Final Week Eight Thoughts from Auburn and Across the Land
The Lane train steamrolled through Auburn, Alabama Saturday afternoon as LSU dominated the Tigers 38-17. Auburn looked like a shell of the team that went to Athens nine days ago and upset previously top ranked Georgia. Kiffin had ready answers for every defensive call Auburn defensive coordinator DJ Durkin made. And it looked easy. Way too easy. With no pass rush to speak of, Sam Leavitt torched the Tigers for 387 passing yards and three touchdowns. He added another on the ground. Before the game, in an exclusive interview with Auburn Undercover, ESPN’s Katie George reported that Kiffin “felt this would be a less hostile environment” than their previous two road games that were at night. Unfortunately for the legions of Auburn faithful that continue to pack Jordan-Hare Stadium year in and year out, it was. Halfway through the fourth quarter, most of the Stadium, with the exception of the contingent of Cajuns who made the 6 hour trip from Baton Rouge, was empty. Auburn head coach Alex Golesh did not mince words in his post-game press conference. He said his team did not play anything approaching winning football. That was an understatement. Things do not get any easier for Auburn as they now head to Oxford, Mississippi, where Trinidad Chambliss and the Ole Miss Rebels await coming off a weekend loss to Texas.
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Staying with Ole Miss, the Rebels dug themselves an early hole against the Longhorns, falling behind 24-3. Chambliss brought his team back as you knew he would. Ultimately, Arch Manning and Steve Sarkisian got the job done in a must-have game on the 40 acres, winning 34-27. I could not help but take note of Defensive Coordinator Will Muschamp’s last call to seal the victory for the home team. Facing fourth down with 6 seconds to go and Ole Miss at the UT 29 yard line, he brought six rushers, forced Chambliss toward the boundary to make a quick throw, which landed harmlessly into the waiting arms of Texas defensive back Jelani McDonald. How different that strategy was from the identical situation the previous Auburn coaching staff faced just three seasons ago. Things have not been the same in Jordan-Hare stadium since.
Another SEC upset of a highly ranked team took place at Williams-Brice Stadium. The South Carolina Gamecocks dealt a blow to the Volunteers’ hopes of advancing to Atlanta come December. Tennessee had three touchdowns wiped off the board in the second half due to penalties. I imagine Josh Heupel may have words with the SEC office this week. Penalties notwithstanding, the Vols still found themselves leading 24-17 late into the fourth quarter. South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers tied the game with 1:17 left on a phenomenal run. Following a Tennessee mishap, the Gamecocks kicked the game-winning 48-yard field goal as time expired. South Carolina has now won two in a row after starting conference play 0-3. Impressive resilience from Shane Beamer’s team. Tennessee next plays Will Stein’s Kentucky Wildcats on Rocky Top in two weeks.
Speaking of Stein, his team keeps on rolling. It was a tough start against Clark Lea’s Vanderbilt Commodores as the team from Nashville jumped out to a 10-0 lead. The Wildcats responded as they have all season, scoring 21 unanswered in route to an easy 34-17 win. The Kentucky Wildcats are on top of the standings in the SEC. In football. What a year it is.
Looking outside the SEC, the Bounce House was certainly bouncing after UCF upset #2 BYU. A week after registering one of their biggest wins in program history, Kalani Sitake’s group laid an egg in central Florida. The Knights led the Cougars 24-17 late in the fourth quarter. After a Bear Bachmeier score to tie it up, chaos ensued. UCF moved into field goal range, but the kick was blocked. Initially, officials threw a flag for a facemask penalty after UCF kicker Will Stone’s helmet was literally taken off his head as he tried to advance the blocked kick. That flag was ultimately picked up since the helmet was removed from the back, not the facemask. How is that not a penalty? After a review, it was determined there would be 10 second runoff for the stoppage, and UCF had no timeouts. Big 12 officiating continues its unimpressive performance in late-game situations. The Knights would ultimately prevail in double OT, as Bachmeier’s fourth down pass was incomplete. BYU heads back home for another Big 12 conference game against Arizona State. UCF hosts Baylor, on Friday, who just fired head coach Dave Aranda.
Other Headlines
· We predicted on Thursday that Wisconsin would upset USC. Indeed, Lincoln Riley’s bunch was sent back to downtown Los Angeles with their second conference loss and the Ohio State Buckeyes on deck for Halloween. This is not exactly what USC had in mind when it made Riley independently wealthy for life. Oh, and UCLA is still undefeated at 7-0.
· Utah puts together a strong 4th quarter, outscoring Houston 14-0 en-route to a 21-13 victory in Salt Lake City.
· PJ Fleck and company row their boat and defeat #18 Iowa 13-10 on a last second game-winning field goal. Despite the strong September, the Hawkeyes now sit at 11th in the Big 10.
· In the group of 6 game of the day, New Mexico hands North Dakota State their second loss of the season. Lobos win a close one 21-16. Head coach Jason Eck is now 13-5 in Albuquerque.
Until next week...
Auburn Undercover is an independent Auburn sports media company covering Auburn athletics, recruiting and insider news.
