A Look into our Magic Crystal Ball
Well, I hate to say it, but Auburn football has officially received the kiss of death for the 2008-2009 season.
No, we haven’t lost all of our starters to injury or been put on probation.
Lee Corso has picked us to win the SEC.
With that in mind, let’s take a look into the grim future lurking on the horizon this season.
Those with high expectations for this year may want to avert their eyes from this column.
We start the year off against Louisiana Monroe, a juggernaut from the Sun Belt conference.
Well, actually they have averaged just five wins a season over the last five years, but that didn’t stop them from embarrassing Alabama so badly that Nick Saban related the loss to Pearl Harbor.
And if a Forbes cover-coach can’t handle them, what chance do we have?
Fortunately we have a couple out-of-conference cupcakes before the train completely derails.
Tennessee-Martin is a D-IAA school who will be our homecoming game, and Southern Miss should be easy enough to handle.
Unfortunately that is where the good news ends.
All off-season long fans from around the SEC, particularly Bama fans, have been predicting the downfall of Auburn due to the hiring of coordinators Tony Franklin and Paul Rhodes.
Apparently Franklin’s spread offense will never work with our personnel, and Rhodes’ defense will be too soft after practicing against such a gimmicky offense.
It has also been said that the loss of Will Muschamp will also be too drastic for Auburn to overcome, because obviously Auburn never had a good defense before Muschamp came to town.
SEC play looks to be an absolute nightmare for Tuberville and Co., and with new quarterbacks running a new system losses to Mississippi State (Croomed, again), Ole Miss, LSU, UT, Vandy, and Arkansas should come as no surprise.
Our big out-of-conference game is against West Virginia in Morgantown, a team that has been near the top of the polls for the last four years.
Unfortunately by the time this game rolls around the spread offense will have weakened our entire team so much that the cold weather will be too much for our Under Armour clad team of prima donnas to handle.
And of course, the big finish. The streak. Number seven.
Forget about it.
Nick Saban is going ride into Bryant-Denny stadium atop a golden throne carried by thousands of Bama fans a la Xerxes in 300, and he will only stop running up the score with his true freshman recruits once every Auburn fan in the state has converted over to the Crimson Tide.
We are talking about a guy who took over a team that went 6-6, got paid $4 million and then went 6-6 again. It’s that kind of football genius that is going to be the downfall of our football program.
And we were picked at SEC Media Days to represent the West in the SEC championship game?!
Come November, our beloved Auburn Tigers will be 2-10 overall, completely swept in conference play and headed into the world of college football irrelevancy.
OK. Maybe I have been a little harsh on this year’s squad.
Maybe, just maybe, implementing a new offense will actually help us move up from not only the bottom of the SEC, but the very bottom of the nation in offensive production.
And there may be a slim chance Coach Tuberville’s defensive knowledge and consistently top-ranked defenses may carry over for another year despite the loss of Muschamp.
FYI- the last time Lee Corso picked Auburn to win the SEC was in August 2004.
September 2, 2008 - 12:13pm
Where is your support?
Wow,
I can't believe one of our own would write something this pessimistic right before the first game of the season. You don't have proof to back up many of your claims that Auburn will do poorly other than the coincidence of Corso picking Auburn to win the SEC in 2004. Change can be a good thing, and we have a lot of it that can work for our good. Also, just because someone says something about our team doesn't mean it becomes a self-fulfilled prophecy. It embarrasses me as a fellow student to have another student show such a lack of support and pride in one of our teams like this. They practice hard and I don't believe that they go out every game intending to play poorly. They do much more work than you do sitting in the Plainsman office complaining about how you think they will be out- performed. Is it your goal to belittle their strength and talent or do you just enjoy being sadistic? It absolutely made my blood boil to hear such snide remarks about our team. I know Saturday's game wasn't our best, but we won and we worked it out and we will be fine this season. Please in the future, have a little faith in our team: in their spirit, in their ability, and in their hard work. Otherwise, take your blood traitor attitude to the University of Alabama.
Sincerely,
Meaghan Davis
September 2, 2008 - 8:58pm
Re: Where is your support?
Meaghan,
While I have already read and responded (brief version) to your letter to the editor in the edition of the Plainsman that comes out this Thursday, I will reply here in the lengthier version as well in case you see this first.
