Clemson to remove interim tag on Swinney

You can officially squash those Tommy Tuberville-to-Clemson rumors. Dabo Swinney, who went 3-3 as the interim coach at Clemson after Tommy Bowden was fired, is expected to be hired for the job on a full-time basis, according to ESPN.com.

So much for that long-running rumor that Tuberville might pull a Houston Nutt and have his agent orchestrate a way out at Auburn and get him latched on at another school.

Tuberville going about business as usual

Tommy Tuberville phoned in his weekly teleconference from the road, but said despite no affirmation that his job is secure for next year (he'll meet with the AD and school presdient sometime this week), he is treating this week like business as usual.

"I'm going like I've got a contract here," Tuberville said. "I'm working and as I said last night there's no doubt that we can get this thing turned back around. I didn't turn into a bad coach overnight. I know this program better than anybody. I know what it takes. I know the type of people that you can get to come in. I know their strengths, I know their weaknesses and I'm fully committed to doing it. I'm going out and selling that."

The Birmingham News reported today, citing insider Auburn sources, that athletic director Jay Jacobs told Tuberville three days before the Iron Bowl that he would be allowed to come back for 2009.

Is that true?

"No," Tuberville said. "I have no clue where that came from."

A time still has not been set for Tuberville's meeting with Jacobs and school president Dr. Jay Gogue.

Tuberville's focus will instead be on recruits who are waffling on their commitments.

"What I'm going to try to do is meet with guys that have shown any sense of possibly wondering whether I'm going to be here or not," Tuberville said. "I want to hit those guys first. There's probably four or five of those, but we won't bring up any names."

Tuberville also addressed his vacant offensive coordinator position, saying he wants to give whoever he hires the freedom to bring somebody with him if he wants.

"We've got to have an offensive coordinator that feels confident with what he's doing," Tuberville said. "If he's got anybody that he thinks can help him put his program in, maybe that he worked with in the past. Sometimes that happens, sometimes it doesn't. I've not been around too many coordinators that had people that they wanted to bring, but obviously, we've got to do something on offense and we're going to. We're going to get the problem solved. We're going to get some consistency."

Not being able to bring in any assistants is one of the many reasons that Tony Franklin was not able to make a successful transition from Troy, instead forced to work with Auburn's long-tenured coaches. It was a source of friction throughout his 10 months on the Plains.

Tuberville denies the claims.

"A lot of people have said in the past that I force assistants on people," Tuberville said. "That's never happened. It's totally up to the guys that come in."

Tuberville has several coordinators in mind and said he's almost whittled the list to four or five. He said he doesn't have any frontrunners out of that group.

In other news:

• LT Lee Ziemba is scheduled to have knee surgery Tuesday. The sophomore was clearly laboring on the knee the second half of the season. "He's fought through it, and a lot of us never would have done that," Tuberville said. "He's a tough young man that wanted to play and wanted to go through the season. He has struggled -- we all know that -- mentally and physically. ... It's probably pretty tough. We don't know what you go through in an injury like that in terms of pain in going through a game and putting pressure on that. He's a tough young man."

• WR Chris Slaughter did not make the trip because he spent part of last week visiting his ill mother. He didn't know enough of the game plan by the time he returned, so he did not travel.

• Defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads' name has been linked to the vacant Utah State job. Rhoads, who got his masters from Utah State and began his coaching career as a graduate assistant there in 1989, declined to comment on the job after the Iron Bowl. Tuberville offered this Sunday: "There's been some people call here about maybe interest. Paul and I were going to sit down and talk next week. ... That'll be up to him. He really likes it here. He'd have to decide whether he'd want to go to that situation. ... If (the assistants) want head coaching jobs, I think that's outstanding. I think that's the reason we all get into this."

Tuberville out recruiting, job status uncertain

The much-anticipated postseason review of Auburn head coach Tommy Tuberville by athletic director Jay Gogue and school president Dr. Jay Gogue will take place sometime this week. When? Nobody's saying. But at it, they will decide whether Tuberville returns for an 11th season on the Plains.

He made his pitch to return following Saturday's 36-0 loss to Alabama.

"If I didn’t think I could do it, I would be the first one to tell the Auburn people," Tuberville said. "After 10 years, I’m still fairly young, and it’s hard to take what we went through this year, but sometimes it makes you even hungrier to go through something like this. We might have needed a setback. We might have needed a readjustment, because we’ve been awfully good for a long time."

The meeting won't take place immediately. Tuberville has said he'll be out recruiting today and Monday but be back in Auburn on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Players were unanimous in showing their support for Tuberville. Center Jason Bosley called the speculation about Tuberville's job "stupid" and "ridiculous."

"I don’t know where it comes from," Bosley said of the rumors. "I mean, when you’re in adversity, the cream of the crop rises to the top and so do the turds. That’s just the way it is. And people start pointing fingers real quick and it’s easy to point fingers at the head coach, but it shouldn’t even be a topic of discussion right now."

One condition for Tuberville's might be that he has to clean house on the offensive side of the ball, hiring a new coaching staff. But he defended the offensive coaches Saturday night, taking the full weight of the blame for Auburn's first sub-.500 season since 1999.

"I put them in a bind," said Tuberville, referring to the Tony Franklin fiasco. "Everybody’s pointing fingers at them. ‘They’re not getting it done.’ I’m the one who put them in that situation. I’m the one who put their back to the wall. I thought the offensive staff did an excellent job overnight doing something to even give ourselves a chance. There were several games where we had a chance to win and we didn't. We were in most of them. I just want to say that those guys really worked hard, did the best they could do in the circumstances, they worked long hours. They'll take a lot of hits for all this but the buck stops with me. I'm the one that put them in that situation."

Tuberville has said he wants to have an offensive coordinator in place by the beginning of January and does not seem in much of a rush to make a hire before that. He said his list of a dozen or so candidates mostly consists of coaches on teams who are going to bowl games and that he didn't want to disrupt their seasons.

In the short-term, there's been no move to alter the coaching staff.

"I'm getting on the road tomorrow (recruiting)," said Steve Ensminger, who served as the de facto offesnive coordinator once Franklin was fired. "I don't know. I guess they'll tell us something."

Defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads, while not under fire like the offensive staff, had an interesting take on the coaching profession as a whole.

"We entered into the profession," Rhoads said. "I came upon it honestly. I grew up the son of a coach. I was sitting on my mom's lap as a baby and a pumpkin came through smashing through a window, so I know what it feels like to be a coach and a coach's son and I've grown up with that. You don't even worry about that, you don't even listen to it. We've got to go recruit tomorrow. We're going to go out and talk about Auburn and talk about 2009 and how special we've got a chance to be. We'll do what we always do, go back to work."

FInal: Alabama 36, Auburn 0

Eesh. That got out of hand quickly. I'll have more tomorrow about the game and what happens now with head coach Tommy Tuberville. But right now, my ride is waiting.

Here's tomorrow's lede to tide you over.

By Andy Bitter
abitter@ledger-enquirer.com

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Alabama put a definitive and resounding end to its six-year Iron Bowl drought Saturday, dismantling an overmatched Auburn 36-0 to snatch back state supremacy.

Attention quickly shifted to another pesky streak that Crimson Tide fans treat as an injustice: a nine-year stretch without an SEC championship.

“It’s the next game, but just on a bigger stage,” Alabama safety Rashad Johnson said of next week’s SEC title game against Florida, a de facto national semifinal that will guarantee the winner a spot in the BCS championship. “We are going to approach it like any other game.”

Alabama (12-0, 8-0 SEC) used a season-long recipe for success Saturday, hammering the run, passing at the right moments and playing lock-down defense in one of the most lopsided games in the 115-year history of the Iron Bowl.

Glen Coffee ran for 144 of Alabama’s 234 rushing yards, the sixth time this year the Tide has topped the 200-yard mark this season.

