LSU's defense will be a tough early test for Auburn.

By Acid Reign
Paraswarm@aol.com

On September 20th, at 7:00 PM, a major war will take place in Jordan-Hare Stadium. Auburn and LSU will fight it out, and the winner will have the inside track towards the Western Division title. The game has been picked up by ESPN HD, and will be on national television. The late kickoff should allow plenty of time for fans to get revved up, and the house should be rocking!

LSU returns to the Plains as the defending national champion, but it will be a team minus 10 senior starters from a year ago, seven of which were selected in the recent NFL draft. Previously, LSU will have played Appalachian State, Troy, and North Texas. Barring a year-ago-Michigan-level upset, LSU should be undefeated, and ranked in the top 5. Auburn likely also will be undefeated. This tilt will be LSU's first road game of the year, and their SEC opener.

As with Auburn's first three opponents, LSU had to replace a coordinator, this season. Bo Pellini departed to Nebraska, so a new defensive boss had to be found. Head coach Les Miles promoted from within, naming Doug Mallory and Bradley Dale Peveto as co-coordinators. Mallory came over with Miles from Oklahoma State, coaching the defensive backs. Mallory's secondaries have led the SEC in pass efficiency defense all three years he has been at LSU. Last season, led by safety Craig Steltz, LSU picked off 21 passes. Peveto is also in his third season with LSU, coaching linebackers, and serving as special teams coordinator. Peveto previously served as defensive coordinator at Middle Tennessee State. Last season, Peveto coached an All-American linebacker, Ali Highsmith, an All-SEC linebacker, Darry Beckwith, and two All-SEC kickers, punter Patrick Fisher, and kicker Colt David.

No question looms larger for LSU than the quarterback position. With the dismissal of the talented, mercurial Ryan Perrilloux, the candidates to replace him are redshirt freshman Jarrett Lee, and Harvard transfer, junior Andrew Hatch. Hatch appears to be slightly ahead in the race. LSU replaces 3 offensive line starters, but they are LOADED at the skill positions, including veteran pass-catchers Brandon LaFell, and Demetrious Byrd. LSU has a stable of dangerous running backs by committee, including Richard Murphy, Keiland Williams, Trindan Holiday, and Charles Scott.

The defense must replace six starters. The line should be very strong, even without Glenn Dorsey. Darry Beckwith returns at middle linebacker, to anchor a fast, athletic group. LSU has four solid safeties to step into the void left by Craig Steltz, but thus far, the new corners have been disappointing. If there is a weak spot on the LSU defense, it is at corner. Colt David, the All-SEC kicker returns, but LSU must find a punter, and a reliable punt returner. Kickoffs against LSU are always an adventure, with the ever-dangerous Trindon Holliday returning kicks.

Matchups

Auburn defensive line vs. LSU offensive line: Auburn fields a talented, dangerous front. LSU will be bringing 3 linemen getting their first road start, but they'll be led by talented veteran senior center, Brett Helms, who'll be in his third year as a starter. 5th year senior left guard Herman Johnson returns, as well, and he is a LOAD, at 351 pounds. We'll have a lot of trouble matching up with him. Look for LSU to try lots of weakside runs, with Johnson paving the way. Auburn counters with speedy defensive ends, against young LSU tackles. Advantage: Even.

Auburn linebackers vs. LSU runners: Last year, LSU bashed out 169 yards against the Tigers. Auburn will be deeper and stronger, this year, and LSU loses Jacob Hester to graduation. The second-leading rusher was Matt Flynn, who is also gone. LSU backs frequently gashed through arm tackles in the game, and who can forget Keiland Williams setting sail on a 46-yard screen-pass touchdown late in the 1st quarter. LSU likely will run a lot, this year. Auburn's ability to fly to the ball, and get runners on the ground, will be key to getting young LSU Qbs in some bad situations. Advantage: Even, in a strength against strength matchup.

Auburn corners vs. LSU receivers: LSU returns a couple of dangerous veterans in Demetrious Byrd and Brandon LaFell. The question will be whether a young QB can get the ball to them reliably. Jerraud Powers should be fine against one of them, but I worry about the other side. Gary Crowton may deviate from his usual screen-happy attack, in favor of testing new Auburn corners Aaron Savage and Walt McFadden over the top. Luckily, Auburn's closing speed at safety is as good as it has been in years, and new defensive coordinator Paul Rhodes tends to favor more cover-two packages, than the previous two coordinators did. Auburn cannot afford to give up big plays on the perimeter. Advantage: LSU

Auburn safeties vs. LSU secondary receivers and quarterback: Both teams will be young, in this matchup. Zach Etheridge and Michael McNeil have the talent, and both got their feet wet last season. Etheridge was an All-SEC freshman team selection. LSU fullbacks are primarily blockers, but LSU's tight ends are a threat. Richard Dickson get the starting nod at tight end. He was all-SEC as a freshman, in 2006, and was on some freshman All-American teams. At quarterback LSU will have no game experience returning. Junior transfer, from Harvard, Andrew Hatch is listed as the starter, but Les Miles plans to use a two-quarterback system, this fall. The other quarterback is redshirt freshman Jarrett Lee. Hatch is more of a pocket-passer, while Lee has good speed on the edge. Advantage: even.

