Film Study: Clemson (First Half)

This feature is a product of me being between jobs and the wonderful benefits of having DVR. I will do my best to go play by play to identify who did well, who missed assignments and hopefully identify areas of opportunity for this team. Maybe if I do well enough Coach Chizik will hire me.

1st Quarter

15:00 - Craig Sanders was the first one down the field on the kickoff (again) and Chris Davis wasn't far behind him. Both guys blew up their man and clogged the running lane. Davis made the tackle. Sanders was taking some cheap shots after the whistle and the Clemson player had shoved him down so Craig, from his ass, grabbed the Clemson player and threw him to the ground with ease. Gotta love The Animal.

14:52 - Ellington run right, gain of 1. Great team effort by the defense in occupying the blockers and clogging the running lanes. Everyone played their assignment well.

14:23 - Ellington draw, gain of 9 for a first down. We rushed four here and our ends got really far up field. They had Fairley in one on one but ran the draw, wisely, to the other side. Clayton was double teamed. Our LB's were dropping into zone coverage and didn't react quick enough to the draw. Craig Stevens tried to run around the block by the tight end and ran himself out of the play and Josh Bynes was a step slow to get to him before he reached the marker.

13:46 - Toss sweep right to Ellington, gain of 11. They lined up in tight formation and motioned Ellington to the right. Darren Bates was in man coverage against Ellington and was assigned to follow him across the field. He was simply too slow to keep up. Also, Aairon Savage should have forced the play back inside and could have stopped it for a short gain but he took a horrible angle and allowed Ellington to turn the corner and took himself out of the play.

13:28 - Harper carried to the right for a loss of 4. Great play by Zach Clayton. Absolutely blew up his man and forced Harper to go further outside than he wanted. Carter had pushed his man up field giving Harper no where to go. Clayton made the tackle.

12:50 - Screen pass to Harper, gain of 15. Well executed play by Clemson. Clayton and Fairley both could have done a better job of recognising the screen earlier but I'm not sure either would have been fast enough to catch Harper either way. Stevens and Bynes were both a step slow getting to the edge and allowed Harper to get past them. Savage came up to make the tackle but it is concerning our safety had to come UP to make a tackle 18 yards from where the player caught the pass.

12:26 - Harper run right, gain of 1. Great effort by Nick Fairley. Fairley started out lined up over the left guard but got double teamed by the center. He immediately recognised the play going to the right and he tossed the center to the side, stunted into the gap and blew up the play. Good job by Antoine carter collapsing the right side as well not allowing Harper to bounce it outside.

11:48 - Zone read hand off to Ellington, gain of 6. Our D-Line got owned on this play. All of them had one on one match ups and the only one to beat their man was Nick Fairley who had a chance to blow the play up for a loss but was juked out of his shoes in the back field. Josh Bynes was way too slow in recognising who took the hand off and Darren Bates had an offensive guard on the second level blocking him. Good effort by Clayton to chase the play down from behind.

11:09 - Fake fullback dive, toss right to Ellington, gain of 3 for a first down. Very frustrating play. We had our second string D Line in on this play (probably because it has been a long drive to this point and Roof just saw the whole first team get owned) which included true freshman Corey Lemoneir at rush end. He had outside contain responsibility on this play and bit on the inside fake giving Ellington room to turn the corner. Despite that Aairon Savage had the play read and came up to make the hit at the line of scrimmage but was carried forward for 3 yards before Ellington went down.

10:45 - Dive left to Ellington, gain of 19. The right side of our D Line was absolutely demolished on this play giving Ellington a HUGE cutback lane. Clemson had an unbalanced line with an extra lineman outside the right tackle. Nosa Eguae was one on one with that lineman and was pushed three yards off the line of scrimmage and out of the play. Mike Blanc got double teamed by the right tackle and right guard and was also pushed out of the play. Demond Washington should have contained the outside cutback but overran the play to the inside and then made a very weak attempt at an arm tackle just grabbing at air as Ellington ran by. Savage overran the play as well and had to reverse field to force Ellington out of bounds after the huge gain.

10:23 - Harper off left tackle, gain of 8. First team D Line back in there but not much better results. Clemson double teamed Nick Fairley with the right tackle and right guard but Michael Goggans got demolished by their tight end. A strong side d-end needs to be able to beat a tight end one on one to make the tackle. Bates ate up the fullback and Bynes caught the pulling guard. Ethridge came down to seal off the bounce outside to the left so Harper cut it back through the original hole. Savage came up to make the tackle but was again pushed back three yards from the point of contact.

9:46 - Hand off to Harper, loss of 4. This play was absolutely blown up by Nick Fairley. When I first saw it I thought it was miscommunication between Harper and Parker but this was a designed stretch play but by the time Harper and Parker met for the hand off Fairley was already three yards deep in the backfield. Try to leave him one on one and this is what happens. Carter and Bynes were there to combine for the tackle after Harper tried to reverse field.

9:07 - Shovel pass to Harper, gain of 8 for a touchdown. Well designed play by Clemson. Parker rolled to his left and they left Goggans unblocked to chase him up field. The left tackle crashed down on fairley and the left guard went directly to the second level (Stevens). The key block on this play was the center one on one with Mike Blanc (I assume we had both our pass rushing DT's in because 3rd and 7 is a passing down) and Blanc just couldn't get off the block. The right guard pulled around to seal off Josh Bynes who did a good job of forcing the play back to the right. Stevens did a great job of fighting off the block of the left guard but looked bad trying to make an arm tackle on Harper. The guard who Stevens fought off went on to knock Savage on his ass and the right corner, T'Sharvan Bell, had chased the receiver too far towards the middle of the field to get back to make the tackle.

8:59 - Extra point good.

This was a painful drive to watch but it is obvious this was a very well scripted drive and Clemson's running backs are very talented. Ellington's speed allowed him to make a few plays that few other running backs are capable of making and the cut back Harper made on his touchdown run was very nice. Clemson's staff did a great job neutralizing our best lineman (and paid dearly when they didn't) and exploited our weakest one on multiple occasions. They picked on Savage's side of the field quite a bit as well with obvious success.

8:59 - Demond Washington kickoff return fielded at the five, taken to the 32. Good return, great blocking.

--The game clock stopped working here so I won't have the time stamp until the 2nd quarter begins--

1st and 10: Newton held the ball for about 3 seconds in the pocket which is adequate time. The camera angle doesn't let me see what receivers may have been open but he took it down and ran for a gain of three yards.

2nd and 7: Great job running the HUNH, we were lined up ready to snap it with 26 seconds on the play clock. The refs stop the game with more clock issues (this is crippling to Malzahn's offense and our offense's rhythm). Once play is resumed we run Dyer up the middle for a gain of four. Their linebackers did a great job of holding their ground against pulling guards and fullbacks and not allowing the linemen to get to the second level.