Defensively, the Crimson Tide suffocated the hapless Tigers to a season-low 170 yards of offense. Auburn didn’t reach the red zone once.

The Tigers (5-7, 2-6) hadn’t lost a game this badly since a 51-10 drubbing to Florida in 1996. They hadn’t been thumped in an Iron Bowl by this much since a 38-0 loss in 1962.

“We’re going to have to deal with this until next year,” cornerback Jerraud Powers said. “This is always going to be in our heads.”

End 3rd quarter: Alabama 29, Auburn 0

Well, the wheels fell of this one quickly.

Here's the short version. Auburn fumble, Alabama touchdown. Auburn fumble, Alabama touchdown. Auburn three-and-out, Alabama touchdown.

Just like that, it's a 29-0 game.

On the Tigers' second play, senior running back Brad Lester, who was making his second appearance in the game, coughed up the ball in the face of a cornerback blitz. Alabama recovered. One play later, John Parker Wilson rolled out, drew the defense up by nearing the line of scrimmage and tossed a 39-yard touchdown pass to Nikita Stover. Auburn blocked the extra point, but still trailed 16-0.

Kodi Burns fumbled a snap on the next drive that Alabama recovered. The Tide moved right down the field before inserting 365-pound defensive tackle Terrence Cody at fullback near the goal line. He escorted Mark Ingram into the end zone to make it 22-0.

Ingram added a 14-yard run wjth 2:10 left.

Auburn could play until January and not score 29 points against Alabama.

So much for the idea that nobody would get blown out in this game.

Some telling third quarter stats:

• Yards: Alabama 144, Auburn 29.

• First downs: Alabama 7, Auburn 1.

• Turnovers: Auburn 2, Alabama 0.

• Points off turnovers: Alabama 12, Auburn 0.

I'm going to head down to the field in the fourth quarter, so there won't be any kind of wrap-up until well after the game.

Halftime: Alabama 10, Auburn 0

Kudos to Nick Saban for actually getting the old timeout-before-the-field-goal trick to work. If not, we'd have a ballgame here.

Morgan Hull appeared to make a 40-yarder just before the half, but Saban called a timeout moments before the snap. On the second shot, Alabama blocked it. Huge momentum shift back for the Crimson Tide.

Other than that, the only thing you need to know about the first half was Glen Coffee, who ran for 99 yards on 11 carries, with a nifty 41-yard touchdown scamper up the sideline that gave the Crimson Tide a 10-0 lead.

Auburn doesn't look beat, but it sure looks like it's in rough shape.

Other notes, thoughts, etc:

• Clinton Durst has five punts and is averaging 41.4 yards. And that's with a shank that only went 20.
  

• Auburn's big-time weapon, its kick return unit, did next to nothing in the first half. The Tigers averaged 16.7 yards on three attempts, none going longer than 18 yards.

• Kodi Burns has gotten better the last few weeks, but he still has no touch on the ball. He throws a 7-yard crossing pattern the way he throws a 30-yard post -- 100 mph.

• Passing stats: Burns -- 5-for-14, 47 yards; John Parker Wilson -- 5-for-10, 53 yards.

• Total yards: Alabama 159, Auburn 96.

• First downs: Alabama 8, Auburn 6.

• Rushing stats: Burns -- 7 carries, 16 yards; Mario Fannin -- 6 carries, 14 yards; Team -- 18 rushes, 49 yards.

Anyone want to put odds on Auburn scoring 11 points in the second half? I'll wager it's somewhere in the 30-to-1 range.

End 1st quarter: Alabama 3, Auburn, 0

Leigh Tiffin's 37-yard field goal as the first quarter clock expired is the difference so far.

Auburn missed a really good opportunity with field position early on. The Tigers started at the Alabama 49-yard line on their second drive, but went three-and-out. Auburn pinned 'Bama deep, but the Crimson Tide got out of trouble with a few first downs.

Pretty impressive first quarter for 'Bama running back Glen Coffee, who had 8 rushes for 41 yards. The Tide is going to feed him all day.

Just based on the tenor of the first quarter, this one doesn't seem like it will be a blowout.

Other notes:

• First quarter MVP for Auburn? Punter Clinton Durst, who pinned the Crimson Tide at the 7 and 5 on back-to-back punts.

• I've been to quite a few football stadiums, but I don't know if I've been at one as loud as this. I've got to admit, it's quite impressive. Auburn looks like it's having some trouble communicating audibles on the field, with quarterback Kodi Burns having to shout over everybody at the line. That's a recipe for disaster.

• Total yards: Alabama 81, Auburn 30.

• Auburn RB Mario Fannin, who started: 6 rushes, 14 yards.
  

Auburn-Alabama pre-game (updated: 2:15 p.m.)

You're looking LIVE at several angles of Bryant-Denny Stadium in hazy Tuscaloosa!

We survived the trip. Traffic wasn't too terrible. The weather was. It rained the whole way, but eased up once we got to Tuscaloosa. It's overcast and foggy here in the stadium, but it's not raining and the field seems like it's in good condition. That's good news for Auburn. It did not want to get in a game where passing the ball was impossible.

I'll update as we get closer to game time.


UPDATE (2:15 p.m.): No rain yet, but there is a lot of mist in the air. It's certainly not going to be dry on the field.

Pre-game introductions said Brad Lester will start at running back for Auburn. Watching some warmups, it sure looked like it would be Mario Fannin. He was taking handoffs from Kodi Burns the most. Maybe Lester, a senior, gets a token start.

There are a lot of rumors out there about WR Chris Slaughter's status with the team. All I know is this: he's not here today, dressed or otherwise.

I've got to hand it to Alabama -- it knows how to montage a video highlight. Impressive pre-game stuff out here.

Men's hoops: Dayton 60, Auburn 59, OT

From the sounds of it, Auburn came out on the losing end of a very strange game in the Chicago Invitational in Hoffman Estates, Ill., tonight.

Here were some of the high ... err, lowlights:

• Dayton went 0-for-24 on 3-pointers. Read that again. I don't think I've ever heard of that happening in a basketball game before, let alone for the winning team.

• The Flyers (5-0) weren't the only ones who struggled from outside. The Tigers (3-2) were 0-for-12 from 3-point range in the first half. They managed to go 7-for-19 in the second half.

• Auburn's downfall was -- surprise -- rebounding and free throws. Dayton held a 60-43 advantage on the boards and the Tigers were 12-for-26 from the free throw line. Ouch. I feel like this is going to be a season-long problem.
  

• DeWayne Reed scored 22 points to lead Auburn.

• Auburn plays tonight at 5:30 p.m. EST against Northern Iowa in the final game of the tournament.

Iron Bowl matchups: a full breakdown

Back by popular (OK, my editor's) demand is the position-by-position breakdown for tomorrow's Iron Bowl.

I handled the Auburn side. Jason Galloway, who covers the Crimson Tide for the Ledger-Enquirer in Tuscaloosa, took care of Alabama.

Not surprisingly, most of the advantages came up Alabama's way, although I wouldn't have expected anything else since the No. 1 team in the country is involved.

We had some disagreement for who has the edge in the secondary and at special teams. I gave the secondary a push; Jason went with Auburn. I gave special teams to Auburn, despite the tenuous place-kicking situation; Jason went with Alabama. I can honestly see arguments that work for both sides.

