September 9 Auburn at Ole Miss Rebels
Review: AUBURN 35 Ole Miss 27 Wow! My pulse is finally back down to normal. With a home computer for the first football season, I am able to write my game review within the hour of the final gun.
It was nice for Tuberville to come back to Oxford and get pay back for that loss the Rebels inflicted on us at home last year. I am also hopeful that this will put to rest all the hype that gets generated about Tuberville leaving Ole Miss for Auburn. In the real world, people leave companies and go to competetors for a better company and more pay all the time. Maybe Tub could have handled things better, but it's over. Let's play some football.
Now for the game itself...
The Tigers still have a long way to go, but they certainly have come a long way baby since the last couple of years. There is no way that without a good offensive line and a great running game that Auburn could have kept the Rebels scoreless in the 4th quarter.
Just like last week, Rudi Johnson and his blockers - Heath Evans at lead and the entire offensive line - were the stars. Suddenly, and disappointingly, the passing game tooka step back this week. Maybe Ben Leard was not at 100% or maybe the Ole Miss secondary was having a great game. I thought that Leard never did look right in this one. he was less accurate than I've seen him in a while. None of the receivers really shined except Carter for his speed on the end-around run. This area of the game will have to be worked on before LSU.
Again, Rudi had some brusing runs and for the second week in a row, had a long run in the second half that turned the tempo of the game in Auburn's favor.
On Defense, the person I kept seeing was Alex Lincoln. He seemed to be all over the field tonight. He is developing into an excellent LB. The defense overall was inconsistent. There were 2 or 3 drives where the defense looked very porous against the run. In the 4th quarter, however, things improved and the gaping holes were welded shut. It was also nice to see the 3 interceptions and a couple of them came at critical moments. The pass defense was great and held Miller to minimal passing yardage.
The kicking game for Auburn was not as excellent as last week. Several kicks got returned, Deuce returned a punt for a TD, there were several critical penalties on special teams including roughing the kicker and a personal foul. Duval missed a close FG. I think his problem tonight was mental since he seemed to nail all the extra points.
All in all, Auburn lacked discipline at times. There were WAY too many penalties and they allowed too many long runs. The good thing is that this might be the best running team we'll see this year. Of course, we still have to face Cobbs the Hog and Galloway the Crimson Tider. To wrap up, a win is a win and I'm very happy to get it.
Preview: I got to see the Ole Miss game this past weekend where they defeated Tulane. For 2 1/2 quarters I was feeling pretty good. I did not want the Rebels to lose, but I was glad they struggled and trailed at times to the Green Wave. I felt like we'd have little trouble with this squad. But they were like a sleeping giant. They took advantage of a blatant pass interference call that was missed by the nearsighted referee and had a TD on an interception return. Tulane seemed to lay down at this point a little and the Rebels seemed to get the fire in the belly to pour it on. Deuce was not all that loose except on that nice pass play over the middle for a TD he made. He had less than 50 yards rushing. Overall, I think the Rebels looked good but not great. They did not look like they were any more prepared to play that we were.
I think that this will be a very emotional game. Tuberville will probably get booed when he comes off, but in reality they ought to be grateful and give him a cheer or appreciation because he is the main reason that this team is ranked in the top 25 and being picked to challenge Alabama (seems more reasonable now) for the SEC West title. He has put this team on the map and I see the same thing for Auburn very soon. I do think that Cutcliffe is a good guy and a good coach and I hope the Rebels soon relax a bit toward Tuberville and embrace Cutcliffe who might stay around a bit longer.
Auburn will have theit hands full stopping all the weapons at Romero Miller's disposal. I think the defense can gold their own. I think the Leard-led offense will shine and have a good game. I hope that the Tigers can avoid turnovers and other lapses and play their best game. They need to step up a notch from the Wyoming game.
Prediction: AUBURN 27 Ole Miss 24
TV: ESPN2 6:00PM CDT
September 16 LSU Fightin' Tigers at Auburn
Review: AUBURN 34, LSU 17 With the exception of a couple of big plays allowed in the secondary and the fumble deep in their own territory, Auburn played excellent football against a very solid and hard-fighting group of Bayou Bengals. As I've said before, I love this rivalry that has erupted in just the last dozen years (since the Earthquake game in '88). Though we are both Tigers, we are two very dfferent and unique universities form two very different and unique cities and states. They have a real tiger and we have a real eagle. We both have a "human" tiger but our's (biased opinion) is much more attractive and talented. (National Mascot championships actually back that up, however.
