Auburn Football: Grading the Tigers Loss to Alabama in the Iron Bowl

The 7-5 (4-4 SEC) No. 24 Auburn Tigers hosted the 11-1 (7-1 SEC) No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide in Jordan-Hare Stadium this past weekend. The Tigers looked outmatched at almost every position except  kicker on the field and were simply unable to make plays consistently against the Tide.

The Tigers were able to score 14 points, but both touchdowns came from big plays that weren’t from the offense. Auburn needed to have a better showing to put some faith in the future at positions like quarterback and offensive line, but instead, the Tigers added more question marks about the lack of development throughout the season.

Auburn was completely outgunned, but to their credit, they never quit trying. Auburn took a big lump at home with one of the largest margin of victories ever in the series occurring this past Saturday. Auburn has to try and regroup from this loss and come alive in a bowl game in the coming month.

Taking one last look back at the 2011 Iron Bowl, here are the position grades for the Auburn Tigers.

Quarterback: F

For what it’s worth, this grade would likely apply to any quarterback that played behind the offensive line that Auburn is putting on the field. Still, there were some major misses by Clint Moseley in his first Iron Bowl start.

Auburn never really threatened to take over the game at any point, but if Moseley would have made some wide open throws the Tigers would have at least kept the game interesting. Moseley threw for only 62 yards and one interception against the Crimson Tide. That's the worst numbers an Auburn quarterback has had in recent memory.

When Moseley was in position to make decisions, he also seemed to make the wrong ones. He hasn’t played very confidently in the last three contests, Samford game included. Auburn needs to find a fix in the offseason or 2012 could look much the same.

One promising sign was the ability that Kiehl Frazier brings to the table. He was able to gain 28 yards on eight carries and contributed to additional production by the tailbacks. Frazier is likely the future, and Auburn may need to go ahead and turn over the keys. The less controversy for the Tigers at quarterback the better, as of now the Tigers look lost using the two-quarterback system.

Running Backs: D

The running game was virtually nonexistent for the Tigers against Alabama this past weekend. The Tigers have a wealth of talent in the backfield, but upfront, the Tigers are getting stomped by superior talent. Michael Dyer was Auburn’s leading rusher with 13 carries for 48 yards.

The running backs are still missing some of the holes that are being produced and fumbles on pitch plays are inexcusable. Allowing for the defense to play in the backfield on passing downs is an issue as well. The Tigers are not very good at pass protection from the backfield.

Auburn has produced well on the ground this season despite the inconsistencies that are found in the offensive line play. The Tigers still need to be able to make plays and take every advantage that comes to them. Auburn was unable to do those things against Alabama. 

Receivers: F

The receivers have had one of the worst seasons for any Tigers' squad on the outside. The Tigers rely heavily on the ability of their receivers to block and hold containment on the outside for the sweep plays, but the Tigers receivers have not been able to seal the outside, and that has resulted in busted plays for the Tigers.

The Tigers have also showed an inability to get separation from upper-level talent. The Tigers have relied heavily on Philip Lutzenkirchen and Emory Blake in the passing game, but if a team can cover them up, the Tigers have struggled going elsewhere.

Auburn has a lot of youth on the outside and in the slots, but when you most experienced players are two juniors, there are going to be issues. The Tigers' best receiver against the Tide was true freshman Quan Bray who came down with five receptions for 22 yards.

A lot of the lack of production also comes from the quarterback having an inability to find the open man, but there have also been dropped passes and bogged-down routes. Those issues fall directly at the feet of the receivers, and Auburn has a long way to go before they are competitive on the outside.

Offensive Line: F

The offensive line may have had the worst game of the season against Alabama. Granted, Alabama is the best defense in the country, but the Tigers didn’t seem to have much tough try in them. Too many times the Auburn Tigers were standing around as the quarterback was ending up on the ground.

The Auburn offensive line has got to get more aggressive at the point of attack. They have spent the entire season getting beat, and that didn’t change this past Saturday against Alabama. Auburn was playing an injured Brandon Moseley and a mix of linemen that have played together off and on all season.

