Another year, another missed opportunity.
The schedule set up perfectly with arguably our toughest SEC games at home, and we had a new offense coming in that would improve upon the points (or lackthereof) put up by Al Borges’ offense.
With John Parker Wilson being the only really experienced QB in the SEC West, I felt like changing offensive schemes and quarterbacks wouldn’t hinder our run for the SEC championship.
A returning championship caliber defense would give our offense time to come into its own and develop a starting quarterback.
Well, at least I was right about the defense.
From the start of the season we looked lost on offense.
Wide receivers and tight ends running the wrong routes and unable to get off jams, indecisive quarterbacks holding on to the ball too long in a quick-release offense and seemingly limitless penalties and missed assignments by the offensive line.
But even with an offense that crashed harder than the economy, we still managed to stay in the hunt, even with a loss to LSU.
And then Vandy happened.
To be honest, as the final seconds ticked off the clock in Nashville, all I could do was think, “This is just Auburn being Auburn.”
It seems like every year, excluding 2004, in the Tuberville tenure has been the same.
We play well enough to be in a position to win every game, but there’s always some sort of letdown game that derails the season off the championship tracks.
Auburn has won the SEC championship just once in the previous nine seasons of Tuberville’s tenure, and after the loss to Vandy, the probabilty of winning the SEC West has all but disappeared.
Barring a major change of events, Auburn will have made the SEC championship just twice in 10 years under Tuberville.
Now I am in no way “calling for Tuberville’s firing” or anything like that.
Coach Tuberville has drastically improved our program in so many ways, and will go down as one of Auburn’s greatest coaches.
I just feel that Auburn is so close to being one of the elite championship level teams, and winning the SEC once a decade is beyond disappointing.
Which brings me to a question I feel many Auburn fans need to ask themselves.
Why are we content with just beating Alabama?
It’s arguably the most heated rivalry in college football, but to be honest, the only people who care about the game when it doesn’t decide the SEC West are AU and UA fans.
Think the average non-Auburn or Alabama college football fan knows we sacked Brodie Croyle 11 times in 2005? Think again.
What they do remember is Vince Young leading the University of Texas band after beating USC in the Rose Bowl.
In a few years no one will remember the 2007 Dallas Cowboys who dominated the regular season, because they lost to the Giants in the playoffs.
But I bet you remember the Cowboys’ ’90s dynasty led by Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin and Emmit Smith.
That’s because people remember the teams that finish. They remember the teams that win championships.
Unfortunately, we have won only one national championship (1957) and six SEC titles in our program’s history.
That’s only one more SEC championship than Georgia Tech, who hasn’t been a member of the SEC since 1964.
So what can we, as fans, do about it?
Sadly, nothing. All we can do is don our orange and blue, show up to the games, cheer on the team and hope.
Hope that we can win our remaining games and use this season to improve for next year.
But hey, it could be worse, right?
We could be Cubs fans.
Blake Larsen is the Associate Sports Editor of The Auburn Plainsman. You can reach him at 334-844-9104.
