Let us marvel at this play. Memphis made a big mistake, compounded it with another mistake and then Auburn failed to capitalize on it. It was a beautiful maelstrom of failure that properly summarizes a noon kickoff between two teams that seem uninterested in playing the Birmingham Bowl.
Memphis had 12 men on the field and Auburn still got wide open, but missed the throw
This play from the Birmingham Bowl is a catastrophe, for all parties involved.
The first error Memphis made is a pretty common one. It lined up with 12 men defensively.
That’s a penalty. But in spite of having more men than are legally allowed on an American football field, they completely failed to guard one of Auburn’s four wide receivers.
Auburn is already guaranteed a free play thanks to the 12 men penalty. All Auburn quarterback Shaun White has to do to turn this from an automatic gain of 5 yards into a game-changing play is hit Marcus Davis, who is completely unguarded and can run for days.
But White’s not having the best day. He’s 8-of-14 with no touchdowns and two interceptions, and Auburn can’t decide whether to stick with him or backup Jeremy Johnson. Confronted with his easiest throw of the day, a chance to get back in rhythm and get going, he leads Davis a bit too far.
Auburn hasn’t tried throwing the ball since, although it’s piled on a few touchdowns on the ground to turn a 10-10 game into a 31-10 blowout.
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