Auburn Football: Problems on The Plains

It was a rough night for 80,000+ fans wearing orange and blue on an unusually cold October night.  It was rougher for the players wearing those familiar blue jerseys.

Hardly anyone thought that this loss would be coming. Surely everyone thought that the lapses in Fayetteville wouldn't travel back to the loveliest village. It's looking like the team needs to go back to Knoxville to look for themselves.

Whatever it is, the Auburn Tigers are looking very susceptible in every facet of the game.  The offense suddenly isn't clicking, the defense is not holding when it matters, and special teams, at its best, has been inconsistent.

The only way to properly determine what is exactly wrong is to go through each unit separately:

Offense

The question on the offensive side of the ball is, "Where did everything go wrong?" The last two teams, which don't boast the best defensive fronts in the conference, had a seemingly effective game plan in containing Offensive Coordinator Gus Malzahn's offense. It seemed like they were ready for anything Auburn dished out.

Comments made by the Arkansas players and staff two weeks ago indicated that Auburn's offense showed several "tendencies." In the world of football, tendencies equals to predictability. Auburn fans know as of recent history the words " predictable" and "offense" have been synonymous with the Tiger offense.

Malzahn said earlier last week that Auburn was no where near running the full playbook.  It should make one wonder if that is all the players can run to this point. Regardless of what can they run, what they do run currently has not been executed in the last two games.

Execution is key no matter the problems that may be happening. At times last night, the Tigers showed signs of life, effectively moving the football down the field. Then they would get hit with unnecessary penalties (six penalties were assessed in one drive in the fourth quarter), losing all momentum and struggle to move the chains. 

Overall, it seems there needs to be something changed on the X's and O's, as well as discipline to cut down on unnecessary penalties.

Defense

With the offense struggling these last two games, it really has put pressure on the short staffed defense. The main difference between playing Arkansas and Kentucky is the defense held its own quite well for three quarters. 

Then in the fourth quarter, Kentucky's Randall Cobb decided to take over the Wildcat offense. The defense allowed 142 rushing yards in the fourth, setting the Wildcats with the tying and winning touchdowns.

Another problem Auburn has faced is the poor tackling and fundamentals by the players.  This problem gets worse as the game goes on, as evidenced by the Tigers's latest loss.  This also can be attributed with the lack of depth Auburn has on the defensive side of the ball. 

It's also troubling to fans who have always hung their hat on Auburn having one of the most historically sound defenses in the country.  The fact that Auburn doesn't have a top tier defense puts more pressure on the offense to perform. 

Special Teams

It seems this unit has gotten better over time, but it has been inconsistent over the course of the season. Dropped kickoff and punt returns, and poor coverage have been the main culprits.

It seems the returners have been found for the Tigers, however, the coverage issues still remain. If one is to take a closer look, the kickoff and punt coverages are spotted with walk-ons, another indication of shallow roster depth. 

What does all this mean as a whole? This team, unlike any other team that Auburn fans have witnessed recently, depends on each other. The offense must work to get scores and give the defense rest. The defense must make stops to get the offense a chance to score points. To fill in the rest, the special teams must set up field position for both sides to be effective.

All of this may sound elementary, and that is because it is that simple. It basically boils down to each group to execute and make plays when it matters. 

This football team is not as bad as it may seem now, but they are far from where they were at sitting at 5-0. Getting it together quickly is essential heading into Tiger Stadium this coming week. 

If Auburn shows up, they can beat any team on their schedule. If they don't, 6-6 looks like the most possible outcome. 

Somehow or another, it seems they will finish somewhere in the middle. Only time will tell how the 2009 season will end up for the Auburn Tigers.