I must say that your letter was very well-written, and some of the strong comments you made would have really left a mark had they actually been applicable to me or my column. What I can take from reading your letter, is that you did not read my column in its entirety. If you had, you would never have written your letter in the first place.
Now I can understand this, because these days many newspaper readers choose to skim articles and columns as they would when reading a web blog or Facebook page. On the off-chance that you did indeed read the entire column, then our problem is more of a reading comprehension issue that I have no control over.
Going on the assumption that you most likely did not read the last four statements in my column, I will try to address your problem without being too patronizing.
When creating the first fall sports front page of the year, Alex (the head sports editor) and myself decided to do a dual-column front, where he played the role of the "over-zealous" optimistic Auburn fan, and I played the "Devil's advocate" with a grossly exaggerated, sarcastic pessimist role.
As you already know, the first 7/8ths of my column I predict an insanely terrible season for our Tigers. The last eighth I believe you either chose to neglect or were too angry to finish.
The last portion of my column, directly quoted:
"OK. Maybe I have been a little harsh on this year’s squad.
Maybe, just maybe, implementing a new offense will actually help us move up from not only the bottom of the SEC, but the very bottom of the nation in offensive production.
And there may be a slim chance Coach Tuberville’s defensive knowledge and consistently top-ranked defenses may carry over for another year despite the loss of Muschamp.
FYI- the last time Lee Corso picked Auburn to win the SEC was in August 2004."
When writing the final statements, I tried to make the sarcastic tone as glaringly obvious as possible. I know that as a senior in communications there is no way you could have missed it, which is why I'm just going to assume (and hope) you didn't read it.
But just to clarify, I am actually complimenting Tuberville's hires as well as his extensive defensive knowledge, and taking a shot at the sports writers who think Auburn will not be able to win with a new offense and defensive coordinator.
The last tidbit should have been the clincher for any confused reader doubting my allegiances. By revealing to the reader that Lee Corso's prediction is in fact, not a curse but rather a positive thing, I was attempting to put a happy spin on the confusing journey that was my column. But as a fellow true Auburn fan, I know you must remember how Auburn's season played out in 2004... right?!
Auburn blood traitor? Sadistic writer? I can assure you that I am neither of the two you accused me of being, quite the opposite actually. I, like many other Auburn fans, consider myself to be the biggest possible fan of Auburn there is, and my friends/family/co-workers can attest to that.
Feel free to respond here or to my e-mail (Larsebh@auburn.edu) if you are still upset or confused about my column or even if you would just like to reply to this response.
Thanks again for the feedback, and War Eagle!
Blake Larsen
Associate Sports Editor
larsebh@auburn.edu
September 2, 2008 - 8:58pm
Re: Where is your support?
Meaghan,
While I have already read and responded (brief version) to your letter to the editor in the edition of the Plainsman that comes out this Thursday, I will reply here in the lengthier version as well in case you see this first.
I must say that your letter was very well-written, and some of the strong comments you made would have really left a mark had they actually been applicable to me or my column. What I can take from reading your letter, is that you did not read my column in its entirety. If you had, you would never have written your letter in the first place.
Now I can understand this, because these days many newspaper readers choose to skim articles and columns as they would when reading a web blog or Facebook page. On the off-chance that you did indeed read the entire column, then our problem is more of a reading comprehension issue that I have no control over.
Going on the assumption that you most likely did not read the last four statements in my column, I will try to address your problem without being too patronizing.
When creating the first fall sports front page of the year, Alex (the head sports editor) and myself decided to do a dual-column front, where he played the role of the "over-zealous" optimistic Auburn fan, and I played the "Devil's advocate" with a grossly exaggerated, sarcastic pessimist role.
As you already know, the first 7/8ths of my column I predict an insanely terrible season for our Tigers. The last eighth I believe you either chose to neglect or were too angry to finish.
The last portion of my column, directly quoted:
"OK. Maybe I have been a little harsh on this year’s squad.
Maybe, just maybe, implementing a new offense will actually help us move up from not only the bottom of the SEC, but the very bottom of the nation in offensive production.
And there may be a slim chance Coach Tuberville’s defensive knowledge and consistently top-ranked defenses may carry over for another year despite the loss of Muschamp.
