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Auburn Football vs. LSU: 5 Things Auburn did Right to Win
Sep 24, 2016; Auburn, AL, USA; Auburn football Tigers head coach Gus Malzahn celebrates after the Tigers beat the LSU Tigers 18-13 at Jordan Hare Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Reed-USA TODAY Sports
It wasn’t a pretty win over LSU, but Auburn football got a huge win none-the-less at Jordan-Hare Stadium Saturday night.
Auburn football showed a new identity on Saturday night as Gus Malzahn relied on his defense to carry him to a huge 18-13 win over number 17 LSU.
Daniel Carlson kicked six field goals as Auburn failed to reach the end zone, but it was enough to beat LSU and possibly get Les Miles fired.
The Mad Hatter almost struck again as LSU scored at the end of the game, but after review they didn’t get the snap off before time expired.
This Auburn team looked a lot different than what we’re used to seeing under Gus Malzahn as they failed to score a touchdown and put up just 388 yards of offense.
I’m sure Gus Malzahn could care less what the numbers looked like, as long as he’s getting wins and saving his job.
It would not have been surprising to see Auburn start the year 1-3, but you have to feel much better about the rest of the season coming out of September with two wins.
Auburn fans have to realize that this is the team we’ve been dealt, and if Gus Malzahn can learn to win with them, we’ll be alright this season.
Let’s take a look at some things that went right for Auburn to win this game.
Sep 24, 2016; Auburn, AL, USA; Auburn Tigers quarterback Sean White (13) looks for a receiver during the fourth quarter against the LSU Tigers at Jordan Hare Stadium. The Auburn Tigers beat the LSU Tigers 18-13. Mandatory Credit: John Reed-USA TODAY Sports
Played Conservatively on Offense
It’s not something you’re used to seeing with a Gus Malzahn offense, but the Auburn offense played conservatively against LSU.
As much as it irks some Auburn fans, that was the right move against LSU. They don’t have the offensive power to run away from us.
As I said before the game, we have the best field goal kicker in the country. If we can just work the ball into LSU territory we’ll have plenty of opportunities to score points.
That’s exactly what happened as Sean White was able to move the ball effectively enough to get Daniel Carlson into field goal seven times.
The only time Malzahn wasn’t conservative, it bacakfired on him. I guess he got tired of all the field goals, and went for it on fourth and goal, but Auburn was stuffed at the goaline.
In hindsight, Gus should have taken the three points and been happy.
You didn’t see Auburn take too many shots downfield in this game. For the majority of the game the offense just moved the ball forward, picking up positive yardage.
It wasn’t a cleanly called ball game. There were still too many bubble screens, toss plays and poorly time play-action pass plays that resulted in negative yardage. Those plays aren’t going to fool an LSU defense.
This new-look offense for Auburn is not pretty, but it’s our best chance at winning football games this year. Move the ball forward a little bit at a time, and don’t turn it over.
Sep 24, 2016; Auburn, AL, USA; LSU Tigers running back Leonard Fournette (7) carries against the Auburn Tigers during the first quarter at Jordan Hare Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Reed-USA TODAY Sports
Got LSU out of Their Game Plan
LSU’s game plan is simple – give the ball to Leonard Fournette.
That was obvious from the get-go as he burst through the line-of-scrimmage for seven yards on his first carry of the game. Then he went for 10 more but it was called back because of a penalty.
It seemed like penalties and negative plays early in downs prevented LSU from riding Fournette in this ball game.
I’m not going to say Auburn shut him down, because that’s far from the truth. He rushed the ball 16 times for 101 yards, which is good for 6.3 yards per carry.
However, the defensive line did a good job of putting them in third-and-long situations where they were forced to throw the football.
If you told me going into the game that Danny Etling would have more passes than Fournette would have rushes I would have said we won.
Etling ended up throwing the ball 27 times in this game, for just 118 yards.
A lot of that had to do with the fact that Auburn held the ball on offense for a majority of the game. When a team is winning and holding the ball like that, sometimes the opposing team starts pressing.
I think that’s what LSU did in this game instead of relying on Fournette ot carry them victory. There is no way that he should have received less than 20 carries in this game, especially with how well he was running the football.
You have to credit the defense – and the offense to an extent – for getting LSU out of its game plan.
