Well it turns out that offense isn't Auburn's only problem. The Tigers' defense, thought to be reinvigorated by the arrival of the above guy from Florida, is uh ... not good against the run.
It's kind of perplexing, because Auburn has some real horses at defensive line and linebacker. And now the Tigers have to confront Arkansas and its smashmouth running approach, as this article notes.
Auburn's defense ranks 13th in the SEC and 101st in the nation in rushing yards allowed this season with 197.7 per game. The Tigers have been burned by Louisville's Lamar Jackson (111 yards), LSU's Leonard Fournette (228), San Jose State's Tyler Ervin (165) and Kentucky's Boom Williams (118).
Collins racked up a combined 475 yards and four touchdowns against Texas Tech, Texas A&M and Tennessee before Alabama managed to contain him for just 26 yards on 12 carries Oct. 10. He had 10 carries for 68 yards and 18 carries for 92 yards against Auburn in 2014 and 2013, respectively.
Malzahn must also prep his Tigers for Arkansas backs Raleigh Williams and Kody Walker, who is expected to return to action after missing the last four games with a broken hand.
"They have multiple running backs that we think are talented and they did lose a very good one earlier in the year and it just gave (Collins) an opportunity to step up," Malzahn said. "He seized the moment carrying a little bit more, but he looks very comfortable doing it."
Another fact that may only interest me: Auburn is being outscored 25.7-25.5.
A few Tuesday links:
-- Happy 30th birthday to this bad boy:
On October 18, 1985, Nintendo renamed the Famicom and released it in North America as the NES. Not only did it ensure Nintendo would have a future outside of Japan, but it ensured gamers would have a future playing games at home.
At the time, gamers were still feeling the aftershocks of the 1983 home console crash. Scared off by falling stocks and an abundance of low-quality titles, most retailers at the time suspected home video games were nothing more than a fad and backed away. The glory days of the Atari 2600 and Intellivision came to a stunningly fast end.
Nintendo faced an uphill battle getting the NES on store shelves. The company first showed off the system at the Consumer Electronics Show in June of 1985, and it quickly ran into skepticism. Retailers, still jaded, were afraid of its complexity and balked at the thought of promoting another video game console.
The reception convinced Nintendo to delay the launch. The company smartly made some changes, including putting games onto distinctive looking cartridges. It also packaged an accessory called R.O.B. (Robotic Operating Buddy), a small robotic toy that worked with two games and was meant to make the NES look more sophisticated than past consoles.
Finally, on October 18, Nintendo released the console in limited quantities in New York. Only about 50,000 units were sold through the holidays, but it was enogh to prove to Nintendo (and retailers) that the system had a future. In early 1986, the system was made available in other cities.
-- On a similar topic, this was just brilliant:
-- The Louisville whistleblower is making the media rounds today.
Katina Powell, the former Louisville escort whose book, “Breaking Cardinal Rules: Basketball and the Escort Queen,” claims she was paid to provide escorts for sex with University of Louisville basketball recruits and players, will conduct a round of national television interviews on Tuesday.
Powell, according to her publishing company, will appear on ESPN’s SportsCenter and Outside the Lines, and on ABC’s Good Morning America (using portions of an OTL interview with John Barr).
Her appearances are set to coincide with the hard-copy release of her book, which now is available at Barnes & Noble booksellers.
-- In Athens, Mark Richt gets questions from fans about the Doggies' play-calling.
“A lot of times play-calling is very over-rated,” Richt said. “I’ve called plays for years, and really the thing that’s most important is the execution of those plays. And that’s the thing we’ve gotta focus on the most. Because the plays that we call and are calling right now are very sound. But they’re not worth a darn if we don’t do a good job of executing.”
Someone else suggested that Schottenheimer call his plays from the press box. Richt, while admitting he preferred calling plays from the press box, said Schottenheimer was like many NFL coordinators, who prefer being on the field. Richt also pointed to an instance earlier this season when Schottenheimer, because he was on the field, was able to yell out to the field for Greyson Lambert to change the call. The result was a touchdown.
“It’s really just a preference and I’ve gotta go with what the coordinator is most comfortable with,” Richt said.
-- Zac Ellis of SI gives his Heisman frontrunners, and Dalvin Cook is merely a name to watch?
I love Leonard Fournette, but Cook has been right there with him.
Oh, and remember that Jeremy Johnson guy?
Johnson is a case study in unfulfilled preseason hype. The highly touted junior entered the year poised to take over Gus Malzahn’s offense after two seasons of waiting behind Nick Marshall. Johnson had showed immense potential in short spurts during his early career on the Plains, but ultimately the comparisons to Cam Newton proved unwarranted.
Johnson hasn’t taken a snap since Auburn’s 45-21 loss at LSU on Sept. 19. That’s because Malzahn benched his new starter after three games in favor of redshirt freshman Sean White. In Johnson’s first three contests he threw only five touchdowns against six picks. Two of those turnovers came against FCS foeJacksonville State, which took the Tigers to overtime in Week Two. Right now it’s unclear when and if Johnson will see the field again.
Auburn’s failure to meet preseason expectations isn’t entirely Johnson’s fault. The Tigers’ defense has not improved under defensive coordinator Will Muschamp. But Johnson entered the year with Heisman hype partly because Auburn’s own coaches touted the junior’s abilities during the off-season. Through seven weeks of football, that potential has gone unrealized.
-- And we close with a nice version of Fleetwood Mac's "Landslide" by Jaclyn Huggins, the wife of a TI subscriber:
LW
