re: Grading Auburn @ Baylor

More in line. Shutting their run game puts at least a “C” on defense.

I loved that pass to Cam. Jackson threw it to a place in front of Cam, and cam went and got it. More to come!

Agreed great ball placement. Can’t execute the come back timing route to Fields any better than the last TD drive. To pick up a first down

I think we are going to see a lot of need for running attacks this year across the board. Watching OSU Texas game and I think defenses are going to be using the NFL strategy for coverage. Check downs and run game will be huge

quote:

---

Offense: A, was expecting the first game and new QB to be a struggle, complete opposite.

---

Enjoying football today and so far Arnold is looking better than everyone I've seen so far today.

quote:

---

I think Hugh would have lost that game, last year or the year before. Even if we were gashing them in the run game, Hugh would have had some head-scratching 3 and outs, trying to throw the ball.

He didn't do that last night. He stuck with what was working and never got cute.

Happy to see it.

---

Even better, apparently he did call a couple, and it was Jackson Arnold who saw it wouldnt develop and chose to run instead rather than force a throw, thats what Freeze said in the presser.

quote:

---

I think Hugh would have lost that game, last year or the year before. Even if we were gashing them in the run game, Hugh would have had some head-scratching 3 and outs, trying to throw the ball.

He didn't do that last night. He stuck with what was working and never got cute.

Happy to see it.

---

I think it is equally accurate to say that JA made better reads than PT did and took the run when he should have, where PT would have tried to force the throw. Baylor played to stop our WRs the whole way, without adjusting. It is on the QB to read that and take what the D gives.

quote:

---

I think Hugh would have lost that game, last year or the year before. Even if we were gashing them in the run game, Hugh would have had some head-scratching 3 and outs, trying to throw the ball.

---

I also saw a different mindset from the players on the field. There was a point where I had flashbacks of last year and expected this group to implode and find a way to lose. Players took the challenge and responded. We have not had that in a couple of years.

Offense = B to B+. We won the line of scrimmage and ran the ball at will. Arnold is more athletic than I realized and utilized the RPO well. Baylor wanted to shut down the pass and they pretty well did but we took what they offered and made the most of it.

Defense = C-. D line looked good, got some pressure and some push but was not consistent, most likely due to the constant rotations. But we stayed fresh up front that way at least. LBs and Secondary looked lost for most of the game. Concerning inability to tackle for both those units AS A WHOLE. Remember when Jake Holland couldn't tackle as a MLB? What if we're fielding 4-7 Jake Hollands on any given down

Special Teams = B+ No shenanigans fielding punts. God I don't miss those days where every punt was a fricking adventure. Pleasant can return a kick and is a legit weapon. Punt team had 3 illegal formation penalties?! Plus a kick catch interference penalty? Come on guys. I also miss the days when I just didn't worry about any FG inside 45 yards, would love to see our kickers put that voodoo shite to rest.

Overall = B Too many penalties for my liking and the defense was far more questionable than I expected them to be. Offense HELD ONTO THE BALL which was amazing to see, strong running game with a passing game that can punish teams who don't commit to shutting it down. Special teams may be on their way from being "special" to being special .

I'll take an opening game win on the road any Saturday, not every team can say they're 1-0 today.

We really need to be celebrating Pleasants KO return. That was a thing of beauty....


I agree with your ratings but I would give the defense a C- and the offense a B+