Under the lights at Jordan-Hare on September 3rd started one of the most anticipated moments for Auburn fans: the beginning of college football season. As a whole, our expectations for this year are down, but for Auburn fans, that’s the time we know something special could occur. We started off our gauntlet of a schedule with #2 Clemson Tigers and continue to prove to the nation that we have the toughest schedule in college football. However, we come away angry and excited after our 13-19 loss to the College Football National Champion runner ups, but why is that? Let’s go into more details.

Offense

Our offense as a whole was one of the worst offensive outings that I have seen since the 2012 season, and as an Auburn fan that is scary. With Gus running the show, we should have one of the most potent offenses in the league, however, we seemed to get nothing going. Gus looked like he was trying everything including 3-4 plays out of a Notre Dame box formation that I haven't seen except in some ESPN Classic games. Terrible outing all in all, but we showed signs of light in the second half, and hopefully we can build off of that. There were way too many negative plays from the beginning and it showed as we only had 38 yards of offense in the first half.

Quarterbacks

This is probably the reason that Auburn has a 0 in their win column. We saw all 3 quarterbacks (White, Johnson, and JF3) before the end of the 1st quarter, which no one in their right minds saw coming. Not to mention playing 2 other quarterbacks in Wildcat formation with Kerryon Johnson and Chandler Cox. The offense in the first half could not get a rhythm going because of all the quarterbacks. It was a revolving door for most of the night. Jeremy and Sean both made a couple of nice throws and they both made some really bad ones as well. The single moment I can pick out that I didn't like about this quarterback situation was that JF3 was driving down the field and right when he got to the redzone, Gus put Jeremy in and the offense stalled out. He was sacked twice in a row and would not check down to his running back which was open for a large gain. As for who I think should start? I still believe Sean is the answer right now. He showed good decision making and quick mobility in the pocket. He stayed in there and delivered the ball even under pressure. Even if Auburn went to a 2 quarterback system with Sean and JF3, I think that would be fine. However, you can't win a ball game with quarterbacks rotating in like you do your running backs.

Running Backs

Speaking of running backs, this was one of the more interesting things to watch. Stanton Truitt, normally a slot receiver, was the first running back to trot out onto the field. He rushed for a 2 yard game, and was mostly a bland runner. As expected Kerryon Johnson was the feature back tonight, and after the horrendous 1st half of offense, he finished the night with 94 yards on 23 carries and 1 touchdown. I still believe that Kerryon, barring injury, will be Auburn's 1000 yard rusher this season. While Chandler Cox in the previous season and also with people that have played his position in the past usual did not run the ball, Cox actually got a few touches. I didn't see anything impressive from the runs, but it is interesting to note that Auburn has decided to use a large committee approach at the running back position. On a negative note, we had 1 rushing yard in the first half. Yes, you read that correctly.

Wide Receiver

While our quarterbacks didn't play fantastic, I thought the receivers did everything they could to win this ball game. They didn't drop a single ball and everybody was in on the play. I remember specifically seeing Darius Slayton doing an incredible job blocking on the outside. This shows me that Kodi Burns may have taught him a thing or two about wide receiver blocking. However, in the 4th quarter, on 3rd and long, White hit Marcus Davis on an in route and he got to the first down line and just slid down to avoid the hit and actually didn't get the first down. I really did not like seeing him avoid contact and this actually not allowing us to get a first down. We eventually did go for it and make it but it shouldn't have been necessary. Will Hastings who I predicted was going to have an impact on this game and season did very well as a starter tonight. He made a couple of key 3rd down conversions and a 4th down conversion early on in the game and displayed excellent speed and route running.

Offensive Line

Early in the first half, Clemson was winning the battle at the line of scrimmage. They were blowing us back and forcing negative plays. All in all, they looked terrible. The line is usually a strength for Auburn but against Clemson they were man-handled. There were 13 tackles for loss. Thats a ridiculous amount and something that must change if were going to win some football games.

Defense

Oh the defense makes me so happy. I'm pretty sure I haven't thought that about an Auburn team since Tommy Tubberville was still in orange and navy. Simply put, our defense looked outstanding. We held the Heisman contender and arguable the best quarterback, if not offensive player, in college football to a mediocre night at best. Our run defense was fantastic while our secondary needs a little more work. I loved what I saw out there, and hopefully it will continue.

Defensive Line

While the line didn't exactly stuff the stats or anything, they did do remarkably well in other areas. Only one lineman had a tackle for loss and there were no sacks, but we did contain Deshaun Watson to 21 rushing yards on 11 carries. We were able to get pressure and force him to make some tough throws. It is a little concerning to see a 0 in the sack column but I'm sure Carl Lawson and Co. will get back to business next week.

Linebackers

WOW. The linebackers played phenomenal and turned in a performance from that group that I haven't seen, again, since Tubby was here. Deshaun Davis, Tre' Williams, and Darrell Williams all made incredible plays for the defense all night long. They truly set the tone for the defense and were finally the leaders that linebackers are supposed to be.

Defensive Backs

The defensive backs really played well at times, but then at others fell apart. We did have 1 interception that was huge and another stripped ball and fumble recovery that shifted the momentum back to us. However, we dropped two other interceptions, one on the first drive that would have been a pick 6 and would have no doubt changed the game. We also had some costly penalties that really hurt us. We take away a few penalties, grab a pick or two, and we win this ball game.

Special Teams

The usual bright spot for Auburn the past couple years, was bright once again. Legatron, er Daniel Carlson, hit a 53 yard field goal making him the sole owner of the most 50+ yard field goals in Auburn history. Kevin Phillips had a solid night, with a 68 yard punt that was helped along by a big Auburn bounce. His other punts were okay, but nothing spectacular. We had one 45 yard return that was called back because of holding that killed the drive for us. So clean up a few things here and there and our special teams are back where they should be.

Coaching

Offensively, probably one of the worst coached games I have seen. As a Malzahn supporter from the beginning, I always tried to give him the benefit of the doubt, but the revolving door at QB was something that I couldn't stand to watch anymore. We have to figure out our guy and who gives us the best chance to win then go with him. If we have any sort of consistent offensive production, we upset the #2 Tigers.

Defensively on the other end of the spectrum, one of the best coached games I have seen. Defense held their own against an incredibly potent offensive attack. They kept us in the game the whole night and never gave up. I am excited to see the future of this defense and as long as we get the other side of the ball figured out, we are going to be a tough team to beat this year.

Overall

Auburn came out against the #2 team in the nation and made sure they didn't get comfortable. We played our guts out and I am proud of this team. They did some things very well and did some things not so well, but we will bounce back from this. I am more confident in this team now that I was before the game started which is a big win for this program. Next week we get a good tune up game in Arkansas State where hopefully we can figure some things out on offense. Until then, War Eagle!