Leroy Jenkins returns for his look at last week’s game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs. He really does like to rub it in our face that he’s watching the game in the lap of luxury. Tell him what you think. Oh, and if you aren’t sure who Le(e)roy Jenkins is, watch this.
Week 2 – Mississippi State
by Leroy Jenkins
Hello again fellow Warblogles, Leroy Jenkins here with you week 2 post game analysis. Once again I enjoyed the game from behind a piece of glass and with a fresh mint mojito in my hand. While you “regular” folks were eating your $3 hotdogs and gulping your $4 cokes, I was upstairs sipping my cocktail and enjoying Longhorn Steakhouse catering. I know, I know I’m a jerk.
Now on to the game…
‘Twas another nice night for the orange and blue. The offense was a sight to behold for much of the game. Can our running game be stopped? We played a Mississippi State team that has prided itself on having good defenses each year despite not enjoying overall success in the win/loss column. Nevertheless, we racked up 589 yards of offense, and more importantly, 390 yards on the ground. Both games this season we have worn down the opposing defense by the 3rd quarter. I will have to go back and look at the stats, but I am willing to bet that nearly 2/3 of our rushing offense has come in the 2nd half of each game. The defense made some mistakes early, but dominated again in the second half. The giant elephant in the room is our punt team. We still look terrible on punt returns. We had a punt blocked that cost us a TD as well. I hope we spend a lot of time on special teams this week in practice.
Auburn now ranks #2 in the nation behind only Florida in total offensive yardage so far. For the first time ever, we had back to back games with two players rushing for over 100 yards. Get used to if folks. McCalleb and Tate are a nice combo in the backfield. The real winner in all of this has to be Gus Malzahn. He continually comes up with plays that get our athletes in great 1-on-1 situations where they can make plays. I am looking forward to see what we can do against a West Virginia team that has a lot of team speed. It is going to take a defense with good speed to shut our offense down.
With all of this being said, I look at the rest of the season with “cautious optimism.” We have already proven that this team and this coaching staff is a vast improvement over last year. What remains to be seen is if we can keep it going. Lack of depth on the offensive line is a big problem… well it isn’t right now, but if Ziemba or Pugh go down with a injury, we may have some trouble. Let us hope that we can stay healthy and keep the momentum going. War Eagle.
