Bleacher Report - Articles by Jon Lunceford

Tony Franklin Out, Questions Still to be Answered

Jon Lunceford — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 11:00:05 -0400

Tony Franklin, the mastermind behind the spread offense, was fired Wednesday at 3 p.m. CST from Auburn University as the offensive coordinator.

Where the team goes from here, still remains to be seen. The questions people were asking, are still present as Franklin packed his bags Wednesday before practice.

"After evaluating where we are at this point of the season offensively, I felt it was in the best interest of the Auburn football program to make this change. I'm not satisfied with where we are and I am personally going to take a larger role with the offense the remainder of the season. We are going to work harder than ever to make sure we consistently improve as we move forward," Head Coach Tommy Tuberville told Rivals.com.

Franklin didn't waste anytime leaving, cleaning out his office and turning in his keys to the athletic complex just hours after the announcement.

"I have no reason to stick around," Franklin said as he walked out the door with his arms loaded with boxes.

While Franklin was cleaning out his office on the top floor, Tuberville and his staff were holding a meeting with the team to announce the dismissal of Franklin.

Many players openly questioned the offense after the 14-13 loss to Vanderbilt this past Saturday. Auburn has only scored five offensive touchdowns in their four SEC games, and ranks near the bottom in almost every offensive category in the conference, ranking 9th in scoring offense (13.8 ppg), 11th in total offense (309.2 ypg), and last in third down conversions with a 29.7 percent average.

Franklin was hired by Auburn after the firing of Al Borges at the end of the 2007 season. Borges led the offense to an undefeated season in 2004, and was let go after last season. His departure created the opportunity for Franklin's more spread out offense -- something uncommon in the SEC. After an impressive showing in the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl against Clemson last season, the offense has gone down hill and hasn't been able to recover.

For now, Auburn will have to get past possibly the worst team in the SEC in Arkansas, before heading to a date with West Virginia on a Thursday night. Luckily, they don't have to face off against one of the better teams in the conference after this crazy week. However, this Auburn defense is now in the spotlight as they will have to be the players who keep Auburn winning as the team sorts this whole mess out.

Whether the defense will be able to carry the team over opponents like Georgia and Alabama remains to be seen. With Franklin finally gone, fans will wonder how the QB situation will be handled, and whether or not this offense will go back to it's hard-nosed running game of years past. Regardless, the tangled web that is Auburn Football has not become any clearer with this firing, yet it at least opens the doors for change.

Auburn fans hope it's a change for the better.

Alabama Season Outlook

Jon Lunceford — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 16:43:48 -0400

The 3-0 Alabama Crimson Tide are ready for conference play. Alabama heads to Fayetteville, Ark. this weekend to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks to finally give their freshman a taste of conference play.

Alabama ranks in the top five for teams with the most true freshman playing. Players like the No. 1 recruit Julio Jones, all the way to the phenomenal running back, Mark Ingram, are all ready to head on the road and get a win over the Hogs.

Alabama's offense has the perfect mix of depth and seniority. Between senior QB John Parker Wilson leading the backfield and Junior tackle Andre Smith leading the offensive line, the offense is solid. Even when Smith went down in the opener against Clemson, the Tide had back-ups to spare, and they did not disappoint.

Alabama also holds one of the nation's top defense's by allowing an average of a little over seven points a game. Anchored by the previously 400-pound monster, Terrance Cody, the defense is ready to play like they did in the season opener against Clemson. Alabama's linebacker situation has become more effective since the reinstatement of Prince Hall who was on suspension previously.

Overall, Alabama has a recipe for success. A struggle against Tulane turned out to be a fluke as Alabama took their win from Clemson and reveled in it a bit too much. Western Kentucky was no match for the Tide after the non-impresive showing against Tulane as Alabama took them out with ease.

Nick Saban had these words for Cecil Hurt from TideSports.com, to describe the motion of his team:

"I see two teams in the country right now that are dominant in the way they play, USC and Oklahoma. Everybody else is a little up and down, struggling, not doing what they need to do to be that. I know we're neither one of those teams. I just continue to try to get our fans and everyone to focus on the process. No one was really interested in the Tulane game around here. It was like we're looking far, far ahead. It creates an atmosphere where it's difficult to perform with consistency."

Alabama gets their first taste of a road game, as well as their first SEC game this weekend, but the real tests will begin week five as Alabama heads to Athens, Ga. to face the No. 3 Bulldogs.

Like their cross-state rivals, Auburn, this team finally has a chance to prove their worth within the SEC over the next couple of weeks. Alabama has the depth with their freshman to take over the SEC, and a win over the Razorbacks and Bulldogs will help vault them into the running for winning the SEC West, and perhaps the SEC Championship.

