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A spirit that is not afraid

Editorial: Leave Lady Luck out of Auburn football

Charlotte Kelly      I          Graphics Editor
Charlotte Kelly I Graphics Editor

Since Auburn's unexpected loss to Texas A&M, it seems the majority of national coverage is declaring our luck has run out.
"Auburn's luck runs out versus Texas A&M," an ESPN headline announced.
"It's as if karma has caught up to No. 3 Auburn after the prayer at Jordan-Hare," said Jon Solomon, national college football writer.
"The string of victories was already unnatural," wrote Dan Wolken with USA Today wrote.
The word luck has become closely associated with Auburn football over the past few years.
There have been moments of luck, such as last year's game against Georgia.
It was lucky the ball deflected into the hands of Ricardo Louis, allowing him to score the game-winning touchdown.
Even then, the team traned for long passes and that training paid off after the deflecion.
However, saying every close game Auburn has won is the result of luck is a disservice to the team and coaching staff.
In the 2013 Iron Bowl, Chris Davis returned a missed field goal to win the game. While the play was difficult to achieve, it was practiced. Coach Gus Malzahn even called a timeout before the play to put Davis, the team's usual punt returner, in as the return man instead of defensive back Ryan Smith.
Auburn's coaching staff has put in hard work to get the team to where it is now. It's important to remember that two years ago, in the 2012 season, the Tigers were 3-9. In a single year under Malzahn, we were SEC champions.
This year, we've lost twice already, yet we're still in the top 10 and are the highest ranked two-loss team in the nation.
Luck plays no part in Auburn having one of the best offensive lines in the country.
Luck didn't give Cameron Artis-Payne 1,190 rushing yards on 208 carries, making him the top rusher in the conference.
Luck didn't make Auburn the top rushing offense nationally in 2013, and it certainly wasn't what put Tre Mason in New York City for the Heisman Trophy ceremony.
This year the media seems to be on the edge of their seats, watching anxiously for Auburn to lose and break this unnatural string of miracles.
We have lost, twice, and each time because of mistakes that could have easily been avoided.
Wolken claimed a majority of Auburn fans will say we lost the Texas A&M game because our luck ended, when most fans have said we lost because our defense couldn't tackle and gave up too many points to recover from.
Any good team in the top level of college football is going to need a bit of luck to be champions.
A fumble recovery is lucky. Two seasons of remaining in the top 10, despite losses, is not luck. It's hard work and dedication.
It's long days of practice over scorching summers and nights of film study after hard defeats.
It's our players and our coaches that have determined their place in college football, not Lady Luck.


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