Barners and Bammers feel free to weigh in:

Quarterback

• Auburn: With six career starts now under his belt, sophomore Kodi Burns is slowly but surely putting things together. He nearly led the Tigers to a come-from-behind victory against Georgia, driving the team down the field in the final minute before things fizzled. He hasn’t thrown an interception in either of the last two games, going 28-for-50 for 309 yards. He’s also rushed for 186 yards and two touchdowns.
• Alabama: As one of the few senior quarterbacks in the SEC, John Parker Wilson has been the leader in the Tide’s run to a perfect record. Now that he finally has a solid running game behind him, Wilson has not had to throw the ball as much as in previous years, allowing him to up his completion percentage while cutting down his interceptions.
• Edge: Alabama

Running backs

• Auburn: Sophomore Mario Fannin was impressive in his first career start against Georgia, with a 52-yard touchdown reception and a 35-yard touchdown run. He split carries with junior Ben Tate and will likely do so this week as well. Senior Brad Lester, who was dinged up and didn’t get in on offense against the Bulldogs, could get some carries as well.
• Alabama: Multiple backs make up Alabama’s top-25 rushing attack. Starter Glen Coffee is second in the SEC with 1,091 yards on the ground this season, and true freshman Mark Ingram has nine rushing touchdowns, second among running backs in the SEC. Third-stringer Roy Upchurch is also a threat, averaging 6.0 yards per carry average.
• Advantage: Alabama

Wide receivers/tight ends

• Auburn: With Tommy Trott out for the season with a knee injury, Gabe McKenzie, who switched back to tight end two weeks ago after a three-month stint on the defensive line, will start in his place. Wide receiver Montez Billings played against Georgia despite having a broken nose, catching a season-best six passes for 66 yards.
• Alabama: Highly-touted freshman wide out Julio Jones has emerged as the Tide’s go-to man in the passing game with 43 receptions this season. Although nobody has stepped up as a sure number two receiver, tight end Nick Walker has played a huge role in Alabama’s passing game, giving Wilson a big target to dump the ball off to.
• Advantage: Alabama
  

Offensive line

• Auburn: The shuffling has stopped and Auburn has shown some improvement running the ball. Against Georgia, the Tigers finished with 124 rushing yards, the second most they’ve had in an SEC game this season. Since Auburn installed more traditional offensive sets – using more tight ends and a fullback – it has allowed only three sacks in the last four games.
• Alabama: This might be the Tide's best group of linemen since Shaun Alexander was running behind Chris Samuels. With a potential top-5 NFL draft pick at left tackle in Andre Smith, experienced seniors at the center and right guard positions and an emerging star in junior Mike Johnson at left guard, the line has been the main reason for Alabama's success in the running game this season.
• Advantage: Alabama
  

Defensive line

• Auburn: Auburn got all of its injured players back last week against Georgia but couldn’t provide much of a pass rush. The Tigers didn’t register a sack and had few hurries. They did manage to bottle up Knowshon Moreno after he ran wild in the first quarter, holding him to 42 yards during the final three. Defensive tackle Sen’Derrick Marks, however, didn’t have one tackle against the Bulldogs.
• Alabama: Junior college transfer Terrence Cody anchors Alabama’s three-man front from the nose guard position. The 365-pound junior draws double and triple teams nearly every play, allowing linebackers and other defensive linemen like Brandon Deaderick and Bobby Greenwood, who each have 3.5 sacks this year, to break through and make plays.
• Advantage: Alabama

Linebackers

• Auburn: The Tigers got a boost last week from outside linebacker Merrill Johnson, who made six tackles after it was feared his season would be lost to a broken hand he suffered against Tennessee-Martin. The senior has 6½ tackles for a loss this season, most of the linebackers. Middle linebacker Josh Bynes has three interceptions, tops on the team.
• Alabama: Sophomore middle linebacker Rolando McClain has made 77 tackles to lead the Tide's rush defense, which ranks third nationally. The underrated Brandon Fanney has recorded 52 stops on the outside, and true freshman Dont’a Hightower has 55 tackles alongside McClain in the middle. Alabama’s front seven has proven to be one of the nation’s best this season.
• Advantage: Alabama
  

Secondary

• Auburn: Getting Jerraud Powers and Neiko Thorpe back at full speed gave Auburn’s defensive backs a boost against Georgia. The Tigers limited Matthew Stafford to 215 passing yards, but they still gave up two passing touchdowns, bringing their season total up to 17. Only Arkansas (20) has allowed more in the SEC.
  Alabama: Former walk-on running back Rashad Johnson has emerged as one of the top safeties in the country. Along with being second on the team with 68 tackles, the senior has five interceptions, returning two of them for touchdowns. His three picks were key in the Tide’s overtime victory at LSU. Kareem Jackson and Javier Arenas also make up a solid cornerback tandem.
• Advantage: Push

Special teams

• Auburn: The place-kicking situation is dire, with Wes Byrum battling a right knee injury and sophomore walk-on Morgan Hull expected to take his place. Hull’s first career kick came against Georgia, when he made an extra point. He has never attempted a field goal. The Tigers are solid on their other units, however, ranking fourth nationally in kick returns (26.1 yards) and 16th in net punting (37.6 yards).
• Alabama: Aside from a small slump at the beginning of this month, kicker Leigh Tiffin has been fairly reliable on the year. The Tide’s greatest special teams asset, junior return man Javier Arenas, is always a threat to take it to the house. His five career punt return touchdowns are an Alabama record.
• Advantage: Auburn

Coaching

• Auburn: Tommy Tuberville is 7-2 all-time in Iron Bowls, owning the best winning percentage (.778) of any coach who has been involved in at least three of them. He’s also had a great string of success against highly-ranked teams, winning nine of his last 13 games against teams ranked in the Associated Press top 10. He even has one win against a No. 1 team, toppling top-ranked Florida 23-20 in 2001 on a late field goal.
• Alabama: Nick Saban has lived up to the Alabama fans’ expectations in only his second year with the Tide. Trying to live up to the rich tradition that surrounds the city of Tuscaloosa, Saban has catapulted Alabama to the top of the college football rankings, only two wins away from a national championship birth.
• Advantage: Alabama

Wild card

• Auburn: Both teams have downplayed the significance of Auburn’s six-game winning streak in the series, but there has to be some psychological edge gained from having beaten your archrival every time since 2002. The Tigers have never lost in Tuscaloosa, owning a 6-0 record in the series since the teams stopped playing the game in Birmingham. If Auburn can get off to a quick start, putting any inkling out there that the streak might reach seven games, there’s no telling how an anxious Bryant-Denny Stadium crowd might react.
• Alabama: Alabama has not beaten the Tigers since 2001, a six-game losing streak. After snapping streaks to LSU (five games) and Mississippi State (two games), the Tide is likely not looking ahead to next week’s SEC Championship Game. Alabama has some unfinished business to take care of before heading to Atlanta.
• Advantage: Alabama

Three keys for Auburn

1. Make John Parker Wilson beat you. Nobody has successfully put the game on Wilson’s shoulders this season. And while the senior is enjoying a fine season (he only has five interceptions), he has never been asked to win a game by himself. He hasn’t thrown for more than 219 yards in any game this season and has only thrown four touchdown passes since SEC play began, with none in the last four games.
2. Get something – anything – on the ground. Alabama prides itself on stopping the run, giving up 75.1 yards per game, the third-best mark nationally. But the Tigers can’t abandon it altogether. The Crimson Tide defense is too good for a one-dimensional offense. Be it Kodi Burns on draws, Mario Fannin to the edge or Ben Tate up the middle, Auburn needs to establish something to be able to go to the air with any kind of success.
3. Don’t get knocked out early. Alabama’s M.O. has been to jump to a quick lead, run the ball to work the clock and force the opponent to play catch-up. The Crimson Tide has outscored its opponents 120-20 in the first quarter alone. An early deficit is not Auburn’s friend. The Tigers need to hang around, silence what should be a rabid crowd and make Alabama feel the full weight of that No. 1 crown.

