And, yes, there is a certain amount of poetic justice in watching the game slip away from Auburn with thirteen seconds to go.
- Bloviation for the Dawgnation
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Quote Of The Day
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“We remember the Sugar Bowl, I think it my junior year of high school, we let Alabama beat us twice,” Brinson said of a team that also lost to the Crimson Tide in the SEC Championship game. “We’re not letting Alabama beat us twice. In the Sugar Bowl in 2018, they… thought they should have been in the playoffs and lost to Texas.” -- AB-H, 12/27/23
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Get The Picture · Bloviation for the Dawgnation
Get The Picture 
At least it wasn’t UGA ending the streak.
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No throwing butt tape in the Pasadena Palm Trees for the Barners. Their luck ran out.
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Eh. It needed to happen. First because Auburn had gotten too damn lucky getting there. Second to bring the SEC hate level back down some. i seriously believe that the SEC hate will result in at least 1 SEC team getting screwed on the Playoff pick next year, but maybe it not being 8 in a row going in will help that.
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Hope it stings.
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Georgia, Alabama & Auburn were the only SEC teams to lose their bowl games. That Gator Bowl championship would have been nice to brag about.
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Never even thought about the SEC streak last night.
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I’d forgotten about it, too. I’m surprised they didn’t mention it on the broadcast.
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and they never mentioned that Nick Marshall used to play for Georgia either….
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Yeah they did. Mush said he was kicked off the team after getting into trouble. Didn’t mention stealing.
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Brent said “Marshall is a “wonderful” story.”
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But was he a better person for meeting him?
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Certain amount my @$$. I couldn’t have picked a better way for them to lose.
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While it was a heartbreaking loss, I wanted it to be MORE flukey. I wanted FLst to line up for a 50+ field goal and after a bad snap, the holder and kicker combine to score a touchdown by lateraling the ball to each other down field in between the AU fans/band who have stormed the field in celebration. Just as they’re about to score, they mow down “Aubie”, the mascot, who goes flying head-over-heels in a mangled heap.
Now THAT is a loss AU deserved.
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+1
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Naw, it would have been better for FSU to beat them 55 to 0 IMHO.
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Coaching the defense. Rodney Garner’s front line failed again. That is why some of us are glad he is gone from Athens. Ellis Johnson, head coach failure and his D is not much better. Pumpkins in the All-barn this chilly morn. Many some of those recruits who always want to get on the current year winners tails might want to rethink Auburn now.. Joy ride over.
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Yes, over for Awbun, but hopefully a joy ride in store for Georgia in 2014!
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Riiiight…because the defensive line had nothing to do with Auburn getting out to a 21-3 lead and rattling FSU for most of the 1st half. If you watched that game and thought the defense was poorly coached, you’re reaching. FSU is a talented group…all Auburn needed was a drive to get a score or to run clock and they couldn’t get it…after going up by 18 they had 5 possessions with none of them lasting longer than 2:03.
Rodney Garner’s front line did a nice job and their D did enough to win the game (holding FSU to 13 points over 3Qs!). Auburn’s run game failed them when they needed it the most…which makes all the puffery from Mahlzahn about the 4th Quarter and ‘we’re better than them’ even more sweet.
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Not sure what you’re smokin’ there, Will but I’d like some. Holding FSU to their lowest score of the year and 22.6 pts below their season average is hardly a failure.
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Does anyone doubt FSU would average offensively about what they did last night if they played in the SEC?
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I think something that is lost among ‘pundits’ is the difference between being good enough to ‘play in the SEC’ and the challenge that is playing the SEC. I don’t think FSU or Oklahoma or whoever wouldn’t compete in the SEC…I think the issue is: what would FSU’s record look like if they had to play an SEC schedule.
I’m pretty sure this FSU team could/would average 30+ ppg in the SEC. Would they go 14-0? It’s certainly possible. They were really good. For a hypothetical, replace Kentucky with FSU. FSU would play Louisville, Florida, at uSCar, Alabama, at MSU, Mizzou, at Vandy, at UGA, Tennessee, and then in the SEC championship game. I assume they would be favored in every one of those games like they were last night, but it’s also safe to assume that going 14-0 with that schedule is harder than against the one they played.
