag when you’re getting explosive plays both in the air and on the ground without doing anything fancy? Could there be issue being masked? Maybe, but also you don’t want to give more game film to future opponents than you have to. I wouldn’t read too much into it after only one week against an outmatched opponent.

Yeah, was wanting to see more from the passing game, too. And I did notice that Ty Simpson seemed much more comfortable throwing the ball than Milroe even though he wasn’t as efficient. Still, why do more than you need to especially when the run game was on fire?