Review - AU 22 ASU 15
This game could have been a literal disaster for the Auburn Tigers, both on the field and in the eyes of the football world. Tuberville came dangerously close to allowing something that Pat Dye, Tery Bowden, nor even Doug Barfield ever did - lose to a 1-AA football team. I was reminded of Auburn's play against NE La, UAB and Central Florida in the last few years. Each of these teams have played Auburn close unexpectedly, but all of those were under Terry Bowden.

Tuberville needed this win for personal and team confidence, although you may be asking what he has to be confident about. Actually, not a lot and mostly things in the 4th quarter. The first 2 1/2 quarters were just about as bad as an Auburn team has played against anyone/anytime. When you remind youerself that this is a I-AA team it looks much worse. Just 5 years ago, Auburn played UT Chattanooga from the same Southern Conference and beat them 76-3. They beat ETSU from the same conference by a huge score a few years ago as well. I feel bad for Gabe Gross having such a poor game, but this may have been a case of one QB being cold (Gross) and one being hot (Leard). Apparently on the practice field, all three QBS (add Klein to the mix) are about equal. A positive spin is that you have three options for QB any given week and if one is having a bad game, the next one may take over and do well. The job is Leards' until he loses it and he earned it.

Game Tidbits and Analysis:

• Auburn's offense was beaten in every offensive category (except score) by ASU. The difference in the first half was especially bad.
• Rusty Williams came within 2 yards of having a 100 yard game. This was a rare positive that came out of the game. However, Heath Evans did live up to his billing as the FB - having only one decent gain in 5 carries.
• Ronnie Daniels surprised at WR offering several key catches in the game. With two WRs out for this game things can get even better next week. What was supposed to be a weak spot may not be all that bad, now.
• Larry Casher was all over the field on defense and his fumble recovery in the end zone helped avoid Auburn sinking into a hole behind 19-7 early on.
• Neither the OL or the DL impressed, but give them some time to learn all new schemes.
• Markeith Cooper helped set up the first score with an excellent punt return. He and Tavarious Robinson lead a good backup unit.
• The TE position was mostly quiet, but TT offenses usually utilize this position quite a bit. This is something to look for in future games.

Preview: NONE - sorry!

Prediction: AU Win

TV: NONE (gametime 6:00 CT)

Sept. 11 (Univ. of Idaho) at Auburn

Review - AU 30 ID 23
This was a win, so we'll take it! We have already gotten off to a better start than last year, but we have finished 2 of our 3 easiest games and have only one each by a TD. This one reminded me of the 1996 Independence Bowl with Idaho catching fire for 23 pts in about 12 minutes in the 4th quarter. I hope the problem was getting relaxed form the lead and not lack of conditioning. This is a lesson the Tigers will hopefully remember. They need to memorize the Yogi Berra rule - "It aint' oiver 'till it's over."

The team improved over last week in most areas. The defense played very well in the first half, practically stuffing the potatoes on all fronts, but they relaxed in the 4th quarter, which was a big problem. it took Rob Pate to save the day with an interception and a recovered on-side kick. Leard was impressive again and in fact set a new completion precentage record or 84%! He seems to be taking full advantage of his resurrected career. The offensive attack was ver diversified. Rusty Williams is performing adequately as the feature TB, but his yds-per-carry were a bit on the low side this week. A total of 10 receivers were used to amass 8 completions with no one having more than 4. I am waiting for one of these to emerge as the "go-to" guy. The OL played well in giving Leard time to throw, however the rushing yards reflect some more work is needed there. Three interceptions were nice to see. The defense as a whole played well and will contine to keep Auburun close in their games.

Game Tidbits and Analysis:

• The kicking game has turned unexpectedly sour. A near-perfect Bironas last year has already missed a PAt and a couple of FG's
• Auburn had 30 first downs, which is amazing with a running game averaging less that 2 yds a carry.
• Auburn made a lot of mistakes - having 12 penalties. These are probably a resuly of mental errors in the new ofensive and defensive schemes.
• Finally, the TE's (Diamond and Schwieger) got some action - both had a play netting over 20 yds.
• The defense has yet to allow a point in the 1st quarter.
• Both Gross and Klein played QB in the game in what should have been mop-up duty. Instead, they barely generated enough offense to keep the Vandals form stealing this one late.
• Evans, whom I've hyped a lot, is not playing up to expectations. He also is not getting very many reps to prove himself, though.

