Conditioning

[Overtheroadtruckdriver]

Was auburn in better condition on a hot humid day and is that the real reason we got steam rolled in the second half?

I'll wait to hear from those who might have attended the game who probably have a better feel for this situation.

[HogPsych]

It was hot and humid. Multiple fans passed out and being worked on by EMT's in concourse but no I'd say Auburn had more depth, as well as more talent overall. I think our conditioning was fine. I just don't think we're any better on D than we were last yr. maybe we'll improve, Gus makes a lot of people look dumb.

[Bubba's Bruisers]

It was hot and humid. Multiple fans passed out and being worked on by EMT's in concourse but no I'd say Auburn had more depth, as well as more talent overall. I think our conditioning was fine. I just don't think we're any better on D than we were last yr. maybe we'll improve, Gus makes a lot of people look dumb.

Pretty much.  The talent and depth disparity can't be overstated. 

[Overtheroadtruckdriver]

I didn't watch closely enough to notice if they substituted more liberally than we did. 

[sowmonella]

It was a depth issue more than anything.

[JansterZ71]

I was at the game.  It was pretty obvious to our section that Auburn wore out the OL and DL for Arkansas.  Auburn plays and rotates 10 DL and was rotating 8 OL.  That rotation & depth was one of the largest differences.

[Poker_hog]

It's the pb&j sandwiches.  Seriously are we the only team that does that?

[FootballFanatic89]

I was at the game.  It was pretty obvious to our section that Auburn wore out the OL and DL for Arkansas.  Auburn plays and rotates 10 DL and was rotating 8 OL.  That rotation & depth was one of the largest differences.

Mighty fine quotes you got there

[Hogarusa]

I was under the impression that the hot and muggy conditions were a serious advantage to our superior conditioning.  I read that thread somewhere

[Kenny Hawgins]

It's the pb&j sandwiches.  Seriously are we the only team that does that?

This kind of stuff gets taken out of context.  The only guys that they would have doing this are guys that need to gain weight and we certainly had a few that needed more weight.  Remember that some of our bigger guys lost weight (e.g. Tretola, B. Jackson).

[ShadowTheHedgehog]

It was a depth issue more than anything.

Depth and conditioning. When you are forced to play Freshman they will not be ready. Takes at least a whole year under Herb. Some of these youngsters were in HS last year now they are playing last years SEC champion.

Something else is that they can substitute on every play but we cant when they HUNH. They did not hurry up as much in the first half as in the second.

They will get better and will play more competitive games. Auburn was just one heck of a team to start the season with.

With all that said we were also outcoached a bit in the second half.

[JansterZ71]

This kind of stuff gets taken out of context.  The only guys that they would have doing this are guys that need to gain weight and we certainly had a few that needed more weight.  Remember that some of our bigger guys lost weight (e.g. Tretola, B. Jackson).

I think he is referring to the PB&J sandwiches being handed out during halftime and the storm break?

[ShadowTheHedgehog]

I was under the impression that the hot and muggy conditions were a serious advantage to our superior conditioning.  I read that thread somewhere

Auburn has a bunch of (also well-conditioned) 4 and 5 star players. Our starters are well-conditioned and did good until they got tired. We just need more depth.

[Kenny Hawgins]

I think he is referring to the PB&J sandwiches being handed out during halftime and the storm break?

Oh I missed that.  Better than nothing but if that's the case, it isn't optimum nutrition.

As for the OP, we just need more depth.  Recruiting...

[ShadowTheHedgehog]

Did you watch the game?

First, if one team subs the other team can sub.

Second, they slowed waaaay down on the 4th quarter.

They dictate when we sub. can go 4-5 plays with the same players then sub and get 11 new that are also pretty good, we sub and the quality falls drastically. They go 4-5 plays against our second/thirds and they can just gash us.

By the 4th the game was over it didn't matter . The game was lost in the third.

[ShadowTheHedgehog]

I think he is referring to the PB&J sandwiches being handed out during halftime and the storm break?

Booger was saying that he would eat a P&J while waiting for the game to restart. I don't think it is the nutrition or conditioning its just the fact that we don't have the same depth of high caliber players. Kind of like the Boise St and Ole Miss game, they did good for a half and then the depth showed.

