The SEC Forum at College Football Fan Site, CFB51!!!

Yeah I'm not going to dwell on it too much, because like you said now we're merely speculating.  I do know that Fisher, in the rant he had about Saban after Saban accused A&M of buying our roster (we did, legally, it didn't work out), was sort of close about letting the cat out of the bag. 

All I will say is that for a long, long time Alabama and there 3 deep were better than 98% of the rest of CFP, and it always seemed strange that no matter how many new players came and went, and coaches they seemed to be on top. 

So Auburn hires Alex Golesh as head coach. Going 23-15 in three season at South Florida, Golesh seems an unproven hire. Good luck to Golesh at Auburn, but his hiring is the culmination of terribly costly season for Auburn.

How costly? Going into Hugh Freeze Season #3, Auburn had the pieces in place to have the season Oklahoma is having. A statistically strong defense, experienced QB, an excellent WR corps. The schedule was tough but over a long season experienced coaching staffs and rosters create enough breaks for themselves.

Instead Auburn's poor results continued into Hugh Freeze Season #3, losing close game after close game - in numerous cases due to terribly untimely turnovers. And unfairly to the Auburn faithful, Hugh Freeze turned out to be more interested in golfing than coaching. Had Auburn created the breaks that their opponents were able to create against Auburn, the path was there for a 10-2 run.

It's worth making the earlier Oklahoma comparison, because both programs were facing similar turning points to start the season. Yes, the Sooners started the season ranked much higher, but Venables' coaching seat was also red hot, an experienced QB was brought in during the offseason, the defense was their strong suit, and the schedule was tough. The difference is the Sooners kept their heads in the game and methodically strung together the late-season wins needed for a playoff run: @Tennessee, @Alabama, Vs Missouri, and Vs LSU.

For those criticizing Oklahoma’s ‘lackluster’ wins over Missouri and LSU, the pressure was entirely on Venables and staff to win those, and they did.

The Sooners feel like a revitalized program. Meanwhile, despite their history and strong fan support, Auburn feels like a program knocked to a lower tier. Auburn wasn’t competitive on the coaching market, and now they’ve hired an otherwise unproven candidate who now must game-plan against the likes of Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Texas A&M, and Texas.

In the SEC, the margin between a playoff run and having to look for a new coach in the AAC is deceptively narrow.

So Auburn hires Alex Golesh as head coach. Going 23-15 in three season at South Florida, Golesh seems an unproven hire. Good luck to Golesh at Auburn, but his hiring is the culmination of terribly costly season for Auburn.

How costly? Going into Hugh Freeze Season #3, Auburn had the pieces in place to have the season Oklahoma is having. A statistically strong defense, experienced QB, an excellent WR corps. The schedule was tough but over a long season experienced coaching staffs and rosters create enough breaks for themselves.

Instead Auburn's poor results continued into Hugh Freeze Season #3, losing close game after close game - in numerous cases due to terribly untimely turnovers. And unfairly to the Auburn faithful, Hugh Freeze turned out to be more interested in golfing than coaching. Had Auburn created the breaks that their opponents were able to create against Auburn, the path was there for a 10-2 run.

It's worth making the earlier Oklahoma comparison, because both programs were facing similar turning points to start the season. Yes, the Sooners started the season ranked much higher, but Venables' coaching seat was also red hot, an experienced QB was brought in during the offseason, the defense was their strong suit, and the schedule was tough. The difference is the Sooners kept their heads in the game and methodically strung together the late-season wins needed for a playoff run: @Tennessee, @Alabama, Vs Missouri, and Vs LSU.

For those criticizing Oklahoma’s ‘lackluster’ wins over Missouri and LSU, the pressure was entirely on Venables and staff to win those, and they did.

The Sooners feel like a revitalized program. Meanwhile, despite their history and strong fan support, Auburn feels like a program knocked to a lower tier. Auburn wasn’t competitive on the coaching market, and now they’ve hired an otherwise unproven candidate who now must game-plan against the likes of Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Texas A&M, and Texas.

In the SEC, the margin between a playoff run and having to look for a new coach in the AAC is deceptively narrow.