Punting: Auburn will be solid with any of three different punters, and good coverage. LSU counters with sophomore returner Chad Jones. Jones dropped several punts last season, and made some bad fielding decisions. He averaged 6.6 yards per return, with a long return of 16 yards. LSU is hoping that Jones matures greatly, this season. LSU loses All-SEC punter Patrick Fisher. Neither of the possible replacement candidates punted well in LSU's spring game. LSU opponents averaged 9.5 yards per return, whereas Auburn gave up only 6.5. Advantage: Auburn

Kickoffs: Auburn will be looking to improve on a poor season, in this area. The health of Wes Byrum will be key. LSU did not fare terribly well in the kickoff department last season, either. LSU tried five different kickers, and none could average more than 60 yards. Auburn averaged 57yards. LSU gave up 20.2 yards per return to Auburn's 21.2. Trindan Holiday gives LSU a dangerous return man, Auburn counters with Tristan Davis. Advantage: Even.

Placekicking: Wes Byrum was consistent for Auburn, hitting 17 of 23 attempts, and made all of his pressure kicks. Colt David was the All-SEC kicker selection, hitting 26 of 33 attempts. David had no misses inside 30 yards, and hit all of his extra points. Advantage: Even.

Auburn offensive line vs. LSU defensive line: Auburn returns every starter from the LSU contest a year ago, when the line showed that it could match up with LSU. They created running creases, and provided protection for Brandon Cox. As inconsistent as Auburn's offense was in 2007, it put up 24 points on the national champions, and it started on the line. LSU returns an abundance of talent, though, and should put up a heck of a fight. Senior end Tyson Jackson is a monster pass-rusher that is awfully tough to block. He has Stanley-McGlover-level speed, but weights almost 300 pounds. Slight advantage: LSU.

Auburn backs vs. LSU linebackers: For Auburn last year, the Lester-Tate-led rushing attack only managed 97 yards on the ground. LSU loses All-American linebacker Ali Highsmith, while Auburn's rushers are a year stronger. Still, it is hard to imagine a spread-offense having huge success running at LSU. Auburn's backs won't be measured by gobs of rushing yardage, but by how well they pick up blitzes, and how they run with screen passes. LSU returns All-SEC middle linebacker Darry Beckwith, while no Auburn back last year even got a sniff of post-season honors. Advantage: LSU.

Auburn receivers vs. LSU corners: After two years of questionable play out of this unit, Auburn's outside guys should be back to typical speed and talent. In addition to stalwarts Rod Smith and Montez Billings, a pair of big-play guys stepped up this spring, in James Swinton and Chris Slaughter. LSU had problems covering their starting receivers, in their spring game, with two new starting corners. Chris Hawkins and Jai Eugene have speed, but both are under six feet, and are not considered physical. A key will be how well Auburn can block these guys on the slip-screen. Advantage: Auburn.

Auburn secondary receivers and quarterback vs. LSU safeties: Curtis Taylor returns at strong safety for LSU, and he's a bruising, ball-hawking specimen in the mold of Ronnie Lott. LSU breaks in a new free safety to replace departed All-American Chris Steltz. Harry Coleman starts there, and he's still adjusting a bit. He was a special-teams stalwart in the past, and is a good tackler. Auburn's secondary receivers, Robert Dunn and Tommy Trott should be able to get some mismatches in this area. Auburn will play a pair of young quarterbacks in their first big game, Kodi Burns and Chris Todd. It's worth noting that in both of LSU's overtime losses last season, they gave up a lot of points, facing spread-out offenses that got the ball out to slot receivers, tight ends, and backs. Advantage: Even.

Tallying up the matchups, it appears that LSU has a slight advantage, on paper. Fortunately, this game will be played on an actual football field with 87,000 raucous fans. LSU will be at a decided disadvantage with young players on the road. In addition, Auburn's offensive scheme is one that should be able to take advantage of some of LSU's few defensive weaknesses, IF Auburn's quarterbacks get time to throw and/or run. LSU faced a version of the spread last season, against Florida, Kentucky, Alabama, and Arkansas (Darren McFadden played a LOT of Wildcat/shotgun quarterback in that game). In those four games, LSU gave up 161 points. And this year, they're minus 3 All Americans from that defense. In addition, one can expect mistakes from new quarterbacks, on the road, against a fast front seven like Auburn has.

Prediction: LSU makes too many mistakes to win their first road game, and Auburn romps to a shocking 34-13 victory!

Alabama will never forget last year's ULM game - Neither will we.

By Acid Reign
paraswarm@aol.com

This is the first installment, in a series of previews of Auburn opponents in 2008. Today we look at Louisiana-Monroe...

The fun begins at last, on August 30th, against Louisiana Monroe, at Jordan Hare Stadium. As any Alabama fan could tell us, this is a team that definitely should not be overlooked.

