You're Better Than That, Auburn

That was embarrassing.

Unexpected, to say the least. After a shocking loss to Texas A&M, everyone was anticipating... well, anything else.

We thought you would rebound, bounce back, play to your full potential, or if nothing else, score more than seven points. Maybe give up a little less than 34.

You weren’t supposed to lose, and not like this.

There are no excuses; that was just bad football, plain and simple. And it only seemed to get worse as the game went on.

You looked sloppy, lazy, even disinterested at times, and to be honest, I’m mad at you, Auburn.

You know who you looked like, don’t you? You looked like your 2012 selves, the ones who slogged through the worst season in Auburn history.

I thought we were past all that. I thought we were done with you getting blown out because of foolish mistakes reserved for incoming freshmen and those only good enough for the practice squad.

I thought we had seen the worst of the turnovers, the penalties, and the poor tackling against Texas A&M, but I guess I was wrong.

292 total yards won’t get it done, especially when you give up 412 on the other end. Three turnovers won’t get it done, especially when you don’t force any out of your opponent.

I thought we were done seeing you get dominated. That wasn’t supposed to happen again.

I know this has been a wild, wild year in college football, but you were supposed to be a constant. The past 15 months you’ve stunned the world on more than one occasion, and this year was supposed to be proof that the magical 2013 season was more about grit and resiliency than just luck.

There were so many expectations. There was (and is still) so much potential.

You have a second-year, senior starter at quarterback, the first in Gus Malzahn’s college coaching career. You’ve got at least three returning starters from last year’s offensive line, and many key contributors on defense.

A plethora of playmakers at the skill positions (Cameron Artis-Payne, Duke Williams, Sammie Coates, to name a few), decades of SEC coaching experience in among the assistant coaches, and a will to win pointed to another special season.

This year’s schedule might be the worst any Auburn team (or any team period) has ever seen, but there is enough talent and experience for a deep postseason run that won’t happen now.

You are capable of so much more than that, Auburn.

We saw it against LSU, the only game in which you turned in a perfect performance. And you remember what that one looked like, right?

It looked like a 41-7 victory over a division opponent you had beaten once out of the last seven tries. It looked like 566 total yards to just 280 for LSU. You allowed no third down conversions out of 13 tries, didn’t you?

In a game that was your first chance to make a real statement in the SEC, you proclaimed with a booming voice a warning to the college football world that you weren’t coming up 13 seconds short this season.

This time around, you were every bit as good as you thought you were, and were going to prove it to the rest of the nation.

And ever since what happened that next week, losing to Mississippi State, you’ve looked like a completely different team.

The offense has found its groove since then, but the defense has taken a major step backward. You’ve given up 176 points the last five games. You’ve surrendered 2356 yards in that stretch, too.

And here’s the stat of the year: seven turnovers in seven wins; ten turnovers in three losses.

That is not championship football. And I think you know that.

I don’t know what happened after that win over LSU, Auburn, but you are not the same team you were in the first five games of the season.

In those five games, you were a national championship team.

In the five games since, you’ve just been an almost-but-not-quite team. Saturday night, no one could use penalties, refs, turnovers, weather, dogs biting you, or bad luck to justify what happened.

Georgia came back home for the first game in over a month with its star tailback ready to pick up where he left off. And pick up, he did.

Joined by his freshman counterpart, Todd Gurley led a Georgia rushing attack that gashed your defense from the start, and nothing you ever tried seemed to work. Up, over, under, and through the sloppy arm tackles they ran, angrily pounding away at the doubts about their toughness after their own embarrassing loss to Florida.

You were dominated by a hungrier, angrier, more focused team. And that hurts.

It isn’t just the losses that are frustrating, hurtful, mind-numbing, or any other negative adjective you could insert here, it’s how they happened. In all three losses you’ve suffered, one thing has remained a constant: you’re beating yourselves.

And I refuse to believe that’s the kind of team you really are.

With that in mind, I seriously doubt that anyone is more disappointed than you are right now, Auburn. I know that the Auburn family is frustrated and upset, but they couldn’t possibly know how much this hurts you.

We know the expectations that were placed on you, but you know them better. We know the talent level and potential resting in this team, but you know it far better.

You know exactly what you’re capable of.

So I hope that you won’t just give up. I hope you won’t let this be how your season ends, not when you were supposed to be 13 seconds better this time around.

I hope you will play as inspired as I know you can against Alabama, and in the ensuing bowl game. Finish strong.

There’s still a lot to be optimistic about. Your SEC title and playoff hopes have been snatched away, but the foundation is continually being laid for the future Auburn Tigers.

So instill the spirit of victory in this football team that made last season so special.

You’re better than that loss to Georgia. Teams stumble and fall all the time; don’t let these losses define you.

I’m upset, Auburn, I’ll admit it. I know you’re mad, too. I expect more out of you, and I know you expect even more out of yourselves than I do, or any fan does.

But I’m angry because I know that you’re as good as you’ll allow yourselves to be. You can go as far as you want when you get out of your own way.

I haven’t given up on you, and I hope you haven’t given up yourselves.

I believe in the talent of this team. I believe in the resiliency of this team. I believe in the spirit of this team.

I believe in you, Auburn, and love it.