If you were one of the ones penning sonnets to the genius of new Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, it’s time to start singing a different tune.

If you were one of the ones marveling at the transformation of Auburn quarterback Chris Todd, further examination is now due.

Don’t feel alone, nearly every observer of Auburn football got caught up to a degree in the blistering offensive pace of the 5-0 start. Glaring defensive deficiencies were overlooked, the relative level of competition was ignored.

It was just too easy to pick up stones and hurl them at former head coach Tommy Tuberville for his 2008 failures while basking in the faux glow of a quick start to 2009.

Others may not be ready or willing to take this step just yet, but it’s time to wonder if the 2009 Tigers are any better off than the 2008 version that crashed and burned to a 5-7 record.

Short answer? No. They’re not. In some ways, this team may be worse.

Despite a five-win start, aided by six West Virginia turnovers, the Tigers are staring at the very real possibility of a 6-6 finish, particularly when you consider that the four toughest opponents on the schedule (LSU, Ole Miss, Georgia and Alabama) remain.

Yes, with Furman looming for Homecoming chances are that this team will at least make bowl eligibility, but is that really so much better than last season’s abomination?

No.

This Tiger defense is markedly worse. Over the past two games, the offense hasn’t been much better than the abysmal sludge that stunk up the 2008 campaign.

Auburn’s defense played well in patches in Saturday’s loss to Kentucky. It still missed far too many assignments and failed to make routine plays with the game on the line.

Kentucky started a freshman at quarterback who had never taken a collegiate snap. The Wildcats relied on a career backup in the second half. Still, Kentucky was able to smack the Auburn defense in the mouth.

There’s no excuse for that.

Kentucky wasn’t doing anything fancy. Auburn helped make the ‘Cats look like beasts with shoddy fundamentals, dreadful tackling and repeated mental lapses.

It’s nothing new.

The Tiger defense has a habit of doing that. The doomed no-pressure defensive scheme employed by defensive coordinator Ted Roof has given every team on the schedule, including Ball State, highlight reel material.

Through five games, Auburn’s offense was able to hide those deficiencies by scoring points in bunches.

Points are no longer coming.

After authoring a comeback story that had begun to draw national attention, quarterback Chris Todd reverted to playing like something a lactose-intolerant cat sicked up on the carpet after digging pizza out of the garbage can.

His performance against Kentucky was reminiscent of some of his worst efforts a year ago.

Todd missed open receivers, continually fired into double coverage, underthrew receivers, overthrew receivers and played with all the finesse of Pinocchio — before he was turned into a real boy.

Todd wasn’t alone in committing offensive suicide.

Twice, Auburn drives in Kentucky territory were bogged down by asinine penalties, the kind of repetitive mistakes you’d expect from a pee-wee team.

The offensive line dragged around like it had somewhere better to be.

Mario Fannin, a legitimate offensive threat, was misused.

How in two short weeks the supposed Tiger offensive juggernaut turned into the Hindenburg is a mystery. Oh the humanity.

Malzahn’s stock has crashed harder than Wachovia’s portfolio. That wizard hat he was wearing after an offense-fueled 5-0 start has looked an awful lot like a dunce cap the last two weeks.

With the exception of some hard-nosed running by senior tailback Ben Tate, Auburn’s offense was at least as ineffective as a year ago. It wasn’t clever, it wasn’t cute, it wasn’t innovative.

It was, instead, predictable, plodding and pedestrian. The playcalling, particularly in critical situations, would have made even Tony Franklin sputter in disbelief.

It looked, quite frankly, like a high school offensive coordinator suddenly realizing he was in over his head.

Is it possible that former Arkansas head coach Houston Nutt was actually right when he wrested control of the Hog offense from Malzahn midway through Malzahn’s one-season tenure with the Razorbacks?

Auburn’s wunderkind coordinator Malzahn has been outmaneuvered by two middle of the pack SEC lambs in Arkansas and Kentucky. Both the ‘Hogs and ‘Cats were winless in the league before facing Auburn.

It’s gruesome to think what feast the lions remaining on Auburn’s schedule will have at the Tiger’s expense if Malzahn isn’t able to conjure up something more effective than the gory mishmash he’s gagged out the past two weeks.

What happened Saturday night was a fail of epic proportions. A slight improvement by the defense — but again remember that Kentucky was playing without its starting quarterback — was completely squandered by a dreadful offense.

Auburn is not a good football team by SEC standards.

There are some legitimate excuses regarding talent and depth, but much of what happened on Saturday can be directly attributed to poor coaching. No offense to Kentucky fans, but Auburn should not lose to Kentucky at home. period.

