Auburn Defeats Arkansas 33-24, Improve to 4-4
Good showing, and Ashton Daniels looked much more poised than I think I've ever seen Jackson Arnold. I still have questions/notes:
- Given the issues Chapel had earlier in the season w/ playing in noisy environments, and McPherson's play last week, what kind of coaching is going on!? Chapel came from Virginia Tech, so he had played in loud environments. Sure, McPherson has had health issues (which should have been good reason to red shirt this year), but going from 1-4 to 5-5 in a week w/ some decently long-ish shots, makes one wonder what's going on behind the scenes to prepare these guys for the games. Obviously he's still not 100%; that 46-yard FG barely made it!
- Red Zone offensive play calling was as conservative & predictable as ever. Fortunately, it was against the worst defense in the conference.
- Seems like Jackson Arnold maybe got the nod at the beginning of the season because he's more mobile? Sorry, but I'm really getting tired of Auburn fielding offenses that require a specific type of QB (dual-threat). We saw how that worked out towards the end of Gus' run. At the end of the day, a mobile QB has to be a "nice to have" rather than a "must have." Otherwise, your offense is just gimmicky. Over time, you'll lose more big games because good teams have well-rounded offensive and defensive schemes. Sure, they take advantage of breakout talent when & where it's there, but they don't rely on from year to year.
- I heard the announcer mention Ashton Daniels has graduated. Why was he red shirting!? He looked so much more poised than I expected.
- THANK YOU for putting a shot Singleton's way! Where has this guy been all season!? It was supposedly a Big Deal that Auburn got him, and yet I haven't heard his name hardly at all.
- Seems like both Daniels & Arnold were missing open receivers a little too much, and also noticed receivers not really doing a great job at getting open to help the QBs when they had to scramble. Both of these feel like coaching issues.
- Haven't seen anything to make me think Auburn has any shot against Vandy or Bama. I hope they can win 1 of those, but I'm not holding my breath. I'm still not sure they'll beat Kentucky. Need to see how Ashton is if he gets the start (which I think he should).
- If Auburn can beat Kentucky & Mercer they could go bowling this year. Would be interesting to see if they can actually win the Birmingham Bowl!