1) Special teams concerns flipped in this game.
Over the past couple of seasons, Daniel Carlson has jokingly been referred to as the best player on Auburn’s team. The senior kicker has been one of the most reliable things in all of college football, and still is—the problem lies with what is quite literally in front of him. The line allowed both of Carlson’s field goals attempts Saturday to be blocked, which Head Coach Gus Malzahn referred to as both “unusual” and “unacceptable” after the game. On the other hand, punting, which has been a struggle all season for Auburn seemed to be better yesterday, evening garnering praise from Coach Malzahn in his postgame presser, even though no journalist asked him about it, saying “How about our punter, now? There's a lot of stress that goes into dealing with Christian Kirk back there and he had a great day -- not a good day, but a great day -- for a walk-on freshman”. Aidan Marshall will need to continue to punt the ball well if Auburn wants to make it around Amen Corner unscathed.
2) Kerryon Johnson is putting together an award-deserving season.
Coming into the season, everyone was talking about Jarrett Stidham and his arm would be the reason if Auburn had success this season. While the passing game has been a major factor this year, people seem to forget about Auburn’s history of churning out good running backs. The way Kerryon Johnson runs the ball is mesmerizing to watch, the way he can throw defenders off of him, his ability to not only break off long gains, but also get you five yards per carry fairly consistently is big, and that doesn’t even take into account his wildcat packages or his pass-catching skills. Georgia has an incredible defense, but Johnson may just be up to the task of facing them head-on.
3) We still don’t know what to make of the receivers.
I know that Ryan Davis is good, your classic smaller possession receiver who can turn short throws into long gains, Will Hastings has cooled off significantly since the start of the year, Eli Stove seems to almost exclusively be used for sweeps, and on top of all of that, some receivers still seem to have a problem with drops. If Auburn wants to run the table for a shot at the Playoff, two players that must be involved in the vertical passing game are Darius Slayton (who made some good plays Saturday) and Nate Craig-Myers. For Craig-Myers, he is, in my opinion, the best receiver on the team in terms of pure ability and skill, and simply does not get many, if any, targets in a lot of games. If that does not change soon, I would probably transfer if I were him. Also, Sal Canella had a big drop on Saturday, if he can live up to expectations and give Auburn a tight-end-as-a-pass-catching-threat kind of offense, this team can go just about anywhere.
4) Jarrett Stidham has solidified himself as a top SEC quarterback.
Another really efficient day at the office for the transfer QB. 20 for 27 for 268 yards and three touchdowns, and he continues to improve every week in navigating the pocket, and when to go on the run. He got good pass protection from the offensive line this week, which is a good sign when you consider the strength of the Aggie pass rush. He also never truly put the ball in any situation where it could be intercepted, and isn’t over or underthrowing his receivers like he did earlier in the season, and, if you watched the TV broadcast like some of my friends were texting me throughout the game-did you know he’s from Texas?!
5) The secondary looked good.
When you have Christian Kirk lined up across from you, who I believe to be the most dynamic receiver and special teams player in college football, it’s a major challenge. The Auburn secondary answered that challenge fairly well, and didn’t really give up big plays like the ones that in part cost them the LSU game. Georgia’s offense, however, is a whole different animal, and they’re going to have to be at their absolute best this weekend.
6) If you can see a game at Kyle Field- do it.
Even though it was an early kickoff (11am) and the crowd was very late arriving to the point where it seemed to me that the stadium was only about forty percent full at the start, it ended up filling out fairly nicely, and being able to see the pageantry and military tradition that they have in College Station is pretty cool. The Fightin’ Texas Aggie band is by far and away the best band I have ever seen, both musically and in terms of complex, visually intricate marches, and their playing of the Aggie War Hymn absolutely gave me goosebumps at halftime. Standing on the field at the end of the game and turning around to see a sea of tan-uniformed cadets is just a really cool thing to see. I can’t even imagine how cool a night game is.
7) Whataburger is truly and astronomically terrible.
I don’t understand what is wrong with people from Texas… This is not good fast food. I honestly don’t know if I can ever watch a Tennessee football game again for the rest of my life, because the combination of that creamsicle and white color scheme may induce nausea until they put me in the ground.
It’s an enormous game on Saturday, when Auburn finally returns to Jordan-Hare Stadium for the first time since beating Ole Miss on October 7th. In comes Georgia, currently top ranked by the College Football Playoff committee, and a team that Auburn hasn’t beaten since a “Miracle” occurred in 2013. Tiger fans will be revved up to see their team at home for the first time in over a month, and you can bet that place will be loud at 2:30 Saturday afternoon. You can catch television coverage at 2:30 on CBS or on the radio via your local Auburn Sports Network affiliate starting at 11:30.
