That Was Too Close, Auburn

Five. That’s how many fourth downs South Carolina converted against Auburn on Saturday. Four of them came in the Gamecocks’ own territory.

535. That’s the number of yards the Gamecocks racked up against a statistically improving Auburn defense. 416 of those yards came through the air.

South Carolina threw the ball 52 times. This was an almost scripted game featuring Steve Spurrier and his Fun ‘N Gun offense.

Desperate, fighting for its season and with nothing to lose, South Carolina came into Jordan-Hare Stadium with nothing held back. Early and often, the Gamecocks went to the air, pulled out double reverses, and gave Auburn all it could handle for a full 60 minutes.

Auburn’s defense, a unit appearing to be making great strides since a year ago, showed eerie flashes of what it used to be during a disastrous 2012 season. And Spurrier’s offense could do no wrong.

Everything Dylan Thompson wanted to do on offense, he could do with little resistance.

But it shouldn’t have been that way.

Auburn was clearly the more talented team, piling up 551 yards, including 395 on the ground, while only throwing 15 passes. South Carolina ran 86 plays to Auburn’s 62.

The Tigers could score every possession as well, and do it quicker.

Nick Marshall had his best game of the season, putting up 228 total yards on just 24 touches, along with four touchdowns (three on the ground). Cameron Artis-Payne was dominant from start to finish, barreling through an overwhelmed South Carolina defense with ease for 167 yards and a touchdown.

There was no doubt who the better team was. There was also no doubt which team was desperate, with nothing to lose.

One team scored on six of its eight drives, said six drives coming all in a row. Another team went for it on fourth down six times.

Auburn has come up big in a road win over now 11^th-ranked Kansas State, and blowout wins over Arkansas and LSU. South Carolina has one signature win, a home upset over then sixth-ranked Georgia.

Aside from that rather shocking upset, the Gamecocks were blown out by Texas A&M at home, lost back-to-back games against Missouri and Kentucky, and sleep-walked past Vanderbilt.

At 4-3, South Carolina had all but no shot at making it to Atlanta.

Yes, Spurrier and his team were desperate. Yes, they pulled out all the stops. But there’s still no excuse.

Time after time, the Auburn defense blew an assignment, committed a penalty, and in one case, fumbled at the end of a dazzling punt return to give South Carolina another chance to drive the length of the field.

And drive, they did. Taking out the six occasions in which South Carolina went for it on fourth down, the Gamecocks were an excellent six of eight on the rest of their third downs.

By the fourth quarter, it was almost comical to watch. No matter what play Steve Spurrier called, Auburn could not stop it.

He could have ordered Dylan Thompson to throw the ball backward 20 yards to his right guard, who lateralled the ball to a punter while Thompson went to the hotdog stand, resulting in a triple reverse involving a ball boy, a cameraman, and the fourth-string quarterback that ended in a mutated combination of the Hook and Ladder and the Statue of Liberty.

And it would’ve worked. South Carolina would’ve inexplicably scored two touchdowns, three field goals, gone for two both times, and ended the possession having scored 25 points.

In all sincerity, I want to give Spurrier all the credit in the world for the work his Gamecocks did Saturday night. The Ol’ Ball Coach called an absolutely perfect game.

His team was simply outmatched. They played their best game (offensively) against Auburn, but it just wasn’t enough.

For Auburn, this game should be a warning.

Even though it’s encouraging to see Auburn overcome a nearly flawless performance by an opposing offense, the home stretch for the Tigers certainly gets no easier, and they cannot afford anywhere close to the defensive lapses they suffered against South Carolina.

Consider the rest of Auburn’s schedule. Where is Ole Miss’s strength on offense? In Bo Wallace and his receivers. How many times do you think Texas A&M will throw the ball? At least 50.

Alabama has even taken the air more under Lane Kiffin, shining a spotlight on Amari Cooper, arguably the nation’s best receiver.

It doesn’t matter how desperate and reckless South Carolina was, there is no excuse for inattentive coverage and sloppy tackling.

And those kinds of crucial mistakes could sink Auburn against even a slightly competent defensive team.

I am an optimist and I believe in Auburn, but I highly doubt that the Tigers can average almost nine yards a play against Ole Miss and Alabama. If they do, go ahead and reserve them a spot in the playoff.

I don’t doubt that Auburn could win a shootout with anyone in the nation, but is that really something you want to bank on?

I know I said that a win is a win for Auburn this year, and I meant it. But the defense absolutely has to step up its game, or Auburn will find itself in a hole too deep to dig itself out of (remember the Mississippi State game?).

Nick Marshall and the offense were dynamic, and appear to be back on track, but that was against the SEC’s worst defense.

Like I said, I am optimist, and I believe in Auburn. I also believe in Gus Malzahn’s unyielding quest for constant improvement. He and his staff will take what they saw on Saturday and use to make the necessary adjustments going forward.

Believe in Malzhan, and believe in Auburn. I like to think (and I hope) that the defense won’t play that bad of a game the rest of the season.

Five of six on fourth down accurately tells the story of how the Auburn-South Carolina game went.

It was a duel between two brilliant coaches, one with the talent to compete for a national championship, the other struggling to get his team to live up to its potential.

It was a fight between a team trying to keep its playoff hopes alive and a team fighting for a last gasp of breath in an already disappointing season.

In the end, the better team won, although the other squad gave it everything they possibly could have and left nothing on the table.

I cannot emphasize this enough: Auburn is a very good football team.

But Saturday night was too close. You should be able to stop a team on fourth down more than once.