Sorry about the late update. Things started later than normal tonight, so I had to get my regular stories into the paper before updating the blog. (You don't care about this, I know, but I felt an explanation was needed.)

The big news Sunday is that head coach Tommy Tuberville is bringing in punter Clinton Durst and backup Morgan Hull to compete with struggling place-kicker Wes Byrum for the starting job. Byrum is 8-for-14 this season on field goals, with four misses from 20 to 39 yards. He pulled a 44-yarder with the wind against West Virginia when Auburn trailed 20-17. A make in that situation could have changed the whole complexion of the game.

"It's like any position. We'll move you in and out," Tuberville said. "I mean, you've got to be productive. And he has before, he's just lost his confidence. He's got to get his fundamentals back."

Durst, who didn't play football in high school, has only messed around with kicking the ball off the ground. He has a soccer background, though, and claims to have made a 60-yarder with the wind at his back.

He's not going to throw Byrum under the bus, though.

"Yeah I can (kick field goals)," he sad. "But we've got a great kicker right now in Wes. So I'll just do it. They called me today and I thought we were meeting about punting, and they talked to me about kicking field goals. I'll just do whatever they ask me to do."

Some other Sunday developments:

• Jerraud Powers (hamstring) and Neiko Thorpe (ankle) did very little at practice. True freshman D'Antoine Hood, a Phenix City product, practiced with the first team at cornerback in their place.

• Right guard Byron Isom missed the West Virginia game because of a concussion. He had headaches all of last week, prompting Auburn to start Mike Berry in his place. Isom practiced Sunday but remains behind Berry on the depth chart.

• A lot of practice with the first team offense going against the first team defense today, which normally isn't the case. "Just try to get in a rhythm against a good defense," running back Brad Lester said.

• Senior Jason Bosley is back at center because he's a better communicator when the team is going out of more traditional formations, with the quarterback under center. Ryan Pugh moved to outside, which might be a better fit. "Pugh is probably a little bit better at tackle," Bosley said. "He's been out there for a long time. It's tough when you haven't played tackle since your freshman year in high school. Your senior year in college going out there, no experience. That's tough."

• Defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads had some telling stats after watching the West Virginia game film. The Tigers missed three tackles in the first half that resulted in zero additional yards. They missed 11 in the second half that resulted in an additional 99. The Mountaineers out-scored the Tigers 24-0 after halftime.

• Rhoads said Auburn will do plenty to prepare for Ole Miss' version of the Wildcat formation this week and that most of the players are familiar with going against it from Houston Nutt's time with Arkansas.

• D-line coach Don Dunn had high praise for sophomore Zach Clayton, who is playing all four positions on the defensive line. "It's invaluable," he said. "We don't have anyone else. We have to move a linebacker or bring a kid up off of redshirt and we don't want to do that. It's been a blessing, to be honest with you, that he can do that."

• The Tigers were 0-for-October, with losses at Vanderbilt, vs. Arkansas and at West Virginia. The last time they failed to win a game in October was 1999, Tuberville’s first season with the program. Before that? Back in 1950, when Auburn went 0-10, the only winless season in school history.

• RT Ryan Pugh on Auburn having held a lead at halftime of all eight of its games this year: "We're the best first half team in the country, but we've got to learn how to finish." That pretty well sums up the Tigers' season.

• I stand corrected. There's this quote from Bosley: "We've got to find a way to get our intensity back and not lay an egg."