Auburn vs. Louisiana Tech: The Good, The Bad, and The Big Uglies

The Gene Chizik era at Auburn is off and running, literally. Gus Malzhan's offense racked up 301 yards on the ground, the majority of which came behind a pair 100-yard rushers in Ben Tate and Onterio McCalebb.

The Good:

• Chris Todd's Numbers: 17-of-26 passes, 255 yards, 2TDs, no INTs, NFL passer rating 123.077, NCAA passer rating 173.15. A degree in rocket science is required to know the difference between the two ratings.

• Offensive and Defensive Numbers: 79 total plays, 556 yards for Auburn on offense.  The defense held the Bulldogs to 245 total yards and less than 100 on the ground. A great job against a team that was in the Top 30 for rushing offenses last year.

• Onterio McCalebb: 148 yards rushing, one touchdown, broke Bo Jackson's record for yards rushing by a freshman in his first game. Welcome to Running Back U Mr. McCalebb. The Auburn Family expects big things from you.

The Bad:

• Penalties: 7 penalties for 85 yards, 45 yards of which came on La Tech's only touchdown drive.  It should be noted that had the refs not called pass interference on an obviously uncatchable ball (a 10-foot tall receiver couldn't have caught that ball), then AU wouldn't have gotten the two subsequent face mask penalties because La Tech would have been forced to punt.
• Punt Returns: -3 return yards and a muffed punt, luckily recovered by AU, will send the punt return team back to the drawing board this week.
• Depth: It wasn't a major factor in this game, but it's still a concern. A couple of walk-on's got playing time at defensive end and linebacker, which has to make Tiger fans nervous. Starting a true freshman at safety might too, but so far Bates play has silenced any doubters.

The Big Uglies:

• Auburn's Offensive Line: Auburn's "Big Uglies" manhandled the La Tech defensive line. They had their way with the defense when Auburn wanted to run and Todd was rarely pressured when passing. Expect the La Tech defense to file assault charges on Tuesday after that beating.
  
• Auburn's Defensive Line: Auburn's defensive line got good pressure on the quarterback, resulting in three sacks. They were the main reason La Tech was held to under 100 yards rushing. Props to new defensive lineman Nick Fairly who ran over, through, and around the La Tech offensive line.

Offensive Player of the Game: McCalebb and the O-line are candidates, but Chris Todd gets the nod. He deserves it for his play and for all he's had to put up with this past offseason.

Offensive Play of the Game: Todd's 93-yard touchdown pass to Terrell Zachery.

Defensive Player of the Game: There is no clear cut favorite here. True freshman Darren Bates played like a veteran and Josh Bynes was all over the field, but the Defensive Player of the Game goes to the whole defensive line. 

Weak side defensive end Coleman did what Coleman does, harrass the quarterback, and generally make him nervous the whole game. Fairly, Blanc, Ricks and Clayton were a force on the inside and other than two face mask penalties, strong side defensive end Goggans played very well.

Defensive Play of the Game: Bates interception at the two-yard line to halt a La Tech drive. Bates went up and made a nice grab, ending a potential La Tech scoring threat.

Special Teams Player of the Game: There is no question here, Wes Byrum did everything that was asked of him. He kicked three field goals, two from 45+ yards away and was perfect on extra points.

Special Teams Play of the Game: Byrum's 49-yard field goal as time expired in the first half.

Based on major media predictions this game was either going to be an ugly win for AU or a big upset for La Tech. One site had AU losing by an average score 23-15 after 10,000 simulations. Apparently these simulations didn't take into account Todd's new bionic arm or freshman Ontario McCalebb's legs. Auburn should have silenced most of the doubters, at least for this week.

Auburn still can't overlook most teams on their schedule, but several teams that were overlooking the Tigers had better take notice. The back end of Auburn's schedule is still tough with four out of five games coming against Top 25 teams, but Auburn should be competitive in each of those games and will have a chance to upset all of them.

Bowl Prediction: (subject to change) Auburn vs. Miami in the Music City Bowl.