Auburn Grades

It seems like wherever I have gone recently people ask a variation of the same question: “Is it boring to cheer for Alabama since they win all the time?”

Obviously people who could even think such a question, much less give it voice, do not remember the time before Nick Saban coached the Tide. They respond with a blank stare when you mention “The Mikes”.

They also were not at Bryant-Denny Stadium to witness the Tide boat race the Awbs 52-21 before a raucous crowd Saturday night. There was nothing boring about the 2018 Iron Bowl. The Senior Day pregame ceremony recognized the families and players of a senior class with a record-setting win-loss mark of 53-3. Tua lit up the Auburn defense with a third quarter, 21-point blitz. Jalen was welcomed with yet another standing ovation. He promptly engineered a one-play scoring drive with a perfectly thrown pass to The Other Jaylen,  and the crowd went crazy.  “Dixieland Delight” was loud enough to be heard in Northport, and profane enough to be banned for at least another decade. The student section’s impromptu descant mostly occurred during a TV timeout, so there is a chance the peck-sniffs might not trample on the First Amendment rights of the undergraduates.

If you still need some measure of how exciting it was for Alabama to curb-stomp its cross-state rival, just watch Gus Malzahn’s post-game presser. His churlish, ungracious, monotone tells you all you need to know.

Gus must have coached up his players to “play hard” if they wanted a chance to beat Alabama. The Auburn players responded by doubling down on cheap shots. The first quarter alone featured an Auburn TD nullified by an offensive holding call so blatant it’s amazing the refs actually flagged it. Malzahn was so unhinged by the uncharacteristic enforcement of blocking rules, he cost his team an additional 15 yards for his own unsportsmanlike conduct. When the Tigers punted three plays later, Auburn’s number 13 hit Jaylen Waddle while he was looking up for the ball. It’s a testament to Coach Cochran’s strength and conditioning program that Jaylen survived the dirty hit. It’s a testament to the character of the Auburn program that while Jaylen lay crumpled on the turf, number 13 took his helmet off and made a conspicuous fool of himself on the field.

The game was marred by penalties on both sides. More on this later.

Because beating Auburn is always glorious, and especially so when the Tide scores 50 or more points on the Tigers for the third time in the history of the rivalry, and the second time in the last five seasons, here is how I grade the game:

Offense:              A           Alabama gained 500 yards of total offense (123 net rushing) earned 23 first downs, converted 5 of 11 third downs, and controlled the ball for 25:23. Tua completed 25 of 32 pass attempts for 324 yards and 5 TDs. Jalen completed his lone pass attempt for a 53 yard TD [The Other Jaylen].

Jerry Jeudy gained 77 yards and scored a TD on 5 receptions. Henry Ruggs, III caught 5 passes for 62 yards and 2 TDs. His second TD was a one-handed catch while being interfered with. DeVonta Smith added 72 yards on 4 receptions. Josh Jacobs caught 4 passes for 53 yards. The Other Jaylen, and Irv Smith, Jr. each caught 3 passes. Damien, and Najee each caught a pass. Jeudy, Ruggs, Smith, Jacobs, and Waddle each caught at least one pass for a touchdown.

 Damien was the Tide’s leading rusher with 41 net yards on 9 rushing attempts. Jacobs gained 28 net yards on 5 runs. Tua added 26 net yards running that ball and scored the Tide’s lone rushing TD. [With 5 TD passes and a rushing TD, Tua accounted for a record 6 TDs in a single game.] Najee gained 25 net yards on 7 attempts, and Jalen added 3 yards on his lone run.

The offense had 7 possessions that gained at least 40 yards or more [65, 57, 75, 69, 75, 43, 53] resulting in 6 TDs and a FG. Four times the Alabama offense punted after only three downs. Two of those punts came in the second quarter allowing Auburn to get back in the game. At the half, Alabama only led 17-14.

Defense:            A-.              Auburn only gained 283 total yards of offense [130 net rushing] and earned 15 first downs; 4 additional first downs came by way of Alabama defensive penalties.

Dylan Moses and LaBryan Ray were each credited with 9 tackles. Anfernee Jennings made 8 tackles and intercepted a pass. Raekwon Davis was credited with 7 tackles. All total, Alabama made 5 tackles for lost yardage, including 3 sacks. Defenders broke up 6 passes and hurried the Auburn QB 8 times. 

The down grade is the result of defensive penalties extending Auburn drives four times on third down plays. These penalties hurt the team. The grade should reflect that.

Special Teams:

Punting:           F          Mike Bernier averaged 41 yards on 4 punts. The coverage team allowed four returns for a total of 8 yards. A blocked punt earns the failing grade.

Place kicking:         A.        Joseph Bulovas made a 30 yard FG attempt and was perfect on each of 7 PATs.

Kickoffs:          B.       Bulovas averaged 53.3 yards on 9 kickoffs. Two of his kicks were touchbacks. The coverage team allowed 3 returns that gained a total of 65 yards and a longest return of 27 yards.

Coaching:          A.          This was a decisive win with demoralizing effect on the Villagers. For reasons well documented earlier this season, the coaching grade is not impacted by penalties, but it is worth pointing out that Alabama was penalized 8 times for a total of 82 yards. Coach Saban was rightly displeased with the defense not playing with discipline sufficient to avoid personal fouls on what would otherwise have been drive killing third downs.  The participation report lists 53 players who saw action in the game.

On a personal note, I should add that the Commissioner's Long Suffering Wife and I had a great time at the game. A game weekend is always more enjoyable when you can share it with daughters, and former law partners.

Also, I want to urge readers of this blog to check out an excellent new podcast: Bama Expats. Marc Torrence and Matt Dover are doing a weekly breakdown of Crimson Tide sports from an analytical perspective. They take a deep dive into statistics, and provide insights you will find interesting and thought provoking. Get the podcast on your cell phone, computer, or mobile device and give a listen to these two Alabama expatriates now living and working in New York City.

So the regular season is now in the books. Alabama is undefeated and top ranked going into the SEC Championship Game on December 1 against SEC East Champion Georgia. The Bulldogs dispatched Georgia Tech in their season finale. Clemson, the presumptive ACC Champion likewise put the Fighting Chickens away after a bit of excitement early. Notre Dame struggled against a bad USC team to close out an undefeated season, and since Notre Dame is Notre Dame the Irish do not have to play anyone else to land a spot in the playoffs. 

Michigan was tub-thumped by Ohio State. The two-loss Wolverines are out of the discussion, and the Buckeyes are very much in the discussion. I for one like discussing the fact OSU lost to unranked Purdue by 29 points. You Big 10 apologists discuss whatever topic y'all want.

Oklahoma appears to be in the best position to benefit from Michigan's demise. A rematch against Texas stands between the Sooners and a playoff bid. At the CFB Championship Game in January some Georgia fans remarked to me how pleased they were to be playing in an all-SEC title game; according to them, the Oklahoma fans were hateful and ill mannered. I suspect we will get the chance to find out if they have learned some humility in the intervening twelve months. 

A one-loss SEC Champion Georgia would deserve to get into the playoffs. It's Alabama's job to make sure that does not happen, because a one-loss SEC runner-up Alabama would be dropped like a hot rock by the selection committee. 

Is it boring being an Alabama fan? Not on your life! 

Next week's edition of The Grades might be a day later than usual. See y'all in Atlanta.

Roll Tide, Y'all.....

The Commissioner 

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