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It is quite possible they would look like UGA…
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Better dig up a little history on Ellis, Will. Who was D coor at SC when they beat us? His Ds have given SEC opponents hell and he will be there next year along with Malzahn. It will be a rough row to hoe next year for us and others with those two in charge at Aub. They are back in business with a tough staff next year.
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They’re losing their best pass rushers and likely Mason. Quite similar to the transition from 2010 to 2011 for them. Maybe they don’t go 7-5 again (I don’t think they have any tough OOC foes this time) but they were more lucky than good most of this season. That offense was a true nightmare for one game all season vs a talented D, and part of that was because Mizzou’s DC really failed at gameplanning for them.
They are hardly 2012 Bama folks.
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Would take EJ over TG anytime anywhere.
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+30 points allowed per game.
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While Auburn played a hell of a game, I loved seeing their luck run out last night like that.
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Auburn was certainly better than most teams, but I still don’t think they were the best team in the SEC. The offense they run overcomes so many areas that just don’t seem complete to me. FSU has, apparently, not really been tested until last night. James Winston was rattled and his O Line couldn’t handle the pressure early. Both teams were exposed, in my opinion. We’re they very good teams? Absolutely… We’re they the two best? That’s debateable..
Saban had to be pissed last night. His team could’ve handled FSU.
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So maybe Oklahoma belonged in the game with Auburn?
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By the way, Alabama got beat down by a lesser but well coached opponent. All I have to say is to hell with AUBURN and BAMA along with that whole, win at all costs, infernal state. They both represent everything that is wrong with this sport. AUBURN pays for players (CAM, please.. your face is as repulsive as OBAMAs) AND takes anybody with a wrap sheet (CAM, Nick Marshall leave those laptops alone!). Worst of all, both programs churn though young men like toilet paper if they don’t perform on the field. These are peoples lives you’re fucking up! BAMA’s on record as the worst offender in the country at oversigning but watch out for UT. In the end, redemption was served last night. Not because I’m a bitter UGA fan but because I’m tired of seeing these teams cheat and win. Time for them to learn this is not a win at ANY cost sport.
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+1, agree completely and glad CMR runs our program. We can’t act like we’re lily white though with the grades/Jan Kemp scandal and the fact that we kept getting mentioned in the Memphis and Miami fiascos in the 90s.
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You are referencing things that occurred 20-30 years ago when, lets face it, college football was the wild wild west of morality. Much has changed at UGA football since then and I am confident in saying that if Josh Harvey plays on Jan 1 we beat the Corn holers. Fact is he didn’t make grades so he did not play. You think that ever happens at either BAMA or ALBARN?
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Exactly, just saying we’re reformed – not perfect.
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No, it would not happen at either school. Nor would it happen at most any SEC school aside from GA, FL, and maybe Vandy.
When was the last time you heard of an AL or AU player not making grades? Or not playing for any reason unless it was so egregious that the school and staff could not sweep it under the rug?
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They give grades at Auburn? I thought they just gave smiley face/frowny face stickers?
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No defender of those schools, but I believe Bama did have a couple of suspensions that were likely for academics.
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Yes, I agree. Auburn was not the best team in the SEC and was not the second best team in the country. I’m not sure FSU is the best team..I don’t think you can say one team “best”…they just haven’t gotten the right match up to lose yet.
The Duke/AYM game was the best of the bowl season (IMO). It is an instant classic.
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To be fair, it’s a tough year to hone in on the best two, and I’m not saying I’d have picked anyone other than these two teams to be in the big game.. But Auburn was unbelievably close to not being there.. because of a fluke play against us and who knows how the ‘Bama game would have wound up, but it could’ve easily been a loss as well.
It is what it is, and I’m not complaining about the matchup.. we got a great game, but it just appeared that neither team looked like a national title contender on the field last night, and Auburn really didn’t look like one going in, IMO.
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Once the FSU defense made adjustments, they shut the Gus Bus down. We did the same thing down on the Plains. Late in the game, the Noles set the edge and Marshall had nowhere to go on the zone read. Mason got his yards, but they did some things to get Auburn behind the sticks in the 2nd half.
