Great moments in excuse making

You probably didn’t know this, but it turns out that one of the reasons Auburn’s season has been disappointing is because its defensive coordinator is green.

No, really.

As to the “overrated” part of the question, I’d say they had far too many questions — new quarterback, new center, lost top two running backs from last season, plus breaking in a first-year defensive coordinator in Muschamp — at the beginning of this season for it to be fair to expect them to win the SEC and contend for a playoff spot… [Emphasis added.]

Boom went bust, but it’s understandable because he never coached defense in the SEC before.  Got it.

Does Auburn like to run the ball?

Is the Pope Catholic?

Tendencies

1st Down: Auburn is one of the most run-heavy teams in the SEC on first down. Out of 273 first down plays this season, 213 have been runs. That’s good for 78 percent.

2nd Down: Overall this is a run-heavy down, too, with the ground game being utilized mostly in short (less than three yards) and medium (four to six yards) situations. Second and long (seven or more yards) is a slight pass-heavy situation.

3rd Down: Auburn has run it almost 80 percent of the time on third and short, but third and medium and third and long are pass-heavy situations. Third and medium is 64 percent pass and third and long is 85 percent pass.

Pretty obvious what one of the main goals for Georgia’s defense is this Saturday.

About that whole mirage thing…

Call it my personal meme this week, but I continue to wonder how much of Auburn’s recent resurgence is a legitimate corner turning and how much comes from the schedule.  Paragraphs like this illustrate my point:

… Yes, Auburn has played better of late, beating Texas A&M after staying close with Ole Miss and taking Arkansas to overtime in their previous two games. However, despite their improved play, the Auburn offense has still only averaged 5.6 yards per play in that three-game span. Prorated to an entire season, that number would rank sixth in the SEC, hardly an elite showing. It should also be noted that Arkansas ranks dead last in the SEC in yards per play allowed and Texas A&M ranks twelfth in that category (Ole Miss is fifth, but is not quite as stout as we all thought back in early October). Of course, Georgia has had offensive difficulties of their own, scoring zero touchdowns in their two games going into Kentucky. As is usually the case for SEC teams, Kentucky is the cure for what ails you. The Bulldogs put three touchdown on the board and gained 300 yards on the ground against the Wildcats. It should also be noted the two teams that shut down Georgia prior to their clash with the Wildcats, Florida and Missouri, rank first and second in the SEC in yards per play allowed…

For the record, in conference play, Georgia currently ranks fourth in yards per play allowed.  Auburn ranks tenth, just ahead of Kentucky.

We gave up the computer formulas for this?

Really, what can you say about Jeff Long’s comment?

Jeff Long, on whether “body clocks” are a factor in the rankings (re: Stanford’s loss at Northwestern: “Absolutely."

— Jake Trotter (@Jake_Trotter) November 11, 2015

If that’s the best you can do, you might as well let the Coaches Poll back in the tent.  Sheesh.

“I think you’ve got to harp on ball security every single day.”

You may be surprised to hear this, but for the second straight week Georgia faces a conference opponent ranked lower in all major team offensive and defensive categories, i.e., scoring, total, passing and rushing.

One place where Auburn clearly has the upper hand, though, is turnover margin.  At plus-5, the Tigers are third in the SEC.  Georgia is eleventh, at minus-2.  Most of the difference isn’t on the defensive side, it’s by the offenses, where Auburn has turned the ball over ten times, compared to Georgia’s sixteen.  Considering what a pick machine Jeremy Johnson was before being benched, that difference is even more pronounced over the past few games, as Auburn has only turned the ball over once in its last five games while Georgia has lost thirteen over its.

So it should be no surprise to hear this.

Ball security is being emphasized heavily this week after Georgia had three fumbles Saturday against Kentucky, losing two of them.

“Guys that hold that ball have to hold it like their life depends on it,” coach Mark Richt said on his radio call-in show Monday night.

Georgia has eight lost fumbles in nine games, which ranks 12th in the SEC and 88th nationally. The Bulldogs had seven lost fumbles in all of last season in 13 games.

Musical palate cleanser, another God bless, RIP edition

Allen Toussaint passed away yesterday.  At least he went out the way any musician would prefer.

Allen Toussaint, the versatile producer, songwriter, pianist and singer who was a fixture of New Orleans R&B, died after appearing in concert in Madrid on Monday night. He was 77.

He’s written more great music than I can list here.  This, thanks to a cover by Little Feat, may be his most familiar.  (Bonus:  he’s backed by The Meters.)

“You get questions.”

Sounds like Bryan McClendon’s having a fun time on the recruiting trail these days.

McClendon is Georgia’s recruiting coordinator, among his other titles. He was asked Tuesday night whether that meant he spent last week reaching out to recruits and fielding calls from recruits who were seeking reassurance. McClendon nodded.

“It kinda goes without saying. It really does,” said McClendon, who is also the team’s receivers coach. “That’s something that you’ve just gotta deal with. Something that us coaches know, being in the profession, knowing that you guys (the media) have a job to do, you can’t control that part of it. And you’ve gotta do the best that you can to make sure that you’re controlling the message that gets put out on your end. And that’s kinda all you can do.”

If the staff – assuming it’s still around next February – holds this class together, that’ll be one helluvan accomplishment.

“It’s been a while.”

I see Keith Marshall hasn’t lost his sense of humor.

Former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield, father of Georgia running back commitment Elijah Holyfield, couldn’t have delivered a better right than the one Marshall delivered on his stiff arm to Kentucky cornerback Chris Westry on a 10-yard touchdown off a screen pass.

“As a football player, sometimes it just happens,” Marshall said. “Instinct. It just happened.”

Marshall posted a photo of the stiff arm on his Instagram account.

He was asked in a postgame radio interview with Chuck Dowdle who taught him to do that and joked: “Coach Richt.”

Have you seen me?

There are times when I almost expect to see Malcolm Mitchell’s face on the side of a milk carton.

Despite the constipated nature of Georgia’s passing game, he somehow has managed to be tied for sixth in the SEC in receiving yards with 617 on 43 catches.  Amazing.

Mumme Poll results, Week 10

Well, we’re not exactly on the same page with the selection committee.

Rank	Team	Votes
1	Alabama	23
1	Clemson	23
3	Ohio State	22
4	Baylor	20
5	Oklahoma State	19
6	Stanford	16
7	Notre Dame	14
8	Iowa	9
9	Oklahoma	8
10	Houston	5
11	North Carolina	4
12	Florida	3
12	LSU	3
14	Utah	2
15	TCU	1
15	Navy	1

Three out of four.

We are starting to see consolidation, though, as only sixteen teams received votes.  And no doubt we’ll see even more over the next couple of weeks.

Not that it means too much, but given that Florida lost to LSU, I’m kinda surprised to see the two tied.