Auburn Football: Winners and Losers from Week 9 Game vs. Texas A&M

Just when Auburn fans thought the worst was over…Saturday night happened.

The Tigers were picked apart mercilessly by No. 20 Texas A&M 63-21. In the process, they made history for all the wrong reasons.

For starters, the 63 points were the most allowed by an Auburn team since 1917. The 671 total yards allowed goes down as the most ever in program history.

The loss was the Tigers’ fifth-straight, dropping them to 1-7 on the season and 0-6 in SEC play—their worst start since beginning 1-7 in 1952.

Needless to say, it’s an effort—or lack thereof—that the Tigers will soon want to forget. Especially with No. 6 Georgia and No. 1 Alabama still left on the schedule.

Here is the winner and the losers from Saturday night’s massacre.

Loser: Gene Chizik

Two weeks ago I emphasized the need for Auburn to cut ties with head coach Gene Chizik.

On Thursday, Auburn University President Jay Gogue issued a letter promising a postseason evaluation of the program—largely hinting at the likely termination of Chizik.

Then on Saturday night—following a 63-21 defeat—Chizik pretty much sealed his own fate.

Currently in his fourth season with the Tigers, Chizik holds a pedestrian 31-17 record. Take away the 14-0 season with Cam Newton and it dilutes into a mediocre 17-17 mark.

Even more troubling is the fact that the former Iowa State head coach has Auburn headed towards its first winless season in SEC play since 1950.

With things looking like it’ll get worse before it gets better for the Tigers, there’s a high possibility that Chizik could be let go before the season ends.

Sure, the process of bringing in a new head coach midway through a season is a problematic circumstance, but could it really be any worse than it is right now?

Losers: Clint Moseley and Kiehl Frazier

After the head coach, the next best target to lay all your criticism upon is the team’s starting quarterback.

In Auburn’s case, the Tigers have not one, but two quarterbacks who can take the blunt of it.

Sophomore Kiehl Frazier came into this season as the Tigers’ definite starter.

However, after throwing eight interceptions in his first five starts—compared to only two touchdowns—Frazier was benched in favor of another option.

That option was junior Clint Moseley. However, he didn’t fare too much better.

Moseley got the call during the second half of Auburn’s Oct. 6 contest with Arkansas. While he led the Tigers to a touchdown, he also threw two costly red-zone interceptions in a 21-7 loss.

In his next two starts, while proving to make fewer mistakes than Frazier—only one interception—Moseley provided the Tigers with zero touchdowns.

But when compared to Frazier’s woeful season, Moseley still had the complete faith of Chizik and started Saturday night against Texas A&M. Unfortunately for Moseley, after throwing only one pass, he was forced out of the game with an ankle injury.

With a second chance to shine, Frazier had the opportunity for redemption he was searching for.

However, his 6-of-11 passing for 89 yards wasn’t deemed good enough and he eventually made way for the debut of freshman Jonathan Wallace.

With Wallace finally providing a spark for a completely lackluster Tigers’ offense, it’s looking very likely that Moseley and Frazier might not see another start again.

Then again, with the way this Auburn season has spiraled out of control, I wouldn’t bet against anything.

Loser: Auburn Offensive Line

A quarterback is only as great as their offensive line.

One look at Auburn’s and it’s no wonder why they’re struggling to find good quarterback play.

The Tigers have allowed an SEC-worst 29 sacks this season. That’s an average of around 3.5 per game. They allowed five in the first half alone on Saturday.

A quarterback under pressure is likely to make bad decisions. When a quarterback makes bad decisions…well, you get the 2012 Auburn Tigers.

While some may point at the fact that the Tigers allowed zero sacks in the second half on Saturday, a lot of the credit has to go to Wallace’s ability to scramble and move the pocket. Not to mention, by that time the Aggies were playing with a lineup mostly consisting of backups.

Needless to say, it’s an area that is imperative for the Tigers to fix if they have any hope of developing a quarterback. 

Winner: Jonathan Wallace

Many in Auburn wonder why it took Chizik this long to discover the impact freshman Jonathan Wallace can have on his team.  

In his debut at the helm, the youngster sparked the Tigers to two touchdowns through the air. He finished 6-of-9 for 122 yards and added 71 yards on 13 carries on the ground.

His dual-threat ability is what’s lacking in the Tigers’ other two options.

The way he continuously scrambled and moved the pocket until he found his read provided Tigers’ fans with a much-needed breath of fresh air for Auburn. It brought back flashes of, dare I say it, another successful dual-threat quarterback in Auburn history.

However, realistically speaking, Wallace’s performance was against the backups of Texas A&M. So whatever results Wallace displayed on the field on Saturday should only be taken with a grain of salt.

At the same time, against the backups or not, it should be a performance that is enough to garner the freshman a start in the team’s next contest.