On offense, once the Noles started protecting Winston, the offense got untracked. Once again, just like what we did to them once the o-line got its head out of its backside. The Auburn secondary was not good at all and got covered by their pass rush. Once the pass rush was slowed down by the running game and better pass protection, the Noles’ passing game took over.
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Oh, yeah, I’m happy the streak ended last night especially in the way that it did.
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Any outcome that results in misery among both the Awbarn and Gator fan base is a damn good one. Thanks, Noles, for giving me something to finally snicker over at the end of this season.
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+1
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In am just snickering and filled with elation this morning. All is well that ends well.
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Football can be an odd and cruel mistress. Auburn did not deserve winning the Georgia, or Alabama game, but did. Last night they outplayed FSU on both sides of the ball, and outcoached them, but were outscored. I hope it hurts like hell because they are so sleazy but Jimbo was damned lucky with that offensive scheme to get away with less than a 3 TD beat down. With all that pressure where were the screens, or the TE, or more dump passes to the backs? Didn’t he watch what UGA did to Auburn in the 4th Qtr. with a much lesser OL? I am more concerned about Auburn having Ellis Johnson on the sideline than Gus Malzahn…..,,well, maybe not, but it is troubling.
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True, but just like with a mistress, you keep coming back for more.
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“Jimbo was damned lucky with that offensive scheme to get away with less than a 3 TD beat down”
lol. what does that even mean?
the scoreboard at the end of the game says it all.
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Mac, I made the same comment about Ellis above and before reading your input. You bet your butt that he is going to be trouble for us next year.
I’ll bring up another specter as well; that of FSU recruiting success in So Ga in the next few years. They are now in a better position to hurt us. Us alums are going to have to work harder and not leave it up to the coaches. FSU used to be a thorn in our side in that area. Now they carry a bigger prick.
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Johnson is a top notch DC, and had his unit very well-prepared. It was impressive. Here is a post from a well-respected friend of mine, which apparently was written with about 5 minutes left in the first half:
BoulevardDawg: “It’s about 5 minutes left in the first half. and Auburn may end up losing this NC game big before its over. but the play of their defense to this point is instructive, and I hope all my fellow Dawgs are paying attention. If you didn’t see it, up to this point in the game, please go back a look.
notice the secondary, and how they play. how they tackle, cover, and all the rest. there’s been a lot of talk all year about how poorly prepared our secondary has been, the whole defense for at least half the games we played. and even in those better games we played OK but weren’t really solid on defense. still a lot of mistakes everywhere.
but THIS IS WHAT A WELL-PREPARED DEFENSE LOOKS LIKE AND PLAYS LIKE. compare the play of the Auburn secondary to what you’ve seen from Georgia this year (or most any other year after BVG). and this is against one of the best offenses around. but THIS is what good preparation can do.
notice the aggressiveness. how on certain plays the ILB’s FIRE down into their respective gaps. when have you seen that from a Grantham defense? I don’t think I ever have. we talk about having thumpers in the middle, but never turn them loose.
as I said back in September, and maybe in this thread, Ellis Johnson is a top notch DC. he knows how to prepare a team, how to teach college kids the little things. and it’s showing in the NC game so far. Auburn isn’t the most talented defense. but they are well coached. and that is what the guys like me in this thread see missing in Athens.
well coached, well-prepared. that is the mark of the teams of any good coach. and this was a bad defense last year.
most are asking, what will it take for Richt to get his teams this way? Bobo does a pretty good job with the offense these days, but still the team overall lacks something. lacks something it sorely needs. namely better coaching and good preparation. as we’ve said many times now, had Georgia had just nothing more than that, we would have won the Mizzou and Vandy games. and the season would have been very different.
I hate to use Auburn to make a point, I’m a Dawg. but reality is what it is. and what’s true is true. I hope this helps make a very critical point in terms of understanding what’s wrong with our team. even if we have to use Auburn to demonstrate the contrast.
I think there’s a lot of truth in what he said. I thought Auburn was well-coached overall. There was a big mistake on the kick return where a player didn’t stay in his lane. But it’s interesting, without that TD, FSU can’t win.