3rd and 3: A little slower getting lined up here but still snapping the ball with 17 seconds left on the play clock. We line up with an unbalanced line with Ziemba outside Greene on the right side. Zone read hand off to Dyer is blown up in the backfield because A.J. Greene is tossed to the ground at the snap by the tackle lined up over him. I'm not sure how well the play would have worked either way, though. Isom pulled to the right and was going to lead Dyer around the edge but Clemson ran a zone defense which meant no one followed Kodi Burns on the fake reverse leaving no one to block the corner on that side. Isom would have had to choose between the safety (McDaniel) or the corner (Maxwell) leaving the other completely unblocked. Despite pulling both our guards to the right it looked as if Newton kept the ball he would have had more space to get the first down. That being said, Greene needs to make a block.

4th and 6: Shoemaker booms a 50 yard punt returned seven yards to the 22. Tackle made by T'Sharvan Bell and Craig Stevens.

1st and 10: Ellington dive to the right, gain of 1. Same as the first play of the game, everyone held their ground and occupied their blockers filling all the running gaps. Team effort on the tackle.

2nd and 9: Parker's first non-screen pass of the night falls incomplete. Great coverage by Bynes on the receiver. Somewhat of a lazy route on his part but Bynes did a great job not to get there early and deflect the ball away. If Bates wasn't so focused on knocking the Clemson player's head off he probably could have gotten a pick on the deflected pass.

3rd and 9: Parker's pass falls incomplete. Gutsy call by Roof to go into a Dime look the way Clemson had been running the ball. Jessel Curry lined up as our dime 'backer with Chris Davis being the dime corner. We only rushed four with a delayed blitz by Curry when Ellington stayed in to block. He needs to be careful there though, because after Ellington chipped on Goggans he went up field and would have been wide open if Parker had one more second in the pocket. Luckily Carter and Fairley whooped their men (not sure why they double teamed Blanc instead of Fairley) and Parker's pass was ugly as he tried to avoid the rush.

4th and 9: Punt of 38 yards fair caught by Carr at the 39 yard line.

1st and 10: Jet sweep to McCalebb, loss of 6. Another blown up play falls on A.J. Greene. Note to A.J.: I'm not sure who you thought you were supposed to block but when there is an all-conference defensive end lined up over you and the play is coming to your side, I suggest you at least make an effort to slow him down. Bowers came in completely unblocked while A.J. wonders into the second level looking around for a linebacker to block with none in sight. Had Greene made that block McCalebb would have turned the corner with three blockers for three defenders.

2nd and 16: Newton pass to Adams incomplete. Great pass blocking by the offensive line as Newton had all day to throw. Adams ran an out and up but Newton slightly overthrew him and also could have made the pass a little sooner with less loft which would have allowed Adams to make the catch before the safety came over. Later in the game we run this play to Zachery for a TD and the difference is Newton also makes a better pump fake. Would have liked to see Darvin lay out for this ball too since its just off his finger tips. Also, I know Gus is gutsy and this is who he is but after our first series goes 3 and out, is this time and down and distance really the best time to call this play?

3rd and 16: Newton scrambled for a gain of 20 and a first down but there is a holding penalty called negating the run. Everyone on the OLine did well except Isom who got worked to the inside. He should have let go since Pugh was there to help him out but instead he grabbed onto the Clemson player's shoulder pad and pulled him down.

3rd and 26: Reach around draw to McCalebb, gain of 10. It is what it is.

4th and 16: Shoemaker punt for 38 yards, fair caught at the 29.

1st and 10: Parker rolls right, pass complete for a gain of 1. Clemson's receiver goes in motion but is blown up by Darren Bates right after he made the catch. Can't tell if anything was open down field but it looked like we called the perfect defense for that play.

2nd and 9: Parker throws a bubble screen complete for a gain of 3. Clemson motioned Harper out as a receiver making a trips left set against one corner and Eltoro Freeman spaced wide. Harper went up field to block the corner while the wide receiver was supposed to crash in on Freeman. Freeman, despite being held, beat his man and made the tackle with Ethridge and Bynes coming in at the same time. Well defended play. The holding penalty put them back 10 yards.

2nd and 19: Parker pass complete to Dwayne Allen for a gain of 16. Fairley and Carter got good pressure but allowed Parker to break contain and scramble to his right. It looked like we were in a zone defense and just lost Allen as he was wide open in the middle of the field. There was also a receiver open along the right sideline that Parker missed that would have also been close to a first down. It is hard to say whose zone he was in but Bynes was originally was covering him but was no where to be seen when the pass was thrown.

3rd and 3: Parker pass complete to Jones for a gain of 4 and a first down. We decide to bring pressure here and we have moderate success with it but Clemson had the right play call. Jones was lined up in the slot one on one with Savage in man coverage. He ran a quick out route just beyond the marker and Savage was a couple steps behind him. A better pass and he could have cut it up field. Not sure if this was by design but I'd imagine that when we are bringing a blitz and there is only 3 yards to the first down we shouldn't be giving the receiver a nine yard cushion.

1st and 10: Ellington run up the middle for a gain of 2. Second string DLine in there again and did a great job. Jeff Whitaker held his ground at the line of scrimmage and then shed the block in time to make the tackle on Ellington. No real hole to run through.

2nd and 8: Play action pass to Allen for a gain of 14. We bit hard on the play action here. Zac Ethridge was in man coverage on the tight end and followed him across the formation when he went in motion to the left side. Allen ran a great route taking two steps forward like he was going to lead block for Ellington on the hand off then cutting hard right against the flow of the play. Bynes AND Stevens bit on the run fake and blocked Ethridge's path to follow Allen across the play. Good play design and execution by Clemson. Mike McNeil was the deep safety who came up to make the tackle and perhaps he could have recognised the play a little sooner.

1st and 10: Ellington dive off right guard, gain of 2. Good push by Mike Blanc and the rest of the 2nd string DLine allowing Stevens and Bynes to come up and make the tackle. No where to run.

2nd and 8: Parker sacked for a loss of 1. First string D Line back in there and you can tell. Guess who? Nick Fairley blasts through the line right at the snap and actually tackles the running back (who Parker faked the hand off to) and was athletic enough to dive back at Parker who had scrambled forward and tackle him. In contrast Goggans came in unblocked and hesitated when he saw Parker fake the hand off then was juked when Parker cut it up field.

2nd Quarter - Clemson 7 Auburn 0

At this point in the game when I was watching it live I was ready to pull my hair out but looking back it wasn't nearly as bad as it appeared. We only had two possessions on offense and on both occasions one player missed a block which put us in difficult down and distances. The defense was on their heels on the first drive but forced a great three and out on Clemson's second possession and has a 3rd and 9 here to get the ball back again.

15:00 - Parker pass complete to McNeal for a gain of 8. Creative blitz call by Roof. We rush three lineman (Carter, Blanc and Fairley) while Goggans drops back into coverage. Curry who is in as the dime 'backer again shows blitz to occupy the center but drops back into a middle zone. Ethridge comes up on a delayed safety blitz and has an open lane to Parker but he unloads it just before Ethridge arrives. Bell had the coverage and tackled him just short of the marker.

14:20 - Harper carries to the right for no gain. Great stand by the defense as even when we have stuffed them before it seemed like the pile moved for a yard or two. It looked as if Fairley knew the snap count because he got a perfect jump on the ball stonewalling the gap Harper was looking for. Darren Bates did a great job blowing up the full back which blocked the pulling guard from getting into the hole to clear out Bynes. With Bynes filling the only hole available he stepped up and made a form tackle stuffing Harper at the point of contact.

