By Brant Daughtry
Steps, Forwards and Backwards
There isn’t much mystery around Alabama at this point is there? I usually start these by naming the coach and listing their accomplishments, but I don’t know if that’s necessary here. Quick run down, Nick Saban has been doing it for a long time, and he’s done it better than anyone else ever has. Titles on titles, and a sure spot in the territory of legend. He’s the best that’s ever done it, and he’s tormented Auburn the whole way.
The offense for this team has gotten better as the year’s gone on, shaking off a slow start losing to Texas and barely beating South Florida, since then becoming one of the more dominant units in the sport. This is mostly due to Bama committing to Jalen Milroe as quarterback, and letting him do what he does well. He’s a true running threat, second on the team in rush yards with over 500, who loves to throw the deep ball, and since they’ve committed to him, he’s been stellar. His improvement is a big reason they’ve already locked up a spot in the SEC title game.
The defense is a Saban defense. They’re going to be big, athletic, and physical. The secondary is strong, and the front seven has playmakers all over the field. Even when Alabama’s offense was a little slow out of the block, that unit never let up.
Players to Watch For:
Wide Receiver Jermaine Burton, #3- I talked about how much Milroe loves the deep ball, and Burton is usually who he throws it to. He’s the most dynamic wide receiver Alabama has, and big plays are his specialty. He leads them in receiving with 642 yards and six touchdowns, and averages an insane 22 yards per catch. It’s not a question of stopping him, it’s a question of limiting him.
EDGE Dallas Turner, #15- There are several players to chose from on Alabama’s defense, but I’m going with Turner. He would be recognized as one of the best players in the country if he wasn’t playing second fiddle to Will Anderson last year, and now that he’s Batman and not Robin, he’s been feasting. He has eight sacks and 11.5 tackles for loss, and is the most disruptive player they have. Auburn doesn’t have an offensive lineman that can block him by theirselves.
So, what the hell was that? Personally, I think it was a very obvious case of looking ahead. Which is concerning because Freeze said on Monday that they certainly weren’t doing that. As always, actions speak louder than words, and the actions of Saturday are indefensible. It is, by my estimation, and that of several others, the worst loss in program history. No loss to a bad SEC team compares. NMSU was 0-27 all time abasing P5 opponents until they stole $1.8 million from Auburn on Saturday.
The loss re-contextualizes the whole year for me. Prior to Saturday, you had lost to the good teams, and beaten the bad. You had even gone on the road to another struggling P5 team and won what was your most 50/50 game. Up until now, things were proceeding on schedule as expected, even if it wasn’t the prettiest at times. You were starting a rebuild from firmly in the middle of the SEC, and that was really the best case scenario for year 1. Then you lost by 21 at home as a 25.5 point favorite to a team that has averaged 116th in recruiting over the last six years.
Talent gap has been the excuse trotted out by Freeze every time Auburn has lost a game and looked lost offensively. Most of the time, I could stomach that. I didn’t think it explained the details, but it was valid. Talent had absolutely zero to do with this. New Mexico State does not have a better roster than Auburn. Period.
It is an established pattern that Hugh Freeze has at this point. While he is able to win games he shouldn’t at a significant clip, he has become much more likely to squander a game his team should easily win, as this is the third year in a row he has lost at home as a 20+ point favorite. Going back to his days at Ole Miss, we can find more instances, like a 30-0 loss to an Arkansas team that finished 7-6 in 2014. The highs are not high enough, and the lows scrape the bottom of the barrel.
Hugh Freeze has officially lost every fan that was on the fence. Many have gone from patience to fury, and Freeze has no one to blame but himself. Three weeks worth of progress and goodwill have been undone in an instant, and he now must do his best to crawl out of the whole he has dug for himself.
So here comes the Iron Bowl. The reason Freeze was hired: to beat Alabama. I am personally not super optimistic. Yes anything can happen in a home Iron Bowl, but the teams that beat Alabama are good teams, and with the exception of the 2021 game, Bama usually takes care of business against bad Auburn teams. But I still recognize that there’s weird Juju in that place. The fans will be ready to go. The atmosphere will be incredible. The recruiting section will be full of difference makers looking to be given a show. It is up to Freeze to take advantage of the situation, and not drop the ball once again.
