Auburn Football: What the Coaching Staff Must Learn from Week 1

Whew! The cardiac Tigers are back for the 2011 season. Trailing by 10 points to Utah State from the WAC at home with 3:30 left in the game, the Tigers were able to crawl back from the land of upset and pull off an impressive 42-38 win on Saturday afternoon.

The Tigers have a very young team this year but games like this help to grow up young men quickly. The Tigers defense was horrible at best but its offense and special teams did well to keep the Tigers in the game until the very end where a couple heads up offensive plays coupled with a well-executed on-side kick left Auburn fans breathless but happy.

I know that the season is still young and there are not many people who think the 2011 Auburn team will finish 6-6 at best, I still believe that this team has a chance to be something special but they must learn from this game. Here is what the Auburn coaching staff must learn before they begin their SEC schedule next week against Mississippi State.

Tre Mason Needs to Touch the Ball More Than on Kickoffs

Tre Mason is an incredible, talented freshman. He had several great kickoff returns today including a 97-yard touchdown, but he must get his hands on the ball more often. He did have one carry for two yards but the guy is explosive and creative. Auburn must find a way to get him the ball in open space. Whether it be on a bubble screen or on a short screen pass, he needs to have the ball, blockers and some grass and he will make some exciting plays. 

Emory Blake Is One of the Most Dangerous WR in the SEC

Emory is an interesting athlete because his ability can almost sneak up on the casual fan. It seems he is always getting double-teamed or jammed at the line but when Barrett needs a big reception, Emory comes up with a play. Besides catching a 56-yard TD on Saturday, he also made some key first downs when Auburn desperately needed them. The media doesn't often talk about Emory so you don't hear a ton about him but he is a very special WR whom I believe can become one of the top five receivers in the SEC this year. The good news is that Auburn has several talented receivers that keep the defense honest which should create some more open looks for Emory.

Auburn's Defense Must Improve on 3rd Down

The only positive that I can come up with for Auburn's defense is that it didn't make stupid penalties to go with the huge amount of yards and big plays they gave up on Saturday. The D-line was pushed around by the running game, the secondary was gashed for key first downs on third and long and the we were unable to get to the true freshman quarterback all day long. The Auburn defense must get better and must get better quickly.

The Offensive Line Will Have to Create Holes for the Running Backs

The running backs definately earned everything that they got today because the offensive line did not create any holes. Auburn wasn't even able to get to the outside on the slower Utah State team. Even though Barrett Trotter was sacked several times, they did give him enough time to make some key throws when it mattered. I think this offensive line will be very good with time but Auburn either has to create running lanes or rely more on the passing game.

Continue to Build on the "Finding a Way to Win" Mentality

The game was hard to watch for Auburn fans until the last 30 seconds. The best news is that it still ended in a win. The coaching staff must do a good job of nurturing that "find a way to win" attitude that even this young Auburn team has. They still have a long way to go this season but if the coaching staff works on these key areas, you may see Auburn competing for the SEC West title again in 2011.