AUBURN — Auburn pulled off an improbable comeback in Saturday’s season-opener, showing that the heart of a national champion returned this season.
But little else returns.
After the No. 23 Tigers had to recover an onsides kick and rally from 10 points down in the final 3-plus minutes to beat Utah State 42-38, the crystal ball that was brought home last season looks ominously dark.
It’s a win, but woe damn eagle.
“Not acceptable at Auburn,” Tigers coach Gene Chizik said, describing Auburn’s defense against Utah State.
He could’ve been talking about the offense, too, especially in the first half.
First, some shocking stats:
• Utah State ran 84 plays to Auburn’s 54, essentially flipping Auburn’s MO in Gus Malzahn’s two-plus years as offensive coordinator.
• Remember last season’s perfect marriage between the ultimate dual-threat quarterback in Cam Newton and Malzahn’s system? Barrett Trotter rushed five times for a net minus-9 yards.
• Remember that fourth-quarter defense that was just good enough for the record-setting offense Auburn fielded in 2010? Auburn gave up two fourth-quarter touchdowns Saturday on twin, 14-play drives.
The Tigers’ winning formula from 2010 is gone. The look is more 1998 when they escaped Central Florida with a 10-6 win.
To an extent, change was expected this season. The Tigers lost 18 starters, including their Heisman Trophy quarterback and Lombardi Award-winning defensive tackle Nick Fairley.
But to this extent?
Auburn’s offensive coaches have play-call picture boards that include the face of President Obama, but this can’t be change Auburn fans can believe in.
The change on offense is stark.
Auburn no longer has a running quarterback, and much falls from that. The read option that worked so effectively with Newton at the trigger no longer works so well. That makes it harder to spring sophomore running back Michael Dyer, who rushed for 1,000-plus yards as a freshman but had just a team-high 57 Saturday.
It also becomes harder to spring speedy Onterio McCalebb on end-arounds. His longest run Saturday was Auburn’s longest — 14 yards.
The read option and end-arounds were staples for Auburn’s national championship team of a year ago. It looks like they won’t be this season.
Throw in an offensive line with four new starters, and Auburn rushed for 78 net yards on 30 carries Saturday. The Tigers had no worse than 108 a year ago, and that was against Alabama’s defense.
“For this offense to work, we have to be able to run the ball,” Malzahn said Saturday, echoing a warning he made earlier this offseason.
Trotter did what Trotter does in his first college start, completing 17 of 23 passes for 261 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. Then again, what is Malzahn’s offense without a running quarterback?
Something more like the 2009, when Chris Todd threw a then-school-record 22 touchdown passes. But Newton shattered that record with 30 in 2010, and even the 2009 team had a thousand-yard rusher in Ben Tate.
Tate did it with much the same veteran offensive line that quietly did so much to make it work in 2010.
Malzahn tried to make it work with new bells and whistles Saturday, likely showing things he didn’t want to show before the Tigers’ SEC opener against Mississippi State this week.
There was the direct snap to Dyer, which was the effective short-yardage substitute for last season’s “Slam Cam” play.
There was a lateral pass, with freshman quarterback Kiehl Frazier under center and backup Clint Moseley throwing downfield to McCalebb.
The new wrinkles worked to an extent, but nothing makes Malzahn ball work quite like a veteran offensive line and a true dual-threat quarterback — even if he’s not Cam Newton.
With that in mind, Auburn needs a defense that plays at least well enough to allow its offense to outscore its opponent. That means the Tigers need a better defense than it had in 2010 to make up for a weaker offense.
They had it against Utah State —barely — but imagine the defense Auburn showed Saturday against just about any SEC offense.
If the Aggies can mount 448 total yards, 227 rushing yards and a 15-minute edge in possession time with a true freshman quarterback, then what can Mississippi State do with a veteran?
Auburn’s defense looked a step behind for much of Saturday’s game, and the first place to look is youth. The starting defensive lineup shows all sophomores on the line, two among the linebackers and two in the backfield.
Go two deep, and one sees six true and redshirt freshmen.
Auburn defensive coordinator Ted Roof wouldn’t go there — or anywhere else, specifically.
“No excuses,” he said time and again. “We need to get better, and we’re going to get better.”
The Tigers need to get a lot better in a hurry, because even the heart of a champion can take a team only so far.
Joe Medley is The Star’s sports columnist. He can be reached at 256-235-3576 or jmedley@annistonstar.com. Follow on Twitter @jmedley_star.
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