Auburn will need to call on its experience next season as this season seemed like a trial run for numerous player combinations. The Tigers will have a wealth of talent next season at the line position, but this season was a horrible time to gain experience. Alabama owned the Tigers up front and only allowed the Auburn offense to gain 78 total rushing yards.

Defensive Line: D

The Auburn defensive line played as good as anyone could have expected against the Alabama rushing attack. The Tigers started off the first half well holding Trent Richardson to less than 70 rushing yards in the first half.

The Tigers defensive line was also able to force a fumble in the first half when Corey Lemonier was able to get to A.J. McCarron on a pass rush. The Tigers were able to recover the fumble in the end zone and earn a defensive touchdown, their first of two scores in the game.

Toward the second half, the Tigers began to wear down as Trent Richardson began to become more of a focus for the Alabama offense in the second half. The Alabama offensive line was able to out play the young Tigers up front, and Auburn was unable to contain the Tide rushing attack in the second half.

Auburn has a lot of room for improvement on the line. They need to learn to shuck blocks, but the center of the line needs to do a better job of not allowing the opposing offensive line to make it into the second level of the defense. 

Linebackers: D

Daren Bates has been on a tear in the past three games marching to over 10 tackles in the past three contests. Alabama was another good game for Bates, but his efforts were not good enough to carry the linebacker position single handily.

Eltoro Freeman had a decent day from the middle position as well, but the Tigers were unable to stop the Tide rushing attack once it hit the second level of the defense. The Tigers have to do a better job at providing run support close to the line of scrimmage for the Tigers.

Despite their efforts in the first half against the run, the Tigers missed multiple coverage opportunities and allowed for the Alabama offense to find the tight ends deep on more than one occasion. The Tigers are unable to play consistently from the middle of the field, and this week was no different. Auburn simply could not stop the Tide’s offense. 

Secondary: F

The Auburn secondary saw Alabama burn them deep twice in the first half of the game. The Tigers were simply losing their assignments in the wake of the excitement of the game, but losing their assignment caused the Auburn defense to give up plays that should have never occurred.

The Auburn defensive backs are talented, but they continuously put themselves out of position and forced themselves to try and make bigger plays than were necessary. Alabama only passed for 184 yards in the game, but they hit three of their 18 completions for touchdowns.

Auburn was burned on plays that Alabama has ran against them three seasons in a row now, yet the Tigers still looked lost. The Tigers have to find a way to grow the experience from this loss and project it to success next season.

Special Teams: A

The one bright spot that the Tigers did have in the Iron Bowl was the very good play they received from their special teams. Cody Parkey was able to put the kickoffs in the end zone consistently, and he made all of his kicks. His ability to not allow returns has been a major asset to this young team.

Steven Clark had a great day as well allowing for his team to down punts inside the 20-yard line consistently. He did have one bad punt that only traveled 18 yards, but he more than made up for it with his ability to hinder the Tide’s ability to return kicks.

Onterio McCalebb also had a big day for the special teams returning a kick for a touchdown against the Crimson Tide kickoff unit. It was Auburn's first kickoff return for a touchdown in the series. McCalebb looked to find the hole an additional time but couldn’t quite make it through untouched.

If not for the special teams play for Auburn, the game would have been even worse than the 42-14 final score.

Coaching: F

Auburn had one of the worst coaching performances of the season against the Crimson Tide this past week. The Tigers looked ill prepared on a number of plays, and the offense looked less than multiple. The Tigers were very inefficient at moving the football which led to the obvious question as to why there wasn’t an added strategy to fight the Tide defense.

The Auburn defense looked lost on a number of plays as well as the Tide were able to exploit holes in the defense that were left by players simply being out of position, not outplayed. Auburn has some serious reevaluations that need to come this offseason.

The defensive coaches have received a lot of grief this season for the Tigers inept play, but the offensive coaches have not received much questioning. The Tigers looked absolutely lost consistently this season offensively, and this game did nothing to squelch the offensive concerns.