re: Gatewood not at practice today

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Maybe Josh Pate is my spirit animal

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Rob Pate: Drama a familiar backdrop for Auburn football

Another midseason fractured fault line on the Plains. Another fissure to contend with as Auburn Football enters a crucial four-game home stretch in search of finishing a season with promise rather than folding on a promising season.

Back-up quarterback Joey Gatewood’s decision to walk away from this team with four games remaining sent aftershocks through a fan base already frustrated by offensive ineptitude on the biggest stage. It certainly will have an impact in the locker room to see a friend, brother and teammate many placed offensive playmaking hope in choosing to leave after two consecutive losses in which Gatewood watched helplessly from the sidelines as the offense turned lifeless.

I don’t agree with Gatewood’s decision to walk away when he did, I don’t believe he gains any advantage from doing so, he has left his teammates in a bind should Bo Nix be injured or get sick, and I believe that years from now he will wish he had finished the season. But, I understand the frustration and psyche to part ways after being all but ignored.

I don’t know if there is a great way to handle these scenarios from a head coach's perspective. Auburn hasn’t cornered the market on back-up QBs seeking a fresh start via the transfer portal. In fact, Auburn and Gatewood had seemingly defied the odds, spurning the newfound rush to immediately seek greener pastures as quickly as possible when the competition results are unfavorable. Gatewood said all the right things, and was the model teammate from the outside looking in. Until he could take no more.

Where Gus Malzahn dropped the ball with Gatewood was his own public commentary regarding Gatewood — hearkening back to Cam Newton to describe Joey, discussing how tight the race was with Bo Nix, pounding the drum that “both would play” and Joey will have a package that will help this team, and that he was excited to have two QBs with two different skill sets.

But the reluctance to utilize Gatewood was never more apparent than the decision to play a less-than-healthy Boobee Whitlow as the Wildcat quarterback over Joey Gatewood at LSU. When the offense floundered in the second half — five straight possessions, 16 total plays, three yards — and Gatewood never received the nod to spark a dead offensive attack, he knew he’d never play meaningful snaps for Auburn unless a Nix injury arose.

Though Bo Nix earned the starting job and has won over his team with his leadership, intangibles and fire, I do think the team — the defensive players in particular — likely feel slightly cheated by not attempting to use every offensive weapon in the arsenal in two hard fought road losses. It’s human nature to question and wonder what might have been, even if it’s not verbalized.

The departure will have an immediate effect on Bo Nix as well — likely limiting his ability to use his legs on designed QB runs and zone-read options. Now he must add a new worry to his already heavy load — to protect himself. Finding success on the ground will prove even more difficult without the threat of Nix keeping the ball and holding the edge conflict defender. Nix can’t afford to play not to get hurt, but Auburn can’t afford to put Nix in harm's way and see him get injured. It will be a delicate balance.

It’s yet another stumbling block for this team to navigate, having already played the nation’s most difficult schedule on the road and having showdowns with your two chief rivals — both Top 10 teams — on the horizon.

That’s life as an Auburn Tiger. It’s the Auburn way — to unravel, to underperform, to find our way into a season of upheaval while sitting on the precipice of unparalleled success. And equally defining of the Auburn way is to emerge from the negativity or certain impending downward spiral to reach stunning heights few foresaw. We can hit rock bottom and climb to the clouds faster than any program in America.

But let’s take inventory of where we stand. We are a damn good football team, a team good enough to be two plays away from being undefeated — with a true freshman QB still learning life in this league, having played away from home for an entire month.

We have obvious strengths that give us a chance each week, and we have glaring weaknesses that form our Achilles heel.

We are ranked No. 11 nationally because pundits recognize the difficulty of the schedule and the fight and grit this team has shown even in loss.

We return home for the remainder of the season — a season that can turn sour to sweet in November.

The fan base may fracture over where we stand regarding Gus Malzahn, but it will not fracture and waver from supporting this team by creating the raucous environment from here on out inside of Jordan-Hare Stadium. Their effort is deserving and I have no doubt the Auburn family will rise to the occasion.

There’s much to play for. There’s much to improve. There’s much to be thankful for. There’s much to argue about.

There’s much that goes into bleeding orange and blue — it’s an unceasing rollercoaster ride of disappointment and ecstasy, bitterness and beauty that few can equate. Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, the stage is set for just what no one expects from Auburn — except those of us that know Auburn and have seen this story before.

Auburn 38, Ole Miss 17

Rob Pate is a former Auburn defensive back. His column appears exclusively at Auburn Undercover.

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