Final thoughts from Week 1: Auburn drama, Michigan controversy and LSU chaos

Final Week One Thoughts From Auburn and Across the Land

· The end of Auburn’s game against Baylor on Saturday gave me Super Bowl 49 vibes. Alex Golesh chose to keep his timeouts in his pocket, rather than trying to conserve the clock in the event of a Baylor score, as did Bill Belichick back in February of 2015. Eric Winters vindicated that decision, just as Malcolm Butler did for the Patriot’s head coach. Butler was reportedly beat on a pick play in practice that week, but when he saw it in the game, he made the play of his career. Winters, likewise, rebounded just one play later after being victimized for a touchdown on a pick play. Whether it will be the play of his Auburn career remains to be seen. I suspect the talented sophomore will make many more for the Tigers before his time is done.

· The debacle that occurred on Saturday night in Ann Arbor still has legs three days later. By way of background, the Western Michigan Broncos showed up at the Big House, with apparently more on their minds than collecting a big paycheck from the flagship state school. They seemed to have secured a shocking 12-7 victory, when Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood’s Hail Mary pass fell incomplete out of the back of the end zone, with the clock reading all zeros. The obligatory replay followed, and the Wolverines were awarded an additional second for another Underwood heave, which was caught on a brilliant grab by JJ Buchanan, giving the home team a 13-12 victory. Amid the predictable controversy that followed, the Big Ten released a video Saturday night showing a Western Michigan player leaping with a toe on the end zone line, who made contact with the ball, with a clock that appeared on that video showing one second remaining. That seemed to satisfy Western Michigan, whose administration thanked the Big Ten for the explanation and congratulated Michigan for their victory. The only problem was the replay booth used a clock feed that was embedded within its replay system, rather than the program feed as required by replay protocol. The Mid-American Conference entered the fray on Monday, appealing the matter to the NCAA FBS Oversight Committee, asking that the Broncos be declared the winner due to the breach of replay protocol. The appeal was unsuccessful, of course, as the NCAA lacks the authority to change a final result, but they did issue guidance late Monday to all its members that only the program feed of the clock should be used going forward. What a mess and what a shame for the Western Michigan players and coaches.

· LSU looked like a championship contender Saturday night against an overmatched Clemson team, who seemed miles away from their championship squads from the last decade. LSU head coach Lane Kiffin is still playing his role as college football heel to perfection. First, he arrived at Tiger Stadium with models Livvy Dunn and Brooks Nader, in a scene that would make Ric Flair proud. Then, while pulverizing Dabo Swinney’s Tigers 44-3 late in the third quarter, Kiffin decided that was the ideal time to go for two. His continued defiance in keeping roster spots open for players recently cut from NFL rosters has landed himself and other LSU officials in federal court in a lawsuit

filed by the SEC, who is threatening to boot the Tigers from the conference. It’s only game one of his tenure.

· Washington and Washington State played an exciting Apple Cup, although it was strange watching it being played in warm September weather. Washington could be an 8-9 win team this year. I expect Washington State to be able to make a bowl game in the revamped Pac-12.

· Finally, the last game of the long weekend was over 90 minutes late in starting due to a power failure at Doak Campbell Stadium. The metaphor is certainly humorous, as the Seminoles managed just 324 yards of offense and were unable to beat Rhett Lashlee’s SMU Mustangs, even with the help of four turnovers from the visitors. This game will only intensify the Mike Norvell hot seat talk. I’m not sure about that. It will cost FSU 45 million dollars to part ways with him this year. After a week off, the Seminoles play Alabama, a team they embarrassed 31-17 last season.

Until next week…

Auburn Undercover is an independent Auburn sports media company covering Auburn athletics, recruiting and insider news.