Three keys for Alabama

1. Protect the football. Auburn’s strength is its defense. If Alabama is cautious and does not turn the ball over, it will force the Tigers sub-par offense to drive the length of the field to score points. Wilson must continue to make good decisions and not let a key interception swing the momentum in this rivalry game.
2. Strike early. The only game in which Alabama has trailed a significant amount of time this year is the overtime victory at LSU. If the Tide lets Auburn jump out to an early lead, Alabama might have to rely less on the power running game that has produced its 11-0 record. The Tigers’ impressive pass defense is something the Tide will want to stay away from as much as possible.
3. Dominate the line of scrimmage. Auburn has not proven it can be a threat in the passing game this season. If the Tide’s front seven can control the line of scrimmage, runners Brad Lester, Ben Tate and Mario Fannin will have no room to operate, and the Tigers’ offense will be unable to move. Offensively, Alabama’s line has dominated opponents all year, opening up plenty of running lanes for Coffee and Ingram.

Bitter's take: There is nothing flashy about Alabama, a straightforward team led by a no-nonsense coach, so it would be hard to imagine a Crimson Tide group with so much at stake to come out flat. But Auburn has played better lately. The Tigers took a fight to Georgia two weeks ago, barely falling short in the final minute. There are seldom blowouts in this series (17 of the last 20 meetings have been decided by 10 points or less) and probably won’t be one this week, despite the teams’ vastly different records. Auburn will play for pride, but Alabama is too solid of a team with too much on the line to slip up in this one. Prediction: Alabama 20-10.

Jason's take: Although this seems like a lopsided matchup, the Iron Bowl always finds a way to present a great game. Aside from sheer pride, both teams have much to play for -- Alabama, of course, for its national title hopes and Auburn to become bowl eligible for the ninth straight year. In the end, however, the Tide will prove to be too much for Auburn to handle on the road and the Tigers’ one-dimensional offense will not be able to keep up. Prediction: Alabama 20-10.

Men's hoops: Vot breaks nose, will still play tonight

The word from Chicago is that forward Korvotney Barber broke his nose during practice Wednesday. The senior will still play tonight in the Tigers' game against Dayton in the Chicago Invitational but might have to wear a protective mask.

Barber leads the team with 14.5 ppg and is second with 5.0 rpg.

His 2007-08 season was cut short by a broken hand after 10 games.

Happy Thanksgiving

No practice today, so there won't be an update other than this photo of Auburn's team Thanksgiving and a list of food items the kitchen staff prepared.

This is what it takes to feed a hungry football team on Thanksgiving:

4 roasts
10 turkeys
3 hams
8 pans dressing
12 boxes greens
3 sweet potato souffles
24 lbs green beans
6 big bag carrots
12 lbs cranberry sauce
5 bags broccoli
1 case each strawberry cloud cake, chocolate dream cakes,
4 lemon meringue pies
4 pecan pies
320 dinner rolls

Check back tomorrow for a position-by-position breakdown of the Iron Bowl.

Wednesday update: Tuberville wants new offensive coordinator in place by January

Auburn head coach Tommy Tuberville said on the SEC teleconference Wednesday that he wants to have a new offensive coordinator in place by the first week of January.

“Most of the guys I have on the list will probably be in the postseason,” he said. “A few are not. The ones who are not, I’ll visit with them. I’m not in a real big hurry.

"The first week in January would probably be a target date to have somebody on board. It could happen before that, but I don’t foresee it happening any earlier than that. I don’t want to mess with anybody else’s season."

Tuberville said he's whittled down a stack of resumes to about a dozen.

He put Tony Franklin in place last Dec. 12 to install part of the spread offense for the Chick-fil-A Bowl and to help recruiting, but he doesn't think waiting to make a hire will be a detriment.

“As long as you’ve got the month of January to have somebody go out and visit with recruits and start setting a plan for spring practice, I think that’s plenty of time," he said.

A priority will be finding someone who knows the spread but not at the expense of running the ball, a major drawback to the Tony Franklin system.

“You’ve got to be able to (run the ball) in this league,” Tuberville said. “I think that’s pretty much been proven. If you look at everybody in this league, the people who are pretty much at the top of the league are going to have a good running game.”

Some other info from Wednesday:

• Tuberville doesn't know when his much-anticipated postseason meeting with athletic director Jay Jacobs and school president Dr. Jay Gogue will take place. Tuberville is out recruiting for all of Sunday and part of Monday.

• PK Wes Byrum missed his second straight practice but is not ruled out for the Iron Bowl yet. Tuberville said even if sophomore walk-on Morgan Hull kicks in his place, it won't affect the coach's decision on whether or not to kick a field goal. "You can’t look at that,” he said. “If you got the ball at the 35-yard line and it’s fourth-and-4, you’ve got to kick the field goal. You’ve got to line up and put him out there – whoever’s out there – and say, ‘We’re going to get it done.’ You can’t change your coaching style. "

Men's hoops: Auburn 61, Bethune-Cookman 46

In the annals of ugly basketball games that I have witnessed in person, this one was up there.

I realize Bethune Cookman tried to slow the game down. I realize Auburn's possessions were limited. I realize it's hard to get up to beat an inferior team. But Tuesday's game was ugly. There's no other way to label it.

Auburn had 17 turnovers against what DeWayne Reed called a "funky" press. And the Tigers limited the Wildcats to 30 percen shooting and held them to the third-fewest points in the Jeff Lebo era, they can't come away feeling too good about themselves.

"It was kind of like a pick up game,” Reed said. “When they played sloppy, I think we got in a sloppy mode.”

Some quick quick thoughts because today's has been a long one:

• G Tay Waller had an off night, going 0-for-6 from 3-point range and being held scoreless. He was leading the league in 3-pointers made entering the night.

• Auburn had a 39-28 rebounding advantage, but Bethune Cookman basically started five guards. That margin should have been bigger.

• F Rasheem Barrett played seven minutes and didn't score, but the important part is that the Tigers are easing him back into the rotation after he missed two games with a groin injury.

Tuesday update: Tubs talks about toppling top 10 teams

How about that headline for some alliteration!

We got to speak to head coach Tommy Tuberville today and the focus of the interview shifted to beating top-ranked teams. A few things you might or might not know on that front:

• Tuberville has four wins against teams ranked in the top 5.
• He is 9-4 in his last 13 games against teams in the top 10.
• The last time the Tigers played the No. 1 team in the country, they beat Florida 23-20 at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Damon Duvall's field goal in the final minute.

Now, I don't care what's gone on lately, that's an impressive track record.

Tuberville gave a few reasons for his team's success against teams high in the polls.

"It’s really no secret,” he said. “You treat them all the same. … We’ve just done the same thing over and over and just let the players get the job done. Coaches don’t win many games. Players are going to do that.

“We’re usually not a flamboyant team. We don’t look flashy. We know most of our games are going to come down to the end anyway. We don’t go out and try to do big plays. We do take a few chances every once and a while, try to get the momentum.

"Momentum is huge against ranked teams. No matter whether you’re ranked or not ranked, those things swing back and forth. You try to keep it in your side as much as you can.”

One problem: No. 1 Alabama plays that type of football too. We'll see who plays it better come Saturday.

Some other housekeeping from Tuesday:

• PK Wes Byrum did not practice. He's day-to-day.

• RB Brad Lester is as healthy as he's been. The senior has had injuries all over this season -- to his neck, knee and, most recently, ankle. "Brad’s good,” Tuberville said. “I think he’s 100 percent for the first time since the Mississippi State game. He’s running like it. He’s got a smile on his face in practice. It’s not a struggle for him to go through practice as (it is for) a lot of guys.”

• Tuberville had good things to say about senior LB Chris Evans, who didn't have a very good spring two years ago and came into this season with coaches not knowing what to expect out of him. "When we got into the season, we had guys getting injured," Tuberville said. "He started playing outside linebacker, inside some, played all position. Most of the year, he was the only guy who was solid in terms of playing every week, knowing what to do, you could count on him playing several different positions. He was a breath of fresh air -- knowing how far he came. Here's a guy who steps up and gets the job done. That happens in a lot of seasons where people come out of nowhere and make plays -- and make a believer of you."

