The Chick-Fil-A Bowl 2011

The Tigers are a slight favorite. Who knows what to expect in this game. Michael Dyer is gone. Coach Chizik is acting as defensive coordinator. Virginia is 8 & 4 on the season. This is all I know about them.

FIRST QUARTER

The two teams swap possessions to start the game, Virgina picking up a couple of first downs, Auburn going 3 and out from their 7. Mosely at QB looks like the same old Mosely---not good.
On their second possession Virginia gets a 27-yd TD on a post route. So far the Cavaliers look like the better team. Their offense looks quick and efficient. 5 plays 64 yards. There is certainly no improvement in our defense. We are getting no pressure on their quarterback.

Auburn 0 Virginia 7

Starting from the 40 after an out-of-bounds kickoff the Tigers get one first down on a 12-yd. run by McCalebb, but have to punt into the end zone. We can't throw the ball with Mosely, who hobbles off the field before the punt. Mosely is horrible. Their defense is whipping our offense. Virgina starts on their 20.
Virginia finally goes 3 and out and the Tigers block the punt!
Auburn is first and ten on the Virginia 15.
McCalebb runs it to the 3 on a burst.
Frazier runs it in from there.
Auburn gets a big special teams play and ties the game still in the first quarter.

Auburn 7 Virginia 7

We get a fumble recovery on the Virginia 32 but can't score. Parkey misses the 44-yd. FG attempt. Trotter plays the series. I feel better with him in there than Mosely at this point in time.
The Cavaliers drive to the Auburn 19 as the quarter ends helped by 2 personal foul penalities against Auburn, one of which was a terrible call.

END OF FIRST QUARTER

Auburn 7 Virginia 7
Virginia is dominating but the score is tied. The Tigers have done nothing on offense.

SECOND QUARTER

There's a run to the 5 right up the middle, a gain of 14.
There is a loss to the 9 on a complete pass.
There's a gain to the 5 and we're at 3rd and goal.
There's another wide open receiver for the touchdown. An easy pitch and catch. We give their receivers too much room just as we have all year. Their receivers have been wide open on critical downs. Evans doesn't properly cover his man. We had zone coverage with no pressure on their quarterback.

Auburn 7 Virginia 14

From the AU 15 McCalebb runs down the field to the Virginia 25 for a big 60-yrd gain. A pass to Blake moves us to a first and goal at the 5. McCalebb scores on the statue-of-liberty play and this game is tied. Barrett Trotter is in the game and is in charge. There was a great fake by Trotter on the scoring play.

Auburn 14 Virgina 14

Auburn executes the onside kick! I mean there was no Virginia player around the ball as Parkey recovers his own kick. This is the 6th straight sucessful onside kick by Auburn.
There is a long pass from Trotter to Blake to the 5! Now we're in business.
Frazier crashes thru from the 1 and Auburn takes the lead.

Auburn 21 Virginia 14

Virginia fakes a FG attempt but Auburn stuffs it.
The Tigers go 88 yards for the touchdown. Trotter hits McCalebb for the 25 yd. TD pass. Trotter and McCalebb are putting on an offensive show! Trotter is 6 of 10 so far for 130 yards. McCalebb has 6 rushes for 93 yards plus some big catches.

Auburn 28 Virginia 14

Unfortunately we let Virginia drive for a short FG in the waning seconds of the half. So many times they have wide-open receivers. I don't understand this. I know it's happened all year so maybe it's our personnel.

END OF FIRST HALF

Auburn 28 Virginia 17

THIRD QUARTER

It should be a wild second half. The game is very much up for grabs. Both teams have shown that they can move the ball. We are once again giving up too many big plays on defense. We leave so many opposing receivers wide open. Our defense needs to improve in this second half. We've given up 6 of 9 third conversions.
The Tigers get the ball to start the half.
The Tigers make a statement driving 80 yards right down the field for the touchdown. Tre Mason runs it in. Mason is running wild. Mike Dyer who?
Everything changed when Barrett Trotter came into the game.

Auburn 35 Virginia 17

Just when you thought we might have the game in hand Virginia drives 79 yards for a touchdown.

