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This is an opinion column.
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Some emails hit different.
This message from Jim in Huntsville after Auburn’s 45-19 victory against New Mexico was a home run. Receiving and responding to emails from readers is one of my favorite things about being a columnist. It gives everyone a voice. Part of being a good columnist is sharing the perspectives of readers while having an ongoing conversation with fans who both agree and disagree with my opinions. Send me your questions and join the dialogue. Fire from the hip.
I suppose we should accept the reality that Auburn is a young team that has a ways to go. The defense has a very young secondary that is learning on the job. The front of the defense seemed to take a step back.
The offense is an unknown question mark. Can Hank Brown be Freeze’s Stetson Bennett? Sure seems like Kirby misses Stetson. If Hank is that good we will all be asking why he didn’t see that before he lost to Cal? Still though we have to consider that Hank doesn’t have the offensive line that Stetson had. I think the SEC games will answer that question within the next month.
Next week against Arkansas should be an interesting game as two offensive fallen angels go against each other. Both [Bobby] Petrino and [Hugh] Freeze need redemption for their reputation as offensive gurus. I bet you thought I was going to say redemption for something else!
I do believe how Auburn performs against Arkansas could set the tone for the rest of the season. I am sure Petrino was pleased with what he saw or didn’t see from the Auburn defense in the New Mexico game.
ANSWER: The “fallen angel” storyline for Auburn’s first SEC home game is the kind of deep-cut SEC humor that gives this league its reputation for being a soap opera on grass. The SEC just means more drama.
Auburn coach Hugh Freeze parted ways with Ole Miss after some incriminating phone records put him in a difficult situation. Petrino was the coach at Arkansas when he laid down his motorcycle while giving an employee a ride home. I’m not a life coach, and this isn’t an advice column (unless it’s about tailgating), but it should go without saying that texting on a company phone while riding a motorcycle is a good way to wind up in the funny papers.
Freeze is back in the SEC at Auburn, and Petrino is somehow once again employed by Arkansas. This time around, Petrino is the team’s offensive coordinator for coach Sam Pittman.
Let’s be honest. Both Freeze and Petrino were desperation hires. They were brought in as fixers for schools that leveraged their reputations based on the promises of past success. Everyone deserves a second chance, right? In the SEC, only if they can win.
Pittman will likely be fired at Arkansas this season if he can’t turn things around with Petrino. Freeze isn’t on the hot seat, but it’s time to start matching success on the field with his incredible run of recruiting victories.
Last week, I wrote that Auburn would start Hank Brown against New Mexico and that the Tigers were better than what they showed against Cal. Auburn is now a four-point favorite over Arkansas for Saturday’s game at Jordan-Hare Stadium and the Tigers have a starting quarterback who can keep defenses honest.
The early season schedule provided Auburn a cushion for SEC play. Brown gained some confidence against New Mexico and having Arkansas at home for Week 4 is a manageable situation. Can Brown be the Auburn quarterback version of Georgia’s Stetson Bennett IV? That’s the kind of informed question that deserves its own headline on AL.com.
As it turns out, I was at Bennett’s first start of the 2021 season. It came against UAB at Sanford Stadium during Week 2. JT Daniels started for Georgia in Week 1, but UGA coach Kirby Smart went with Bennett against UAB. Daniels never played again.
Go back and look at Georgia’s quarterback room that season. Daniels was 5-0 as a starter going into the UAB game, but suffered an injury in the season opener against Clemson. The backups were Bennett, redshirt freshman Carson Beck and former five-star freshman Brock Vandagriff.
Beck is now the starting quarterback for Georgia and Vandagriff is at Kentucky. Coincidentally, both quarterbacks played against each other last week with Vandagriff nearly leading the upset at Kroger Field.
There are some parallels between Bennett in 2021 and Auburn’s Brown this season. Both players started their teams’ second games against FBS opponents, and both players lit up inferior opponents. Brown had four touchdown passes against New Mexico. In 2021, Bennett threw five touchdowns against UAB, including four touchdown throws on his first five passes of the game.
It was pretty clear that Georgia had found its quarterback. The same goes for Auburn.
Yes, Brown can be Auburn’s version of Bennett, but let’s hold off on the national title talk until next season.
MAILBAG
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Joseph Goodman is the lead sports columnist for the Alabama Media Group, and author of the book “We Want Bama: A Season of Hope and the Making of Nick Saban’s Ultimate Team.”
