The Positives
For a team annually expected to not only win, but contend for bowl games, this year’s Auburn team has left fans with little to be optimistic about. And yet, it hasn’t been a total loss.
With the season in shambles and a brutal schedule to finish the season, Auburn has fumbled away any chances for a respectable season by the fans’–and most likely the team’s–standards. At this point, the positives lie in the future of the team: the underclassmen.
While having such a young team may be used as an excuse for the numerous blunders and miscues witnessed this season, the fact of the matter is that it’s experience. By scrapping the depth chart and letting the youth of the team learn by doing, the team will be more prepared for next season if Chizik and his staff can avoid the chopping block.
Approximately eight seniors who play extensively are leaving after the season, roles that must be filled by the underclassmen. In addition, Auburn’s starting 22 boasts 12 underclassmen with three of those being freshmen. This season may be lost, but the experience and continued improvements gained this season may turn into success in 2013.
The Negatives
Where to begin? The 1-3 record? The third worst turnover margin per game average in the nation? The arm tackling? The answer is all of the above.
The real root of the problem lies in the hype created by the changes made from last season and the expectations born from speculation and projections. Kiehl Frazier was supposed to be the savior of the offense, a stalwart at quarterback for the next three seasons. His passer rating is sixth to last in the country. Scot Loeffler was supposed to be a quarterback guru with a knack for commanding prolific offenses. His offense is No. 114 in the nation alongside teams such as Colorado State, Idaho and Southern Mississippi.
The addition of Jay Prosch was supposed to free up tight end Philip Lutzenkirchen. He has 12 catches and no touchdowns.
Like it or not, Auburn is rebuilding and the first four games, not the preseason practices, have shown exactly what the team has to offer right now.
Surprise of the season
The team is averaging 153 yards per game, the lowest average since Tommy Tuberville’s last year in 2008 and inflated by a 255 yard outing versus University of Louisiana-Monroe.
Since Chizik has taken over, the presence of Ben Tate, Michael Dyer, Onterio McCalebb and Cam Newton allowed the team to rush for an average of 226 yards per game over Chizik’s first three seasons.
McCalebb is still around, but the combination of Tre Mason and Mike Blakely as the powerful possession runners hasn’t been able to take control of any game but the overtime victory over ULM. Auburn is built on a legacy of great rushing attacks, and yet the team has been unable to outpossess any team this season.
Loeffler’s post-hire declaration to continue to emphasize the power run game so vital to SEC teams looks flimsier every game, and, combined with an inept passing game and a quarterback the team can’t trust with the game on the line, Auburn must run the ball early and often if it’s going to have a chance.
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