I have a theory that something happened in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium last year at the goal line when Ole Miss was poised to complete the comeback win over Auburn and remain in playoff contention, but instead, injustice occurred. The ball was fumbled literally millimeters from crossing the plane of the goal at the exact moment that Laquon Treadwell broke his leg in a horrific manner and was lost for the season. As a matter of fact, the excruciating pain of his leg being broken directly led to the fumble.

When I saw this happen in real time, I thought to myself, "This just shouldn't happen. Ole Miss should be awarded the touchdown, or should at least gain possession on the one inch line. Shouldn't the play be called dead when a player is so heinously injured?" Intellectually, I knew that the rules are the rules. If the ball is fumbled prior to breaking the plane, there is no score. If the other team recovers, possession changes hands. But something about this particular play did not sit right with me. As an LSU fan, I have no love lost for either of these teams, so I have no axe to grind with Auburn or special feelings for Ole Miss. This was just how I felt as a neutral fan watching this train wreck unfold.

Since then, something has happened. Call it karma, call it the football gods, call it the Curse of Laquon Treadwell.

Gus Malzahn started his career off at Auburn as promising as any coach in the history of the SEC, starting off 19-3 in his first 22 games (ending with the aforementioned 35-31 win at Vaught-Hemingway), winning an SEC title and coming within yards of winning a national title. Even the three losses were to teams ranked, at the time, No. 6, No. 1 and No. 3, including a heartbreaking loss to No. 1 FSU in the national title game, and two losses on the road to Top 10 teams. Among the 19 wins are some of the most dramatic, epic, unbelievable wins in Auburn history: a dramatic come-from-behind win over Heisman-winner Johnny Football in College Station, the prayer in Jordan-Hare, the Kick Six, Tre Mason's 300 yards in the SEC title game, an epic beatdown of LSU in Jordan-Hare, and that fateful game in Vaught-Hemingway that seemingly put Auburn in the driver's seat for one of those four coveted playoff spots in the first ever college football playoff.

After that game, Auburn faced a down-and-out Texas A&M squad that had seen its national title hopes dashed after Kenny Trill turned into Kenny Swill. They were forced to start true freshman Kyle Allen, and were having real trouble finding their way, after three straight losses (including a humiliating 59-0 defeat at the hands of Alabama) and an extremely lackluster 5-point win over ULM. Needless to say, Auburn entered this game as prohibitive favorites. I would say that no one, not even the most die-hard Aggie, had any hope that Texas A&M would even be close in this game. Gus and Auburn then proceeded to get beat by true freshman Kyle Allen eliminating them from playoff contention.

Since the Curse, Auburn has gone 5-6, with those "wins" coming over Samford, Louisville (who I believe may now be suffering from the Bobby Petrino curse which I may write about later), Jacksonville State (in overtime, in a miracle finish), San Jose State and Kentucky.

We shall see whether the ghost of Laquon Treadwell's broken leg can be exorcised when Auburn plays Ole Miss. Auburn may want to throw that game in the interest of its long-term success. Just saying.

This post was edited on 10/20/15 at 1:57 pm