Monday update: Marks, Powers weigh in on NFL

Defensive tackle Sen'Derrick Marks and cornerback Jerraud Powers, a pair of juniors, talked today about their possible NFL ambitions after this season. Predictably, both said they'd wait until after the season is over before they make any kind of decision.

"A lot of people have been asking me about it,” Powers said. “But that’s sort of a situation that after the Alabama game, I’ll go to the coaches and talk to them about it, see what’s the best opportunity and what the best situation is.”

“It’s the same way it was at the beginning of the season,” Marks said. "I’ve thought about (the NFL), but I always think that I’m not good enough."

Defensive end Antonio Coleman, the other real threat to forgo his senior season, had similar sentiments when we interviewed him last week.

Both Powers and Marks said they would put their faith in the coaching staff for advice about going pro or not.

"I put all my trust into that," Marks said, "and I have no worries about it."

Also, Marks said linebacker Tray Blackmon is looking forward to coming back to the team next year, despite rumors to the contrary. Blackmon, whose season ended after having wrist surgery last month, has been working a job to support his three children.

"He’s doing well,” said Marks, Blackmon's roommate. “He’s getting ready to get his cast off — I think he already got it off. He can’t wait to come back next year. He’s doing real good. It’s not like he’s down about himself or he’s throwing everything away because he couldn’t play one year. He’s ready to come back.”

Some other developments from Monday:

• Blocking Alabama's mammoth nose guard Terrence Cody was a hot topic today. Cody is 6-foot-5, 365 pounds. Auburn doesn't have anybody who can replicate that kind of size in practice unless they put a fat suit on Tez Doolittle. "I have to stay low and stay leveraged,” said center Jason Bosley, who will be charged with blocking Cody all afternoon. Bosley gives up almost 100 pounds to Cody, so expect plenty of double teams.

• Interesting stat: Cody only has 17 tackles this year. Don't be fooled. That just means he's taking on extra blockers so other defenders can make plays.

• A good career is wrapping up as senior wide receiver Rod Smith plays what could be his last game this weekend. Smith is a former walk-on who made a lot of recruiters regret passing on him in the first place. "It’s one of those things that you like to talk about, " head coach Tommy Tuberville said of Smith's success. "Young guys mature a lot mentally and physically when they get to college and that’s why it’s so tough to predict the future when you’re recruiting out of high school. ... It’s hard, but guys like Rod Smith have a soft spot in my heart because I was a walk-on.”

• Powers said he'll be checking with stadium security before Saturday's game to see if there will be any police dogs guarding the field. The cornerback had his hand bitten by a police dog at Jordan-Hare Stadium last year after breaking up a pass in the end zone. "I don't want a repeat of that," Powers said. "That was a crazy situation."

Sunday update: Iron Bowl prep starts

Auburn began its Iron Bowl preparation in earnest today after players had Friday and Saturday off. Defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads said those two days off made a world of difference Sunday.

"I saw a fast football team today at practice, so I know the 50 hours from when we ended the last practice to today paid off," he said. "And I think as we take advantage of this extra time and scale down as the week goes along, it will pay off. I'm confident that we'll put as fast a football team on the field as we can Saturday."

A lot of talk about Auburn's six-game winning streak in the series -- the school's longest and the second-longest in Iron Bowl history -- but everyone claims it has no bearing on this year's game.

"I don't even think about the streak," defensive end Antonio Coleman said. "It's a whole other year. They're No. 1 and we're 5-6. When you go out and play ball, the streak doesn't matter. You have to come out and play this year."

Some other developments Sunday:

• PK Wes Byrum (inflamed right knee) kicked some short field goals during practice but head coach Tommy Tuberville said that doesn't mean Byrum will be the kicker come Saturday. If he can't go, sophomore Morgan Hull would handle Auburn's kicking.

• Rhoads was extremely complimentary of Alabama's offense, which comes across as pretty vanilla, but also pretty effective. The Crimson Tide is averaging 31.7 points and 198.5 rushing yards per game, trailing only Florida in the SEC in both categories."They’re playing great team football,” Tigers defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads said. “They’re very efficient with what they do.”

• Alabama's running game is the thing that impresses everybody the most. The Crimson Tide has rushed for 175 yards or more in seven of their 11 games this year, doing most of its damage with running back Glen Coffee, who has 1,091 yards and eight touchdowns and is averaging an SEC-best 6.1 yards per carry. "What stands out to me about the whole group is just their massive size and their ability to wear people down,” Rhoads said of Alabama's line. “They get stronger as the game goes along.”

• The talk came back to red zone woes again Sunday, where Auburn ranks 119th out of 119 Football Bowl Subdivision teams in efficiency. (I'm obligated by state law to refer to it as the "Dead Zone" for the purposes of this blog entry.) De facto offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger said he'd like to isolate running back Mario Fannin more to take advantage of the sophomore's one-on-one skills. I'll bet a lot of Auburn fans are wondering where that logic was last week, when Fannin didn't get on the field for the Tigers' final two drives in a 17-13 loss to Georgia.

• Sounds like Auburn has a busy week ahead of it. There are no classes, so the coaches get the players all week without interruption. It will almost be like 2-a-days for part of the week, with Wednesday being a full day. Tuberville said the team will have walkthroughs on Thanksgiving day, with plenty of eating on the intinerary. This was how he described the afternoon: "We'll watch a lot of film. There's nothing for them to do so we'll spend time over here, go through game plan, walk-through (and) eat two or three times." Now that's how I would draw up a Thanksgiving celebration, minus all the practicing.
  

Women's hoops: Auburn 87, Ohio State 80, OT

The Tigers look every bit worthy of their No. 20 national ranking after pulling out an overtime win against the No. 17 Buckeyes at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum on Sunday.

Alli Smalley and Sherell Hobbs both finished with 23 points, DeWanna Bonner added 17 points and 11 rebounds, and, most importantly, Auburn fought through a rough second-half stretch to come back for what was an exhilerating win.

Auburn head coach Nell Fortner summed things up well upon entering the media room following the game, saying, "I think everybody got their money's worth tonight."

Some quick thoughts on the game:

• Auburn looked like it was going to sail to an easy win before Ohio State went on a 21-3 run to take a seven-point lead. But the Tigers didn't wilt. Afterward, Fortner credited her seniors for the maturity in handling the situation.

• Clutch, clutch, clutch shot by Smalley at the end of regulation, hitting a 3-pointer off a screen on a designed play to knot things up at 75. Smalley made five 3-pointers and was 9-for-17 from the field.

• Speaking of Smalley, she made an up-and-under, double clutch layup in the overtime and punctuated it with a picture perfect Tiger Woods fist pump. Fortner and the rest of the players brought to the post-game interview said they don't see that kind of emotion too often out of the guard.

• Something must have gotten into Hobbs in the overtime. She scored six points and had two steals, helping Auburn out-score Ohio State 12-5 in the extra session.

• Bonner and Big Ten player of the year Jantel Lavender -- the game's two featured players -- didn't have their best efforts. Being matched up on each other probably didn't help. Bonner got her 17 points but was 7-for-20 from the field. Lavender went 9-for-27, getting her 20 points but taking a lot of shots to do so.

• I was very impressed by point guard Whitney Boddie, who made her first start this season. Although she had a team-high five turnovers, it's very clear she makes this offense go, as her 11 assists clearly show. When she left midway through the second half to have her left leg worked on by the trainer, Auburn's offense went through a funk.

Men's hoops: Auburn 83, George Washington 71

It looked bleak for a while, but Auburn shook off its Mercer hangover and came away with a 12-point win against George Washington at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum.

For hack writers everywhere, this was the ultimate tale of two halves.

GW shot 56 percent in the first half, making 10 3-pointers and out-rebounding Auburn 16-13 despite using a small lineup.

Auburn responded by shooting 50 percent after halftime, making seven 3-pointers, holding GW to 33 percent shooting and finishing with a 37-26 advantage on the boards.