Auburn 35 Virginia 24

We mount a drive but Emory Blake drops a wide-open first down pass and we have to punt. At least we back them up to the 5 on the punt.
On third down we get the sack pinning the Cavaliers inside the one yard line!
We block the punt on a rugby kick for a safety! Why would you do a rugby punt from close formation in the end zone? That's a boner by Virginia.

Auburn 37 Virgina 24

Quan Bray makes a big return of 62 yards to the Virginia 15, but after another personal foul penalty we have to kick a 45 yard FG. We've ha 3 critical personal foul penalities in this football game so far. That's enough. Virginia has had no major distance penalities.

Auburn 40 Virginia 24

The Tigers take a 16 point lead into the 4th quarter.

END OF THIRD QUARTER

Auburn 40 Virginia 24
I hope we can do more than just hang on and win this game going away.

FOURTH QUARTER

What is going to happen in the final quarter? I really wonder.
Virginia drives to a first down to midfield.
There is an open receiver and Virginia is at the Auburn 31.
We've done a pretty good job stopping the run but they continue to have open receivers.
We move to 3rd and long for Virginia on the Auburn 33.
Incomplete pass with pressure on their QB from Gabe Wright.
Virginia will go for it on 4th and long.
Incomplete pass and Auburn holds. Once again we got pressure on their QB. That is the difference on these last plays---pressure, pressure, pressure.
With 12;41 left Auburn takes the ball on their 33.
The Tigers drive for a 37-yd FG and with 8:07 to go it's a 3 score game.

Auburn 43 Virginia 24

Virginia starts at their 21.
We get the interception as the ball bounces off their receiver and Jake Holland catches it.
The Tigers move the ball down to the Cavalier 5 and we have the pleasure of taking a knee as the game ends. Auburn wins their 5th straight bowl game.

FINAL SCORE

Auburn 43 Virginia 24

Freddy and I enjoy talking after the game. We have to feel good about Barrett Trotter. This is the feel good story of the game. Makes you wonder why they didn't play when Mosely struggled. The defense only gave up 7 points in the second half. We had some big special team plays with two blocked punts, one for a safety, and a successful onside kick.

We get to feel good tonight about the future of Auburn football.

Dyer to Arkansas State?

"Auburn also may be without Mike Dyer, who was suspended indefinitely earlier this month. Two different Arkansas State players tweeted Thursday that Dyer will be transferring there to join Malzahn, but there was no confirmation from any official source."

Kevin Scarbinsky
Birmingham News
30 December 2011

Waiting

This week we wait on the Chick-Fil-A Bowl. This is Tuesday and it will be here Saturday night. Auburn seems something like a 3-point favorite over Virginia. I know nothing about the Cavaliers and I don't plan on learning anything about them before the game. What happens will happen. Speculation continues on who our next coordinators will be. As far as I know, it IS all speculation. Only one man knows anything for sure, and he isn't talking.

Forget the Rose Bowl

I tire every year of the jabbering about the Rose Bowl. People chatter about the importance of the game. Brent Musburger calls it the "granddaddy" of them all. Who cares? I am not a Pac 12 or Big 10 fan. So, I could not care less. It is just another bowl game.

Chizik versus Roof

From Charles Goldberg:

Defensive back Demetruce McNeal joined the chorus of players who like Gene Chizik's intensity at practice while moonlighting as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach.

"It has been so much up-tempo with him," McNeal said. "You can see the big difference between him and Coach (Ted) Roof. Roof was kind of calm and tried to set things down. Coach Chizik comes in the meeting room and everybody just stops. You just stop and listen because he's the head coach and now he's the defensive coordinator.

"We're making sure we don't do anything wrong because if we do something wrong, it doesn't end well."

Malzahn Moves On

I wake up this morning to the news that Gus Malzahn will be new head coach at Arkansas State. Well, well, well.

At This Point Time Will Soon Tell

It's too early to know what kind of basketball team we have for there are a lot of new faces and we've played so few early season games. Time will soon tell.

Mike Dyer has been suspended for the bowl game. He may or may not be back on the team. We are looking to hire a DC after Ted Roof left for UCF. Most of the speculation so far has centered on Mark Stoops of FSU. Time will soon tell.

Will Mosely or Frazier play the most in the bowl game? Time will soon tell.

And time will soon tell whether Auburn will get its 8th win of the year. It sure would be nice.