Go ahead and talk about what could have been. I’m going to go ahead and call it what it is.
The worst snow job ever.
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Somehow we were led to believe that Auburn was more than it is: a team that lost its way in 2014, lost five games and didn’t really have anything remotely concrete about who and what they were heading into 2015. Only hype.
The hype of Jeremy Johnson, the hype of Will Muschamp. And we all bought into it.
A smart man once said doctors bury their mistakes, columnists print theirs every day.
Mine played out Saturday afternoon on The Plains against something called Jacksonville State.
For some reason I danced with hype instead of embracing reality. That’s still the same Auburn defense out there, the same players who couldn’t make plays last season; couldn’t pressure the quarterback and couldn’t create turnovers.
Auburn still can’t get off the field on third down, and still gives up unthinkable big plays in critical situations. Muschamp, one of the game’s best defensive coordinators, can’t fix that in one game.
And Johnson can’t magically become Cam Newton because he physically looks the part. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say Johnson could play 10 seasons of college football, and not have one that mirrors what Newton did in 2010.
That was Auburn coach Gus Malzahn — in the words of Oklahoma linebacker Eric Striker “blowing smoke” — comparing Johnson to Newton. Fans and the media just ran with it, instead of realizing Newton’s only season as a starter in college football was the best single season by any player in half a century.
So Johnson plays well in half a game at home against a rebuilding Arkansas team in last year’s season opener, and that’s enough for everyone to take a big bite out of that hype.
By the end of the game; by the time Auburn somehow beat Jacksonville State in overtime, Muschamp’s defense had given up nearly 500 yards to an FCS school, and Johnson wanted no part of throwing the ball.
A complete snow job. And we all bought into it.
Now this Auburn team, after two shaky games to begin this season, rolls into the heavy lifting portion of the program: the SEC West. That fun little ride where teams like LSU, Alabama, Arkansas, Ole Miss, Mississippi State will be waiting to experience that preseason hype.
The same mistakes in those games will leave Auburn with a feeling unlike 2014: a losing record.
Buy into that hype.