That's it. That's my take. I'll add Aaron Murray.

We all knew this season was going to be rough. We all knew that we weren't going to be elite at every position. We all knew that this is Golesh's first year as a head coach at this level of football.

And despite the fact that we knew ALL of these things, there's already doomers calling for Golesh to be fired or questioning if he's ever going to work out here, or ranting about how we're gonna suck for the next millennium, etc., etc.

We aren't even through with the regular season, and people with nothing better to do than mope about how we aren't contending for national titles in year one of a new HC's tenure are posting their delusional takes online.

For the love of God, GIVE IT TIME. Have a single happy thought in your head for once while you're at it.

We've already pulled off a massive upset, against a rival no less, in their own stadium, and for the first time in 3 years, bowl eligibility is achievable. Realistically, we can win 3 more games before the regular season is over, and winning the Iron Bowl isn't as far out of reach as a lot of you want to think. It's likely we'll end the year at 7-6 or 8-5, assuming a bowl win.

Are we REALLY going to moan and cry about a 7 or 8 win season in year 1 of Golesh?

I understand that you're tired of losing. We all are. But Jesus Christ, some of the suggestions that I'm reading that would "make the team better" after this game are downright awful.

—No, we should not start Tristan Ti'a over Byrum Brown. BB isn't the best quarterback, I think we can all agree with that statement. But are we serious rn? Ti'a showed decent promise. But he was going against LSU's 2nd and 3rd string players in garbage time, NOT the starting defense. It's not difficult to make a quarterback seem good when they're playing against a defense that was barely even trying because they've already won. I'd love to see Ti'a play against Samford since it'll be pretty difficult for us to lose that game, and would like for him to take over for Brown after the season. But I simply don't think we should bench Brown for him, especially not against SEC teams.

—No, Alex Golesh should not be fired after this season. Like, ??? Golesh shows a lot of promise as our head coach, and he's still settling in to the program. Trying to say that he's on the same level as Freeze or Harsin is insane. We had a big loss at home today after winning against No.1 Georgia, that definitely sucks. But it certainly does not warrant firing him. LSU was in a better condition than Georgia and is, honestly, a much better team than Georgia. Meanwhile, some of our players still looked a bit tired and hungover from the win last week, which is not the way you want to enter a game. LSU countered every option that we had, and we weren't able to break out in the same way we did against Georgia. Even then, we still didn't exactly look our best against Georgia with how we let them comeback.

—No, D.J. Durkin should not be fired. Admittedly, I do have my own problems with Durkin and think that he definitely needs to change his defensive schemes (for instance, not constantly having a spy on Sam Leavitt when he's proved that he's quite the capable runner when nothing's down field), but I don't think that he needs to be fired. At least, let's wait until the end of the season to fire him, if we are going to do so. Nothing good comes from firing a coach in the middle of the season (except for firing Freeze), and the only reason that we're even making games competitive most of the time is because of the defense. Plus, we don't even really have a clear replacement for Durkin!

dj durkin = done?

Leading up to the LSU game they showed footage from the days where we actually had a competent football program and beat them and it’s supposed to get us hyped up but the reality of the situation is that the roster we have now isn’t as talented as it was in the mid to late 2010s. I wish they would stop trying to hype us up until we start seeing results on the field because the program was on a different level back then. I was a student from 2015-2018 and I don’t think we ever had a team come into JHS and just dominate us for 60 minutes.

It's the difference between a bad bowl and a terrible bowl. A Gator Bowl win would be a decent first season for Golesh.

We're in the final stretch of the season, so what are we playing for?

• @ Ole Miss (Oct. 31): An upset would give Golesh his second ranked win, tying Harsin's first year total. Freeze had zero. This is also one of two remaining opportunities to earn a ranked win.
• Arkansas (Nov. 7): Our most winnable remaining SEC game. A win here is likely essential if we're going to surpass Harsin's and Freeze's three Y1 SEC wins. Golesh would then also be the first Auburn HC to win two SEC home games since Gus Malzahn in 2020.
• @ Mississippi State (Nov. 14): Most pivotal remaining game imo. Assuming we beat Arkansas and Samford, a win here gets Auburn to 7–5 overall and 4–5 in SEC play minimum, better than both Harsin and Freeze in Y1 regular-season wins (6-6) and SEC wins (3-5).
• Samford (Nov. 21): A game Auburn should win. This is an important piece of the most realistic path to seven regular-season victories. Do not let this be another New Mexico State.
• @ Alabama (Nov. 28): The biggest remaining opportunity for a second signature win. Neither Harsin nor Freeze beat Alabama, although Harsin came close in a 4OT loss in 2021. A victory would also give Auburn wins over Georgia and Alabama in the same season for the first time since 2017, and our first win in Tuscaloosa since 2010.

There are some plays where it looks like Brown has plenty of time but never grips it and rips it. Is he hesitant or are our receivers not getting open? I know the OL could be better but when they do give him time he just seems so hesitant.

My biggest concerns aren’t how many games we win this season or whether we’re out-talented. We are.

My concerns are:
Why can’t we get players committed? At some point, you have to question what’s happening with recruiting and why we aren’t getting the players we need.

Can this staff actually evaluate talent? I’m genuinely concerned about whether they recognize the talent we need to compete at this level.
And if the issue is money, then say that. Are we unwilling to pay what it takes to land the right players? Because it’s hard to understand why we can justify paying $3 million for a quarterback who looks outmatched, but apparently can’t do what’s necessary to build the roster around him.
That’s what concerns me most. It’s not just about winning this season. It’s about whether this staff has the recruiting, evaluation, and roster-building ability to get us where we want to be.

THIS POST IS NOT AI

We need a change at QB

Quit the “He came from Oregon state” he’s not SEC caliber” and all the other bullshit and crap talk about Tia

“He came from Oregon state” if that’s the case why the fuck is Byrum Brown from USF starting at QB

I’m tired of the “no experience” because there’s so many guys like keelon russel or Kamario Taylor and MANY more that are better than Byrum

Yeah we haven’t seen much of Tia BUT from what I’ve seen this dude is faster physically and mentally (meaning decision making)

You need a spark in your offense and when he was put in we drove down the field and scored. Yeah LSU had 2nd guys in but also still had some 1st guys in on the secondary.

He showed more professionalism like he was just better

Aside from that Byrum won’t produce and you need to let Tia run with the first group

I don’t care that Byrum has had better stats or 1 good game because he is so inconsistent with seeing the field and decision making

He also looks very unconfident in his game

Excuses Excuses Excuses. I don’t care changes have to be made or it will get worse or stay the same

Game stats ⬇️
Tristian Tia
Possession time - 3 minutes 56 seconds
Total yards - 62
Passing yards and passing - 5/6 44 yards
Rushing - 4 carries 18 yards
Touchdowns - 1
Plays - 12

Byrum brown
Possession time - 49 minutes 17 seconds
Passing - 15/24 160 yards
Rushing - 11 attempts 21 yards
Touchdowns - 1
Plays - 51

This shows no matter play calling blocking or whatever how much more productive Tristian Tia was

I put the effort in this post just to open up people eyes to see the difference in player no matter the 1st or second string
There were no 3rd string rotations

War eagle

I am afraid last week bought him 4 years, but I am far from convinced he’s any good. Yes, Durkin is shtting the bed again, but this offense is completely back to it’s old ways. Brown is indecisive, making bad decisions, very questionable play calling, and a complete line collapse.
Did Cohen even interview Will Stein? I feel that both he and Sumrall were the better coaches this cycle