Auburn’s secondary wasn’t perfect by any means – the secondary had some missed tackles, etc. – but overall they played well and pretty much smothered FSU’s receivers, including the TE, all night. Especially in the first half.
I might add it’s no wonder Georgia people have forgotten what a really good and well-coached secondary and overall defense looks like. We’ve seen it so little in the last 8+ years (and that’s being kind), since we last took it for granted (when BVG’s units were consistently well-prepared).
I thought, and did so before the play happened, that Johnson made one big mistake all night, playing a prevent on the last drive. That play went for 50 yards, and was probably the killer.
That was a bad call. Understandable? Yeah, I guess, because coaches can’t seem to say away from a prevent in those situations, no matter how often it has been proven wrong.
But Auburn deserves great credit for being well-coached and the way they played. I agree they outplayed FSU. And it was almost enough. Auburn didn’t beat themselves, in the conventional sense the way Georgia usually does. But a couple of big mistakes was the difference.
~~~
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Had Georgia blown that kind of lead in the national title game last night, there would be a line out the door of Butts-Mehre with fans ready to run our coaches out of town on a rail. Disciplined teams don’t blow huge leads in important games and Auburn did it twice in their last four.
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I don’t think so at all. It just wasn’t that kind of game. FSU got the kick TD and the 50 yard play vs. the prevent defense, which was a bad call (I’m not sure, but I think that play was the only prevent defense call of the game by Johnson).
Those were two bad mistakes, granted. But otherwise Auburn was pretty solid (#11 kept trying to be cute with the punt returns, and almost gave it away several times, but never did).
I can say this, there would have been no problem from me, if that were Georgia. I wouldn’t felt the same way as I did after the 2012 SECCG, sorry we make a mistake or two that prevented us from winning, but proud of the way we played, even though were overwhelmed at times.
Sometimes the other team just deserves credit for being good.
And as I said already, Auburn didn’t play like Georgia does most of the time in big games. They didn’t give the game away in a conventional manner, like Georgia usually does, compiling stupid mistakes and being sloppy.
Except for a few instances, Auburn played a smart game, I thought.
Desiring for your team to be solid, as I do, does not demand perfection, because that doesn’t exist in football. Every team makes mistakes. But not too many if they want to be a champion.
And Auburn made one too many last night. That’s all.
~~~
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The bitter Dawg in me is glad that Auburn lost – not because they are lower than sewer rats and will take any thief available – but now, the one-in-a-million deflection will not be on a constant loop as part of their MNC highlight reel (I’d imagine bammers feel the same way…)
Let’s face it, FSU is an SEC team but chooses to play in the league full of wounded kittens (except maybe for those hilljack kittens in south carolina that shall be beaten down aggressively and thoroughly when they come to Sanford – I can’t wait to see the look on Daba-Daba-Doo’s face after we crush those orange clad bastards). Therefore, I will continue to say the SEC has won 8 in a row. With Bulldog-Red colored glasses and Bulldog-Red kool aid stained lips, I state emphatically that we will make it 9 in a row.
Mis amigos, esta es verdadero!
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“I will continue to say the SEC has won 8 in a row. ”
the delusion is strong with this one.
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Love the way you said that so perfectly.
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Gotta say, if I can’t win the $200 pool, watching the Wartigerplaunseagles lose at the last second is the right way to do it!
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Oh well, great game though.
It was interesting to try to keep up with Auburn’s defensive substitution rotation (not much at all)…Boy, Ellis Johnson sho do get them boys to play hard.
And yes, I was well aware Auburn is our number one recruiting competition, especially for the great athlete-marginal student kids on Georgia’s western coast.
I don’t know how this will work out for that stuff…yeah, they went to the game, but they also got beat…who knows?
Most of the attitude about Rodney Garner comes from Rodney having stayed too long in Athens…even a shiny penny gets tarnished after a while.
A former Georgia offensive coordinator and much missed kicking coach once told me that when the assistants started buying houses in Athens it was a sign the staff was getting complacent…not sure how that works with continuity.
