Auburn's Gene Chizik Report Card 8 Games Into Season 1

I was not able to travel to Baton Rouge to see my Auburn Tigers this Saturday. I was forced to watch them on TV. I was prepared for a good football game with many of the problems of the last two weeks corrected. What I got was a tired beat up football team that did not belong on the field with their opponent.

I could see the problems in warm ups, yes it was already evident the Auburn Tigers had no pep in their step. They looked tired and stiff during warm ups and that is exactly how they started playing when the game began.

The defense loosened up after the first series and played pretty good for three quarters. The offense looked tired to the point of having no spirit from the first snap and that never changed. It was an incredible show of how a team can fail from over use.

I do not know if this Auburn team could have defeated LSU if they had shown up prepared and rested, but then again no one will. It was a sign of a lack of ability to lead young men that did not read these signs and attempt to counter them during the week of game preparation.

This team would have played better if it had walked off the field after Kentucky and not put pads on again until pre game warm ups at Baton Rouge. Mistakes or no mistakes, no man can do more than he is physically capable of, and that capability goes down exponentially with fatigue.

One can say this was due to a failure to get into proper conditioning before the season. This may be so, but it can not be corrected now and must be adjusted for. It is also impossible to train away all injuries. The only thing that helps is rest and time to heal.

This being said there are plenty of signs of good leadership as well. Recruiting is good, Discipline is good, Communication is good and it seems everyone is on the same page of the play book.

I read a comment today comparing Iowa State under Paul Rhodes to Iowa State under Gene Chizik last year. They said the team quit after the first few weeks. If one looks at their record last year they fought to the end in the final game of the season. They also say Paul Rhodes has won five games this season while Gene Chizik only won five while there for two years. This is true, and most of the teams they have beaten this year were close games in the past two years or victories. Army and Nebraska are the two exceptions and Nebraska the only upset. Iowa State lost 35 to 7 to Nebraska last year. Nebraska turned thew ball over five times in the game this year. I imagine they would have lost in 2008 if they had turned the ball over 5 times as well. Iowa State scored 7 last year and 9 this year. There is every indication they will lose all of the four games left on their schedule this year. If one calls wins over North Dakota State, Kent State, Army, Baylor and Nebraska a great year then I guess Paul Rhodes is better. Personally I think Paul Rhodes is a good coach, just not better than Gene Chizik.

This is a learning process for Auburn's Coaching Staff, Team, and Fans. I think that the coaching staff realizes they have overdone game prep and got a fatigued team from it. The coaching staff let them have the last two days off. Arkansas and LSU had found a way to read Auburns next play. This gave them a tremendous advantage on defense. This was corrected against LSU, they were just fast enough that it did not matter. At least we are seeing some adjustment. Auburn won 5, was out coached two, and out prepared one. Nick Saban would have been happy for this his first year at Alabama. 

I am encouraged by what I see and hear. I do not think two days of rest is enough to make a difference this Saturday though. It should help some though. That part of the report card is out until after the season. 

As for a grade for this first season so far. There is no fairer way than judging one by his or her peers. Iowa State is 5-3 under Paul Rhodes a pretty good coach. Washington is 3-5 under Steve Sarkiasan another pretty good coach. Tennessee is 3-3 under Lane Kiffin and his all star coaching staff. Mississippi State is 3-5 under Dan Mullen another pretty good coach. Arkansas is 3-4 under Patrino in his second year, an experienced, great coach. Ole Miss is 5-2 under Houston Nutt in his second year, an experienced Head Coach. Considering there are no first year head coaches other than Chip Kelly at Oregon that have done better, and he was a long time member of that staff, and took over a winning program, I don't think Gene Chizik has done half bad so far.

Leadership B

Recruiting B

Assembling Staff B

Communication C

Implementing Program A

I give Gene Chizik a good solid B for his performance so far.