"It’s one thing to get beat, but it’s another thing to stay beat,” said Auburn guard Tay Waller, showing plenty of wisdom for being a first-year SEC player.

Some other thoughts:

• I was very impressed by freshman guard Frankie Sullivan, who scored 11 of his career-high 17 points in the second half. With Rasheem Barrett still out with a groin injury, Auburn needs someone to eat up some minutes at guard. Sullivan doesn't look anything like a freshman on the court, confident in his shooting stroke and not afraid to pull the trigger.

• Sulilvan said he simply had to slow things down after an erratic debut against Mercer, when he went 2-for-9 from the field. "(Coach Lebo) just told me to take it out of the fifth gear and go into the third gear,” Sullivan said. “I played more comfortable.”

• It would have been embarrassing to get out-rebounded by GW, which used a guard-heavy lineup for most of the game and plays one of its post players on the perimeter a lot. Auburn got back into it with a team effort on the glass. Nobody had more than six rebounds and everybody had at least two.

• The Tigers must have been practicing their free throws the last few days. They went 14-for-17 in the final 4:15 to put the game away. They were shooting 54 percent entering the game.
  

• Waller isn't just a shooter. He struggled with his shot Saturday but made up for it in other areas, notching a team-best five steals. Auburn finished with 11 steals in the game, holding a 25-7 advantage in points off turnovers.

Friday video: More Iron Bowl talk

New video today from Thursday's interviews. It has head coach Tommy Tuberville, quarterback Kodi Burns and wide receiver Rod Smith.

Enjoy.

Barkley to enter college hoops hall of fame

Former Auburn great Charles Barkley will be inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame on Sunday at the Spring Center in Kansas City, Mo.

"Auburn gave me an opportunity to be successful," Barkley said in a release. "I will appreciate that always. I think basketball has given me every single thing in my life. I have never had a real job, and hopefully I will never have to get one."

Barkley joins Kansas' Danny Manning, coaches Nolan Richardson and Jim Phelan, broadcasters Dick Vitale and Billy Packer and former player and executive Arnie Ferrin in this year's class.

A Leeds, Ala., native, Barkley was a three-time all-SEC pick and the 1984 SEC tournament MVP. He was a second-team All-American as a junior and was the AP and UPI SEC player of the year in the 1983-84 season. He led the conference in rebounding three straight years and still holds Auburn's career field goal percentage record (.626). His number 34 is retired.

Thursday update: What could have been

Relatively slow day at Auburn, with the Tigers having their final practice before Sunday and coaches set to go out on recruiting trips. Not much to report from a game standpoint (Auburn's players still profess to know nothing about Alabama at this point).

A few did comment on what could have been this season. Looking back at some of the losses, it's easy to see why:

• Lost to LSU by five on a touchdown in the final two minutes.
• Lost to Vanderbilt by one thanks to a missed extra point.
• Lost to Arkansas by three after getting stone-walled from the 4-yard line four times in a row.
• Lost to Georgia by four after driving the length of the field in the final minute.

A lot of what ifs in there (although you could say the same for Auburn's two narrow SEC wins this year).

"It's definitely frustrating -- always going back and thinking what could have happened," wide receiver Rod Smith said. "That's been on my mind a lot just to think about all the things that could have happened. When you start dwelling on that stuff, it gets worse. You just have to keep moving forward and getting better as the week goes on. It hurts."

"It's real difficult," quarterback Kodi Burns said. "I think about it all the time. We've lost six games now and we just didn't make enough plays to win those games. You look at a few other teams and they have winning records because they've won the close games. We just happen to lose them. It's real disheartening to know we could have just have easily won those games."

Not much else to report, but here are a few nuggets:

• LB Josh Bynes didn't practice Thursday to give his legs a rest. Nothing much more than that.

• WR/PR Robert Dunn didn't practice because of a concussion suffered Wednesday. Head coach Tommy Tuberville expects him back for Sunday's practice.

• After hearing the 500th question about it this week, I've come to the concludsion that this "Iron Bowl" is a fairly big deal. Who knew?
  

• According to Smith, RG Tyronne Green is quite the singer. Smith even gave us a little rendition of Green's favorite jam, "I Can See Clearly Now" by Johnny Nash. He asked us not to put up any video of his American Idol-like performance. The result of that request is pending.
  

Like I said, slow day in Auburn. Hopefully things will pick up again Sunday when the Tigers dive completely in to Alabama prep.

Auburn men's hoops: Mercer 78, Auburn 74

"Have Mercer!"

That would be my headline if I were on a sports copy desk tonight. (On a related note, this is probably why I don't work on the sports copy desk.) I'm sure Uncle Jesse from Full House would appreciate it.

An ugly performance by the Auburn men's basketball team tonight. It's one thing to lose to a small conference school like Mercer because of a ridiculously hot shooting night by either a player or the whole team, but to be, as Jeff Lebo described, "annihilated" on the boards by a 46-21 margin is embarrassing.

The Bears (3-0) weren't bigger than the Tigers (1-1), with a frontcourt that went 6-6, 6-7 and 6-8. But they were relentless on the glass. They had a 22-9 advantage at halftime that only increased in the second half.

"Rebounding a lot of the time is a mentality, and no so much a skill," Lebo said. "You have to have a nose for the ball, and with contact be able to come down with it, which we didn't do."

Think Auburn will have some rebounding drills on tap before Saturday's game against George Washington? That game's Saturday at 2 p.m. EST, by the way.

Some other thoughts:

• Auburn looked better at the free throw line, making 71 percent of its foul shots in the first half. But the Tigers collapsed at the end, missing six free throws in the final 7 minutes, two coming at the front end of a 1-and-1. It sounds like this is a yearly problem for this team. They finished 16-for-28 in the game.

• Mercer guard James Florence, who scored 16 of his 25 points in the first half, is a terrific player. I thought Auburn guard DeWayne Reed did a good job of locking him up in the second half, when Florence had five of his eight turnovers.

• If my count was correct, Auburn missed two dunks (one by Reed, one on an alley oop by Lucas Hargrove) and a layup by Korvotney Barber. Those are the ones you think about after a loss like this.

• Good to see freshman guard Frankie Sullivan get some action after missing the opener with a sprained ankle. He looked confident, hoisting up a 3 on his first look and making it. He was 2-for-9 shooting (and just 2-for-8 from 3-point range), but I think he'll be a pretty big factor on this team once he gets some more experience.

• From the silver lining department: Auburn had only 7 turnovers.

• The foul call against Quantez Robertson in the final seconds appeared to be correct, but the official underneath the hoop didn't look like he had a clue. He was timid with an original out of bounds call that gave the ball to Auburn, then looked helpless before another official raced in to change it to a charge. Not a great game for the officials, who called everything (50 foul calls, two foul outs for Mercer) and made a bad call on Reed's missed dunk that eventually earned Bears coach Bob Hoffman a first-half technical.

Women's basketball: Auburn 71, Georgia Southern 45

Another impressive win by the No. 20-ranked Tigers (3-0), who got 18 points from Alli Smalley, 11 from DeWanna Bonner and 10 from Chantel Hilliard in Statesboro, Ga.

Kudos to senior guard Sherrell Hobbs, who scored her 1,000th career point, the 24th Auburn women's player to do so.

Auburn hosts No. 17 Ohio State at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum on Sunday at 3 p.m. EST.

Wednesday video: All Iron Bowl, all the time

I've got a new video ready from Tuesday's interviews with head coach Tommy Tuberville, defensive end Antonio Coleman, center Jason Bosley, running back Mario Fannin and always entertaining cornerback Walt McFadden.

Enjoy.

Auburn gets 2010 commitment from top kicker

Cody Parkey, a 6-foot, 200-pound place-kicker from Jupiter, Fla., became Auburn's second commitment for 2010, according to the good folks over at Rivals.com. Eddie Gran was his recruiter.