How Auburn Plays Against LSU Will Determine Season Success

Jon Lunceford — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 16:10:17 -0400

Three games into the season, Auburn is still struggling. Don't let the 3-0 start fool you: Auburn's amazing new spread offense has yet to produce more than one passing touchdown. With the quarterback struggles continuing through the fourth week, the future is not looking very bright.

A state of dismay is just what LSU is looking to take advantage of as they head to Jordan-Hare this weekend. A loss to LSU could very well disrupt Auburn's season as they will then face Eastern foe Tennessee the very next week.

After the 3-2 victory in Starkville last week, Kodi Burns is beginning to struggle with the lack of playing time.

"We're going to go in with the idea of obviously Chris being our starter and if Kodi gets in the game, it will be for reasons of gameplan and what they're doing to us on defense," Tuberville told Rivals.com this week. "The one thing about Kodi is he's stayed prepared. He works hard in practice. He's into it. He's into the gameplan.

"We're not going to throw him out there just to throw one or two plays. I want him to be able to throw the ball deep, throw screens, run the ball, run the entire offense."

If Auburn cannot turn their offense on this week, the season could be a long one for Tiger fans. Brad Lester is out for now after leaving the Miss. St. game in the third quarter last week when he fell awkwardly on his head. The MRIs were negative, but Lester isn't ready to jump back in 100 percent just yet.

Auburn's defense, however, is the one option they've got left. Allowing only five points a game and ranked 11th in the nation in yards allowed, Auburn's defense is no laughing matter.

The question is, can they carry their offense to more wins than losses throughout the rest of the year?

"I'm real proud of the defensive coaches and players...our guys play with a lot of determination," Tuberville said. "We've got some smart guys on defense that understand what this defense is about. Paul Rhoads has done a good job with carrying on the enthusiasm with what we've been doing."

So far, even against the Warhawks of Louisiana-Monroe, the defense has had to step it up to keep this Auburn team impressive in the top 10.

For the remainder of conference play, Auburn will struggle and have a hard time making it to the SEC Championship if LSU defeats them. This week is extremely important for figuring out the Tigers' future, and it will finally give us a shot to see this new offense against a top team to see if they can really hang with the other top 10 teams.

Auburn's national outlook is at a standstill right now. State foe Alabama even jumped them in the polls after that dreadful 3-2 win last weekend. The LSU game is the first of many difficult SEC teams the Tigers will have to face. However, it will provide the Tigers their first proof that they deserve to be where they are in the polls.

The interest for the next few weeks will lie with the offense since the defense has shown that they can stop anything so far. If Kodi Burns can become a solid QB to turn to if Todd goes down, Auburn might could finally turn this offense around to be more than mediocre for the rest of the season.

A nine-win season is still very possible, but many questions will be answered this weekend as they finally play some decent competition.

Kenneth Massey: The Man, the Myth, the BCS Buster

Jon Lunceford — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 17:52:07 -0400

The BCS. We all hate it, it's bad, it doesn't work, we need a playoff or a plus-1 or something. Yeah, old news.

What some of you may not know is the full story behind who is really selecting our national champions. Beneath the USA Today polls, and the Harris Interactive polls, lies a list of six computer polls. These polls take statistical data and, from there, pick the best teams to represent the NCAA in the BCS.

Meet Kenneth Massey. The Bluefield College grad who turned his passion for running the numbers into something more. From Roanoke, Va., this man sits in his office and is one of the six computer whizzes who calculates who should be the best teams in the country.

As we agree and disagree and argue about the AP and USA Today polls, we fail to look at the other factors, polls like the Massey Ratings, (you know, the polls that REALLY matter).

After the 2007 season, LSU was the national champ. Ohio State, the No. 2 team before the beating from the Tigers, dropped from second to eighth. Nothing crazy. But take a look and you'll see a few variations from the top 25.

Now take a look at this season. Because these polls are so important to the future of the BCS, let's look at who is atop the polls going into Week Four:

Monmouth IL—A Division 3 team that's 3-0.
East Carolina
Loras—A Division 3 team that's 1-1, up 443 spots from last week
Lawrence—A Division 3 team that's 0-1, somehow up 289 spots from last week
Wisconsin
Utah
Nebraska
Wake Forest
North Carolina
South Florida
West Virginia—I mean, they did only lose to the No. 2 team according to this logic
Alabama

It's nice to know that we will have a little variety in the BCS National Championship game with Monmouth facing off against East Carolina.

So is this telling me that if Monmouth IL never loses and maintains its hard schedule, that it will stay No. 1 until it is taken down?

This poll usually evens itself out by the end of the year, but still places the occasional team outside of where it should be. At the end of the regular season in 2006, Springfield, a Division 2 team, was in the top 25, and had bumped someone else out.