When we last played Monroe, coach Charlie Weatherbie had just taken over the moribund squad, and we hung 73 points on them in a homecoming laugher. Louisiana Monroe would give up 467 points that year, an average of almost 39 points per game. That 1-11 squad is no more. The Warhawks have improved quite a bit under Coach Weatherbie.

.....Charlie Weatherbie is now in his 6th season with Louisiana Monroe, and the Warhawks have risen to the upper echelon of the Sun Belt Conference. Weatherbie is a veteran, hard-nosed coach, with previous head coaching stints at Utah State, and Navy.

Coach Weatherbie has emphasized defense, and the running game. The Warhawks finished second in points allowed, 332 for the season, in the Sun Belt Conference, last year. That trailed only Troy. ULM had a penchant for creating turnovers, as witnessed against Alabama last season.

On offense, ULM ran the ball 46 times per game, and threw it 28 per game. They had the leading rushing attack in the Sun Belt, averaging 209 yards per game, and 4.5 yards per carry. Overall, the Warhawks averaged 384 yards per game.

.....Charlie Weatherbie faces personnel challenges this year, having had to replace 4 departed assistant coaches, as well as a number of key players. Steve Farmer will take over coordinating the offense, moving up from the offensive line.

The line that paved the way for the best rushing attack in the Sun Belt, loses three starters, as well as the team's top rusher, to graduation. Sophomore Frank Goodin should be a capable replacement in the backfield. He rushed for 596 yards as a freshman, averaging 5.1 yards per carry.

The starting defensive front seven will be solid, if unspectacular. There is almost no depth behind them.

.....All of ULM's starting receivers return, and they'll be bolstered by the return of speedster J. J. McCoy, who was out last season with an achilles injury. ULM also has a veteran senior quarterback, Kinsmon Lancaster.

Lancaster will be going into his third season as a starter. Last season, he completed 59% of his passes, for a respectable 6.3 yards per attempt. He threw 13 touchdown passes, against 10 interceptions. Lancaster was only sacked 14 times all season.

Match Ups...

Auburn defensive line vs. ULM offensive line: This should be a clear win for the Tigers. I don't envy the rookie ULM linemen getting their first action against SenDerrick Marks, Antonio Coleman, and Antoine Carter!

Auburn linebackers vs. ULM backs: Again, this will be advantage, Auburn. We are quite deep, and fast. This linebacker corps is very experienced in shutting down good backs. See Dmac, Tebow, Green-Ellis, etc., from last season.

If the D-line is causing havoc, as I think they will, the linebacker should feast on backs in the backfield.

Auburn corners vs. ULM receivers: Jerraud Powers should be able to take one guy away from the ULM arsenal, but the other matchups concern me. Aaron Savage and Walt McFadden have very little experience against major college receivers, and they'll be facing a fairly deep, veteran group. Advantage: ULM.

Auburn safeties vs. ULM quarterback and secondary receivers: We are starting two second-year players here, and they face a veteran QB and receiving corps. I liked the cover-two deep work our guys did during A-Day, but I was not impressed with their ability to stay with speedy receivers man-to-man. Our zone was very vulnerable underneath. Advantage: ULM.

Punting: Auburn's Ryan Shoemaker enjoyed an excellent rookie season, and punt coverage was generally very good. ULM returns a consistent punter, Scott Love, who averaged 42 yards per punt, and most impressively, had 23 punts downed inside the 20, against only 6 touchbacks.

ULM opponents averaged only 6.1 yards per return, and don't forget that they were the team that sent Javier Arenas to the shop... Slight advantage: ULM

Kickoffs: Auburn was abysmal early last year, with short kicks and poor coverage. This improved dramatically towards the end of the season.

ULM averaged kicking the ball to the 8, and gave up 23 yards per return. That's pretty good for ULM, but they have to find a new kicker this year. Advantage: Auburn, on experience.

Kick Returns: Frank Goodin averaged 22 yards per game last year as ULM's primary kick returner. Auburn wasn't terribly special here, last year, either. But, with the return of Tristan Davis, as well as Mario Fannin and Brad Lester, Auburn has a chance to be really good, if we can block! Advantage: Auburn.

Place Kicking: Wes Byrum proved that he can make the clutch kicks, last season, and he has a great leg. ULM has only one kicker (with no experience) on their website roster, redshirt freshman Radi Jabour. Huge advantage, Auburn.

Auburn offensive line vs. ULM defensive line: Auburn has a veteran, nasty bunch, as well as great depth. ULM's starting guys are capable, but not noted for speed.

They posted 20 sacks last season. There is no depth for ULM. The no-huddle offense should take a serious toll, in the August heat. Big advantage: Auburn.

Auburn backs against ULM linebackers: ULM gave up 153 yards per game on the ground, last year, and they have depth issues. Auburn sports a plethora of talented backs that bring different styles to the table. Auburn should romp.

Auburn receivers vs. ULM corners: Auburn's receivers improved dramatically this spring. ULM replaces both starting corners. Big Advantage, Auburn.