The Arkansas loss was supposed to be a learning situation. Maybe what Auburn learned is that it just isn’t as good as the fast start indicated.

After last season went off the rails, Auburn made wholesale changes. A ten-year veteran with a proven track record was forced out. An entirely new coaching staff was brought in. Through seven games, the Tigers are no better off than they were a year ago. In fact, they may be even worse.

FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

First the good news.

Auburn is 5-0. With a game against Furman still to come, the Tigers are all but assured a bowl game, which at the beginning of the season was considered a reasonable goal for 2009. Given the current state of the SEC, expectations for an upper tier bowl are now not unreasonable.

Tiger head coach Gene Chizik notched his first road win as a head coach in one of the most hostile environments in the league and in the process extended Auburn’s winning streak over its longtime rival.

Chizik’s young team proved it can maintain focus and thrive away from the friendly confines of Jordan-Hare Stadium.

It will be almost impossible for poll voters to ignore Auburn now. The Tigers should crack the poll for the first time since a loss to Arkansas slammed Auburn from the rankings on October 11 a year ago.

Auburn’s offense acquitted itself well against a Monte Kiffin-directed Tennessee defense that had clamped down on the Florida Gators and was expected to provide a significant challenge to a resurgent Tiger offense.

Auburn moved the ball significantly better against Tennessee than did the nation’s number one team, Florida. The Tigers put up better numbers despite the efforts of more than 100,000 Volunteer fans in Knoxville. Florida had the luxury of taking down the Vols at home.

Auburn piled up 459 total yards on Rocky Top. Florida managed just 323.

Running back Ben Tate continued to chew up the opposition, rolling up 128 yards on 25 carries. On one highlight-reel quality hit, Tate lowered his shoulder and sent All American safety Eric Berry pinwheeling into a backward slide.

If that doesn’t give you pause, try to wrap your mind around this::

Tiger quarterback Chris Todd outperformed Florida Heisman Trophy winner (and presumed favorite unless you’re Lou Holtz and have an unhealthy obsession with all things Notre Dame) Tebow.

Todd was 19 of 32 passing for 218 yards and a touchdown. He didn’t throw an interception and wasn’t sacked. Against the Vols, Tebow threw for a meager 115 yards. He was sacked three times and was picked off once. Florida’s superman did rush for 105 yards on 24 attempts, but that’s not the role Todd is required to play.

Nobody’s cranking up a Todd for Heisman campaign yet, but the Auburn quarterback has numbers that rank near the top of the SEC in every significant category. Todd is second in the league in yards per game with an average of 246. He’s fourth in passing efficiency.

He is cool and efficient in running offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn’s game plan. Todd took his lumps against Tennessee as the Vols brought pressure and hit Todd often. He took the punishment and delivered despite the beating he suffered.

The special teams gaffes that plagued the Tigers in all four games were non-existent on Saturday. Onterrio McCalebb’s kickoff returns were electric.

His fourth-quarter return, in particular, flipped field position and provided the Tigers momentum that should have finished off the Volunteers.

Auburn did no damage on punt returns but that includes damage to itself which has been a weekly occurrence. Fair catches ruled the day and while they limited field position with four coming inside the Tiger 20, there were no muffs or bobbles.

Wes Byrum continued solid place-kicking work, hitting three of four field goals.

Overall, it was a fairly thorough domination and a game Auburn never seemed in jeopardy of losing control over.

At the very least, the Tigers established themselves as a team that will require attention by the rest of the SEC.

Now for the bad. And it’s not all bad.

Not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but the game should not have been nearly as close as the final score reflected.

Auburn’s performance was much more dominant than it would appear on the surface. The Tigers wasted several opportunities to drive a stake through Tennessee’s heart. Auburn should have put Tennessee away and finished with a 10-15 point differential instead of the final four-point spread.

As the Tigers navigate a progressively more difficult October schedule, Auburn can’t afford to waste scoring opportunities.

McCalebb dropped a pass in the end zone that should have been caught for one touchdown.

Late in the game, leading 23-16, Auburn had the ball inside the Tennessee five. Malzahn seemed to abandon his traditional method of attack content to drain the clock and kick a field goal for a 26-16 advantage with 34 seconds remaining.

Those two series alone would have been enough to turn a 26-22 win into a more typical for 2009 37-13 type spanking.

As it turned out, the field goal on the last offensive series was needed as Tennessee covered 79 yards in the final 34 seconds to tack on a consolation touchdown on the last play of the game.

There were worse final 34 second spans on Saturday. Georgia suffered one when LSU’s Charles Scott broke loose for a game-winning score.