Also, who needs the USC-Ohio State game when you can have the No. 45 Troy vs. No. 100 Ohio State game? Who knew that the Auburn-LSU game was really No. 24 Auburn vs. No. 102 LSU? Oklahoma is No. 2 in the AP Poll? Who cares?—it's No. 36 in the Massey Poll, just ahead of Ball State, and just behind TCU.

Moral: Computer polls are useless. As of now, we have three Division 3 teams in the top four. USC, Oklahoma, Georgia? No way, they suck...

http://www.masseyratings.com

Week 4: When The True Contenders Arise

Jon Lunceford — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 16:59:11 -0400

With the fourth week approaching, elite teams will finally begin to separate themselves from the bunch. The key match-up this week is between Auburn and LSU. Two stingy defenses will go at it, so it will be easy to see another 5 point game like last week against Miss. St.

Auburn's spread offense has yet to prove itself with only one passing TD all year. Alabama finally heads on the road to their first SEC game against the Razorbacks. Notre Dame gets a chance for redemption with a win this week, as well as Arizona State if they can defeat the Dawgs from Georgia.

Tennessee has to try and fight Tebow and the boys from Florida, but it won't be much for the Gators to pull this one out. So without further ado, I give you my week four predictions.

Iowa at Pittsburgh (-1)

The Hawkeyes remain undefeated after a slim win over the Cyclones from across the state. The Panthers are 1-1 after a loss to Bowling Green, then a close win over Buffalo. Iowa has yet to prove anything either, but at least defeating Iowa State is worth something. With this line almost not worth it, take Iowa to win.

Alabama (-9.5) at Arkansas

The Crimson Tide finally head into their first conference game, and it's their first true away game also. Arkansas is two 4th-quarter drives away from being 0-2 to Western Illinois and Louisiana-Monroe. Alabama has proven themselves against Clemson, but every week can be different as shown by the Tulane game. The offense has started to click, and the defense is stout, so look for Alabama to make a statement going into Athens next week. Take Alabama to win by 10 or more.

UCF at Boston College (-10.5)

Seriously? No way. UCF is underrated, and after the shocker loss against South Florida, UCF is ready to rebound and take it to the Eagles. Matt Ryan is gone, but the home field advantage could be a bit much for the Bulls. Look for BC to pull out the win, but by a field goal.

Notre Dame at Michigan State (-8.5)

Michigan State's win over California doesn't look so impressive now. Don't count ND out of this one just yet. A win over Michigan last week is just what this team needed to jump start their team. Watch out for Notre Dame to not only beat the spread, but to beat Michigan State.

Virginia Tech at North Carolina (-2)

North Carolina has proven they can be competitive with the Thursday night rout of the Knights from Rutgers last week. Look for their offense to come alive, and take this win and cover the spread. Virginia Tech heads in with a non-impressive win over Furman and Georgia Tech, and that horrific loss against East Carolina.

Florida (-7.5) at Tennessee

I think the guys in Vegas are being nice to UT having home-field in this game. Florida is a powerhouse that will contend for the title this year, and UT looks a whole lot worse after that UCLA loss when BYU laid it on the Bruins 59-0. Offense finally looked good against the Blazers, but UAB also has to be one of the worst teams in the league. No question that Florida covers this and more.

Wake Forest at Florida State (-4.5)

FSU has the most freshman of anyone in the nation playing this year. Wins over Western Carolina and UT-Chattanooga aren't impressive enough to prove anything. Wake Forest has that SEC win under it's belt, and could be the last hope for the ACC to prove something to the world. Granted it was just Ole Miss, but SEC is SEC. Look for this to be a close game, but WF will be able to pull this out with better experience this year, and years past.

LSU (-2) at Auburn

Expect a game like last week's 3-2 defensive squeaker against Miss. St. This game is full of defense, with Auburn having one of the best in the country allowing only five points a game, but with having a new spread offense that has only produced one passing touchdown, and a QB situation that Tommy Tuberville doesn't even know about, it shouldn't be hard for one of the best teams in the country to come into Jordan-Hare and pull off the win. Auburn will hang with them, but if LSU pulls it by a FG like I think they will, the -2 wins.

Georgia (-7) at Arizona State

After Arizona St's upsetting loss to UNLV, this match-up has diminished. Traveling to Tempe could be a little much for the Bulldogs, but they aren't the No. 3 team in the nation for nothing. Georgia continues to be underrated as they drop from No. 2 to No. 3 after a close game in Columbia last week. Look for Georgia to come close to this line, but have the W with ease. I'd take Georgia right here no matter what.

So now you know more than your friends do.