In an effort to show our appreciation for supporting us the last five years, we’ve decided to start The Message Pitch Mailbag to connect with our listeners/readers.
The premise is simple: You ask, we answer. Interested? Shoot us an email at info@themessagepitch.com with the subject line “Mailbag Question.”
Here’s what you wanted to know this week:
“Bro how bad is Auburn right now? Is freeze on the hot seat?”
– Lost in Lee County
DREW: Short answer? Bad. Long answer? A little more complex than that.
Let’s be honest, that program was in shambles when Freeze got there. Bryan Harsin can troll on Twitter all he wants; the real troll job was how he fleeced the university out of millions while simultaneously sinking the football program to levels not even seen under Doug Barfield because he was so out-of-depth he couldn’t see land anymore. That said, recruiting has always been more of Freeze’s M.O. than actual playcalling. And when you don’t have the Jimmys and Joes, you need to have better X’s and O’s than everyone else, and they ain’t got that on the Plains right now.
Should Freeze be on the hot seat? Depends, I guess. But throwing your players under the bus—particularly the positions you didn’t attempt to get a portal transfer for—isn’t a good look. But he’s not going anywhere; he’s the one the powers that be wanted, and he’s going to get 3-4 years. Now, let him go 0-3 against DeBoer at Alabama—and then we may be talking. If he beats Alabama somehow this November? He’s there at least half a decade.
“Poor Vandy. They looked sooooo good against Mizzou.”
-Crash Davis
DREW: I have watched Vanderbilt football for over 20 years and am a card-carrying member of the Jefferson-Pilot Game of the Week Appreciation Club, so I knew what was coming as soon as the OPI got called. This Commodores team is scrappy, and too many times in years past the ‘Dores have lost close games because they played not to lose instead of playing to win. This team reminds me of the Bobby Johnson-era Vanderbilt squads, and that’s high praise. Johnson may be my favorite college coach of all time because he took a hapless VU program and turned it around the hard way. People like to bag on Vandy, and while I don’t agree with how their administration does everything—particularly athletics—there is something to be said for being the perennial underdog in a world of top dogs. As much as I brag on Tulane, the administration at the time bailed on the SEC in the 60s to put an emphasis on academics. Talk about rueing the day.
Vandy could’ve done the same thing, but they’ve chosen to stick it out despite long odds. And every so often, the underdog has its day. And I think the secret weapon of Diego Pavia as quarterback and Jerry Kill as offensive analyst could pay dividends this year.
I know a couple of teams that would love to have them.
“Can anything fix the Dolphins this year? Or ever?”
–Carl
DREW: Will’s under the weather this week, so I’ll do my best–but his answer would most likely be better than mine.
Certainly, the Dolphins can be fixed. What it would take, however, is another story.
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