14:15 - Trovon Reed carries up the middle for a gain of 6. Again running with the unbalanced line to the right, this time the QB (wildcat in this instance) kept it. Again Bowers was left practically unblocked which must be by design but he nearly made the tackle in the backfield again before Reed shook him. Good push by the rest of the line to move the pile for a solid gain.

13:49 - Dyer takes the zone read hand off for a gain of 2. The line didn't do a very good job of making a hole for Dyer to run through. Clemson's OLB did a good job on staying at home forcing Newton to hand it off. The line did get a decent push moving the LOS back two yards but all the gaps were filled with orange helmets.

13:17 - Newton pass falls incomplete. We rolled Newton to the right and he had two receivers open. Emory Blake had about a two yard cushion on a deep out for a gain of 12 and Eric Smith had the same space for a quick out right along the first down marker. Newton waited a little bit too long to throw it to Smith but decided to anyways and overthrew the pass. If Smith was going to be his choice he needed to release the ball a second earlier. He stared down Smith allowing the linebacker to close on him which would have made even an accurate pass difficult for Smith to hold on to. If Newton looked down field he would have seen Blake was open for the easy completion as well. However Ziemba got flagged for illegal receiver down field and I'm not sure what he was doing. He was 8 yards past the line of scrimmage blocking linebackers before the pass had even been released. Penalty was declined.

13:12 - Shoemaker's punt travels 42 yards, returned 6 yards to the 23. Tackle made by Emory Blake and T'Sharvan Bell.

13:03 - Parker pass complete to Ellington for 7 yards. Clemson faked the hand off to Ellington and our interior line bit hard. Carter couldn't beat his man one on one and Parker had all day to throw. Stevens got off a block from the full back to track Ellington but an accurate pass and good catch gave them a solid gain.

12:56 - Parker screen pass to Ellington complete for a gain of 21. Another well executed screen pass by Clemson. Carter did his best to recognise it quickly but Ellington was a step too quick and stepped out of his shoe string tackle at the line of scrimmage. Stevens was occupied on a block by their right tackle and tried to arm tackle Ellington as he passed to no avail. Bynes had dropped into a deep zone and was out of the play while the corner on that side, Washington, was being blocked by his wide receiver 18 yards down field. We've seen it three straight weeks, our corners can't get off blocks.

12:28 - Ellington sweep left for a gain of 9. The center and left tackle pull as lead blockers infront of Ellington. Goggans again is neutralized by a tight end one on one. Fairley gets a good push on their left guard but it isn't enough to make the play in the backfield. Darren Bates, who is the LB on the side of the run, takes a horrible first two steps towards the middle of the field despite the back and the entire line pulling to his side. However he makes an extremely athletic move hurdling the pulling tackle but it is too late as Ellington is already past him. The slot receiver crashed down and blocked Bynes while the outside receiver locked up Thorpe 8 yards down field. Thorpe did get off that block in time to force Ellington out of bounds but our defense got owned on that play.

12:01 - Playaction pass falls incomplete. Good play by Clayton to keep contain on Parker as he rolled to his right and Fairley and Carter showed good backside pursuit forcing the quick decision by Parker (and getting in a good lick right after he released it). Stevens ran stride for stride with the back and the pass was over thrown.

11:52 - Harper carries to the left for a gain of 3 and a first down. The play was designed to go the and the defensive line did a great job of freeing up the linebackers to make a play here. Clayton and Bynes blew up the play side and forced Harper to cut it back. Fairley was fighting through a double team and Bates came up to fill the hole but didn't wrap up and allowed Harper to spin left out of the tackle. Once again Goggans couldn't beat the tight end and missed an arm tackle that would have ended the drive. Thorpe and Ethridge combine to make the tackle.

11:25 - Parker play action pass falls incomplete. Good job by Eguae to not bite too hard on the run fake and force Parker to throw the pass before his receiver is wide open. The pass was almost perfectly placed over an outreached Bynes but he barely deflects it enough to cause the wide receiver to drop the pass.

11:18 - Parker pass complete to Hopkins for a gain of 12. Where on the last play Eguae contained the Parker rollout and didn't give him much time, on this play Lemonier is neutralized by Clemson's right tackle. He put his head down to bull rush inside but needs to be more aware of where the quarterback is going. It looked like good coverage by Bell but a good pass was tough to defend. There was a 5 yard penalty on the play against Clemson which negated the play but I couldn't tell what the penalty was for (possibly ineligable receiver down field).

10:46 - Pass complete to Allen for a gain of 14. Clemson lined up their tight end Allen out wide as a receiver covered by Thorpe. The line got a good push and put pressure on Parker but a quick, acurate pass was nearly impossible to defend with that size mismatch on the outside. Really a terrific pass by Parker.

10:02 - Harper carries up the middle for a gain of 2. The play was well defended but he fought for the first down. Fairley was flagged for a questionable off sides penalty which made the play's results moot. It appeared to me as if Fairley, once again, timed his jump perfectly.

9:38 - Parkers pass falls incomplete. Clemson was trying to set up a wide receiver screen that likely would have gone for huge yardage if Carter doesn't bat this ball down. When they are setting up a screen it is hard to give too much credit to the line for breaking through as they were likely let through but good job on getting his hands up to stop the play. After he batted the ball it seemed like it hung in the air forever and if Carter could have kept his balance it could have been intercepted.

9:33 - Quick screen to Allen complete for a gain of 6. Allen back lined up as a tight end once again man handled Goggans than tossed him asside to turn around to make the reception behind a lead blocker. Bates was the victim of the lead lineman but did a avoiding the block but couldn't bring the big guy down. The play was run to Thorpe's side who had to fight off a block by Harper, who had motioned out as a receiver, to make the tackle.

9:07 - Harper sweeps left for a loss of 7. Josh Bynes blitzed right through the middle of the line on this play and blew it up in the backfield. Good job by Clayton to hurdle the cut blocker and provide backup as Harper tried to shake loose of Bynes. Big defensive play to force the field goal attempt.

8:25 - 42 yard field goal is good.

8:19 - Kickoff returned from the goal line for 17 yards.

8:12 - Dyer takes the hand off and carries for a loss of 2. On this play Isom and Greene pulled leaving Bowers unblocked again. This meant Newton had to hand off on this zone read. Greene did a good job pulling through the hole but Isom hesitated before initiating his block which clogged up Dyer's running lane forcing him to hesitate. If Isom blows his man up Dyer may have shot through the hole but there was still a little traffic to navigate.

7:37 - Dyer carries up the middle for a gain of 3. Once again there was no hole for Dyer to run through. The line got a decent push but all the gaps were filled. It looked like Dyer possibly could have bounced it outside and tried to beat the linebacker to the corner but we need our line to open up the hole where the play is designed.

7:03 - Newton pass complete to Adams for a gain of 23. Great protection from the offensive line and a good job by Newton to go through his reads, look at the check down, than come back to Adams who broke open down field. The pass was on a rope right between the 8 and 9 on Adams' chest.

