James hit us with an Auburn take and he's also talking a little bit of coverage here he thinks Auburn covers the 132 against Cal easily now last year uh this game was gross okay they went to Cal Berkeley did Auburn and it was a 1410 game uh not necessarily the most visually aesthetic game you've ever seen now last week Auburn's offense looked uh much improved from that showing they had in that game they thwacked Alabama A&M 73 to3 this is going to be an interesting litmus test for us when we talk about Auburn because Cal actually returned 73% production from that Squad they played against last year uh or the squad that played Auburn last year in Berkeley Auburn fans have had a lot of y'all subscrib to the channel in the last few months we appreciate y'all for doing that but if you have not yet joined the college football s community that this show the hard count this platform the on3 YouTube channel is would encourage you to be subscribed we appreciate you in advance interesting little footnote here this is just the the wild world that college football is right now with the transfer portal Sam Jackson in this game a season ago was the quarterback for Cal was the leading passer in this game now he will be on Auburn sideline as a wide receiver got to love college football absolutely have to love college football um so here's the deal if Auburn beats Cal which is a funny statement to say Auburn covering that 13 and a half it would not be a way good for Auburn man they have arrived look at AUB I mean they are just book your Atlanta tickets right now Auburn they're a college football playoff team nobody would be saying that but I think with all that Cal returns from last year's team from a team that played Auburn to a 1410 game in a game where pton Thorne threw for 94 yards if Auburn covers by the number of points that they scored last year I think if you're an Auburn fan it would be not so much a we've arrived but I think it would be a point where you look at yourself in the mirror you say okay we're doing it it's kind of that moment whenever you're learning how to ride a bike and you fallen a few times and you're trying to figure it out and then eventually after a couple of tries you start to pedal and you start to get some momentum and you're up on yourself and you're balancing and you're like Hey we're doing it you're not a pro yet you're not you know signing up for the X Games just yet but you're looking at yourself saying okay hey we're doing this there's real progress here I think that's what Auburn would say if they win this game against C and cover that kind of spread now I do think this too I think Auburn's probably going to cover this spread personally I think the number of weapons that Auburn has too compared to last year like raldo Fairweather is phenomenal I think he's an NFL player I think he's a massive Force for Auburn in this game as well but like if he is your leading receiver on the year probably not the most uh effective way to go about offensive football now you got kre Lambert Smith who looked great against Alabama A&M alab Alabama A&M but still good to see an 11on 11 uh cam Coleman he is a freak Show true freshman expect him to have a big game in this game you just go down the line here like like Auburn overall from a roster perspective is better if they go ahead and cover that 14 against Cal you look at pton Thorne and say you threw for 94 yards in this game last year I'm expecting him to have a better stat line in this game in this situation just speaks volumes to the trend of Auburn and the progress of Auburn which really what we've said for a long time is what this year is all about just give me progress give me marketable moments that show me where Auburn is headed and the game against Cal it's not where you plant your flag and say hey come Auburn because we beat Cal no you don't say that but you do look at yourself and say this was a game that we struggled in last year copy and paste to the next season it was the second game of the hre era a year ago it's our second game of 2024 in a year's time look at where we are on the scoreboard look at what we did beat this team by four a year ago beat them by 14 the next year okay so again we're not saying that you um you know book any tickets anywhere or or start telling yourself that you're going to win the SEC but I do think that the progress you can point to in a game like this in an opponent that brings back a lot of production from last year's team that you quite frankly had a little bit of trouble with would say a lot hey y'all thanks so much for watching subscribe to the channel here to make sure you don't miss an episode of the hard count also be sure to check out other videos on the Onre YouTube channel