[Overtheroadtruckdriver]

Nobody will give me a straight answer on the jelly sandwiches.  Supposedly we are them at half time last year.  I don't know if we are this year.  We certainly played like a team that had kindergarten snack time at half time and needed to lay down for a nap in the 3rd quarter.

I wish someone would let us know if they're still doing that.  Seems as relevant as anything else.

[Mike Irwin]

I lived in SE Alabama while in the military. Since Arkansas joined the SEC I've also traveled to Birmingham many times in the middle of the summer to attend SEC Media Days.

It's not the heat that's the problem there. It's the humidity.

There are days when it's not that much different from Fayetteville. There are also days like Saturday that you cannot simulate in Fayetteville.

It rained a couple of hours before kickoff. Just enough to get it nice and steamy on the field where there was no wind to cool the skin.

Photographers were coming up to the press box before the kickoff drenched in sweat just wanting to get inside. They were miserable.

On the photo deck where there was a breeze it wasn't that bad.

One thing I remember from my days at Ft. Rucker, on those summer afternoons when the humidity was up my arms and legs would turn to jello within an hour or so and I was in good shape back then.

Short answer, yes I think the humidity got to Arkansas players. It looked like it started to hit them around the end of the second quarter.

So why didn't it affect Auburn as much? They live there.  Fayetteville Hot and humid and Auburn hot and humid are two different things.

Were there other factors in the game? Absolutely.

Arkansas still can't defend a team like Auburn. They will need a better passing game to make their running game work against quality SEC defenses.

Still, the humidity was a factor.

It will be hot and dry in Lubbock.

[Bebop]

If conditioning is the problem, then the team needs to come to south Arkansas to practice. We get the "best" of both humidity and heat. I remember about 5 years ago when we lived in Texarkana that it was 110-115 outside. Add that with the humidity getting close to 100% on some days and you got a great combination for conditioning.

[three hog night]

I was at the game.  It was pretty obvious to our section that Auburn wore out the OL and DL for Arkansas.  Auburn plays and rotates 10 DL and was rotating 8 OL.  That rotation & depth was one of the largest differences.

Bingo

[Mike Irwin]

If conditioning is the problem, then the team needs to come to south Arkansas to practice. We get the "best" of both humidity and heat. I remember about 5 years ago when we lived in Texarkana that it was 110-115 outside. Add that with the humidity getting close to 100% on some days and you got a great combination for conditioning.

Wind is a key factor. When you start sweating and that sweat just sits there sticking to the skin that's when the problems start.

At Ft. Rucker they'd get us outside and you could see the steam coming off the ground. If there was no wind we knew we were in for it. I've seen guys whose legs finally just stopped working. They could no longer stand up.

That's scary stuff.

[Bucksnort]

I was at the game.  It was pretty obvious to our section that Auburn wore out the OL and DL for Arkansas.  Auburn plays and rotates 10 DL and was rotating 8 OL.  That rotation & depth was one of the largest differences.

Exactly. As well as not being in condition for that caliber of SEC play.

[OneTuskOverTheLine™]

If conditioning is the problem, then the team needs to come to south Arkansas to practice. We get the "best" of both humidity and heat. I remember about 5 years ago when we lived in Texarkana that it was 110-115 outside. Add that with the humidity getting close to 100% on some days and you got a great combination for conditioning.

texarkana is close, but Lake Chicot is better...

[Poker_hog]

I think he is referring to the PB&J sandwiches being handed out during halftime and the storm break?

Yeah my point is if you're the only team doing something, your either smarter than everyone else or dumber.  Gotta believe if this helped every team in the nfl would do it.

[Overtheroadtruckdriver]

Yeah my point is if you're the only team doing something, your either smarter than everyone else or dumber.  Gotta believe if this helped every team in the nfl would do it.

Are we still eating them or not?  This mystery has yet to be solved.

[Overtheroadtruckdriver]

I guess the mystery will not be solved this week and perhaps any other.

Anyway...if we're already not in the same condition as teams that have more heat or humidity and we load our bellies full at halftime we're probably going to have a tough time of it over the next four or five weeks until it really cools off.