6:45 - McCalebb carries around left tackle for a gain of 17. Malzahn reaches into the bag of tricks and has Auburn huddle close to the spot of the ball then when they break huddle McCalebb is ducked down behind the right guard. A quick snap and Newton hands off to McCalebb who carries it for a big gain.

6:22 - Play action pass falls incomplete. Newton once again rolling right has Eric Smith open in the flats and over throws him. Would have been a gain of at least four or five yards.

6:14 - Dyer takes the option pitch off the right side for a gain of 8. Newton could have attacked Bowers a little more before pitching it and it would have been nice if Zachary held his block a bit longer on the outside but overall good execution for a solid gain. Lutzenkirchen had a great cut block on a linebacker as well.

5:47 - Newton keeps it up the middle for a gain of 16. Great run by Newton through the first bit of daylight this line has created but A.J. Greene is flagged for holding. It is unclear if Newton would have made it through the gap without the hold but Greene definitely could have let go sooner and we still would have gotten the first down. This is an absolutely killer penalty on our first successful drive of the night.

5:27 - Newton pass falls incomplete. It looked like Newton looked at Adams a second too long before releasing the pass giving McDaniel time to come over to make the play. It was a perfect pass that Adams would have caught but McDaniel was able to get there and knock it out of Adams' hands. It also looked as if he had Carr open along the left seem for a first down.

5:19 - Shoemaker's punt travels 47 yards for a touchback.

5:10 - Harper takes a toss sweep around left end for a gain of 4. This play run by Ellington earlier in the game for a gain of 11 but this time Thorpe was out there in zone coverage and held his own against a pulling guard forcing Harper out of bounds after a moderate gain.

4:48 - Brown carries around left end for a gain of 7 yards and a first down. Parker faked the hand off up the middle and handed it to the receiver on an end around. Freeman, Thorpe and Carter all crashed inside taking them out of possission to make the tackle. Bynes fought off a block and chased down the receiver but was a step slow in getting him before the first down marker.

4:22 - Play action pass to Allen for a gain of 16. Allen started on the left side of the formation and streaked against the grain behind a slanting line. This is another play they ran earlier except last time Ethridge got caught in traffic and couldn't make the play. This time Bynes has this responsibility and gets caught leaning to his right and can't keep up with Allen after he makes the catch. Washington makes the tackle.

4:04 - Ellington carries right for a gain of 2. The play was designed to go left but all the gaps were filled there. Blanc did a terrific job of fighting off his block and filling the cutback lane.

3:28 - Parker pass falls incomplete. Roof brings five guys on this play blitzing two linebackers and dropping Carter back into coverage. Parker reads this and delivers a quick pass but the receiver wasn't ready. Good coverage by Washington.

3:23 - Parker pass falls incomplete. Roof once again dialed up a blitz bringing Stevens in addition to the four down linemen but Clemson's line protects well. The had two hitch routes right at the first down marker. Allen was the inside receiver covered tight by Ethridge while he had an outside receiver with a big cushion from Bell. The pass appeared to go between both but Allen reached out for it and couldn't haul it in.

3:18 - Clemson's punt travels 52 yards for a touchback.

3:08 - Newton carries up middle for a gain of 8. Good read by Newton. He faked the hand off to McCalebb which froze the end long enough to open a gap just off the right guard. A.J. Greene did a great job getting to the second level and finding a linebacker to block.

2:43 - McCalebb carris around left end for a gain of 3 and a first down. Lutzenkirchen didn't get a good push on his block on this play and Clemson's defensive end showed impressive speed forcing the play far outside. McCalebb made an impressive cut back to avoid being tackled for a loss and picked up the first down.

2:31 - Zachery carries around left end for a gain of 2. It is hard to say whose responsibility it was to pick up McDaniel but he came flying in from his safety spot and forced Zachary to cut it further outside than the play was designed. It looked like Ziemba would have had the best shot at him but he didn't see him coming, while Adams saw him but was screened by Ziemba and couldn't get there. As a result niether player blocked him and the play was stopped for a short gain.

2:03 - Newton pass intercepted by McDaniel. Burns was the intended receiver on a wheel route which was wide open. But, Newton rolled right into the pressure and was forced to throw it off his back foot which lofted the pass way too much giving McDaniel time to come over to make the play. It was a bad throw but McDaniel made an awesome play on that ball being 10-15 yards away when it was released and timing his jump absolutely perfectly to catch the ball just above Burns' hands and come down with it.

1:54 - Pass complete to Jones for a gain of 10. Slip screen to the receiver out of a trips set to the right side. The linebackers are in soft zone coverage but good effort by Blanc to chase the play down from behind. Auburn got robbed on the spot as it should have been about half a yard short of the marker but they give them the first.

1:42 - Pass complete to Dye for a gain of 15. Auburn brings Stevens on a blitz giving Auburn five pass rushers but Clemson leaves seven in to block. No one gets a great push but Parker released the pass quickly on a five yard hitch. Bell had the coverage and both he and McNeil overpursue the play to the outside allowing Dye to cut it back inside for the big run after the catch. Bell recovers to make the tackle with Bynes.

1:34 - Parker pass incomplete. They were trying to set up another screen to Harper here but we did a great job of getting quick pressure and forcing Parker to throw it into the dirt. Blanc and Bates on a blitz had the pressure while Bynes and Stevens were converging on Harper.

1:29 - Parker pass complete to Dye for a gain of 12. Another quick wide receiver screen. Bell was neutralized by his receiver and Stevens was a step slow getting around the lead blocker. Savage forced the play out of bounds.

1:21 - Parker pass complete to Harper for a gain of 24 and a touchdown. Perhaps the catch of the night in college football by Jamie Harper. Perfect pass by Parker and an amazing catch by Harper in the end zone. Only Fairley was able to break through Clemson's line to provide pressure but it wasn't in time. Parker's initial pump fake to the screen gave Harper just enough space behind the safeties to make the play. Its hard to fault Ethridge who had the coverage after we have been burned all night on the screen pass. They had been setting this up.

1:14 - Extra point good.

1:14 - Kickoff fielded by Washington at the 6 and returned for 24 yards to the 30.

1:05 - Newton tackled for a loss of 1. It is hard to tell what happened on this play since they were showing the 17th replay of Harper's touch down catch but it didn't look pretty.

0:43 - Another play that was disrupted by ESPN's broadcast team. It flashed back to the game in time to see Newton throw a dart to Burns who was being molested by the Clemson defender. Pass interference called.

0:38 - Newton sacked for a loss of 4. Again the line got demolished and Pugh was called for holding. The penalty was declined.

0:27 - McCalebb tackes the reach around draw for a gain of 15 yards. Great blocks by Ziemba and Berry on this play setting up a huge hole for McCalebb to run through. McCalebb then used his speed to simply burn the Clemson linebacker and cut the ball upfield. He then makes a good juke move to freeze the corner and pick up another 5-6 yards and get out of bounds.

0:19 - Newton scrambles for a gain of 14. This is a play that makes Newton so valuable. He looked down field for a few seconds and when nothing was there he was able to use his speed to pick up big yardage.

