Since the day that Alex Golesh arrived at Auburn University after getting hired, there have been a number of concepts that have been preached on a daily basis.
SUBSCRIBE TO AUBURN UNDERCOVER TODAY
At the end of that string though, each concept leads back to one word—mindset.
Saturday’s showdown with the Georgia Bulldogs was the ultimate test of that mindset for the Auburn Tigers, and when it came down to the tightest moments of the game, the lessons the players had learned prevailed.
For guys like senior running back Jeremiah Cobb, that moment when the clock hit zeroes was a special moment.
“That's just trusting the coaches and what they have for us,” Cobb said. “I love that because the young guys get to see that. When I was young I didn't get to see anything like that and those big wins and finishing in the fourth quarter and all that. Those young guys and everybody that got to see that on this team, it's just awesome.”
The Tigers went into the fourth quarter in Athens up 24-14, being 15 minutes away from pulling off one of the biggest upsets that the program had seen.
Georgia pulled right back in the game though, and with just less than three minutes in the game, Gunner Stockton fired a touchdown pass to tie the game and send the folks in red and black into a frenzy.
The Bulldogs later got the ball back with a chance to set up for a game-winning field goal, but the Auburn defense came through and forced just enough pressure to force a third Georgia turnover, getting the ball back.
The Tigers then marched down the field just enough, allowing Alex McPherson to kick a field goal as time expired to win the game.
Seeing that practice of finishing a game come to fruition showcased something the team has worked on all year long.
“All offseason we worked on fourth quarter,” said edge rusher Jared Smith. “Our theme is fourth quarter. We’ve got to finish. Finishing is a must.”
A lot of that has come with another concept that Golesh has continually preached—violence.
It is a standard that Golesh wants his team to be the most violent team on the field every play of every drive in all three phases of the game.
There were many parts of the game on Saturday where Auburn seemed to win the violence battle, and while the players know there are still areas to work on, they felt they took another step towards success.
“I think that's just the standard of the team,” said tight end Jake Johnson. “To have a good football team, that has to be the mindset up front. Violence is the most important thing to playing football. Violence and details. If you're not playing with violence, you're probably not going to be successful.”
It all ties together to having a proof of concept to put out on the field, showing that what a coach is preaching is actually being executed.
Having that proof of concept helps Golesh out, and while it contributes to the result of the game in many ways, he knows having that on Saturday is not just a one-time thing.
In order to raise the standard, the Tigers can never settle.
“I think it's always easier when there's proof of concept,” said Alex Golesh. “You can point to and say, ‘Man, look at the way this guy's playing, but it's because of this, this, and this.’ You try to not ever spin it in the sense that the end result is what it's based off of. We're in an end result society. Everybody wants the right end result, and we're trying to unteach that piece of it. We all want to win. I want to win. Like I want to win in the worst way. But I don't want to let the win then cover up everything that's going on.”
Auburn Undercover is an independent Auburn sports media company covering Auburn athletics, recruiting and insider news.