Auburn Quarterback/secondary receivers vs. ULM Safeties: Auburn still has a bit of a quarterback controversy, it seems. ULM returns a speedy, veteran safety, Greg James.

James had 5 picks last season, and a lot of passes defended. We won't be able to abuse him like we did against our own safeties during A-Day. Jerred Berry is solid, at the other safety, as well. Advantage: ULM.

.....On paper, the Tigers should win big. ULM will hang tough for a while, and they'll have some success on offense, if they manage to throw it around early. ULM may look better than expected, on defense, too.

I doubt Tony Franklin will show too much of the new offense. We'll likely just pound the ball, and try to wear the thin ULM front seven out. The only way this game will be close is if ULM totally stones our running game, creates turnovers, and gets a quick-passing game going on.

Likely, Auburn will be way too much, even with most of our best schemes kept under wraps. Under Coach Weatherbie, ULM has usually been a slow-starting team, not playing its best football till November.

.....Prediction: Auburn prevails, in a ho-hum, 38-13 victory.

By Jay Coulter
jccoulter@gmail.com

Today’s Nostalgia Friday looks at the 1987 Auburn-Georgia Tech game which produced one of the most famous Auburn calls of all time. Jim Fyffe’s "Tillman! Tillman! Tillman! at the baseline of the end zone...." can still be heard around Auburn tailgates today.

Auburn was trailing Tech with about 24 ticks on the clock when quarterback Jeff Burger found Lawyer Tillman in the back of the end zone. Future NFL number one overall pick Aundray Bruce picked off two passes that day in leading fifth-ranked Auburn to a 20-10 win at Grant Field.

By Jay Coulter
jccoulter@gmail.com

The defensive coordinator watch continues at Auburn with no end in sight. Many in the press have speculated that Tommy Tuberville will have a coordinator in place by the end of the day.

If outward appearances count for anything, then it’s not likely. Tuberville spent Tuesday in the Memphis area recruiting. With another big recruiting weekend looming, it’s hard to imagine this dragging on too much longer.

Who said Auburn couldn’t keep a secret? I’ve never seen Tuberville this tightlipped. Many are speculating that he could come from the NFL.

There’s something refreshing about a coaching search (at any level) being played out in private. If you have a guess as to who it will be, I’d love for you to share it with us.

Don’t be surprised if the new coordinator is not a household name. Tuberville is much more concerned with continuity and how the person fits in with the existing staff. Judging from the past, I trust Tuberville completely.

A lot of people on the internet are saying Auburn didn’t have a good recruiting weekend this past week.  Don’t be fooled. Auburn coaches are known to ask some commitments to hold public comment until closer to signing day.

There’s so much pressure from boosters at other schools that Auburn coaches often try to protect the players by asking them to hold off on publicly committing.  

Don’t be surprised to see Auburn flip a few prospects already committed to "that school up the road."  That line was for you Dennis Franchione.

Auburn has finally set its Spring Practice schedule. It’s not your traditional Spring schedule. The Tigers are tentatively scheduled to begin on February 28th.  

They will take a week-long break in mid-March for Spring Break and reconvene for a final week of practice that will lead up to A-Day on March 29th at 1:00 p.m. CT.

Auburn travels to Baton Rouge tonight to take on LSU in men’s basketball. Don’t worry. I won’t have the open thread up.

Wouldn’t you love to be competitive in men’s basketball again?

I really have mixed feelings on Jeff Lebo.  His team plays as hard any in the conference. Watching Saturday’s loss in Gainesville, you had to be impressed with the effort Auburn gave.

At the same time, you wonder whether Lebo just has incredibly bad luck or is it something else. Recruiting players to Auburn has to be incredibly difficult. The facilities continue to look like something straight out of Hoosiers. The new arena can’t come fast enough.

By Jay Coulter
jccoulter@gmail.com

I don’t know about you, but I was a bit underwhelmed by this year’s bowl games. I’ve been that way since this BCS madness started eight years ago.

I won’t confess to watching every bowl game, but I did watch my share. The Chick-Fil-A Bowl matching Auburn and Clemson was without question the best contest of the bowl season.

Television ratings back up this claim.

In addition to being the third highest attended bowl game of the year, the Chick-Fil-A Bowl had the highest rating of any ESPN televised bowl this season. It was the most watched game in the bowl’s history, pulling a rating of 5.09 or nearly five million people.

The Atlanta-based bowl is one of the best run, most entertaining games of the year. I hope that down the road the SEC moves the game up on its priority list. Outside of New Orleans and Orlando, there’s no better SEC bowl tie-in than the Chick-Fil-A.

This leads to my next point...

You’ve undoubtedly read about Georgia president Michael Adams recent eight-team bowl playoff proposal. This is not the first time a president of a university has called for a playoff after his school felt snubbed by the BCS system.

Adams has been getting slammed nationally for his stance on the subject after refusing to join Florida president Bernie Machen in his proposal for a playoff last year.