Parkey, who had interest from Florida, Georgia, Miami, North Carolina and Vanderbilt, was ranked as the top kicker nationally in his class by kicking guru Chris Sailer. Parkey made two 52-yard field goals and a 47-yarder this season.

You've got to think Wes Byrum's ongoing problems -- mental and physical -- played a big factor in the Tigers agreeing to put another kicker on scholarship. Plus, anytime you can get the top player at his position, you go after him.

Dothan, Ala., quarterback B.J. Chitty was Auburn's first 2010 commit.

Muschamp named Texas' head coach-in-waiting

If Auburn elects to get rid of Tommy Tuberville after this season -- and after last week's highly-competitive game against a very good Georgia team, I'm beginning to think that will be a very big "if" -- Will Muschamp is one name that won't come into play.

According to ESPN.com's Tim Griffin, Muschamp, Auburn's former defensive coordinator, has been designated Texas' head coach-in waiting for 57-year-old Mack Brown. The 'Horns don't anticipate Brown to retire soon, but they want to avoid the transition period that comes with switching coaches.

Muschamp's getting quite a pay bump ($425,000 to $900,000) to stay as d-coordinator, and with the promise of taking over one of the elite programs in college football, won't be headed anywhere else.

Tuesday update: Trott to have surgery

The big news out of Tuesday's meet 'n' greet with head coach Tommy Tuberville and select players was that tight end Tommy Trott will have season-ending surgery Thursday for a torn ACL he suffered against Georgia.

"Another report I hate to give you," Tuberville said. "He's played very well for us and is one of the leaders of our offense. Hate to lose him."

Tuberville hopes to get him back for spring practice, which seems like it would be highly optimistic, considering Auburn starts practice at the earliest opportunity, usually in late February. That would only give Trott a little more than three months of recovery time, which simply isn't enough for that kind of injury.

"He'll be back for some things that he can do," Tuberville conceded. "He won't be for all of it."

Tuberville did say that considering all of the surgeries the team has had this year -- which he put at a dozen -- he might push back the start of spring practice to most of those injured players back.

In other developments:

• Auburn had the good fortune of moving Gabe McKenzie back to tight end from defensive end before the Georgia game. True freshman Vance Smith is now McKenzie's backup.

• PK Wes Byrum has got what Tuberville termed "an inflamed knee" and isn't going to practice this week. Byrum suffered the injury a couple weeks ago. Tuberville blamed it on adding kickoffs to his already heavy load of kicking. "When you do the kickoffs, field goals and extra points, you do a lot of kicking during the year," he said. "We're many days into the season and sometimes they tend to over-kick."

• Curious quote from Tuberville on RB Mario Fannin, who had the team's only two touchdowns against Georgia: "It was a good game for him Saturday. He made two very good plays, but I think those other guys could have done the same thing being in that situation. There's not a lot of difference in any of those guys." Maybe it's just me, but Ben Tate doesn't seem to be the home run threat that Fannin is.

• Tuberville claims this year's struggles haven't affected recruiting at all. Three four-star 2009 recruits -- QB Raymond Cotton, TE Philip Lutzenkirchen and RB Onterrio McCalebb -- were on hand for the Georgia game. "Recruiting is going fine," Tuberville said. "It's not affected by losing a few games. As coaches, you'd think it would help mentally a little bit. It really doesn't. A lot of the guys see they may have an opportunity to play a little bit sooner."

• Interesting tid-bit from Sunday that I kind of glossed over about Auburn going back to the huddle. Tuberville hinted that teams might be stealing the Tigers' signals. "As coaches, you're always wondering why are they slanting this way or doing that," Tuberville said. "It's probably not happening but it gives you peace of mind for your players and coaches, 'Hey, you can do more when you give more to your players.' We just haven't been able to give them much up to this point."

• I like center Jason Bosley. He's a good guy who shows up every week to the media sessions and answers questions some of his teammates would rather not. But he certainly was the grand prize winner of the cliche of the week with this comment on the Iron Bowl: "I don't think records really matter in this game. It doesn't matter who's ranked, who's not ranked. You've seen in the past. You can throw records out the window, it's going to be a good game. This game is all about heart and pride in both schools. Both teams have got a lot of friends and family that are affiliated with both schools. It's a fistfight and it's going to be a classic."

• CB Walt McFadden says Auburn has a countdown board to the Iron Bowl that starts in the preseason. I believe him.

• DE Antonio Coleman says he hasn't given much thought about leaving early for the NFL after this season, although his stats -- 43 tackles, 10.5 TFLs and 6 sacks -- certainly make it a possibility. "I'm just focused on finishing the season strong," Coleman said. "I haven't paid too much thought to that. I just see how it pans out."

• Tuberville continues to have a sense of humor about the rumors surrounding his personal and professional life. His wife called in the middle of his interview session Tuesday. "Those that have said my wife has left me, I promise she ain't," he said. "She's still calling. Let me text her and I'll tell her I'll call her back."

Wasting away again in Tommy Tuberville

No players or coaches today, so there wasn't much to write about.

I got this video of e-mailed to me today. It's a duo called The Lexington Brothers doing a rendition of "Wasting Away Again in Tommy Tuberville," sung to Jimmy Buffett's "Margaritaville."

It's good for a laugh, if you're not uptight about Auburn's struggles this year. (Think Ole Miss fans are still bitter he left?)

Anyway, we get players after practice tomorrow, so I'll have an update then.

Bonner nabs SEC honor

Women's basketball forward DeWanna Bonner earned SEC player of the week honors after putting up 25 points, eight rebounds and six steals in Auburn's season opener at Alabama A&M last Friday.

It is the second time in her career that Bonner has gotten the award.

Iron Bowl game time set

This year's Iron Bowl in Tuscaloosa will be at 3:30 p.m. EST on Nov. 29 and televised by CBS.

Auburn (5-6, 2-5 SEC) has won six straight in the series and hasn't lost in six trips to Tuscaloosa.

Alabama (11-0, 7-0) is No. 1 in the Associated Press and USA Today/Coaches polls, plus the BCS Rankings.

Tuberville: 'We're in it to win games'

Brief meeting with head coach Tommy Tuberville today, although we didn't get any players because they had the day off due to the bye week.

Tuberville sounded encouraged with his team's play in a 17-13 loss to Georgia, but not satisfied.

"I think if you just look at individual efforts and playing offense or defense, we showed improvement," he said. "Of course, that's not what we're in for. We're in it to win games, and we felt like we could win it. "

Here are a few developments from the Sunday sitdown:

• Tuberville said RB Mario Fannin wasn't in the game the last two drives because Auburn had to go to the air and Ben Tate is better at pass protection. It seemed strange that Fannin, who scored the team's only two touchdowns and had 107 rushing and receiving yards didn't play, but it is believable that he's not up to speed on his pass protection, since he has only been at the position full-time for a few weeks.
  

• Still, if you need someone -- anyone -- to make a play in the final minute, don't you want the guy who scored your only other points of the day? I seem to recall Tate not doing much in terms of pass protection on the final play, when he was the primary target of a designed pass to the corner of the end zone.

• Tuberville on Fannin's running: "What they were doing, playing eight, nine man fronts, it was kind of like running into a wall most times. Even the touchdown we ran right into a blitz, we blocked it pretty good and he made a move and made a linebacker miss. Those are all well and good, but that doesn't happen very often."

• Other than his touchdown run, by the way, Fannin had seven carries for 24 yards. Not great, but not terrible.
  

• Of 119 Football Bowl Subdivision teams, Auburn ranks, as colleague and blogosphere extraordinairre Jay G. Tate says, buck-naked last in red zone efficiency, scoring on 57 percent of its times inside the 20. Nobody else is below 64 percent in the FBS.
  

• Nothing's wrong with senior RB Brad Lester, who had no carries Saturday after starting eight of the first 10 games. No injury. No doghouse. Nothing. He just wasn't in the game plan with Fannin and Tate in the mix. "(In the) doghouse you're locked up," Tuberville said.

