Nick Of Time: A Lesson In Ego And Hubris

Okay, let's go back to the end of it all...
((HT: Auburn Athletics/Auburn IMG Sports Network))


The HQ will readily admit that the refereeing was out of sorts...
Auburn was getting over six yards a carry and decided to go away from that running game- inexplicably...

But, the visitors had more issues...

Cade Foster pull-hooking two field goal attempts and having a third one blocked led to Adam Griffith being the other field goal attempt with :01 left. But it went a little deeper than that...

Earlier in the game after the first miss, Alabama head coach Nick Saban, who is notoriously quick-triggered with his kickers, would decide to go for it with a 3-point lead with 5:32 left. That was instead of giving Foster an attempt at getting the Tide a 10-point lead.

Put the game away...???
Nope...

Go for it with a run up the middle that was diagnosed immediately and gave Auburn momentum all over again...

Even as his special teams had failed him three times earlier- two misses and a field goal attempt that was blocked...

But the largest failure was on the Griffith field goal attempt- and the HQ did the math... other than the kicker, going with what CBS color analyst Gary Danielson said: it was just a bunch of fat guys- with the exception of tight end Brian Vogler and two other skill position players...

11 on 7 for a punt return...
You tell me those odds... and it had happened before in the Ess-E-Cee...
Odell Beckham, Junior against UAB
((HT: SEC on ESPN))


And it looked like the UAB players did less watching than the Alabama players did in trying to defense the return once it was on...

So, add it all up...

Whether it's Eli Gold...


Or Uncle Verne...
((HT: SEC on CBS))


Or Rod...

Saban will learn the lesson on his special teams gaffe, but he will still make his kickers walk home...
But, sometimes, the lesson is learned too late to maintain perfection in a self-perfect atmosphere...

Cade Foster has already seen the silliness of fanaticism through his Twitter machine...

Saban shall hear it on sports talk radio for quite some time...

But, he has already moved on... he's getting ready for his bowl game... and (insert divine being here) help his opponent... unless there's a repeat of the Utah Sugar Bowl game...

And the second-best decision that Auburn AD Jay Jacobs has ever made...???
Opening the gates and getting the white jackets out of the way to focus on not getting his head coach, players, and television live shots from getting trampled...