The Baylor Review: Ugly, Tough, but Good Enough
Auburn played an actual opponent to start their new era of Auburn football; not Arkansas Pine-Bluff, or UTEP, or Kent State, or Youngstown State, or Tennessee State, or Furman, or Texas State, or Missouri State, or Austin-Peay, or UL-Monroe, or Florida Atlantic. They played a Power Four team with a former 5-star quarterback. And this is what I thought about it…
😎 HOW I’M FEELING
I was obviously a little too homer about Auburn’s offensive potential. I think Baylor had a lot to do with that. They apparently bought an entire new defensive line. But at the end of the day, Auburn made enough plays on offense and stopped a ton of promising-looking drives for Baylor. They were the better team, and when the game finally got down to who had to make a play, Auburn made it
Auburn played a P4 team on a big stage with almost a completely new everything. Things aren’t always going to look good in Game 1. And as they say, the biggest improvement you make all season is between Game 1 and Game 2. They’re plenty to improve.
👍 WHAT I LIKED
I liked that Auburn got the ball to eight different receivers. I liked that five Tigers ran the ball. I liked that Auburn didn’t fumble. I liked that the defense was a true DJ Durkin defense and would let some dinks and dunks, but would make the stop when needed. I liked that Byrum Brown seemed to have 100 years back there a few times. but…
👎 WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
The three interceptions weren’t great, despite a the coaches saying it wasn’t all Byrum’s fault. The run game was not good, but again, I think that was more due to Baylor’s great defensive gameplan and Dave Aranda’s defensive acumen. The fair catch at the 2-yard line wasn’t the smartest thing in the world. The good thing is that most of this stuff is fixable with one film session.
👀 WHO STOOD OUT
Bryce Cain, the lone remaining member of the Freeze Four, had been moved to defensive back, but he made a massive hit in punt coverage and a few plays later, took a reverse 25 yards to setup Auburn’s first touchdown. It was good to see a guy who stayed around get some.
🤔 STILL THINKING ABOUT…
The multiple 4th down miraculous catches or penalty bailouts that led to Baylor 13 of their 16 points. Right after Auburn scored in the 2nd quarter, Baylor was driving near midfield. DJ Lagway threw a ball across the middle, the Auburn defender (I believe it was Eric Winters) made a play that looked worse than it was. The official five feet away didn’t call it, but the back judge that wanted to show off his arm chunked the flag in from 35 yards away. A few plays later, the Bears scored. Without that, Baylor likely punts and Auburn goes into the half with a 10-0 lead.
In almost the same situation in the 4th quarter, Auburn had just scored and Baylor was trying to mount a last minute score to tie the game. On 4th down, the Bears went for it and Lagway laid a perfect pass for the 5-foot white guy to lay out and catch and extend the drive. For as many stops the Auburn defense made, there were 2-3 more that had they been made, the game really wouldn’t have been close.
😬 STILL WORRIED ABOUT…
The run game. Honestly things seemed to get better when the two backup guards came in due to injuries. But I’m not sure we have the running backs or maybe even the quarterback to make things happen with zero holes to run through.
📈 DID ANYTHING CHANGE?
My thoughts on the run game and Auburn’s ability to bust a simple 10-yard run. I thought Byrum would be a tad quicker and I thought he’d run a few more people over. Maybe it was the turf, but it felt like anybody running the ball went down pretty easily. I do think Byrum will run somebody over once he gets in the open field.
🏆 THE BLOGLE GAME BALL
You have to give it to Eric Winters. He made the play when it mattered most to give Auburn the victory. He also caused the fumble in the 1st quarter and seemed to be in on every tackle downfield.
➡️ WHAT’S NEXT
Southern Miss is never absolutely terrible, but they are the perfect opponent for Auburn to come home to and fix the things that need to be fixed. The Golden Eagles aren’t the patsies that Georgia or Tennessee played in Week 1, and will give Auburn some decent competition, but are also still at the level that will allow Auburn to work the kinks out and make up for them later.
Last year, this felt like the kind of game Auburn would’ve been forced to lose by the football universe. This time, they found a way to win it. That’s one hurdle down in moving on to a new era that brings us back to the good, old eras of Auburn football.