0:09 - Newton draw for 16 yards. A designed draw play once again gets good blocks from Ziemba and Berry while Isom slips to the second level and picks up a linebacker. It is amazing how easy he made those two carries look and he just covered nearly a third of the field. Good awareness to dive down at the end of the run and not get caught fighting for extra yardage and running out the clock.

0:02 - Wes Byrum's 35 yard field goal is good.

Game Review: Clemson

Knee-Jerk Reaction
This team is not good for my health. The inconsistencies and weaknesses of this team were abundantly apparent Saturday night but so was the team unity and leadership that give them the potential for great things. The talk of achieving great things, though, needs to be put on hold for the time being. I think its safe to say Cam Newton isn't going to win the Heisman this year. It's also safe to say that until this team shows they can put together four quarters of solid play on both sides of the ball there are plenty of teams in this conference capable of beating them. After that extremely grueling game, both physically and mentally, there isn't much time to celebrate victory with the 'Cocks coming to town in just six more days. The most disturbing observation against Clemson was the lack of a push from the offensive line against a team who got gashed by North Texas in week one. Clemson getting Jarvis Jenkins back surely helped but with the veteran offensive line that we are fielding you'd expect a much better performance. The holding calls were crippling in the first half and are evidence that they are playing lazy, sloppy football up front. Despite the 24 points and over 400 yards yielded, the defense is a strong unit. They seemed to take a little while to get into a grove as they were on their heels through Clemson's entire opening drive but a lot of credit should be given to the ACC Tigers as their running backs are legit, their offensive line is tough and Kyle Parker is a gamer. My final note on this game, appropriately, is to give the utmost respect and credit to one of the best kickers in Auburn history, Wes Byrum. He has ice running through his veins and is as solid as any kicker in the country inside 45 yards. When he finishes this season he will be the all-time leading scorer in Auburn history and deserves to be recognised as one of the great players in our storied program.

Positives
Wes Byrum - He deserves the top spot here this week after his 39-yard game winning field goal in overtime. Though he nailed it through the center of the uprights with apparent ease, that kick from the right hash was anything but easy. He has also been handling the kick off duties this year and though few of his kicks reach the endzone, he is getting fantastic hangtime on those kicks allowing our coverage team to get downfield and make the tackle.

Onterio McCalebb - I have failed to give McCalebb much credit in the first two weeks and that is a disservice to the impact he has had on this offense. His ability to stretch the defense wide really loosens up the middle of defenses for Newton and Dyer to make plays between the tackles. His touchdown run Saturday night was a thing of beauty. His rare speed allowed him to turn the corner on a fast defense, he then turned on the jets burning past the linebackers, and when the safety thought he was closing in to drive him out of bounds McCalebb planted his foot, cut inside and bolted into the endzone. He carried the ball 10 times for 81 yards and that touchdown which made him Auburn's best offensive weapon.

Darvin Adams - If Lee Corso were here I'm pretty sure my last sentence would have drawn a quick "not so fast, my friend." Adams might have something to say about being the best offensive weapon after his five catch, 118 yard performance including a spectacular toe dragging touchdown that tied the game late in the third quarter. Adams is clearly Newton's favorite target as he was the only player who caught a pass until Terrell Zachery's 78-yard touchdown reception with 0:48 left in the third quarter.

Gene Chizik - The biggest positive of the game was the composure the team showed when getting down 17-0 and coming out in the third quarter with the right attitude. Even when the opening drive ended with an interception at the one yard line the team didn't hang their head or give up. When the defense had Clemson backed up and got called for a 15 yard personal foul they didn't get frustrated and let that play lead to more gaffs. The defense bucled down, forced three straight punts while the offense turned those three posessions into 21 points. This team always believes they can win, they believe in each other and they believe in their coaches and all of the credit for that should be given to Coach Chizik. He is always composed and his confidence in the players and his staff is what allows those people to believe in themselves and each other.

Negatives
Cameron Newton - In weeks one and two I called it nitpicking because his mistakes or imperfections were far overshadowed by his playmaking ability. This week his weaknesses were exposed and I believe we have legitimate issues at this position. Newton is a rare athlete that will always give us a chance to win. There are a lot of things he does better than any other quarterback in the country but there are simple things, things needed to be a successful quarterback, that he needs a lot of work on. He stares down his receivers and struggles with his touch and accuracy. He floated the pass to a wide open Kodi Burns that allowed the safety to come over to make a pick while gunning one two feet over the head of Eric Smith on a check down in the flats. He has a huge arm to get the ball down the field but he struggles with making quick decisions and often holds the ball too long which forces him into the decision to chuck it up or duck it and run. Against quality defenses (Clemson's is good but far from the best we will see) he will be forced into mistakes and we won't always be able to overcome them. Coach Malzahn says that one of Newton's best attributes is he never makes the same mistake twice. There are a lot of different ways to throw an interception but let's hope he spends a lot of time this week working on some of his fundamentals and decision making.

Offensive Line - For a veteran unit with two All-SEC players they were absolutely horrible on Saturday night. There were blown assignments, players getting blown backwards, and critical plays that were blown due to mindless pentalties. The offensive line blew. No one player was exempt from criticism after this game except for maybe John Sullen who came in after A.J. Greene went down with a knee injury. Sullen didn't get called for one penalty and we seemed to hear a lot less from DaQuan Bowers after his arrival.

Craig Stevens - I know it was his first game back and he surely had some rust but his performance was absolutely pitiful. He was constantly getting caught up in traffic and losing his man on screens. When he was in position to make a play he looked more like a scared freshman diving at the ball carrier trying to make an arm tackle instead of staying on his feet, planting his facemask into their sternum, wrapping up and driving his legs. Stevens is a veteran player who knows how to tackle but he didn't show it on Saturday night. I'd expect he's going to have an ugly film session and a tough week of practice ahead.

Looking Ahead: South Carolina
The mistakes and inconsistencies will eventually catch up with this team if they aren't corrected. I'm not sure if USC is as good as everyone is claiming right now but they appear more than capable of coming out of Jordan-Hare with the win if we insist on turning the ball over and commiting mindless penalties. As it has been said before, if this team finds a way to put it all together they are capable of beating any team in the country but we have yet to see that and are getting to the point where we shouldn't expect it to happen. Perhaps inconsistency is the identity of this offense. Perhaps undisciplined penalties are an attribute of this team. Until they prove otherwise, that is what I am going to expect to see and just hope that the big play ability and some timely defensive stops will continue to lead us to victory.

Time to Get the Gus Bus Rollin'

Many people, myself included, are wondering what has happened to Gus Malzahn's hurry-up no-huddle offense so far this fall. We haven't been huddling but we have been doing anything but hurrying. Last year we saw us run what most teams would call a "2 minute offense" pretty much non-stop. Last week Auburn got the ball with 2:18 left in the half and Malzahn calls five runs verse three passes and we take a timeout into the locker room as we let the final seconds tick off the clock from the MSU 39 yard line. In 2009 we averaged roughly 70 plays per game and Malzahn wasn't happy with that, setting a goal of getting to 80 plays per game for the 2010 season. Through two games the offense is average merely 66 plays per game. So, the question has to be asked, when will the Gus Bus quit riding the breaks and kick it into overdrive?

This week. Why not?

Perhaps there is a reasonable explanation for the pedestrian pace against Arkansas State and Mississippi State.