Now for the game itself...
This was a well-played game by the Tigers. Though they were down by 10 points early, this team didn't even seem to flinch. They went on to methodically score 20 straight unanswered points over the middle half of the game. The discipline problems from the Ole Miss game seemed to be much improved - penalties were down, punt blocks were attempted cleanly and there were not as many mental mistakes. This team is growing up quickly and is becomeing a force to be reackoned with in the SEC West. I am afraid they will get over confident if they hear too often that they are on the inside track to Atlanta in December. Tuberville is good at sending them back to earth, I believe. (Lou Holtz has a similar problem in South Carolina, were their pre-season expectations were even lower.) Auburn can still be derailed. We have a pair of bulldogs, some gators and hogs and those cross-state elephants to worry about down the road. We could win all, any or none of them.
I saw a well-balanced football game. We had a lot of Rudi, a little Tim Carter and a good bit of Leard mixing passes to his excellent arsenal; of receivers. The O-Line played a good game, although their QB sneak success streak was snapped. I don't see Leard getting banged around much at all which will keep him healthy and excellent. I liked the change to allow Tim Carter to return kickoffs and it paid a tremendous dividend with his 100 yard KO return that seemed to deflate LSU at a time when they could have taken over the momentum of the game. Auburn again dominated the 4th quarter and showed they can control the clock.
The defense played a good game. They had a couple of coverage breakdowns (one on a raw corner replacement for Casher after his concussion) but otherwise they shut down LSU pretty well. I saw Booty knocked around a little and he was not all that successful if you take away his 2 deep successes for TDs. McNeill and Lincoln were again the standouts on the D and the group as a whole is exceeding expectations. Give the coaches some credit.
Duval made both of his FGS and that should help his confidence. His real strength as a kicker has been landing KOs inthe end zone and punting teams deep inside their own territiry. He could be all-SEC just for that.
In conclusion, a good solid win, I saw some improvement and I'm excited about this season.
Preview: This "tiger" rivalry has become one of the more interesting seasonal games for Auburn. Until 1992, LSU was only an occasional visitor to the Plains but since then there have been some memorable games. I think of the 3 interception-back-for-TD game in '94; the weird "phantom whistle safety" in the '95 game that led to LSU's winning TD; the burning alumni gym in '96 and of course, the improbable rout in the Bayou last year and the fake field goal. I miss Gerry DiNardo though, I thought he was a good fitfor that team. It will be interesting to see how Nick Saban reacts to his first SEC game.
There's not a lot to judge LSU on right now, really. Until an opponent has played an SEC game I am leary of making a lot of broad judgements. Teams will sometimes mask their offense and defense against lesser opponents. LSU obviously dominated an outmatched Western Carolina team and both Booty and Davey played well at quarterback. Against a stiffer opponent in Houston, the Tigers were inconsistent and almost blew a 21-0 halftime lead. Booty played the whole game and critics thought Saban should have inserted Davey at some point. In fact, Saban has called Booty his #1 QB and Davey his #1A QB. Auburn better prepare for a dose of both of them.
I think that LSU should be an easier target than Ole Miss was, but these games scare me a little. I suppose Georgia thought they'd have little trouble with the gamecocks but look what happened. The Tigers have to be both physically and mentally ready to play LSU hard and without relent. Hopefully this will be Auburn's first SEC win in Jordan Hare since Ed Scissum's fumble led to the win over Alabama in 1997.
Specifically, it's pretty simple what Auburn needs to do. The offensive line must dominate and the Rudi/Heath battering ram needs to have a good night. I'd like to see Leard mix in about 20 passes scattered among 7-8 different receivers, at least a few to the TEs. On defense, I am encouraged at their play. They have to stop the run. The secondary needs a pick or two. I also hope that Duval gets a FG to help him adjust mentally.
Prediction: AUBURN 35, LSU 24
TV: ESPN 6:30PM CDT
September 23 Northern Illinois Huskies at Auburn
Review: AUBURN 31 NIU 14 I did not see this one but heard most of it on the radio. In the first half, while the starters were playing, the game was almost flawless - however the Huskies keyed in on Rudi Johnson and stopped him like n one else has all season. At 24-0 things looked pretty good. When the subs started being shuttled in, however, the team's play became inconsistent. The one good drive the Tigers had in the 3rd quarter ended with a missed FG - another blow to Duval's confidence. The Huskies began to move the ball mainly through one QB-WR combination similar to how Wyoming and LSU did the same thing. Larry Casher was sorely missed. I got a little nervous when the score went form 24-0 to 24-14 in a couple of game minutes. However, Rudi finally got into his stride and broke loose for a clinching TD run or 56 yards. A performance liek this overall will not beat many SEC foes. I am hoping that the emotional flatness from playing a weak team contributed to the play in the second half and that the Tigers will return to normal next week.