Preview
What once looked like a mere speedbump in the road and a warmup for the LSU Tigers now looks like a very formidable game. I am going to take a chance and predict a narrow Auburn win, but this one will be a tougher opponent that ASU and Auburn must improve at all levels to win. This is an Idaho team that defeated Southern Miss in the Humanitarian Bowl last year and they have most of their starters back. In their only game, they defeated E. Washington 48-13. This may not mean much, but they certainly played better than Auburn did on Saturday. Idaho will come in believeing they can win and Auburn must avoid mistakes and must not give up the big play. It will probably not be a high scoring game, but a close one.
Prediction: AU 21 ID 19

TV: NONE (gametime 6:00 CT)

Sept. 18 (Louisiana State Univ.) at Baton Rouge

Review - AU 41 LSU 07
Sometimes it's GREAT to be wrong! It's ALWAYS GREAT to be an Auburn Tiger! WAR EAGLE!
Auburn has NOW proven they can play 4 quarters of SEC-calibur football. It's okay and fine to basque in the glory for a short time and relish this solid victory, but there is important thing to remember. It's a motto that sports gamblers (of which I am NOT one) use: "A team is never as GOOD as they looked in their last game nor are as BAD as they looked in the last game." Therefore, we need to keep this in perspective. Auburn exploited 2 inexperienced quarterbacks and kept Rondell Mealey out of the game. LSU is not a very well coached team right now. Auburn definitely is! I actually found myself starting to feel sorry for LSU a bit toward the end. I know how it feels to be watching a game where everything goes wrong for Auburn - see most any game last year. I also noticed the extreme stress on Gerry Dinardo's face the many times that ESPN focused on him. He KNOWS he is getting fired unless he turns the ship around immediately - and their next two games are Georgia and Florida!
Now for game comments...
The game got off to a sloppy start on both sides. LSU had an early interception and Auburn took forever to go 10 yards to set up a FG. The time was taken by a couple of penalties on both sides of the ball. This drive made Auburn's red zone offense look questionable, but it improved throughout the game.
Damon Duval has taken the starting place kicker role away from Robert Bironas, who seems to be a "head case". Duval has not missed a kick yet in 1 1/2 games. Bironas is handling kickoffs, but only had 2 chances this weekend. One of them was not very deep and it was returned about 60 yards.
The Tigers had a couple of "highlight reel" plays. The fake field goal where Jacob Allen flipped the ball over his right shoulder to Damon Duval for the 1 yd touchdown was great. Tuberville noticed the LSU tendency to block in the middle and he exploited it. The Daniels fumble-TD was somewhat luck, and he did err by not seeing the LSU player on the left side. However he showed great hustle and field presence to recover the fumble and score the TD.
Ben Leard is finally getting to show why he was a highly recruited QB back in 1996. He is showing a lot of ability in running the TT offense. He reads the defense well and was callling audibles to catch his WRs on the Go patern to stop the blitz. The WRs beat the LSU corners repeatedly. The OL was great, and the running game showed improvement (related to each other). The TEs also played a role catching a few passes and helping stop the blitz. Once again a lot of people touched the ball. Daniels, Cooper, Williams and Robinson are getting most of the touches, but about 15 players a week have at least one catch or carry. The other team must be ready for anyone and cannot key on any one player. This is one advantage to not having a super star. (Auburn conversely keyed on Rondell Mealey and when he failed, the Bayou Bengals were stopped as well.)Overall, the offense was very sharp.
On defense Brunbaugh, Carson and co. all played well. The DL was enough to rush the inexperienced QBs. Fields, Lincoln and the LB corps focused on stopping the run - very successfully. And Casher, Pate and the secondary forced 4 interceptions and only allowed one TD pass. They did give up a lot of yardage to Jerel Myers, but he may be LSU's next superstar if they can find a QB to pass him the ball.
Overall, this was Auburn's best game since the 1997 defeat of Georgia. I'd like to see this effort repeated the rest of the year. It's incredible, but it is actually feasible for this bunch to play in a bowl game this year - maybe Nashville or Shreveport.

Game Tidbits and Analysis:

• Auburn has scored in 11 out of 12 quarters this season and has not allowed a point in the first quarter all season. They have only allowed 7 points in the first half.
• Clifton Robinson played TB in high school and that is his natural playing position. Tuberville is a master at getting his players in the right position to play at their highest level
• LSU has a strange reputation against teams from Alabama. At home in the 1990's they are 1-8 against Auburn and Alabama. Auburn's only road loss to LSU came in 1995.
• LSU team captain and WR, Larry Foster, was suspended from ther team following his arrest for an alleged purse snatching incident. In his absence, freshman Jerel Myers, had a record-setting day with 13 catches and 153 yards.
• Auburn's LB corps held the LSU TBs - Mealey and Davis to 16 carries and 34 yards. Mealey is considered their best star offensive player and Davis is a highly regarded freshman who has been compared to Cecil Collins. Mealey did not play in the second half becasue of a groin injury.
• LSU QBs combined for a SEC record 69 passes with a predictable result - 4 interceptions. Having to play catch-up the whole game, this took the rushing attack away - LSU's strength.
• LSU's only score came on the drive where Larry Casher came out of the game with an injury. LSU threw where he had been and took advantage.
• Auburn, unlike against Idaho, had a knockout punch. The defense held LSU 3 times in the 4th quarter and did not allow them to score.