Against the Red Wolves Auburn's offense was trying to keep things fairly vanilla. There was no real reason to run everything at full tempo. The offense was picking up yardage in huge chunks with some very quick scoring drives (6 under 2 minutes) that didn't require a lot of plays to get it done. On the defensive side of the ball we were playing soft coverage giving up a lot of underneath passes and allowing Arkansas State to win the time of possession battle by nearly 10 minutes. That combined with Auburn running merely six plays in the final nine minutes while the second and third teamers picked up some garbage time reps further explains the low number of plays run by the offense in the season opener.

After putting up 52 points in week one few were concerned about the number of plays ran or the pace of the offense. All expectations were that against Mississippi State we would open up the offense full throttle to put Cam Newton and all of the weapons around him on display. A mere 348 yards and a second half shutout later and the questions began to pop up. The 65 offensive plays ran against the Bulldogs may not be as easily explained as the 67 against ASU but I'll give it a shot. Going into the game one of the biggest factors mentioned was the volume of the crowd and all of their cowbell glory. Frequently we saw the offense hurry to the line quickly only to look to the sidelines for an adjustment while the play clock ticked down. It reminded me more of Tony Franklin's no huddle offense than Gus Malzahn's. Likely the reasoning was that with the crowd noise and MSU DC Manny Diaz's blitz-happy reputation we wanted to get to the line and check off based on what the defense showed and we relied on signals from the sideline rather than having Newton try and make the call. In the second half we saw three consecutive drives move into MSU territory only to end with zero points due to penalties and a missed field goal. There is no doubt that with the defense playing well and the hostile environment we saw Malzahn call his most conservative game to date.

Looking towards the showdown on the Plains this Saturday it is hard to find an excuse not to see Malzahn's offense running full bore. The defense has proven to be able to come up with big stops and play well when placed in difficult situations. There is more depth on defense as well which should allow the offense to run full steam without worry from the coaching staff that the defense wont be able to keep up. The crowd will be on Auburn's side so unwanted crowd noise will not be an issue. The two veteran players who left last week's game with injuries, Mario Fannin and Lee Ziemba, have both already returned to practice and are expected to play on Saturday. Perhaps most notably, Malzahn and many of the offensive players have acknowledged the slower pace and vowed to ramp up the tempo this week, going as far to say "if we run 80 plays, we will win the game."

Also, freshman summer phenom Trovon Reed has been said to be ready to go since week one but has been held out of both games but should be good to go this week adding another element to what Malzahn is able to do. Add the development of Mike Dyer at running back, likely becoming the workhorse runner this offense has been missing and there is no reason we shouldn't see the full strength of the 2010 offense.

More plays and more weapons may not equal more points against a strong Clemson defense but I do expect Malzahn's offense to return to "warp speed" pace. No excuses this week, the Gus Bus is gassed up and ready to take off.

ACC Pride In Clemson's Hands

No conference took a bigger hit on "Monster Saturday" than the ACC. Heading into the season the ACC had four teams (#10 Virginia Tech, #12 Miami (FL), #15 Georgia Tech, #17 Florida State) with legitimate hopes at playing in BCS bowl games, possibly National Title Consideration. Those teams are a combined 3-5 after two weeks with the three wins coming against Florida A&M, South Carolina State and Samford. Miami and FSU had marquee match ups against other title contenders Ohio State and Oklahoma, respectively, and lost by a combined 42 points. Ouch! Georgia Tech who is the defending ACC Champion was playing a Kansas team riding a seven game losing streak including an opening week 6-3 loss to FCS North Dakota State. Kansas 28, Tech 25. Ouch!

Amazingly, none of those were the most embarrassing loss of the weekend of the ACC's title contenders. Virginia Tech, after an opening week loss to an allegedly strong Boise State team, bounced back with a stunning loss to FCS opponent James Madison 21-16.

The Hokies aren't the only BCS conference team with a loss to an FCS oppponent this season. Ole Miss? Below average team with QB issues. Minnesota? Bad Big Ten team with lots of issues. Kansas? Bad Big-12 team with a new head coach. Virginia Tech? Established coaching staff, veteran Heisman contender at QB, two All-ACC running backs, one of the best defensive coordinators in college football... HOW?

The rest of the conference did nothing to make up for their money-maker's ineptitude. The team everyone thought was ready to take a big step forward in 2010 was North Carolina who has now been dismantled by two NCAA investigations ridding Butch Davis' squad of many of their best players. Wake Forrest picked up the first conference win with a back and forth offensive scrimmage against perennial doormat Duke. Boston College is sitting at 2-0 after very uninspiring wins over Weber State and Kent State. Maryland nearly lost to Navy before beating up on Morgan State (Who??). Virginia picked up a win over Richmond before losing to a very pedestrian looking Southern Cal team. NC State blew past Western Carolina before pulling out a seven point win at UCF.

So, basically, NC State's seven point win against a mid-major is the best victory by any team in the conference this year. I hear people knock the SEC's out of conference schedules and we defend it by pointing to the slobber-knocking that goes on during in-conference play. I have never seen so many FCS opponents on team's schedule as the first two weeks of play in the ACC. And with the top of the conference looking pretty average, it is probably safe to say that the ACC is the worst BCS conference in America, and possibly worse than some of the mid-major conference.

Now, it all comes down to Clemson, and they will get their stage. Last year's Atlantic division champion didn't get much preseason hype with the loss of C.J. Spiller, Jacoby Ford and Ricky Sapp to the NFL and the expected departure of QB Kyle Parker to the Colorado Rockies. Parker passed on an $800,000 signing bonus to play football this fall and Clemson believes they have the pieces in place to make a run at a conference title (looking more feasible now). But, will they be able to do something no one else in their conference has been able to do thus far this season and beat a ranked opponent?

ESPN's College GameDay will be on hand in Auburn to watch the battle of the Tigers as Clemson tries to salvage whatever dignity might be left for the ACC. So far this year Clemson has done about as much as their other 2-0 conference members having picked up their wins over North Texas and FCS foe Presbyterian. Certainly there will be a lot of pride on the line for Clemson and also the opportunity to become the conference's top team. Fans of FSU, Miami or Georgia Tech likely don't often cheer for Clemson, but they better root hard for them next Saturday because they're the ACC's last hope.

Week 2: Bets to Make Your Money Back

After a dismal 2-8 opening week on the books I need to make some money back... I've got the picks to get it done this week.

Georgia Tech -14 at Kansas
This is the same Kansas team who lost 6-3 to North Dakota State, right? Thought so. This is the Georgia Tech who are the defending ACC champions, right? Thought so. Tech's triple option is always hard to prepare for and its even harder for an out of conference opponent to prepare for it since the game doesn't have the conference implications that cause a team to really circle the wagons for a must-win type game.

East Carolina -13.5 vs. Memphis
East Carolina likely isn't as strong as they were under Skip Holtz but their season opening win over Tulsa showed they still know how to put up points, something Memphis proved completely inept at doing for 46 minutes against Mississippi State. The Tigers are in major rebuilding mode and just aren't there yet while ECU should still have enough left from Holtz's success to win this one at home fairly easily.

