Auburn Destroys UL Monroe: Next, Revenge on the Wildcats in Lexington

Auburn's destruction of UL Monroe

I knew this would be a win for Auburn, like most of you probably did as well. Monroe who is never a real power in the national landscape, did upset the Tide in Saban's first season as coach.

This was a test for Auburn, they needed to do exactly what they did. Not the fact we slaughtered them 52-3 but, to see five things in this game.

1. Cam Newton - We know Newton can run and, probably just off his scrambling ability alone we'd win more than we lose. The fact that we got to see him throw the football without running it one time was great, because he's ran too much up to this point in my opinion.

2. Mario Fannin - I was very glad to see Fannin contribute to the Tigers success.Going into the season I had high expectations for Mario Fannin but, too quickly he proved me wrong. In the past he'd looked good, except for the continued fumbling. He looked good today but, this was UL Monroe.

3. Gus Malzahn - Auburn has managed to win every game so far, including today. However there has been nothing from Malzahn that resembled offensive genius, that was until this week when things needed to click. Keeping in mind that this was UL Monroe, and not LSU.

I like what the offense was able to do, several times the formations had the defense beat before the snap. We had more wide open receivers than I thought we'd ever have in a single game. It was dialed back some I'm almost positive but, I liked what I saw.

4. Auburn Secondary - Warhawks quarterback Kolton Browning got to the 200-yard mark in passing yards but, was unable to get his offense into the end zone. Auburn was physical with them all day, only giving up the short passes that added up in yardage on failed drives.

5. Ted Roof (Auburn Defense) - Auburn has played all season with a bend but don't break mentality. Basically knowing the offense could bail them out in a tough situation. Today although it was Monroe, I thought we played aggressive the whole game. This team was similar to Arkansas State, a team we started the season with.

We won that game, but today's total dominance is what I expected to see then. The defense has gotten better with each game. If we get the complete effort we got today we could be playing Alabama for the west at season's end.

The Revenge Against Kentucky

Kentucky came into Auburn and outplayed us a year ago. We have the chance to go into their place and do it to them.

I remember the beating all too well, where we got beat at our own game. It was painful because they hadn't beaten us in decades.

Kentucky can pass the ball pretty well. I know they'll test the Auburn secondary, which has been soft at times this season. They run the wildcat as good as anyone, but it seems everyone has a Wild package in the playbook.

The defensive front must get pressure on quarterback Randall Cobb without having to blitz. Derrick Locke is a very capable back, and if the second level defenders are out of place he'll be hard to stop.

Make no mistake Kentucky has no room for a chip on their shoulder, as they will be playing Auburn coming off a tough loss to Ole Miss. They'd love to get back on track by giving the Tiger their first loss.

We're better than Ole Miss, and we are better than Kentucky. We can avenge the loss a year ago by beating them soundly. Before the season everyone said we'd get beat here, although most of those opinions were Bama fans it was said repeatedly.

We need to have another great performance next week. I think it's possible to have the kind of game that turns the whispers of Newton for Heisman, into shouts for the Tigers quarterback.