It’s real easy to dismiss Adams as just another president who’s making some noise because his school feels slighted. But this time may be different. I’m not suggesting that Adams will push through an eight-team playoff.  The odds of that happening are slim and none.

However, Adams carries weight within the NCAA system.  He serves as chairman of the executive committee of the NCAA. When he talks, people listen. There’s more support among college presidents than the institution would have you believe.

Listening to 60/20 Sports with James Carville and Luke Russert on XM Radio this week, Adams laid out a very strong case for a full-blown playoff. He was articulate and handled every objection with ease.

I’ve always been in favor of an eight-team playoff. Forget the Plus One proposal. That gets you little more than you have now. The bowl games this season were sleepers. I can count on three fingers the number of entertaining games played.

The matchups were terrible.  If I have to watch one more SEC/Big 10 matchup, I’m going to take up shopping on QVC.

Do you remember when New Year’s Day bowls meant something? Why do Fox Network and the BCS torture us with nightly bowl games that mean zero?

The national media likes to point the fingers at the school presidents. They are partly right. But to be more specific you need to point the finger at the presidents of the Big 10 and Pac 10. These are the two conferences that are holding up a national playoff.

Coincidentally, they are also the only two major conferences without conference championship games.

Tom Hansen, the president of the Pac 10 has been most vocal about not having a playoff. He said last summer that the Pac 10 would walk away from the NCAA if it instituted even a plus-one format.

The reason is simple. Outside of USC, the Pac 10 is a sham. The same goes for the Big 10 – see this year’s BCS Championship Game.

It’s time for the SEC’s presidents to step in and support this latest proposal – including Auburn’s Jay Gogue who has so far stayed quiet on the subject.

Schools around the country need to call the Big 10 and Pac 10’s bluff. Do you honestly believe these two conferences would walk away if pushed? If they don’t want to play, then fine. They can form a 21 team league and see how many fans they draw.

There are still many that love the bowl system. No problem.  Incorporate it into the new playoff system. It’s time for the most exciting sport in the country to have an ending that everyone can be proud of – and live with.

By Jay Coulter
jccoulter@gmail.com

I hope all of you had a great New Year's Eve. And why wouldn't you? Auburn's victory over Clemson last night was a huge program builder heading into next season.

I'm just getting back in town from the game.  The Auburn crowd was tremendous. The Clemson fans were very confident prior to the game. I've never seen a group of fans anymore down than Clemson's following the loss. They took it hard.

I still can't believe Auburn scrapped its offense and installed a new one in three weeks - and managed to win against a talented Clemson defensive team. Unbelievable.

I'll have more on Auburn's 23-20 victory over Clemson tomorrow.

I hope everyone is enjoying the day and watching plenty of football. I'll be pulling for the SEC the rest of the way - maybe even slightly pulling for Georgia. At this point, the conference is still undefeated.

Enjoy the games.

Auburn Tigers	Clemson Tigers
8-4	9-3

By Jay Coulter
jccoulter@gmail.com

When the Tigers from the SEC and ACC square off tonight, there will be plenty of storylines. For a non-New Year’s Day bowl, there has been plenty to read and talk about this week.

Not since 2004 have I seen Auburn fans this excited about a post-season game. And they have good reason. What kind of offense Auburn runs tonight is still a mystery.

Will Auburn really go primarily from the spread offense? Is all the talk of a new offense being used to throw Clemson off its game preparation? Can new offensive coordinator Tony Franklin really install an offense in three weeks and be successful?

The answer probably lies somewhere in the middle.

Auburn beat reporters are convinced the Tigers will go most of the game from the spread. I’m not so sure. How does the old saying go – Dance with who brung you? Is it smart to install a new system 13 games into the season?

Many of you will probably say Auburn has nothing to lose. It’s a good point. But the Tigers are playing for something. A win probably guarantees a top 20 finish. A loss means finishing outside the top 25. There is plenty of incentive to try and win.

My guess is there will be plenty of wrinkles on offense, but it will be combined with a steady dose of Brad Lester, Ben Tate and Mario Fannin carrying the ball.

Clemson is no slouch. They are talented on both sides of the ball and Auburn will need a Florida/LSU type game performance to win.

Looking on the other side of the ball, Auburn’s defenders will be tested early and often. Clemson quarterback Cullen Parker is as talented as anyone Auburn has faced – with the exception of Tim Tebow. He’s among the best in the country in passing efficiency and when he gets in a rhythm, he’s hard to stop.

What makes Clemson more dangerous is they have a talented back in James Davis that pound out the yards when needed. Tommy Bowden’s bunch has the capability to keep defenses off balance.

Who’s likely to win tonight? That’s anyone’s guess. But one thing is for certain – this contest is unlike any bowl game Auburn’s played in during the last 20 years. After 12 games there are still more questions than answers about this Auburn club.

I’m heading off to Atlanta and the game in a few minutes. We’ll have the open thread up all day. When you have time, check in with us and leave a comment on the game. As always, we’d love to hear what you are thinking.

Enjoy the game. War Eagle!

