Hindsight is 20/20: The First 6 games

Week 1

Auburn opened the season with a bit of a meh performance against Georgia Southern. Stidham made some good throws, but looked uncomfortable. Kerryon blew a tire, and the defense looked pretty darn good in the opening tilt.

What we learned: The offense didn’t exactly blow us away, but was serviceable. The D looked promising. Our backup running backs are actually pretty good.

Week 2

The Trip up to Clemson was the first real test for Auburn. The defense was up to the task. The offense, other than two early drives, was absolutely anemic.

What we learned: That Gus Malzahn has trouble making in game adjustments that actually produce results. We saw the same thing over and over again. At this point its really easy to look back and wonder what might have been with a healthy Kerryon Johnson.

Week 3

Auburn had an early homecoming opponent in Mercer. Auburn dominated the game, but no the scoreboard. 5 turnovers, mostly by the receiving corps, had many of us in orange and blue thinking the sky was falling.

What we learned: We should have learned not to panic. Aubun was still trying to figure out who it was.

Week 4

Auburn’s first SEC road trip couldn’t have come at a better time. Missouri was (and still is) a train wreck that likely won’t win an SEC game. 51 points later, Auburn had righted for the moment their offense.

What we learned: Jarrett had to learn trust his receivers to go make plays. Also, that Missouri really sucks.

Week 5

Dan Mullen brought his man boobs and his football team a week after being pummeled by Georgia. This is the life of a college football coach. Beat LSU by 30, you’re the best coach in the conference. Lose to UGA by 30 2 weeks later and you can’t coach a lick. Auburn abused State from the onset. The revamped offensive line, now with Casey Dunn anchoring at center, was very impressive. I’ll pose a question that’s already been posed on C&M: Will we look back on this season and say that a change to the center position changed our season?

What we learned: By week 5 we pretty much could determine that there were 3 conference teams that were pretty good. Alabama, Auburn, and Georgia. The rest of the conference? Not so much.

Week 6

Ole Miss came to town with a fresh new mascot, got trolled by Aubie, and basically run out of the stadium by the end of the first half. Auburn went Tuber-shell in the second half and allowed the Rebel land sharks to get a couple mop up TD’s.

What we learned: Auburn looked like a playoff contender in the first half. A 85-90% Kerryon Johnson is really good. A 100% Kerryon might be a Heisman contender.

First half awards

Offensive MVP: Has to be Stidham, with H.M. to Kerryon

Defensive MVP: Oh man, take your pick.

Special teams: Gotta go with Legatron. The guy barely misses a 54 yard field goal that most other schools wouldn’t even attempt, and we’re like “What’s wrong with Legatron?”

Freshman of the year: Noah Igbinoginhee. Yes I know he hasn’t played much, but he hails from my hometown and I know his family. I jumped out of my chair when it looked like he was going to break it on a kick return Saturday. Coincidentally, he told his mom his calf started cramping up about the Ole Miss 40.

Most Auburn fans at this point are pretty happy with 5-1 and a top 10 ranking. Should Auburn continue to improve, get ready for an epic November.

from College and Magnolia http://bit.ly/2z4XHBF