The way Auburn's offense exploded in confidence and execution after the Alabama game, I'm not sure anybody other than Florida State and Michigan State could have held them to 31 or fewer points last night. When Auburn had 21 points in the middle of the second quarter, normally that would lead to 45 or 52 points, or the 59 they hung on a very good Missouri team in the SEC title game, after a similar early pace.
Florida State was hardly as dominant as typical but we shouldn't be fooled by that. Against a standard offense they'll disrupt and destroy. I don't think Alabama would have fared as well as Auburn did.
It's a fascinating new breakthrough, the Auburn and Oregon approach of hurrying up to run the football. That's a whole different animal than the previous garbage of spreading out and hurrying up to throw the ball. Those teams are vulnerable by definition and logic. Defensive linemen don't care if you are asking them to rush the passer time and again. They thrive on that. The hurry up and throw approach leads to a high percentage of three and outs anyway. But when you are hustling to the line and pounding the defensive front with the running game, naturally the defense sags. The only danger is too much reliance on finesse. Auburn is considerably more rugged than Oregon is.
In the NFL, notice that New England uses hurry up and run the football on key plays, notably after they have made a big gain, or when they enter the red zone. Belichick doesn't miss a trick.
Anyway, I always emphasize pass defense in threads like this and once again it held up. National champion Florida State led the nation in yards per attempt allowed at 5.1. Michigan State was second at 5.2.
Auburn would have been the worst of all time at 7.3, eclipsing their 6.7 champ of 2010. I was very relieved when that flawed pass defense fell short. But as I mentioned last night, it was apropos that a weak pass defense gave up the 49 yard catch and run on a simple play, to set up the winning touchdown pass.