South Florida +16 at Florida
Florida looked really bad last week. I'm sure they will make adjustments and improve but USF is a much better opponent than Miami (OH). Auburn fans know well how much USF likes to get up for these big out of conference games. Florida will need to tighten up fast just to win this game, which I think they will, just not enough to cover the spread.

Florida State +7 at Oklahoma
Oklahoma also had a very shaky opener, squeaking out a 7 point win against Utah State last week. Christian Ponder will light up the Sooner secondary and Greg Reid will make a big play in special teams. This is way too tight of a game for OU to give up a full touchdown.

Miami (FL) +8.5 at Ohio State
Too much Ohio State hype going into this game. Miami looked very impressive in their opener and have the athletes capable of containing Terrell Pryor. This is another game that is sure to come down to the wire and if The U doesn't win straight up they will surely cover the 8.5 points they're getting.

LSU at Vanderbilt +10
Vanderbilt looked impressive in their heart breaking loss to Northwestern to open the season and the nerds in Nashville are surely smart enough to know not to kick to Patrick Peterson. The wheels are coming off in Baton Rouge and while they may sneak out with another win this week they will continue to show coaching ineptitude and the biggest waste of talent in the country.

Oregon -12 at Tennessee
Maybe Derek Dooley fooled a lot of people with his 50-0 win over Tennessee-Martin in week one but he won't be able to hide his deficiencies this week against the Ducks. Oregon's 72-0 drubbing of New Mexico might have built up a heap of bad karma but it won't keep them from covering the spread in Knoxville.

Arkansas -34 vs. Louisiana-Monroe
Arkansas has a game under their belt to warm up while the schedulers at UL-Monroe decided their bye week would best be put to use in week 1. Good luck shaking off the rust against Ryan Mallet and Bobby Petrino's offense. Arkansas showed last week that against putrid competition their defense is capable at least slowing them down. The Hogs should have this one covered through three quarters.

Mississippi -20.5 at Tulane
First of all, why is Ole Miss playing AT Tulane? Way to be second class Rebels. Speaking of second class, how the hell did you blow a 20 point lead against FCS Jacksonville State and embarrass yourselves and our esteemed conference?? If Ole Miss was playing even an average opponent I would say that the mess that the Reverend has created down in Oxford could call for another upset but Tulane snuck past Southeastern Louisiana in week 1 and that score was more indicative of their talent level than Mississippi's loss to Jax State. The Rebels have serious issues but they will do enough to dominate Tulane this week.

Stanford -6.5 @ UCLA
The Stanford Cardinal should be contenders for the Pac-10 championship this year and UCLA is probably still a year away, especially after the injuries they have suffered. Their opening week loss to Kansas State did nothing to show me they will be able to stay within a touchdown of a better Stanford team. I really like what Jim Harbaugh has going on in Palo Alto.

Game Review: Mississippi State

Knee-Jerk Reaction
Phew. I can't remember the last time I was this nervous before an Auburn football game. And thinking more about why that is I realized the true implications of winning or losing last night. If we lose that game we would be immediately behind the 8-ball in the SEC West having lost to a team that should be no better than 4th best in the division and to make matters worse the public perception of losing to Mississippi State, no matter how improved they may be, would severely limit our ability to claim we are on our way back to elite status. In addition, it could hurt the mental psyche of this team. They have spent all summer talking about "Good to Great" and playing for championships; it is hard to convince yourself you are "great" or ready to compete with the big dogs in this conference if you can't beat Mississippi State. So what did the win mean? Chizik's road record as a head coach hasn't been pretty and to go on the road in a hostile environment and beat a team who circled this game as a must-win is huge for building confidence for this team. And what may be more beneficial is the way we won it. Ted Roof had been under a little heat after fielding the worst statistical defense in school history in 2009 and getting off to a shaky start allowing 366 yards in the opener to Arkansas State. For Auburn's defense to hold Dan Mullen's offense under 250 yards of total offense, only 14 points, and come up with big stops at critical moments was just what this team couldn't do last year against Kentucky, Georgia and Alabama. Nick Fairley was an absolute beast in the first half and if he can maintain that level of play this defense should continue to be strong.

Positives
Cam Newton - Making his second consecutive appearance in this slot, Newton showed that he is capable of getting it done against a quality SEC defense. He didn't break any big runs but he converted multiple critical 3rd downs and showed he isn't afraid to lower his shoulder and plow through a defender. If he gets the slightest bit of daylight he will pick up at least five yards simply by falling forward.

Nick Fairley - Already mentioned above Fairley dominated in the middle of this defense and was the absolute difference maker Thursday night. His 3 tackles, 2.5 TFL, 1.5 sacks, fumble recovery and interception are sure to earn him SEC Defensive Player of the Week. What's scary is when he was making most of those plays he was fighting through double teams and still making the play.

Brandon Mosley - When Lee Ziemba went down I was absolutely terrified. Mosley has never played a live snap at tackle at any level and was called upon unexpectedly to stop All-SEC defensive end Pernell McPhee, and he did. Reports from Twitter claim Ziemba's injury was just a bruised knee and he should be back next week but it sure is nice to know someone like Mosley is capable of filling in admirably.

Negatives
Mario Fannin - I hate to put him here two weeks in a row since I was very confident this off season in Super Mario's ability to step in where Ben Tate left off and become another in a long line of great running backs at Auburn. Though it has only been two weeks I think it is safe to say that isn't going to happen. Not only because of his second consecutive poor performance but also because the coaches clearly don't call his number on running plays as frequently as they do McCalebb and Dyer. Further hindering his future at running back was the late game shoulder injury he suffered on the same shoulder he hurt prior to his sophomore season forcing him to move to the less physical slot receiver position. If he is healthy I do expect Fannin to continue to be used at running back because of what he brings to the passing game, both in protection and as a versatile receiver, but it is probably safe to assume that Mike Dyer will see his carries increase against Clemson.

Gus Malzahn - Dr. Gustav? What is he doing here? Let's see, when we were backed up inside of our own 10 yard line Gus called three straight run plays with Onterio McCalebb right up the gut for gains of one, two and two. If we're scared to let Cam drop back and throw from our own endzone, than why not run a QB draw which had consistently picked up 4-5 yards or more? If we want to run dive plays up the middle why not put in Mike Dyer, our best between the tackles runner? At 3rd and 7 why not run a bubble screen or try to get McCalebb on the outside with a sprint option? The play calling just didn't seem like we even cared to pick up the first down there. Also at the end of the 2nd quarter we take over with 2:18 on the clock and the ball on our own 14. We proceed to call four straight running plays, picking up decent yardage and moving the ball to near mid-field, but none of the run plays got the players on the edge where they could get out of bounds and we left ourselves with 0:41 left to try and salvage some points. After one incomplete pass we run the ball again, McCalebb picks up 12 yards but again doesn't get out of bounds, and we call a time out. From the Mississippi State 42 we take two shots down field, both incomplete, setting up a 3rd and 10. At this point we know we are just out of field goal range and will need another 10 yards or so to get into range. So, we run McCalebb up the middle for three yards and watch the last 0:10 tick off the clock without using our final time out and jog into the locker room. Why not call a play that could get us into field goal range? If we are out of range, why not take a shot into the endzone or run one of Gus' famed trick plays? I just don't get why we had no sense of urgency on offense last night. Maybe Gus knew 17 would be all we need. Those two very questionable posessions both occured in the first half in which we scored all 17 of our points. The second half lacked any sort of consistency or big plays despite having the best player on either side of the ball under center for Auburn. In addition, Malzahn's Hurry-Up No-Huddle offense puttered along at a very pedestrian pace running under 70 plays for the second consecutive week after claiming all summer that he wanted to ramp up the tempo this year. Let's hope he is just holding back because his offenses' success is predicated on keeping defenses on their heels and having them gassed in the forth quarter where we proceed to impose our will. Next week will be interesting to see how his play calling and tempo progress.

