The Alabama Game

The big game each year has a different a different scenario, but it's always the same in one respect: it's always the biggest game of the year.  I't's different this year because Auburn is 3 & 8 and it is widely expected that Gene Chizik will be fired after this game.  I expect this to be the case although it still wouldn't surprise me if he is retained.  The Tigers are something like a 31 point underdog.  This must be the biggest spread in the history of the series.  I will say as I always do that this is not a series of upsets.  The numbers don't lie.  The team that is supposed to win this game almost always does. Auburn will have to play like it hasn't played all year to have a chance or to even keep the score respectable.  This is not likely. As Pat Dye used to say, there are no miracles on the football field.  I doubt there's much excitement at Bryant-Denny. Let's get it over with and see who our next coach will be.  I hope it's a good announcement and not like last time when it was Chizik.   The game is a 2:30 kick on CBS.

FIRST QUARTER

Alabama receives and drives 75 yards for the score helped enormously by two officiating fiascos.  A flagrant holding  is not called on a 22 yard completion.  On a third down a horrible interfence call on allows the Tide to go in for the touchdown.  It should have been  a FG attempt but the horrible, horrible call leads to the touchdown.  The ref from 20 yards away makes the call, not the ref at the scene.

Auburn 0  Alabama 7

The Tigers go three and out but we did have good protection on a third down incompletion.
A short punt and Alabama starts on their 39.
Will the refs continue to help Alabama?
Alabama drives again.  We can't defend their short passes.  We haven't defended short passes all year.
What else is new?
The score comes on a power run from the 2.  They are bigger and stronger.
Quentin Riggins says VanGorder is putting our guys in the right positions but they are not executing the scheme.  This game is starting just like every other game has started this year.  The Tigers start slow and the other team starts fast.  This is as we should expect.

Auburn 0  Alabama 14

AU starts on the 22.  Maybe we can make a first down before the half.
Pass incompletion.
2 yard gain by McCalebb.
There's a 16 yard completion for the first down to Blake.
There is a 17 yard completion to Blake to the Alabama 46.
We move to 4th and 5 at the 41.
Stan White says go for it for we have nothing to lose cause we are already down by 2 scores but Chizik decides to punt with less than a minute to go in the quarter.
The  ball rolls dead on the 12 with 45 seconds to go in the first quarter.
The quarter ends with Alabama having 2nd and 10 on their 12.

SECOND QUARTER

Our pass defenae is too soft.
Once again we can't stop them as we can't tackle.  We miss tackles right and left as we have all year.
The score comes on a TD pass from the AU 37 as their receiver beats Mincy by 3 steps.

Auburn 0  Alabama 21

The game is going just as expected.
Alabama is not a great team but they are clearly better than Auburn.  As much as anything this is Auburn not executing.  It's more Auburn not being good than Alabma being good.
12:38 to go in the half.
Louis is dropped at the 15.
Stan White comments again on how we should have gone for it on 4th and 5 from the Ala 41.
We make two first downs,.
We move to 3rd and 8.
Interception by Alabama.
Our receiver  was wide open by it was a poor throw by Wallace behind the receiver.
This is a case of Auburn not executing rather than Alabama executing.
Quentin says again that the defense is not executing what VanGorder is dialing up.
Our linebackers are not hitting their gaps.  We have the usual missed tackles and miss alignments.
The defense cannot carry out what VanGorder is trying to do.
His schemes are confusing for some of our players.
The TD pass comes on a 7-yd completion as our DBs are confused Stan White says.
Their receiver runs uncovered to the back of the end zone with no DB there.

Auburn 0  Alabama 28

We go three and out with a poor throw on 3rd down.

Alabama drives again.

Auburn 0  Alabama 35

We move the ball but Mason fumbes after a good run.  The score comes on a play that typifies this season.  The pass completion comes from the 30 as THREE Auburn defenders converge on the receiver at the 20 but the receiver runs thru all three of them. 

Auburn 0  Alabama 42

The half mercifully ends.

THIRD QUARTER

The third quarter is the same as the first half except that Alabama only scores once.  It helps that they fumble on our 7 late in the quarter.  Our offense is a zero.

Auburn 0  Alabama 49

FOURTH QUARTER

Fortunately there is no scoring in the final quarter.  The Tigers never come close to scoring.  Tre Mason gets 4 yards in his final carry, the last play of the game, to go over 1000 yards for the season.

FINAL SCORE

Auburn 0  Alabama 49

Act 1, this game is over.  Act 2 comes hopefully when Chizik is fired tomorrow or Monday.  Acxt 3 will come when we learn the name of the next Auburn football coach.  Act 4 will come when we learn about assistant coaches and recruiting results.