LSU has finally settled on Davey at QB and Ronnell Mealey is leading the way in a reloaded TB corps. They routed North Texas which is certainly not a SEC team, but it is much better than Auburn's performance against similar competition. Look for Auburn to play well early then allow LSU to wear them down with the running game in the 4th quarter and add a couple of late TDS.
Prediction: LSU 31 AU 21

TV: ESPN: 4:00PM CT

Sept. 25 (Univ. of Mississippi) at Auburn

Review - MS 24 AU 17 (OT)
This one could have gone either way, but seemingly the vengence of the Ole Miss team and their 10, screaming fans could not be overcome. This game, hopefully, will satisfy the appetite of those same Ole Miss faithful and let this game return to being just another SEC matchup.

It was hard to determine how good (or bad) either team really is at this time in the season. Both made some good plays and missed opportunities. I give credit to the Rebels for playing a hard fought game down to the end. The difference in this one was the Miller to Peterson connection. That duo could seemingly not be stopped.

We held the Rebel running game, as we have everyone else. However they were able to get some big gains in the passing department. I later found out that Nolan and Kelly left the game with injuries - out of the secondary. Also, the defense was so intent on stopping the run that the defense was torn between good coverage with no pressure on Miller and weak coverage and pressure. Miller seemed to be able to handle himself very well overall.

From the Auburn side, I did not notice a lot of pressure on Leard. In contrast, once Jeff Klein got in the game, Ole Miss was relentless in the QB rush. That is how you rattle a yound QB. Cutcliffe like Tuberville shows that they are good coaches that can bring the team to improvement week-to-week. Auburn seemingly regressesd a little, but this is hard to say given the departure of Leard after 2 quarters. Speaking of Leard, he is expected to be out until the late-October/early-November timeframe. The coaches will have to decided whether or not to replace Klein at that time. I think Leard has earned the chance to return, but he must be 100% healhy, first.

The offensive line did not stop the rush as well as it had been, otherwise, they did provide adequate blocking for the running game. Clifton Robinson has overtaken Rusty Williams for #1 Tailback and he is starting to average about 4 yds/carry. This would be an improvement over the last couple of years. Daniels, Cooper and Worthy are still splitting the WR duties, but former QB Ryan Hooker scored his first TD on a catch in this one. They did not spread the passes around as much as in previous games, but remember that half the game was with an inexperienced QB.

The Auburn Defense was stellar against the run as usual, but I hope the secondary can avoid the big play. I loved the blocked punt - it came at a time where Ole Miss could have blown this one out. Special Teams can never be underestimated. Duval's miss on the last play. It happens to the best pros. Next time, maybe he can win one for the Tigers.

Game Tidbits and Analysis:

• Auburn allowed their first points in the first quarter all season on a blown coverage in the secondary.
• Ole Miss won for the first time EVER in Jordan-Hare Stadiium
• Again, Auburn had a balanced play selection - more runs than passes
• Tuberville is 0-5 in this series (He was 0-4 against Auburn while at Ole Miss)
• The Tigers have not had an intercepted pass on them since Week One
• The last overtime for Auburn is also an unpleasant memory - the 4 rounder loss to Georgia 56-49 in 1996

Preview
This is a doubly scary situation for Auburn but I am confident that Tuberville will have things under control during practice this week. Not only did Auburn post a huge upset win over a conference foe on the road, but also Ole Miss posted a huge upset loss to a conference foe at home. "On Paper" Auburn looks to clearly be the better team. But there is even one more intangible that makes this game interesting - the Tuberville factor. Ole Miss would love to go into Tuberville's new home and spoil his party. Emotion and last week's outcome only go so far though. This game will be won or lost on the field not in the media or the internet chat rooms. It Auburn executes on offense, defense and special teams, even 85% as much as against LSU , then should win. But they better not relax or take the Rebels lightly. Cutcliffe's bunch will not quit. And highly heralded QB Romero Miller has failed to play well against the Tigers in the past. He is looking for redemption. It ought to be a great game!

Prediction: Auburn 24 Ole Miss 13

TV: JP (Game time 11:30 a.m. CT)