Taylor is still a mystery to me. We went over this at the time, but it wasn't DLine play that hurt us. It was our miserable depth at MLB. We had:
We had two MLBs: DePriest and Ragland. After that, it went downhill:
(1) I don't think Walker Jones ever played. Not even against Southeastern Northwest Michigan U.
(2) Reuben Foster who, while being a human bullet, was limited in his playing time because of his fundamental inability to grasp the need to keep his head up. He played sparingly, and mainly on special teams, for his own safety.
(3) Note that Foster is listed as the backup to both positions.
(4) Shaun Dion Hamilton, a true freshman who will end up being a good player for us but who was undersized and inexperienced. Much like Texas when McCoy went out, we failed to prepare Hamilton to play on a big stage, so when he came in to replace the injured Ragland, Elliott blew right past him for the winning TD.
We've really whiffed at MLB recruiting for several years, but hopefully we've got some good young players that are ready to step up behind Ragland. As of the A-Day game, Foster was no longer wearing that huge collar to keep him from breaking his neck, so I'm hopeful he's learned to keep his fricking head up when he hits. Hopefully, we've filled the holes at MLB, but I guess we'll see against Wiscy.
Possibly, but unlikely. SACS threatened Auburn, too, with loss of accreditation but never followed through.