Quindarius Carr - Chizik said last week he still hadn't bought stock in Carr yet and now we see why. He bounced back after the 1st quarter fumble but his confidence was clearly shaken as he called more fair catches and let a couple punts bounce in front of him to avoid muffing another one. I think he will keep the job next week but watch out for Trovon Reed when he gets healthy.

Cam Newton - Yeah, nitpicking again. If Newton is going to claim he wants to be the greatest player to ever put on an Auburn uniform he better expect to be critiqued like a player with those expectations. He needs to get more done through the air. He picked up the large majority of his passing yards on bubble screens save two passes to Darvin Adams. His intermediate passing game is still not where it needs to be and the bulldogs were ready for the deep shots and picked off his first attempt down field. Defenses are running man 2-deep and sending the linebackers in the flats and on contain assignment to limit his scrambling. If he can find his tight end up the seam or hit a few more 15-yard ins then it will really loosen up the flats and bring the safeties down a little bit closer opening up the deep passes.

Game Review: Arkansas State

Knee-Jerk Reaction
Ugly. When leaving the stadium that was the word that continually came to my mind. The offense absolutely lit it up at times but it also seemed as if a lot of the yards and points came on broken plays (thank you Cam) or busted coverages by an overmatched Arkansas State team. This is an offense that is built around big plays so it would be unfair to ridicule them too much for not manufacturing a drive of over SIX plays until the end of the 3rd quarter when the game was in hand and we were clearly just grinding it out. Even those final two grind-it-out scoring drives were of eight and nine plays. On the other side of the ball this defense which was supposed to be much improved in year two gave up two scoring drives in the second quarter, an eight play, 55 yard touchdown drive and a 10 play, 66 yard drive that ended with a field goal, which proved there is still a ways to go. I like to think that its possible the defense played down to the oppoenet, especially seeing that the offense could score at will, but after last year's struggles its hard to make that case. Also, even for an opening game, there were far too many penalties (7 for 60 yards) which need to get cleaned up in a hurry. The three fumbles (one overturned) on consecutive positions to open the third quarter was just painful to watch. Overall the offense made this big win look easy but there were waaaayy too many miscues for a team expecting to play for a championship this year.

Positives
Cameron Newton - It has to start with him. Newton took the offense on his shoulders making plays through the air and on the ground. Sometimes the plays on the ground were by design but it seemed like the biggest plays were when he saw something wide open or scrambled out of necessity and was able to turn it into a big play. The 171 yards rushing set an Auburn single game record for a quarterback and his 5 total touchdowns were just one shy of the school record. Newton was a one man wrecking crew and he made it look easy.

Michael Dyer - In my eyes it was clear who the best running back on either team was Saturday night, and that was Mike (his preferred name) Dyer. Every time he took the hand off he hit the hole with authority and bounced off tackles seemingly an inch away from breaking a few runs for huge yardage. He had the look of a back who wanted to get the ball 25+ times and would get you 150 yards every week.

Quindarius Carr - Last year our punt return unit was flat out embarrassing. Coming into the year all we were looking for was someone who would merely catch the ball consistently, any yardage he gained would be gravy. Well, Auburn fans got a healthy serving of gravy Saturday night. Carr caught every punt, all eight of them, and showed the ability to get up field quickly once he caught the ball gaining 9.4 yards per return. In addition to the abilities he showed returning punts he made two big catches as a receiver totaling 87 yards with one going for a touchdown.

Craig Sanders - "The Animal" is a great nickname for him because he looked like one when covering kicks on the kickoff unit. He seemed like he was around the ball on every kick return and was always one of the first ones down field. Having talented freshmen like Sanders covering kickoffs as opposed to walk-ons will make a big differnce this year in winning the field position battle.

Negatives
Lee Ziemba & Mario Fannin - I combined these two players because while both are clearly going to be stars of this team they both had a bad reputation for false starts in Ziemba's case and fumbling for Fannin. I had hoped that those were unjustified reputations and they would prove their doubters wrong this year but that didn't happen. Neither made it through three quarters of play of the 2010 season before falling victim to their reputations.

The Defense - I touched on this up top and there isn't one player in particular to call out but the defense as a whole really needs to tighten up. While the rush defense statistics look good there were a lot of gaps that opened up in the middle of the defense and a couple of times when their running back was able to turn the corner on outside runs and pick up big chunks of yardage. Against ASU's passing game we gave up way too many underneath passes. It seemed like their receivers were getting an 8-10 yard cushion and they just don't have enough talent to call for that. Its difficult to play defense when the opponent is picking up eight yards on first down. This seems like a scheming issue which is good on one hand because that is easier to change but it is frustrating on the other hand that the game is being called in that manner from our defensive coordinator.

Cameron Newton - I'm going to admit in advance that this is nitpicking. While Newton was great at completing passes down the field, and phenomenal at making things happen with his legs, what I didn't see was enough intermediate passes completed. He threw two screen passes that were completely blown up and I'm not sure if those should have been checked out of pre-snap, thrown away, or if it was just poor blocking, but either way one play set up a difficult down and distance situation that resulted in a punt and the other ended up costing us at least 3 points as Fannin was unable to get out of bounds at the end of the second quarter. Possibly Newton's best pass of the night was his first completion to Darvin Adams as Newton rolled to his right and found Adams streaking across the defense. After that Newton did not complete one pass that wasn't a bomb or a dump off. He attempted one when he overthrew Adams on a deep in but he will need to hit those kind of passes and also find more receivers in that middle zone when defenders start to come up to stop him from running.

Looking Ahead: Mississippi State
Mississippi State looked far more impressive than I would have expected in their opener beating Memphis 49-7. Mullen did go with the two quarterback approach but after redshirt freshman Tyler Russell went 13-16 for 256 yards and four touchdowns it might be hard to keep him off the field. On the ground MSU's top three running backs combined on 26 carries for 156 yards and two scores (both TD's scored by JUCO transfer Vick Ballard). Possibly most impressive was the Bulldog's stiffling defense which held Memphis to 237 yards, 68 of which came against the reserves at the end of the fourth quarter, and forced nine punts and two interceptions. To win this game in a hostile environment Auburn will have to cut down on the penalties and win the turnover battle in addition to tightening up on defense. This could be Cam Newton's coming out party to the nation but if the defense doesn't straight things out and if the team as a whole doesn't play a cleaner game than it could be Mississippi State's coming out party in the SEC West.