Snap Judgments - Iron Bowl

Let’s get this over with and move on to basketball season.

The Iron Bowl is over, Alabama won 52-21, and we just have a couple more things to go over before we can get fully into basketball season on the Plains. It was a frustrating game for multiple reasons, and you can lay your blame on the officials, Gus, or the fact that Alabama puts 11 five stars on the field on every snap. Saban has nearly cornered the talent market, and you’ve got to have a perfect game if you want to beat them. It didn’t happen last night.

SNAP JUDGMENTS

“It went way better than I thought, to be honest. Gutted for Ryan Davis. Gutted for these seniors. Don’t really care otherwise.” - Son of Crow

“‘It’s always better to be Auburn’ - Andrew McCain” - AU Chief

“We made ‘em sweat for a half, which is nice, but it sucks to look completely overmatched. Also, why does Gus hate Anders?” - AU Nerd

“First, it’s great to be an Auburn Tiger, always. I’ve got to applaud the kids for a great first half. They actually made me believe that anything was possible, and then it was taken away from them at the end of the half by conservative play-calling. And I get that this will be the talking point for this game, but with Auburn having momentum, running the ball well, and with all 3 timeouts left, why wasn’t Gus more aggressive at the end of the half? Sure, they could have given the ball bak to Bama, but don’t you play to win the game? Imagine how the game could have been different if Auburn goes and scores to end the half. In a game where Auburn had nothing to lose, why do you not give your team that chance? Anyways, Bama completely took over in the second half and showed how great of a team they are. As for next Saturday, is there a basketball game nearby I can go and watch? War Eagle” - Will McLaughlin

“I figured that we’d keep it close for a while, but once the talent kicked in it was a different story. I don’t think that Tua was the difference in the ballgame. There are probably 20 quarterbacks around the country that can do everything he did yesterday. The difference is that he’s got a squadron of F-15s out there moonlighting as wide receivers and backs. And a battalion of Panzers providing protection up front. And a whole wing of kamikaze fighters on defense to help out when things get a little tight. Ruggs, Smith, and Jeudy were the difference last night. They got open and allowed for easy throws, then they all made plays after the catch for the long back-breaking touchdowns. We thought that the secondary would be a sore spot for Auburn this year, but it really took until the last game of the season to see it fully.

On offense, it was another frustrating game where Auburn didn’t seem to stick with the things that were going well. We ran the ball as well as we’ve run the ball all year, but never hung with it. It’s almost like we got antsy, knowing how quickly they can score, and tried to duplicate that on our end. The drops didn’t help, and losing Ryan Davis really hamstrung the attack as well. It’s also tough when you hit a 75-yard touchdown and it gets called back on a soft holding penalty, then it’s coupled with a 15-yarder because your coach said ‘bull crap.’ But hey, you know you’re not going to get any favors playing in Bryant-Denny. Credit the team, they hung in after that and made it close at the half. I applaud Gus for going to the well with the trick plays, but even those needed some tweaks. Throwing to the kicker... eh. Give it to a guy who can break a tackle and make a play. I tweeted that we couldn’t let the touchdown to Jeudy turn into more touchdowns, but that’s exactly what happened. The defense let that one beat them again and again, and we can’t even blame the time of possession. Bama only held the ball for 23 minutes last night.” - Jack Condon

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