By Jay Coulter
jccoulter@gmail.com

It’s hard to believe that today marks our final Friday Football Primer of the 2007 season. College football season goes by too fast.

Auburn practiced for a little more than two hours yesterday at the practice fields on the campus of Georgia Tech. The talk continues to center around the implementation of the new spread offense.

One thing is for certain: the wide receivers are ecstatic. Count junior Rod Smith in that group. "You can go out there and play football," Smith said. "That's the good thing about Tony Franklin. He tells you just to go out there and make plays.

"I was definitely surprised how we picked up the offense," Smith said. "It's not complicated like the West Coast offense is. You just have to learn the signals. You do that and you'll be all right.

"You don't have to really worry about blocking in the spread offense. That's the good thing about it. Blocking is still part of the gameplan, but you definitely love it when you can go out there and run a lot of routes and just have fun out there."

Here’s a little game knowledge to get you ready for Monday night:

When Auburn takes the field against Clemson it will mark the eighth consecutive bowl game and 34th overall for the Tigers. This streak of bowl appearances is the second longest in school history. Auburn had a streak of nine straight bowl appearances from 1982-1990...

This will be Auburn’s fourth appearance in the Atlanta-based bowl game. In 2001, the Tigers were beaten 16-10 by North Carolina. The last win in the game was against Clemson in 1998 when Auburn defeated the other Tigers 21-17...

Auburn’s senior class has a chance to become the winningest in school history with a victory over Clemson. A win would be the group’s 42nd victory in the last four years...

Auburn’s record of 41-9 over the last four years ranks it sixth nationally in victories. It’s still amazing how some take Auburn’s success for granted. These are indeed special times...

Auburn leads the SEC in scoring defense (16.7, sixth nationally) and is second in total defense (298.3, eighth nationally)...

Defensive end Antonio Coleman is tied for 17th nationally with 17 tackles for losses, which is the most of any Auburn player since 1995. He also leads the team in sacks with seven. The fact that Coleman didn’t make one all conference team is a crime. Show me a better defensive end in the conference. ..

Look for Auburn to start fast. The Tigers have scored on their opening drive in six of the last eight games, averaging 11.3 plays and 70.8 yards on those scoring drives...

Auburn has played 11 games in domes throughout its history. The Tigers are 4-6-1 playing with a roof over its head and 3-3-1 in bowl games. Auburn sports a 2-3 record in games played at the Georgia Dome...

A little bit about Clemson...

Clemson finished tied for second in the Atlantic Division of the ACC, finishing with a 5-3 conference mark, one game behind Boston College...

Clemson will be making its 30th bowl appearance and its third straight...

Nine of Clemson’s 12 games were decided by double digits...

Most of the attention around Clemson focuses on offense, but their defense is equally potent. The other Tigers rank sixth nationally in total defense and tenth in scoring defense. The storyline of this game should be how Auburn’s offense contends with this stellar Clemson unit...

Clemson led the ACC in scoring offense this season and ranks 23rd nationally...

Clemson back James Davis ranks second in the conference and 51st nationally in rushing at 82.7 yards a game. He needs just eight yards Monday night to go over the 1,000 yard mark for the season...

Quarterback Cullen Parker leads the ACC in passing efficiency (146.90) and is second in total offense (233.4). Parker’s 27 touchdown passes this year are a single season school record...

Auburn and Clemson will meet during the 2010 (at Auburn) and 2011 (at Clemson) seasons.

By Jay Coulter
jccoulter@gmail.com

On Wednesday we learned a lot more about Auburn’s game plan for the Chick-Fil-A Bowl. After bringing Tony Franklin in from Troy to run the offense, Tommy Tuberville initially said Auburn would still run the West Coast offense for its game with Clemson.

Now the story is starting to change. At yesterday’s practice, Tuberville said that Franklin would now be responsible for play calling in Monday night’s game. Originally, Franklin’s role was to be that of an observer.

Quarterback Brandon Cox said he would start the game and get a majority of the snaps, but hinted that the other quarterbacks would also see action.

"Coach maybe said something about rotating, getting Kodi (Burns) in running some of the stuff," said Cox. "Maybe getting Blake (Field) or Neil (Caudle) in to see how they are, to start analyzing them for next year, see how they react. I am starting still. I'm playing until they bring somebody else in."

"We're gong to have a mixture of all of it," said Tuberville. "We need to run some of our old offense just to have some carryover."

"It's confusing, no doubt," said offensive lineman Ryan Pugh. "I guess a lot of times fans would say we looked really confused running the old offense.

"It will all get worked out. It just comes down to getting after people and playing hard no matter what offense you're running. It's all about players making plays."

This is an interesting development – and a risky one. I’m not a coach, but it seems risky to install a new offense in the 13th game of the year. No one expects a full blown spread offense, but it does appear we’ll see more than anticipated.

Ironically, Auburn was in a similar situation at the Peach Bowl in 1990. Clemson coach Tommy Bowden was brought in at season’s end by Pat Dye to run the offense. For the game against Indiana, Bowden had little influence on the game plan. This year things appear to be different.