But the worst of all came when Ball State allowed a long game-winning pass for a score in the waning seconds against Toledo.

Auburn didn’t suffer the ignominy that either the Bulldogs or Cardinals did, but still, the ease with which the Volunteers motored down the field as time ticked down is a concern.

Auburn’s defense played relatively well most of the game. The Tigers did an excellent job of containing Tennessee’s rushing attack, holding the Vols to 163 yards on the ground, well below their season average.

Tennessee opened the game with a 41-yard rush but that first series ended with a missed field goal. Nine of the next ten Volunteer possessions finished with a punt.

The lone exception was a seven-play 70 yard touchdown march at the end of the first half.

If you’re being honest, however, you have to acknowledge that many of the punting situations were caused as much by Tennessee miscues as they were outstanding Tiger defensive efforts.

Volunteer receivers dropped pass after pass. Tennessee quarterback Jonathan Crompton threw in front of, over, behind and in front of open receivers.

Frustration was high. Just prior to the Vols late first half drive, ESPN sideline reporter Erin Andrews noted chaos on the Tennessee sideline with coaches and players having to be physically separated.

Yet Auburn could not take full advantage of the turmoil.

Tennessee players know better than to ask Crompton to pass the salt at dinner because it’s likely to be intercepted before it gets there. Crompton had at least one pick in every game dating back to his first pee-wee effort. But he didn’t have one Saturday.

Instead, Crompton had one of his best days as a Vol.

The much maligned Tennessee quarterback played like Tom Brady in the fourth quarter against Auburn after playing like Marsha Brady for most of the last two years.

Auburn took a 23-6 lead with a touchdown early in the fourth quarter and appeared to have the game well in hand.

Despite the desperation of the situation it was like the light went on for the Volunteer offense.

Tennessee churned 62 yards in seven plays, burning less than two minutes off the clock. Crompton, who’d shown all the finesse of a brick layer through three quarters caught fire. He hit four of five passes including a 31 yarder for a touchdown that trimmed Auburn’s lead to 23-13.

After a defensive stop, Crompton went back to work. He was six of 12 on a 72-yard drive that resulted in a field goal. Four of the six completions gave Tennessee a first down, including an 18-yard completion on fourth and six.

From 23-6, Tennessee closed to 23-16.

McCalebb’s return and the Byrum field goal that ended Auburn’s next possession effectively slammed the door, but in the final two drives, Crompton went from being a liability to at least window shopping the hero’s cape.

He padded his stats with 64 yards on three completions in the final 34 seconds. Of his 259 total passing yards, 181 of them came in the fourth quarter.

Part of the reason for Crompton’s success was Auburn failed to pressure him. The Tigers didn’t register a sack and Auburn defenders were credited with a mere five hurries, a number that is probably generous.

Auburn managed to survive a revitalized Crompton over the final ten minutes of the game, but his success has to buoy the confidence of the Ryan Mallets, Jevan Sneads and Greg McElroys waiting down the road.

That’s a worry for next week.

Auburn is 5-0. The Tigers will likely be ranked for the first time in a calendar year when the polls come out today. Auburn is a virtual lock for a bowl game and probably a win or two away from getting New Year’s Day consideration. The positives far outweigh the negatives.

October 31 2009. Jordan-O’Hare Stadium

Furman at Auburn Football Tickets November 7 2009 Buy Furman at Auburn Football Tickets at Jordan Hare Stadium in Auburn AL on November 7 2009

The Schedule:

Watch out. The last thing the Gene Chizik era needs is to start out with a clunker of a home loss, but that could be a problem with a tough game against a strong Louisiana Tech team to start out. After a date with Mississippi State to open up the SEC season on September 12th, the conference slate gets tough with three road games in four weeks going to Tennessee, Arkansas and LSU. While there’s a week off before playing Alabama, the second half of the schedule could be a nightmare playing at LSU, Ole Miss, at Georgia and Alabama, with a week off and a layup against Furman thrown in the mix.

FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

Sat, Sept 5 – Louisiana Tech vs Auburn
Sat, Sept 12 -Mississippi State at Auburn
Sat, Sept 19 – West Virginia at Auburn
Sat, Sept 26 – Ball State at Auburn
Sat, Oct 3 – Auburn at Tennessee
Sat, Oct 10 – Auburn at Arkansas
Sat, Oct 17 – Kentucky at Auburn
Sat, Oct 24- Auburn at LSU
Sat, Nov 7 – Furman at Auburn
Sat, Nov 14 – Auburn at Georgia
Sat, Nov 28 – Alabama at Auburn
Sat, Dec 5 – SEC Championship

BOWL GAME