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A spirit that is not afraid

Wesley's Tale of the Tape: Auburn's red-zone struggles, turnovers loom large in loss to Vols

<p>Ryan Davis (23) catches a pass during Auburn football vs. Tennessee on Oct. 13, 2018, in Auburn, Ala.</p>

Ryan Davis (23) catches a pass during Auburn football vs. Tennessee on Oct. 13, 2018, in Auburn, Ala.

Auburn entered its home game against Tennessee as a two-touchdown favorite. It was a game to right the ship against one of the worst teams in the SEC; a game for Auburn fans to have something to cheer for; a relaxed affair where Auburn would be in control for the whole game. 

Instead, Auburn got a game where it felt like it was never in control, resulting in a loss that was more lopsided than the score suggests.

We will start by looking at when things started to go wrong for Auburn. Auburn had first-and-goal from the 4-yard line but had to settle for a field goal. Auburn wastes its first play by running the ball in between the tackles for no gain. With no flair, Tennessee knows it is a run all the way, and since the ball is so close to the end zone, the safeties are closer than usual to provide run support. 

This is a play call that does not make a lot of sense to me. While Auburn has had some success running up the middle in first-and-goal situations that are around 4-6 yards out, that does not make it smart. You are most likely not going to gain 4 yards on a run when the entire defense is all around 5 yards from the line of scrimmage, meaning to get in all 11 defenders must be blocked or beaten. 

The running back will most likely get 1-2 yards at best. Why are you using one of your three attempts to score to get 1-2 yards closer? An outside run or quick pass would have an actual chance of scoring, instead of just settling for getting closer. 

After failing to get anything on the previous play, Auburn hurries to the line after breaking the huddle and pitches the ball to running back Malik Miller, who gets a yard but is stopped short of the goal line again. A quick pitch to try and catch the defense off guard is fine by itself, but a problem I pointed out in an earlier Tale of the Tape rears its head again.

Auburn runs the outside run to the short side of the field. There is so little space to work with, even with decent blocking Tennessee defenders are everywhere. A defensive linemen is able to tackle Miller from behind. This is because Miller’s speed isn’t used to separate himself from defenders. 

Instead, he is forced to run into a tiny running lane, and tackled while trying to see where to go. A play that’s supposed to catch the defense off guard and get to the edge and score quickly is ruined due to running to an area where there is no way for Miller to use his speed or try to beat anyone in space.

On third down, Auburn actually makes a pretty good play call. Recognizing that the offensive line has been struggling, Auburn chooses to roll Stidham out to his left — the long side of the field. This causes the defense to have to be wary of Stidham running for the end zone, as well as trying to keep up with receivers. Where the play goes wrong is the timing. 

Auburn receiver/tight end Sal Cannella runs a quick hitch, and the other receivers run quick outs, all happening around each other. The confusion this creates leaves Cannella open for a few seconds before a Tennessee defender notices him. 

By the time Stidham is ready to throw, Tennessee has Cannella covered, and a defender breaks up the pass. The timing of Cannella’s route indicates that he should be getting the ball within a second or two of completing his route. Otherwise, the defense will realize their mistake and pick him up, like they do. 

Stidham is not ready to throw when Cannella’s route is done which is most likely a result of two things. One, the play was not practiced enough for Stidham and Cannella to have the chemistry to know each other’s timing. Two, the play does not account for Stidham rolling out to the left. 

When a right-handed quarterback rolls to his left, it will take him longer to be ready to throw. In order to throw, he has to get his feet around and reset his body, which takes several seconds. Had Stidham rolled out to the right, he more than likely would have been able to throw when Cannella was open.

Why then, did Auburn have Stidham roll out to the left? It is because of the short field to the right, it would have been impossible for Stidham to roll out to his right. All Auburn had to do to fix this was run the previous outside run to the left. 

Had this happened, even if that play had not scored, Auburn would be in a better position to score on the next play since they could roll out Stidham to his right. Instead, Auburn settled for three points and lost all momentum in the game.

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After Tennessee tied the game at 10, Auburn was trying to get momentum back and drive down the field. Auburn tried to use a trick play to start the offense. Tennessee read the play all the way. Auburn lined up in the Wildcat, brought Stidham on a reverse and gave him the ball. 

A defender crashed down off the edge and was on Stidham before he had a chance to throw. Instead of taking the sack, Stidham tried to force the play and threw the ball while being tackled resulting in an easy interception. 

That would not be Stidham’s only miscue of the game. While Stidham often did not have time to throw, when the pressure was coming, Stidham made poor decisions and tried to force things.

In the third quarter, Stidham was constantly on the run. He keeps the ball in one hand, hoping to escape the pressure and make something happen, or at least throw the ball away. Instead, he is wrapped up and fumbles the football, resulting in a Tennessee touchdown, giving it the lead late in the third quarter. 

Stidham should have tucked the football as soon as the first defender wrapped up instead of still trying to make something happen. This fumble was the beginning of the end for Auburn.

With an inconsistent offensive line, Auburn needs to have creative plays and creative play calling in order to get it’s talented skill position players the ball. This game was not all on the offense, as the defense gave up several third-and-longs and was susceptible to the pass all game.


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