BY Matt Scalici
15 October 2012
"It is what it is and I don't see it getting any better."
That was former Auburn coach Pat Dye's assessment of Auburn's disappointing 1-5 start to the 2012 season when he spoke on the Paul Finebaum Radio Network on Monday afternoon. Dye said he doesn't see Auburn winning an SEC game this season, including Saturday's game against Vanderbilt.
'I don't see us winning one Paul. It will be a big upset if we win Saturday against Vanderbilt. Everybody knows that that's not acceptable."
In assessing the fundamental problems with Auburn's 2012 squad, Dye said the Tigers' problems are numerous but that the quarterback position was the single-biggest obstacle to Auburn's success.
"We've got problems that are not solvable on offense," Dye said. "You've got to have a quarterback to win in this league. Every team that we've played, their quarterback has been better than ours."
Dye said that Auburn's struggles up front have likely made it more difficult for the quarterbacks to have success.
"In fairness to them (the quarterbacks), we've got a young offensive line starting, two sophomores and two freshmen and a senior that's not playing very well. They're getting more pressure than they should get and they're not handling it well."
Dye said the development of Auburn quarterbacks Kiehl Frazier and Clint Moseley is the key to turning around the program.
"In the 4th quarter, it's just total collapse. If you're gonna be a man, you want to stand up and be a man in the 4th quarter. If you're a good football team and you're a good football team, it's going to come down to the 4th quarter. I think in the 4th quarter we've had 9 turnovers and our opponents have had 2, and that comes down to the quarterbacks."
"Unless one of them stands up and becomes a man, and I haven't seen it yet, I don't think we stand a chance. Not against a good football team."
Despite Auburn's struggles, Dye reiterated his support for current Tigers head coach Gene Chizik.
"My confidence in Gene and that coaching staff has not changed. I still believe in them. I believe in them because of the kind of men they are and where they came from and what their history is. You can't have any better background. It's not what we're doing offensively and it's not the playcalling."
"The fact remains that we have gotten sub-par play at linebacker, which creates problems stopping the running game, and the secondary is young and growing. They played as hard as any football team I've ever seen at Auburn against LSU. If they'd done anything offensively they'd have had a chance to win it."
"There's a light at the end of the tunnel but it's tough walking through the darknesss. You've got to persevere."
Dye said two other SEC schools, Ole Miss and Alabama, provide perfect examples of what could be solutions to Auburn's quarterback issues.
"Mississippi did a smart thing when they went and got a junior college quarterback. He ain't no great quarterback but he's mature. He's man enough to take the criticism that comes with the position. If you can't take it, it makes a coward out of you. To me, that's the problem we've got right now.
"Coach Saban makes A.J. McCarron's job as easy as he can make it and he's doing a great job. He could probably expand what McCarron's doing and score 60 points a game but he's being smart and playing young players and managing the game."
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Coach Dye may be right,and although I will always think the world of him, he should keep his mouth shut. He is entitled to his opinions, but he should know that when he speaks about Auburn football, the whole world is listening. We need the next Auburn football coach to come in with the old fashioned Pat Dye mentality. In the meantime, Coach Dye, please shut up!
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