Blake Hopes for Big Day Against Georgia

More than once this year I've wondered what Auburn's offense may have been like if Darvin Adams hadn't made the serious mistake of declaring early for the NFL draft. Cam Newton and Nick Fairley were a foregone conclusion. Adams' move was reminiscent of Ronney Daniels back in 2000. It was plain dumb.

Adams mistake was junior wide receiver Emory Blake's (Jr. WR) opportunity. With three games remaining, Blake has yet to live up to the production of Adams a year ago, but he knows legends are made in November. A big day tomorrow at Georgia will go a long way toward turning around his season.

"November is a football month, especially when you come to two rival games (Georgia and Alabama) like that. That's when a lot of memories are made," Blake said.

After starting six games last year and leading the team in touchdown catches, Blake figured to be the go to person in offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn's offense this season. That was the case through the first four games, then Blake suffered a high ankle injury against South Carolina on October 1^st. He's struggled to get on the field ever since.

"It has been very tough (not playing), especially when you know you can have an impact on the game and change the game for the better," Blake said. "It's been very tough for me to sit there and watch."

For the season, Blake has 24 catches for 404 yards and five touchdowns.

Two weeks ago against Ole Miss, Blake finally got back in the groove with a team-high five receptions for 71 yards and a touchdown. The game put him over the 1,000 yard mark in career receptions.

 Auburn coach Gene Chizik knows Blake and fellow receiver Trovon Reed must be ready for his team to have a chance.

"It's big for us, there's no question about it," said Chizik. "Whether they're at 85 percent or 100 percent, just having them on the field is really big for us in terms of what we call, how we call it.

"Having Emory back the other night versus Ole Miss, it was obvious in some third-down situations, him making some big catches and things of that nature that were all at the right time, makes a difference for your whole football team."

The stats tell the story. When Blake is healthy, Auburn usually wins. When paired up with tight-end Phillip Lutzenkirchen, they are nearly unstoppable. Auburn is 19-2 when either Blake or Lutzenkirchen catches a touchdown pass. They are 6-0 when both catch a touchdown.

Blake expects to be close to 100 percent ready tomorrow. Despite being 13-point underdogs, you have to like Auburn's chances should he get back to early season form. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. CT on Saturday. The game will be carried nationally by CBS Sports.

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