Some things to consider about the upcoming battle for the SEC West at Terry Bowden field. First off, we don't have to worry about those fuck wads slicking down their own field this time like they did in 2015. They wouldn't take that chance because it would back fire. Hell, it back fired on them in 2015. Derrick Henry still ran all over them. Second of all, the last three times auburn has beaten us (2007, 2010 and 2013) they had a bye week the week before they played us while we had to play. One of those times (2010) we had a short week to get ready because the game was on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Actually, that happened twice, 2009 and 2010, but of course we won in 2009, but not without one hell of a come back. And of course we had to battle the refs as well. The image of that ref not getting out of Ingram's way is still seared into my brain. Anyone remember that? The last time the barn beat us when they did not have a bye week the week before was 2006, and of course, that was under the previous regime. The barn routing Georgia is the best thing that could have happened for us. Georgia just showed us everything not to do. When you pan back and look at the WHOLE picture of that game, there is a lot there that the barners don't want you to notice.
While Georgia is highly overrated, they did leave 14-17 points on the field. They refused to get out of their own way and just kept on committing stupid ass penalty after stupid ass penalty. There was pushing and shoving on their sideline amongst their own players. The team quickly turned on one another, and really and truly, they quit as soon as they were down 9-7. Plus, Duke Johnson didn't REALLY get going until Georgia had given up. Despite the overall poor performance, Georgia did a good job of stopping the barn in the first half. They also sacked Brandon Cox's twin brother quite a few times in that first half. As others have stated, if we will just consistently pressure that statue of a QB, then that will be key. The thing is, for once, they don't have that type of QB that has given our defense such fits in the past. This Brandon Cox lookalike isn't the 10th coming of Cam by any means. Hell, he isn't even the 2nd coming of Nick Marshall. Of course, this goes without saying, but the injuries are a big concern. But, consider this. Remember in the Shula days, if we lost so much as ONE key player, our season was pretty well finished? Remember 2004 when we lost out entire starting backfield? Brodie, Tim Castille, Ray Hudson, and more I am sure. Remember 2005 when we lost Prothro followed by our starting center? It didn't hurt our season. It utterly destroyed it. Well, injuries didn't just go away when Shula got the ax. Fast forward a few years later to 2009 when we lost Donta Hightower for the year very early on. And we all remember the end result of that season. Back in the Shula days, we would have lost to Mississippi State right after losing the guys that we lost in the LSU game. While this many injuries at LB is troubling, it also is a chance for some guys to grow up fast.
The there is the underdog factor. I hope like hell we are underdogs going into the game. In fact, this could possibly be the biggest underdogs we have been since 2003 vs. Georgia. But, the last two times we were the dog, well, it worked out okay for us. 2009 vs Florida and 2015 vs. Georgia. Something else to consider is the 2013 game. We did not play a good game and the barn played lights out, and it STILL took a miracle for them to beat us. If Kouandijo doesn't jump off sides just ONE of those times, then we most likely win that game. It could have been (and should have been) 31-21 with about 3 minutes to go. Or, if Saban had just opted for overtime instead of that outrageously long FG attempt, who knows what could have happened. While I'm not as confident heading into this year's game as I was the last three years, I do think we have quite a bit working in our favor. And it starts with the media pumping the barn with rat poison by the gallon.
