Re: Plain Trouble on "Da Plains" (all AU posts here)
Gus's career is built on a once in a lifetime player and two miracle plays in 2013. I may be proven wrong, but I expect defenses will continue to get better against his offense and he will be gone from Auburn sooner rather than later.
I don't disagree with this at all - except to note that he first forged his rep with that 2006 Arky backfield that won the West and had McFadden and Jones in the backfield.
Otherwise, I agree. And I never could understand why Cowherd even tried that "Gus is gonna own Saban" argument (other than shock value). Malzahn's offense got 21 points on us in 2009 and lost. Everyone got a little misled by the whole "Alabama trailing the whole game" thing but they owed their first two TDs to basic trickery - used by teams not good enough to compete straight up.
In 2010 - well, I guess we can blame us. If we had not left so many points on the board in the first half, I don't care how good Cam Newton is, he would not have brought them back from 42-0 down. And then in 2011 - his offense didn't score a single point against us (just like the 2012 team where he was gone).
And btw - if just ONE of those miracle plays doesn't happen (okay, I'll be fair - the Chris Davis play was great execution - Ricardo Louis was such damned luck I still cannot believe it) - Gus probably watches us clinch a three-peat. If they lose to UGA, we win the West anyway and play FSU when Ohio State loses.
But here's something for folks to consider - since the Kick Six, Gus's coaching record is 16-12, with an SEC record of 6-10, two straight losses to Alabama, and he's lost to every single team in the SEC West since then. And those 16 wins include flat out surviving the opponent's incompetence against K State and Ole Miss (remember Treadwell's fumble going into the end zone) in 2014 and Louisville and Jax State in 2015. He could very easily be 12-16.
If he doesn't find him a quarterback, he's got some real problems.
I was thinking it was two.
