An Off and On Offense

Things started to pick up against the Bayou Bengals
(Photo by Acid Reign)

     War Eagle, everybody! This morning, we’ll take a look back at the 2016 Auburn defense. After the 2015 Auburn offensive implosion, I think every Auburn fan was hoping that year was an anomaly. In the years that Coach Gus Malzahn has coached at Auburn, the offense has generally been very dangerous when it had the quarterback to make things go. If not, years like 2011 and 2015 happened.

     One can look at Auburn’s final regular season point totals and be reasonably pleased with the numbers. Auburn averaged 32.2 points per game on offense. That’s hardly a record number, but it does represent success. When Auburn generates 30+ points per game, it has successful seasons. This year, especially with an improved defense, Auburn outscored opponents by an average of 16.6 points per game. One would have to go back to the 2010 season to see a wider margin and, before that, 2004.

     Thanks to an uneven offense, Auburn sits with 8 wins and 4 losses, which is pretty much an average Auburn year in my lifetime. Should Auburn lose the Sugar Bowl, the year will likely be remembered as a C+. A win over Oklahoma would have the overall year rated at a B.

     The Tigers started out against a nasty Clemson defense, trying to rotate quarterbacks constantly. No one got into a rhythm, and the offense struggled mightily. The coaches tried to dust off the old single-wing offense and catch Clemson by surprise. Folks, there is a reason that the offense mostly died out before 1950. It doesn’t have wide receivers. It basically has 7–8 blockers and the backfield tries to utilize a mix of power plays and misdirection. Coaches figured out 75 years ago that this offense can be stopped cold with 9 or 10 defenders in the box, outnumbering the blockers. Auburn stayed close, falling in the end 19–13.

     All appeared to be fixed the next week, as Auburn trucked Arkansas State 51–14, leaning on a run-heavy offense that piled up 462 yards on the ground on 62 carries. Arkansas State was a young team this year and started the year 0–4 before rallying to finish 8–5.

In came Texas A&M the next week, and offensive issues returned. The Tigers rolled up 399 total yards but had trouble finishing drives in the red zone. Coupled with the worst defensive showing of the year, Auburn lost 29–16 to the Aggies, and folks were starting to wonder how Auburn could put 6 wins together and get to a bowl game.

     LSU came to town in game 4, and the purple tigers were able to slow the Auburn rushing attack as well. Against teams with a defensive pulse, the Auburn coaches were going to HAVE to loosen up and let Sean White make some throws. The passing faucet opened a smidgen, and White had a good day even if the offense was mainly allowed to operate freely only between the 20-yard lines. The Tigers still had big issues finishing drives and beat LSU with 6 field goals, 18–13.

     I don’t think we were terribly excited about Homecoming or the game after, but in retrospect an offensive explosion was happening. Offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee was given play calling responsibilities, and it paid off. Lashlee did a great job of being unpredictable, and he was backed up with great skill play by quarterback Sean White and tailback Kamryn Pettway. Pettway played only limited snaps early in the season and tended to be yanked out of the game on short yardage plays, which was baffling. Injuries forced the coaches to turn to Pettway near midseason.

     A 58–7 pounding of Louisiana Monroe and another almost 700-yard day was fun, but little of import was learned. Monroe was a 4–8 Sun Belt team and could not match Auburn up front. The trend continued the next week at Mississippi State, Auburn’s first road game. The Tigers jumped out to a 35–0 halftime lead and coasted to a 38–14 win. The Tigers improved to 4–2 on the season, but a lot of folks were not impressed. Mississippi State had a brutal start to the season, losing to South Alabama, and not much was expected of the Bulldogs. An injury to tailback Kerryon Johnson forced Pettway back into the rotation, and he piled up 169 yards and 3 touchdowns on the ground on 39 carries. The Tigers had found a consistent red zone threat!

     A Tiger bye week paid huge dividends. A rested Tigers squad hosted a tired Arkansas team that was playing its 8^th straight game in a row without a rest. Auburn rocked Arkansas early and often. Kamryn Pettway had a career 192-yard day, and other rushers behind him stepped up to combine for 543 rushing yards on the day as Auburn crushed Arkansas, 56–3. It was the pinnacle of the season!

     Auburn traveled to Oxford next, and took on a potent but wounded Ole Miss team. Kamryn Pettway continued to expand his game, bashing a tough Ole Miss defense for 236 yards on the ground. This game was quite the boxing match for much it, with the teams trading scores and barbs. The punishing run game and some defensive stands in the 4^th quarter knocked the Rebels out, and Auburn won, 40–29. It was a costly win. We didn’t know it at the time, but Auburn’s best two offensive skill players were banged up coming out of that game. Auburn sat at 6 wins, 2 losses and had visions of an SEC title.

     The Tigers hosted Vanderbilt, and the Auburn family was stunned to learn that Sean White was too injured to start the game. The coaching staff and the team had kept that news completely blacked out. Quarterback John Franklin III got the start, and the coaches gave him a painfully conservative game plan. After bashing and running over opponents for several weeks, Kamryn Pettway was bruised up for this one, and a tough Vanderbilt defense was determined not to let Pettway kill them. Auburn would need to open the playbook a bit if it wanted big numbers. Auburn trailed at the half, 13–10.

     In the second half, the coaches decided to put Sean White back in at quarterback, and White saved the game. He got the offense going and staked Auburn to a lead. Ahead, and looking to ice the game, Kamryn Pettway finally broke free on a big run and looked to be headed towards an icing touchdown in the 4^th quarter. Instead, an unfortunate muscle pull struck, and Pettway went down. Auburn was out of healthy SEC running backs, and the drive stalled, ending in a blocked field goal. The Tigers hung on, and won, 23–16 on the strength of the defense.

     The Tigers traveled to Athens, Georgia without Kamryn Pettway. Kerryon Johnson returned to the backfield but was clearly still limited. Sean White started at quarterback and had a miserable day. Healthy, White was having a great season. With the banged up shoulder, nothing was working. The Auburn defense held Georgia to just 2 field goals on offense. The Auburn offense handed Georgia a free defensive touchdown and lost, 13–7. Title dreams were gone.

     Auburn sat both White and Pettway the next week against Alabama A&M. A&M provided little resistance, and the Auburn backups rolled 55–0. Against Alabama in Tuscaloosa the next week, it was a different story. White and Pettway returned to the lineup, but neither was effective. Auburn was able to kick field goals and stay close for a while after Alabama mistakes, but the offense was putrid for most of the contest. There were some signs of life in the 4^th quarter when John Franklin III came into the game and was allowed to throw the ball.

     The Tigers finished the season 8–4, 5–3 in the SEC. Incredibly, that was good enough for pundits to consider Auburn the 2^nd best team in the league, and the Tigers secured a Sugar Bowl invitation for Monday night, January 2^nd.

     Which Auburn offense will show for this bowl game? A wide-open, rumbling juggernaut? Or a timidly-called conservative shell? I think the health of quarterback Sean White and tailback Kamryn Pettway are key. We really won’t know till we see them play. Last year before the Birmingham Bowl, we were told over and over during practices that White was “close” to being back to full speed. In that bowl  game,White clearly wasn’t. We really can’t trust anything Coach Gus Malzhan says regarding injuries. I also worry about Kam Pettway. A quad injury is tough to come back from. It can take months or even as long as a year.

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