FYI- the last time Lee Corso picked Auburn to win the SEC was in August 2004."
When writing the final statements, I tried to make the sarcastic tone as glaringly obvious as possible. I know that as a senior in communications there is no way you could have missed it, which is why I'm just going to assume (and hope) you didn't read it.
But just to clarify, I am actually complimenting Tuberville's hires as well as his extensive defensive knowledge, and taking a shot at the sports writers who think Auburn will not be able to win with a new offense and defensive coordinator.
The last tidbit should have been the clincher for any confused reader doubting my allegiances. By revealing to the reader that Lee Corso's prediction is in fact, not a curse but rather a positive thing, I was attempting to put a happy spin on the confusing journey that was my column. But as a fellow true Auburn fan, I know you must remember how Auburn's season played out in 2004... right?!
Auburn blood traitor? Sadistic writer? I can assure you that I am neither of the two you accused me of being, quite the opposite actually. I, like many other Auburn fans, consider myself to be the biggest possible fan of Auburn there is, and my friends/family/co-workers can attest to that.
Feel free to respond here or to my e-mail (Larsebh@auburn.edu) if you are still upset or confused about my column or even if you would just like to reply to this response.
Thanks again for the feedback, and War Eagle!
Blake Larsen
Associate Sports Editor
larsebh@auburn.edu
September 2, 2008 - 8:59pm
Re: Where is your support?
Meaghan,
While I have already read and responded (brief version) to your letter to the editor in the edition of the Plainsman that comes out this Thursday, I will reply here in the lengthier version as well in case you see this first.
I must say that your letter was very well-written, and some of the strong comments you made would have really left a mark had they actually been applicable to me or my column. What I can take from reading your letter, is that you did not read my column in its entirety. If you had, you would never have written your letter in the first place.
Now I can understand this, because these days many newspaper readers choose to skim articles and columns as they would when reading a web blog or Facebook page. On the off-chance that you did indeed read the entire column, then our problem is more of a reading comprehension issue that I have no control over.
Going on the assumption that you most likely did not read the last four statements in my column, I will try to address your problem without being too patronizing.
When creating the first fall sports front page of the year, Alex (the head sports editor) and myself decided to do a dual-column front, where he played the role of the "over-zealous" optimistic Auburn fan, and I played the "Devil's advocate" with a grossly exaggerated, sarcastic pessimist role.
As you already know, the first 7/8ths of my column I predict an insanely terrible season for our Tigers. The last eighth I believe you either chose to neglect or were too angry to finish.
The last portion of my column, directly quoted:
"OK. Maybe I have been a little harsh on this year’s squad.
Maybe, just maybe, implementing a new offense will actually help us move up from not only the bottom of the SEC, but the very bottom of the nation in offensive production.
And there may be a slim chance Coach Tuberville’s defensive knowledge and consistently top-ranked defenses may carry over for another year despite the loss of Muschamp.
FYI- the last time Lee Corso picked Auburn to win the SEC was in August 2004."
When writing the final statements, I tried to make the sarcastic tone as glaringly obvious as possible. I know that as a senior in communications there is no way you could have missed it, which is why I'm just going to assume (and hope) you didn't read it.
But just to clarify, I am actually complimenting Tuberville's hires as well as his extensive defensive knowledge, and taking a shot at the sports writers who think Auburn will not be able to win with a new offense and defensive coordinator.
The last tidbit should have been the clincher for any confused reader doubting my allegiances. By revealing to the reader that Lee Corso's prediction is in fact, not a curse but rather a positive thing, I was attempting to put a happy spin on the confusing journey that was my column. But as a fellow true Auburn fan, I know you must remember how Auburn's season played out in 2004... right?!
Auburn blood traitor? Sadistic writer? I can assure you that I am neither of the two you accused me of being, quite the opposite actually. I, like many other Auburn fans, consider myself to be the biggest possible fan of Auburn there is, and my friends/family/co-workers can attest to that.
Feel free to respond here or to my e-mail (Larsebh@auburn.edu) if you are still upset or confused about my column or even if you would just like to reply to this response.
Thanks again for the feedback, and War Eagle!
Blake Larsen
Associate Sports Editor
larsebh@auburn.edu