King Dunlap’s career at Auburn is over. The senior left tackle is nursing a high ankle sprain and will not play against Clemson. Dunlap started 20 games for the Tigers, including six this year. He’ll be replaced by freshman Ryan Pugh.

Pugh will be starting his seventh game at the position and will be joined by fellow freshmen Chaz Ramsey and Lee Ziemba on the offensive line. Tuberville says he’ been pleased with the play of all three underclassmen.

"It's been a different experience for all of us," said Tuberville. "We like to bring them in and hold them back a year but I don't what we would have done if we hadn't had some of these freshmen come in and play and play well for us."

Linebacker Tray Blackmon’s status for the bowl game is still questionable. He continues to be hobbled by a sore knee. Still, Blackmon’s just happy to be at a bowl game. You will remember that last year, he was suspended for the Cotton Bowl.

Auburn returns to the practice field this morning at 11:00 CT. The 2007 Chick-fil-A Bowl will kick off at 6:30 p.m. CT and be televised nationally by ESPN.

By Jay Coulter
jccoulter@gmail.com

Christmas came and went in a hurry this year. It seems like only last week that Auburn was finishing off Alabama in the Iron Bowl and now we are starring down the barrel of the final game of the year.

The college football season goes by too fast. We’ll try to make the most of the last week here at Track’em Tigers.

I hope all of you had a very Merry Christmas. I sure did. As much as I love the holidays, it’s good to get back to thinking about Auburn football. This week should be a lot of fun.

All of the players made it safely into Atlanta last night. Unlike other games, the players are responsible for getting themselves to the bowl site. I always hold my breath that they’ll all make it on-time and safely.

"Everybody's here," said Tommy Tuberville. "It was a little tough getting in weather-wise, but the guys are fired up."

Auburn didn’t waste anytime moving away from Christmas festivities to bowl business. They held a mandatory team meeting last night that was followed by a lengthy film session to break down the Clemson schemes.

The team is scheduled to practice today at 11:00 CT. at Georgia Tech. With the weather rainy and cold in the Atlanta area, there’s still a chance they may move the session indoors to the Georgia Dome. This will mark Auburn’s first practice in nearly a week.

As I said earlier this month, I think this game brings much more excitement than a trip to the Outback Bowl. For one, Auburn gets to play a more interesting opponent in Clemson. It also gives fans an easy trip to see the Tigers play – if you can find a ticket.

Tuberville seems to agree.

"This is a great bowl game for us," Tuberville said. "It gives our fans that might not have enough money to travel to Dallas or Orlando an opportunity to come here to watch us play.

"This will be the hardest bowl ticket to get of any bowl, including the national championship game, because you've got two rivals teams that kind of mold themselves against each other. Both of us recruit Atlanta. It's going to be great for both teams to showcase their teams for a week. Players will be able to see it, and both teams will benefit."

Picking bowl game winners is always difficult. With teams taking so much time off, it’s not always the best team that wins, but rather the team that can shake off the rust and get ready to play.

By the time Auburn and Clemson take the field, it will have been 36 days since both teams played a game.

One thing is certain: Auburn is taking Clemson very seriously – and they should. This is a good football team that has an explosive offensive that will be a test for our talented defense. They finished strong, winning five of their final six games.

"They're a good football team," Tuberville said. "They could have won 11 games. They were very unlucky in some regards. They have a good team. They're very physical, and have a lot of speed.

"They're very similar to us. They have a lot of great athletes. Tommy (Bowden) has been there the same amount of time as I've been at Auburn. They've had their ups and downs, but this is one of the better teams I've seen them have in the last four or five years."

If you are in the process of making travel reservations for next season’s game at West Virginia, you may want to stop. It appears that officials from both schools are in talks to move the game to later in the year.

Why?

One word: Television. ESPN has approached Mountaineer officials about moving the game to a Thursday night toward the end of the season. I’m not sure if this benefits Auburn or not.

On the one hand, the Tigers never seem to open the season well against big name opponents. But moving it to Amen Corner time can also cause problems. It seems that Auburn officials are willing to juggle their schedule to make it happen. Stay tuned.

By Jay Coulter
jccoulter@gmail.com

The dust is starting to settle on the 72nd Iron Bowl. Talk now centers on what bowl Auburn will be heading to and whether or not Tommy Tuberville will be packing for Texas A&M, Arkansas or Nebraska.

All indications are that Texas A&M is moving in another direction in its search for a new head coach. It appears likely the Aggies will end up with Houston Texans assistant Mike Sherman. On Sunday, Tuberville said that Texas A&M still had not contacted him or athletic director Jay Jacobs about the position.

Tuberville is scheduled to meet today with school president Jay Gogue and Jacobs. Talks will likely center around a contract extension for Tuberville, plus raises for the assistants and possibly a new indoor practice facility.

