The FAA ground stop was a defeat for many weary travelers on Friday night. For the Auburn Tigers, being forced off their flight from Columbus, Georgia, to Tupelo, Mississippi, which caused the team to get to spend more time on the bus together, it was a chemistry win.
Auburn quarterback Byrum Brown explained how the team used the experience of bussing several hours to Starkville to help set the stage for a 41-9 win over Mississippi State on Saturday.
"We all just went to the gas station, grabbed some snacks, hopped on the bus, chopped it up. We were chopping it up the whole time, just enjoying each other's company and connecting," Brown said postgame.
Alex Golesh shared a similar sentiment about the bus trip for his program. To Golesh, the players turned a negative into a positive. That was evident at Davis Wade Stadium in Week 11, when the start time was delayed by four hours and 15 minutes.
“It was more team bonding on the buses. The challenge is next play. It is what it is. The guys have handled it well," Golesh said. “Kids are resilient. We as adults make something bigger. The guys have been great.”
The Auburn football team is showing unity at the right time
The Tigers are peaking at the right time, from an execution and chemistry standpoint. With an Iron Bowl tune-up game against Samford as the last remaining obstacle before taking on the Crimson Tide, Auburn is seeing the kind of developments that can set up an upset of Alabama.
Having handled Arkansas and Mississippi State, the Tigers solidified their standing in the middle tier of the conference. Losses to Tennessee, LSU, Ole Miss, and Florida all look reasonable at this point in the season.
Whether AU ends up at 7-5 or sweeps both rivals and ends up 8-4 and possibly ranked by the CFP selection committee, this has been a smashing success of a season.
You love to hear about the chemistry, though you lament the pieces that are leaving, like Brown. Still, we didn't see these kinds of positive steps at the end of year one under either of the last two head coaches.
The leap forward has been dramatic in the best way. That bus ride in the face of a nationwide FAA ground stop is proof of that concept, believe it or not.
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