SEC Football: Halfway through the regular season there are problems on the Plains
Alabama football fans rejoice as the Auburn Tigers, continue to struggle. With the LSU loss to Florida, the Tide has no more undefeated, regular season SEC football opponents.
The Crimson Tide are rolling their way to their fifth consecutive College Football Playoff appearance. Heisman frontrunner, Tua Tagovailoa, continues to impress by leading Alabama’s offense to unthinkable heights. SEC football is down to only two undefeated teams, seemingly on a SEC Championship game collision course.
Roughly one hundred and sixty miles southeast of Tuscaloosa, things are not looking so robust. The Auburn Tigers are having a nightmare of a season. The offensive struggles under Gus Malzahn continue to worsen. After Jarrett Stidham’s semi-impressive sophomore year, and Malzahn’s mid-season comeback, the Tigers seemed to be on a rise. They were able to seal a crucial victory in the 2017 Iron Bowl and go on to represent the SEC West. This resulted in Malzahn receiving a huge salary increase.
If you will recall, Auburn fans were pushing for Malzahn to be fired early in the 2017 season after losses to No. 3 Clemson and an unranked LSU. Things really turned around for the Tigers, and Malzahn was saved. According to AL.com, Auburn rewarded Malzahn with an impressive $49 million contract that stretches over seven-years.
The Tigers may now be regretting their decision. Auburn finds themselves as the fourth worst team in the SEC. Pre-season Heisman hopefully, Jarrett Stidham, looks completely adrift and is constantly struggling to find the end zone. For the second consecutive year, Auburn has lost to LSU. And now, after nearly letting Southern Miss walk away with an upset, the Tigers have dropped a game to a mediocre Mississippi State.
This is the part that puts a never-ending grin on the face of Alabama football fans. If things continue to go downhill for the Tigers, then firing Malzahn is almost impossible. Auburn would owe Malzahn an astonishing 75 percent of his contract, which if you do the math, is $30+ million. It is just logically impractical for Auburn to come up with such a sum.
Looks like the other guys could be stuck with Malzahn for at least two or three more seasons.
When the Crimson Tide celebrations over the Auburn demise subside, there is room for concern. SEC football teams ranked below the Crimson Tide and Georgia don’t provide much in the way of resume building for the Crimson Tide.
A win over LSU in November will help the Crimson Tide’s resume but a win over the no longer undefeated, the Bengal Tigers is now diminished. Even worse, LSU could join Auburn and Mississippi State as a two-loss team before Nov. 3.
A normal Crimson Tide path to the CFB Playoff includes impressive wins over top SEC football teams. As much as we enjoy Auburn’s failings, the Tide would have benefited more from beating an undefeated Auburn team in the Iron Bowl.
Next. Tua strengthens his Heisman hunt. dark
The problems on the plains continue, but the success in Tuscaloosa reaches an all-time high. The state of Alabama’s two most pinnacle football programs are night and day.