Just as Tuberville’s candidacy was dying down in College Station, it picked up steam in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Houston Nutt has yet to be fired, but that still hasn’t stopped the media in the state from speculating on a Tuberville move. Being an Arkansas native, it’s only natural that his name should come up with the Hogs.

Don’t expect Arkansas to come up with the money necessary to lure Tuberville. Besides, he turned the job down back in 1999 before coming to Auburn. Tuberville’s name has also been mentioned in connection with Nebraska.

A name that’s being thrown around at Ole Miss is Will Muschamp. He’ll likely be a candidate at several schools during the off-season. Whether the Rebels will take a chance on another assistant is not known.

Those close to the search have indicated they would rather hire an experienced head coach. They could do a lot worse than Will Muschamp. It’s believed that Auburn will have to come up with a sizable raise to keep him around for a third season.

Something else to watch in the coming days will be the status of offensive coordinator Al Borges. Rumors have been floating around for weeks that Tuberville might go another direction next year.

With Kodi Burns expected to get the quarterbacking job, now is the time to make a change. Borges has seen his offense’s production deteriorate steadily since the championship season of 2004.

Auburn’s bowl prospects have changed somewhat since the Razorback’s win over LSU. Had the Purple Tigers made it to the BCS Championship Game it appeared that Auburn was headed to the Outback Bowl.

Now the likely destination is Atlanta and the Chick-Fil-A Bowl. The ACC opponent will probably be Clemson.

Tennessee looks like the leading candidate for either the Capital One or Outback Bowl should it lose to LSU. It will be Sunday before Auburn knows for sure where it’s headed.

By Jay Coulter
jccoulter@gmail.com

It never gets old. After all these years, beating Alabama just seems to get better and better.  You could see it on the face of Tommy Tuberville. You could see it in the smiles of the fans at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Is six the sweetest?

In a lot of ways it is.

After enduring 11 months of Saban Nation talk and the return of Alabama dominance in the state, Saturday’s outcome was just as it has been for the better part of a decade.

This football season wasn’t pretty. In fact, it was just plain bad in some spots. But Saturday night at approximately 11:00 p.m. Central Time it felt just plain good.

Auburn showed the nation that Alabama is still a long ways from catching up with the Tiger juggernaut that Tuberville has created in East Alabama.

Sitting on the 30 yard line behind the Auburn bench, it was quite a site to see defensive coordinator Will Muschamp and Tuberville embrace at the end of the game. It’s nice to see a person get vindication.

Muschamp got that and then some last night. This Auburn defense fought off a gutsy Alabama offense and a seemingly incompetent officiating crew in holding the Tide to just 225 yards offense and 10 points.

If not for a terrible interference call on Eric Brock, Auburn likely would have prevented a touchdown in the game. You just had the feeling that Muschamp would have his guys ready to play after the embarrassing performance in Athens.

"I'm still down (over the loss to Georgia) about it and it's tough to get over, but our kids are resilient," said Muschamp.

"They keep fighting and they keep us up as coaches. I'm just so proud of these kids. They continue to fight, play hard and play Auburn football, and that's run it and play defense. I'm real proud of them."

Senior quarterback Brandon Cox showed why he remains a beloved figure despite an up and down season. His 12 of 22 for 117 yard performance doesn’t come close to telling the story.  

Let’s face it. This kid doesn’t have the most talent. But boy does he have heart. He got knocked down more than Frazier did against Ali and managed to keep going and find a way to win.

And what can you say about Brad Lester. I’m convinced that Auburn would have two more wins had he played all year. Ben Tate also contributed in a big way. He appeared to be a step faster than he’s been all year.

The loss leaves the Alabama program reeling. The Tide has now lost four straight and are in serious jeopardy of receiving a bowl bid. The game’s intensity caught Nick Saban off guard.

"I haven't been involved in a game that had any more excitement or enthusiasm than this game," said Saban.

"The most disappointing thing about this season is we didn't finish," Saban said. "I failed the players in not getting them to be able to finish. There's a lot of sad guys in there right now. "

Despite the win, there remain questions about the Auburn program.

Rumors of Tuberville’s departure to Texas A&M are heating up today. Tuberville has maintained that he wants to remain at Auburn.

Here’s a piece of good news. The Houston Chronicle is reporting today that A&M is looking hard at three candidates – none of which are Tuberville.

They are said to be looking at Houston Texans assistant head coach Mike Sherman, former Notre Dame coach Bob Davie and Boise State head coach Chris Peterson.

This makes you wonder whether Auburn has already worked out a deal with Tuberville to remain. Last week’s comments from Tuberville were the boldest yet as to his plans to remain on the Plains, saying that he wanted to stay at Auburn as long as they would have him.

He’s expected to meet with Auburn President Jay Gogue and athletic director Jay Jacobs on Monday. An announcement of a contract extension for Tuberville could come quick.

Auburn will now get some must needed rest and bask in the glow of a sixth straight win over its arch rival. Three straight senior classes have never tasted defeat to Alabama.

Looking ahead, you have to like this team in 2008. If the Tigers can develop a quarterback, there’s a better than average chance the streak will move to seven next season.