Is this stupid fucking football season finally over?
Will I not have to suffer the slings and arrows of Brent fucking Musberger’s trite drivel till at least September? God, he makes my teeth hurt.
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My lasting memory from this game will be FSU getting nailed for unsportsmanlike conduct for jack squat, while Auburn viciously horsecollared an FSU player with no call. The refs were atrocious this season.
I mean, “defensive stomping.”
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I was thinking defensive stomping when the AU defender slipped at the LoS on a play that resulted in the FSU line jumping. But no, that only happens to UGA.
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why exactly was the fsu player flagged anyway?
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He was taunting the Auburn sideline…apparently.
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May have throat slashed or at least what the ref behind him thought.
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Not to metion Trey Mason spiking the football right in front of the camera following his go-ahead touchdown.
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Only AJ Green knows what excessive celebration is. You have to look at the crowd.
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I thought the refs let a ton of stuff go on both sides…a facemask that the whole world saw by Auburn, lots and lots of holding by both teams and pass interference. They let them play, mostly.
I also noticed the Auburn running back doing a Heisman pose after scoring and the ref looking right at him…I felt he was mocking the FSU QB. but WTF. I’m glad it’s finally over. It’s like the calm seas after a ship finally slips beneath the surface.
I was underwhelmed by this whole game. I didn’t think these were the best teams and I still don’t..This was one strange college football season.
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Maybe we can hire Auburn’s special team’s coach?
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Well, at least get him in to work on the punt game. They had 2 punts inside the 5.That is pretty damn good.
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Not to mention that the kicker made one of them (a long and high punt) bounce backwards after hitting at the 1-yd line. His team members acted as if that was expected.
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By my math, the fake punt, missed field goal, and long kick return cost Auburn 17. I was shocked how they really outplayed FSU but managed to lose the game on special teams. Their punter was awesome – but I’m guessing the blame is landing primarily on special teams this morning.
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FSU could have done the same thing had they lost, though. The big hole they dug in the first half was due to Auburn getting the ball at the 25 and 27 yard-lines and scoring touchdowns. The first was due to poor punt trades and the second was due to a fumble. Take those away and there’s a decent chance FSU starts running away with the game once they get on track.
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exactly. Saban had to be loving the missed FG.
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FSU had the balls to kick it deep and cover in the final seconds. Seriously, talk about taunting the Devil!
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B1G officials missed a clear hold/take-down of a defensive end, a clear face mask, and a clear horse-collar, saving Auburn 40 yards on missed calls. In other words, a typical Auburn game.
Wonder where Auburn will go from here. Programs that lose national championship games typically have not fared well afterwards, going all the way back to USC 2005. They have gone 17-3 in games decided by a TD or less from 2010 to now. Here’s hoping that metric reverts to the mean over the next 4 years.
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May the words above be prophetic. Amen.
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Reading the Auburn fans’ comments this morning, they’re going with the narrative of “if Gus can do this in his first year here, imagine what we’ll do next year!”
Nothing short of undefeated is going to meet expectations. The laws of probability say that’s not going to happen. Add in the cauldron of crazy that is the state of Alabama, and hopefully the mood degrades quickly there next year.
They’re not going 3-9 under Malzahn, but they’re not going to be the next SEC dynasty that many of them believe they will, either. You have to field a defense to reach dynasty status, and they’ve yet to do that.
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Yep. Also add the fact that players will leave (are you listening, Mason and Robinson?), injuries/suspensions happen, coaches leave, the schedule toughens (who is the genius who thought it would be smart to schedule Georgia and Alabama away in the same year every other year?), luck reverting to the mean, etc.
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Did I mishear this or did Musberger say as he came on the air, “This is Kirk Herbstreit along with Brent Musburger……”
I SWEAR I heard that.
Also, did anyone else notice in the 3rd qtr about 25 seconds tick off the clock after FSU had made a first? Or the clock continue to tick about 15 seconds off after FSU completed a pass and went out of bounds, also in the 3rd?
Or do I just not know the rules……which is possible.
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Musberger also referred to Auburn when they came on the field as, “Destinies Darlings”, I thought I was going to puke.
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