Preview: The main concern with this game is that no one get hurt and that you don't get lulled to sleep and have an embarassing let down. Auburn is a prohibitive favorite in this one and I see no reason they won't win. However I hope the Tigers put them away early and not let them have a lot of early success. I saw Ohio State "toy" with Miami (Ohio) last weekend and it will probaly hurt their confidence in future games. Being 3-0 there's no anger to inflict on NIU, there is no history. The crowd will probably be subdued. This will be a good chance for Tuberville to test a few things and give some of his subs some experience they might need later down the road. The story line is simple, a little bit of Rudi/Heath behing the O-Line a few passes to the corps and solid defense. Hopefully Duval will ge t a couple of FGs to boost his confidence. A good goal would be for Auburn to keep NIU out of the end zone and prevent the big play. We've allowed big plays in every game so far.
I found this great link to the Northern Illinois Huskie Web site you might want to look at to get more information on our opponent: LINK
Prediction: AUBURN 41, NIU 6
TV: Pay-Per-View 4:00PM CDT
September 30 Vanderbilt Commodores at Auburn
Review: AUBURN 33 Vandy 0 Same ol' Vandy, right? Well, maybe or maybe not. This team may end up with only a handful of wins this season, but they are certainly a decent group of players. They were obviously a notch below Auburn at most positions (Jamie Winborn and Jimmy Williams may be two exceptions) but they will play for 60 minutes and give it their all. Auburn pretty much did what I said in my preview they needed to do to win. In fact, they exceeded expectations. Rudi did get over 100 yards and the team did score over 30 points - however it took a fake punt, a blocked punt and a blocked FG ro get 16 of those points, so my analysis was not that far off. The team chemistry is great right now. That is obvious form the stands. This team likes each other. The team discipline was vastly improved. There were few penalties or mental lapses that I saw. The team was able to mix the pass and the run quite well. Rudi and Heath are mixed in appropriatre doses and I realy like that Robert Johnson kid. He's on his way to being a star TE. No receiver had more than 3 catches so the Vandy defense had no idea where the ball might go on any given play. The defense continues to improve. The shutout was nice - even after Klein's INT the defense kept them out of the end zone. Speaking of Klein, he is now third string behind Daniel Cobb. I fear what would happen to this team should Leard get hurt. Back to the defense, I see the run defense improving each week and this is the first time that no WR had a big game against us. I can't say enough about Damon Duval. He made a FG and his punts and kickoffs continue to land in the endzone or far enough back to allow the coverage to get set. Overall a solid effort. I never thought we'd be 5-0 at this point much less the only team in the conference to survive September without a loss or a conference loss. The next two weeks look very tough but that will be discussed in my MSU preview.
Preview: This is a game that once looked scary to me, but after both teams played 3 games I felt much better about. Again, I am feeling a little nervous. Vandy is a better team than their 1-3 record shows. They played Alabama much closer that 18 points (of course, how good is Alabama, really?) and their loss to Miami (Ohio) looks less incriminating after the RedHawks played Ohio State very tough. The 'Dores had a solid win over a very bad Duke team and I am glad they're not coming into J-H winless. Auburn has to play solid football to win this one. I expect they will be held to under 30 points for the first time with Jamie Winborn back in the lineup. I think they will ahve a balanced passing and rushing attack that will have to be defended well. Auburn has defended the run pretty well all season but in every game it seems that one receiver has a big day. I hope we can avoid that against Vandy. History is on the Tigers' side, we have not lost to Vanderbilt since 1955 - of course their series has not been regular. I look for the offense to mix the Rudi/Heath runs in with the passing of Leard to his entire arsenal. The same things I've said before are what Auburn needs to do to win. This one ought to propel us to a 5-0 record before we face a MSU team that can be beaten but is bvery dangerous. BTW, this is my first game of the season to attend in person so I will have first hand coverage of the game next week. I will be in a group of 2 other Auburn fans (one being my wife) and a hopefully quiet Vandy alum.
Prediction: AUBURN 27, Vandy 14
TV: Pay-Per-View 1:00PM CDT