Auburn wide receiver Emory Blake (80) grabs an onside kick to save the game and set up the game-winning touchdown drive.
Oh my. Oh my.
This wasn’t Appalachian State-Michigan-esque, but it was close. Too close.
Too close for the defending national champions.
Too close for the SEC .
Too close for the Jordan-Hare Stadium crowd, many of whom didn’t stick around to see how it ended.
And how it ended isn’t indicative of how it really was.
Auburn’s young. Really young. Everyone knew that. Everyone’s said that.
Saturday, everyone saw it.
No disrespect to Utah State. The Aggies showed up and hit Auburn in the mouth. Hard. They’re a very good team that will do very well in the WAC.
But this is the SEC . This is the nation’s best conference. The cream of the crop. Auburn’s got a lot of growing to do.
The defending national champions were a stellar special teams play and a “that’s how you draw it up” 2-minute drill away from opening their national title defense with a championship flop.
But anyone who’s been around this program for any length of time knows one thing: It’s never over.
Oh, where do we start?
How about with the defense?
The Aggies, returning 10 starters on an offense that ran more formations than Gus Malzahn in a sandlot, had Auburn reeling from the get-go.
Take the second drive of the game. Utah State goes 80 yards on 15 plays, taking 7:27 off the clock, shoving it right down the Tigers’ throats. Then, to cap it off, Gary Andersen has his team go for it on fourth-and-goal from the Tigers’ 3 … and scores.
Take that, Tigers.
The Aggies did it again on their next drive – taking 6:52 off the clock on 16 plays for 75 yards. It might as well have been 1,000 miles. That’s how far off this defense looks from the one that raised the crystal ball in the desert eight months ago.
The Aggies. From the WAC. Against an SEC defense.
Read that again.
Utah State put up 448 total yards with four of its six scoring drives going for at least 14 plays. And when Auburn needed a stop, it couldn’t get one. The Aggies were 3-for-3 on fourth downs and converted 10-of-17 third downs.
How about the youth?
Auburn’s youth got served Saturday. A lot.
But that’s no excuse. Just ask Gene Chizik and defensive coordinator Ted Roof . They said that over and over and over again after Saturday’s rollercoaster.
Utah State’s true freshman quarterback didn’t seem to have a problem with it. Making his first collegiate start, Chuckie Keeton racked up 246 yards of total offense and two rushing scores … on the road … in an SEC stadium.
“We didn’t execute,” Roof said. “It’s unacceptable. There are no excuses. But we’ll get it fixed.”
And the Tigers better be in a hurry with Mississippi State coming to town next Saturday.
Anyone watch the Bulldogs’ offense Thursday night? Sure, it was against Memphis , but the Bulldogs can move the football . Auburn couldn’t stop it Saturday.
It wasn’t just the defense, though. The Tigers’ offense was in pretty much of a funk for a majority of the game as it tries to replace a Heisman Trophy winner and veteran offensive line.
“I don't think there's any question that offensively and defensively we're a long way off of being able to win very many games right now,” Chizik said.
But the “youth” line can only go so far. Excuses don’t matter when conference play starts.
And it’s here. Now.
Oh my.
MIKE SZVETITZ is sports editor of the Opelika-Auburn News. He may be reached at mszvetitz@oanow.com or 737-2513.
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