YellerTeeth speak:
Like it or not, it was predictable that, sooner or later, freshman Auburn quarterback Bo Nix was going to have a day like he had in last Saturdayās 24-13 loss at Florida. I predicted as much before he played his first game, and Iām not the greatest āpredictionist,ā a favorite word of a fomer coach.
After helping Auburn to a 5-0 record and, remarkably, throwing 118 consecutive passes without an interception, Nix threw three of them against the Gatorsā outstanding secondary. He looked unsure of himself at times in the din that was Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. It was a day that heāll long remember, and not fondly.
Nix will remember it like Pat Sullivan remembers throwing five interceptions at Tennessee in his first Auburn road game. He will remember it like Stan White remembers when he was a redshirt freshman in 1990 and suffered through a 48-7 blowout in the Swamp. Heāll remember it like Jason Campbell remembers his first road game, a 31-14 loss at Syracuse in which he was sacked four times and completed 11-of-20 passes in 2001. Heāll remember it like Dameyune Craig remembers being sacked nine times by Florida at Jordan-Hare Stadium in 1997 for 81 yards in losses as an unbeaten Auburn team was beaten 24-10. That was a year after he suffered through a 51-10 loss in the Swamp.
It happens. It just does. And itās not enjoyable.
The guess from this predictionist is that Nix is the kind of young man who will grow stronger from the experience and be a better player and better man as a result.
***
Questions that make sense to me:
--Asking why Anthony Schwartz didnāt touch the ball but once in Auburnās 24-13 loss at Florida.
--Asking why Joey Gatewood wasnāt used in some short-yardage situations.
--Asking why Auburn seemed to return to earlier in the season, not able to run the ball in the first half and finding a way in the second half. Why not find a way in the first half?
--Asking how K.J. Britt was, on the second play of the game, stuck trying to cover a receiver he had no chance to cover.
Things that donāt make sense to me:
--Acting like all is lost because of a loss in one of the toughest venues in the game to a top-10 team that has won 10 consecutive games.
--Believing, apparently, that a team that doesnāt play as well as its fans want in one game is therefore incapable of playing better in any other game.
--Instead of letting the season play out, calling for a coach to be fired because he lost a game to fall to 5-1.
--Grown men ranting about a 19-year-old freshman quarterback who has had a really good season and who wanted to win far more than any fan wanted him to win.
***
At halftime Saturday, my mind flashed back almost 33 years to Nov. 1, 1986. On that day, No. 5 Auburn went to what was then called Florida Field with an 8-0 record and No. 5 national ranking. Florida had four losses. Florida had five turnovers in the first half, but Auburn led just 14-0. In the end, the Gators rallied from a 17-0 fourth-quarter deficit to win 18-17, one of Pat Dyeās five losses in six trips to Gainesville.
Florida, like then, gave Auburn every chance to blow the game open in the first quarter by turning the ball over three times in four possessions. Auburn couldnāt do it and paid the price in the end with a 24-13 loss.
***
Unless the SEC changes its scheduling process, the players who were on the field on Saturday will be in their 30s when Auburn makes its next football trip to Gainesville in 2031. Lord willing, Iāll be 81 years old.
***
Auburn is 5-1 at the halfway point of this season. Thatās better than most would have predicted in August. The Tigers still control their own destiny in the SEC West. If they can win, they need no help. The schedule is brutal, but it was going to be brutal if they had beaten Florida on Saturday.
How will the story end? Nobody knows. But it makes no sense to say Auburn must get to the SEC Championship Game for this to be a successful season.
Going 10-2 would be a remarkable accomplishment, because it would mean winning two of three over LSU, Georgia and Alabama. Going 9-3 would be quite an accomplishment, too. In the short term, Auburn playersā immediate mission is to pick themselves up and take care of business at Arkansas in two weeks. A loss there or to Ole Miss two weeks later would be season-destroying and would put forces into motion that could result in bad times for lots of people.
***
It was unfortunate for Auburn that defensive tackle Derrick Brown inexplicably fell down at the Florida 35 while running with a recovered fumble for what seemed a sure touchdown in the first quarter. But watching Brown, at 325 pounds, running off and leaving Florida defenders was an amazing sight. He was the best player on the field.
***
Nix wasnāt the only struggling quarterback in the Swamp. Floridaās Kyle Trask got 74 of his passing yards on a simple slant that turned into a touchdown on the second play of the game and threw a nice touchdown pass for a 17-yard touchdown after Florida took over at the 18 after an interception. Otherwise, he really didnāt do much. He turned the ball over twice. He was sacked four times.
You canāt take any plays away, but Auburn coaches thought the defenseās performance, other than the early pass and LaMichael Perineās stunning 88-yard run in the fourth quarter, was outstanding. But you have to give Floridaās defense credit, too, and those two plays were the difference in the game.
Until next time ā¦