Sep 10, 2016; Auburn, AL, USA; Auburn Tigers kicker Daniel Carlson (38) celebrates after scoring a touchdown during the second quarter against the Arkansas State Red Wolves at Jordan Hare Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Reed-USA TODAY Sports
Daniel Carlson
Never has a field goal kicker been as valuable as Daniel Carlson was to Auburn football on Saturday night.
I knew he’d play a huge role in this game, but I had no idea he’d go for 6-for-6 in field goal tries and by the only Auburn player to score a point.
He set the tone early with a 51-yard blast that gave Auburn a 3-0 lead.
Then in the second quarter he hit a pair of 29-yard field goals. He should have had three field goals in the second quarter, but Gus elected to go for it on fourth down on the 1-yard line.
He opened the scoring in the third quarter with a 31-yard field to give Auburn a 12-7 lead.
However, LSU got a pair of field goals of their own in the third quarter to take a 13-12 lead.
That wouldn’t last long as Carlson knocked one in from 37-yards out with 12:36 left in the game to put Auburn back on top.
Another 29-yard field late in the fourth quarter would ultimately seal the game for game and give Auburn the 18-13 win.
It really is amazing watching him kick, and seeing just how money he is on every kick.
Daniel Carlson is perhaps the best offensive weapon on this team, and he single-handedly (footedly) won Auburn a football game on Saturday night.
Sep 24, 2016; Auburn, AL, USA; Auburn Tigers head coach Gus Malzahn calls a play during the fourth quarter against the LSU Tigers at Jordan Hare Stadium. The Auburn Tigers beat the LSU Tigers 18-13. Mandatory Credit: John Reed-USA TODAY Sports
Ball Possession
Auburn only kept the ball a little over four minutes longer in the game than LSU did, but it felt like they were in control of the football the entire night.
I thought the offense for Auburn did a really good job of controlling the pace of this game. It’s not like LSU was dying to speed up the pace, but Auburn’s offense seemed to stay on the field a lot longer.
Before that final drive by LSU, Auburn’s offense had been on the field seven minutes longer, which is a significant difference.
Auburn went to a lot of third downs in this game, and they were able to convert a lot of them to keep the chains, and the clock moving.
Auburn was 8-of-19 on third down in this game, which is pretty average. That allowed Auburn to extend drives and give our defense a rest.
In comparison, LSU was just 4-of-13 on third downs in this game.
You just knew the longer Auburn could control the ball on offense, the better chance they had to win this game. That’s exactly how it played out as Auburn was able to control the ball, and the line-of-scrimmage.
Auburn had a total of 75 plays in this game – 26 passing and 49 rushing – while LSU ran just 59 plays – 27 passing and 32 rushing.
That’s the quite the difference, and huge for our offense.
Is this is the strategy we’re going to employ going forward, it’s important that our offense sustain drives and stay on the field. That will give our defense time to rest and keep us in games longer.
Sep 24, 2016; Auburn, AL, USA; LSU receiver D.J. Clark (82) is tackled by Auburn Tigers lineman defensive back Johnathan Ford (23) during the second quarter at Jordan Hare Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Reed-USA TODAY Sports
Relied on Defense
All of that goes back to the fact that Gus Malzahn relied on his defense to win the ball game.
You knew both of these defenses were going to be very good, but I felt our offense was just a tad bit better than LSU’s.
Our offense did a good job of possessing the football, which allowed our defense to rest.
They didn’t do as good of a job stopping the run as I would have hoped as LSU averaged 6.9 yards per carry. But they shutdown the passing game as Etling averaged just 4.4 yards per pass attempt.
A lot of that had to do with the defensive line. LSU actually had receivers open down field, but Etling didn’t have time to find them with our defensive line running after.
That was true until the final drive when it seemed like he had plenty of time to throw the ball. Finally Carl Lawson put some pressure on him and came up with the sack that ultimately won the football game.
At the end of the night the Auburn offense gave up just 338 yards on 59 plays.
They weren’t perfect by any means, but they came up with the big plays when we needed them.
Even when Fournette was running the ball well early, the defense came up with a few big stops to hold them to field goal attempts.
I’m glad that Gus Malzahn has finally realized that his best chance of winning this season is by relying on this defense.
War Eagle!
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