• A couple injuries to report: PK Wes Byrum and TE Tommy Trott both suffered knee injuries against Georgia. Tuberville said Morgan Hull looks like he'll do the kicking against Alabama. "Unless (Byrum) makes a miraculous recovery," he said.

• Byrum's injury factored into Tuberville's decision to go for it on fourth down on Auburn's second-to-last drive when it was down 17-13. Instead of attempting a field goal from 40-plus, the Tigers went for it, throwing an incomplete fade pattern to Montez Billings in the end zone. "Morgan went out there and then, after he went out there and got to thinking about the scenario of him, first time being out there, I decided 'Let's not do this. Let's go for a touchdown,'" Tuberville said. "And they gave us a shot. We know they were going to give a chance to go deep because they'd been pressing us all night. A little bit had to do with Wesley not making the first one, then knee hurting him."

• Auburn went back to the huddle for the first time this year and seemed to do better with communication on offense. "The spread, no huddle – everything is put on the coach signaling," Tuberville said. "I just thought maybe people are reading our signals. You just take too many things for granted that if you're signaling and people are seeing what you're doing, you look too much in terms of reading what you can do. When you're huddling, only 11 people in that huddle know what you're going to do. ... I thought we looked better yesterday in huddling. Guys played more as a unit, as a group. Now there are times when you don't do it. We want to be able to do everything. We want to be able to huddle, not huddle, freeze at the line, signal plays in, go fast-paced. It give you a lot more options when you do that."

Final: Georgia 17, Auburn 13

Here's tomorrow's lede (and a great photo by Auburn's Todd Van Emst of Auburn's incomplete fourth-down pass to Ben Tate in the end zone in the final seconds).

I'll get to some more analysis tomorrow when I get a chance to sift through some more quotes.

By Andy Bitter

abitter@leger-enquirer.com

AUBURN, Ala. – It was no rout, no cakewalk, certainly not the blowout many had predicted at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

No, Saturday's edition of the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry wasn't over until Auburn quarterback Kodi Burns' desperation fourth-down fade to Ben Tate in the end zone floated just out of the running back's reach, landing out of bounds as Georgia's sideline burst into spontaneous celebration.

Only then could the No. 10 Bulldogs revel in their 17-13 win against the Tigers, the first time they've won three straight in the series since 1980-82.

"We are thankful for the victory," Georgia head coach Mark Richt said. "A bunch of guys didn't flinch at the end. It was … another SEC brawl."

Auburn (5-6, 2-5 SEC) needs to beat No. 1 Alabama in Tuscaloosa in two weeks to avoid missing out on a bowl game for the first time since 1999, head coach Tommy Tuberville's first season with the school.

"Things just haven't gone our way all season," Burns said. "There's no doubt in anybody's minds that we could beat Georgia and any other team that we've lost to. … Guys believed that we could get it done and that's why we drove the ball down the field. We just couldn't come up with points."

End 3rd quarter: Georgia 10, Auburn 6

Well, the difference so far is the kicking game.

Georgia made a field goal and an extra point; Auburn missed a field goal and bobbled a hold on its only extra point attempt.

If that’s why the Tigers lose this game, they’re going to be kicking themselves (yes, the pun was intended).

Some thoughts:

Georgia should be way ahead in this game. Here’s the yardage so far: Georgia 293, Auburn 128.

That’s not a typo, the Tigers had minus-6 yards in the third quarter.

The Bulldogs seem to find a way to stop themselves on every drive, whether it’s a penalty, a missed pass on a third down or whatever. Something’s just slightly off with this offense today.

Nice game so far by Auburn CB Walter McFadden. He successfully defended a fade pattern to the end zone in the first quarter and blanketed A.J. Green on a fourth-down pass on Georgia’s first drive of the third quarter.

Interesting end to the quarter, with the Tigers sneaking it with Kodi Burns on 4th-and-1 from their own 19-yard line. The big gamble paid off. We'll see if it matters in the long run.

Halftime: Georgia 7, Auburn 6

Well, Auburn’s good fortune wasn’t bound to last forever.

If not for a slate of personal foul penalties, a muffed punt and one big breakdown in pass coverage, I feel like the Bulldogs could be up about 20 right now. But credit the Tigers for staying in there.

Georgia’s touchdown was beautifully executed. The Bulldogs faked a handoff to Knowshon Moreno, QB Matthew Stafford looked to the other side of the field, then threw a screen pass to Moreno. He had three escorts to the end zone and made a nice cut near the goal line to get in.

First career receiving touchdown by Moreno, by the way.

Some stats:

Total yards: Georgia 203, Auburn 134

Rushing yards: Moreno 92 yards, Mario Fannin 24.

Passing: Stafford 6-11, 110 yards, 1 TD, Kodi Burns 6-10, 83 yards, 1 TD

End 1st quarter: Auburn 6, Georgia 0

Wow, what a turn of events. Georgia was primed to have great field position following an Auburn punt, but the Bulldogs roughed the kicker AND muffed the punt, giving the Tigers possession near midfield. Phenix City native D’Antoine Hood recovered the ball.

One play later, Kodi Burns completed a pass to running back Mario Fannin, who went all the way across the field and dove into the end zone for a 52-yard touchdown. (Auburn bobbled the snap on the extra point).

Georgia hasn’t scored, but you get the feeling it’s only a matter of time. The Bulldogs outgained Auburn 158-68 in the first quarter, yet trail.

They went straight down the field on their first drive before Tez Doolittle blocked a 20-yard field goal.

On their second drive, they had a key third-down conversion wiped out because of an offensive pass interference penalty.

I feel like Auburn is just plugging up a cracked dam right now. It’s only a matter of time before it breaks.

One other thought: RB Knowshon Moreno is legit (89 yards in the first quarter), but his supposedly bad offensive line is eating up Auburn’s defensive front. He’s not getting touched until he’s 5 or 10 yards down the field.

Auburn-Georgia pre-game

You're looking LIVE at Jordan-Hare Stadium, less than 40 minutes before kickoff.

It's a little breezy out here today (gusts up to 25 mph) and fairly chilly (55 degrees but sunny).

It's good football weather, although I personally could do without the wind. We'll see how that affects the passing game. I would imagine it would affect a less-polished passer more than anyone. That's not good news for Kodi Burns, who can't match up in experience or arm strength with Georgia's Matthew Stafford.

Sophomore Mario Fannin will start at running back for Auburn. It's an interesting move. Yes, Fannin brings a little more of a home run threat than Ben Tate or Brad Lester, but he's still a work in progress in terms of pass protection.

We'll see how much that actually means. Lester and Tate have started all year but that hasn't stoopped Auburn from spreading around carries.

Men's hoops: Auburn 75, Missouri State 60

Nice season opener for the men's basketball team Friday at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum. Korvotney Barber matched a career-high with 22 points and the Tigers held a 42-14 advantage in the paint to put away the Bears.

Missouri State slowed the game down to make up for its lack of depth and used nearly all of the shot clock on each possession. Auburn didn't blink, playing good enough defense for a 15-point win.

Here are a few thoughts on the game:

• Barber looked good around the basket, as he should have against a Missouri State team that had two starters taller than 6-foot-6. He sounded happy just to be back from a broken hand that cost him 20 games last season. "I'm excited to be back," he said. "I've still got a little ways to go. I got a little winded."

• Barber took a scary fall with just under nine minutes left, falling squarely on his back and hitting the back of his head against the floor. He said he was fine, though.

• The same can't be said yet of backup guard DeWayne Reed, who turned his left ankle with 2:20 to go and had to be helped off the floor. With Rasheem Barrett already nursing a sore groin and Frankie Sullivan out with an ankle sprain, Auburn can't afford another long-term injury in the backcourt.

• Missouri State only traveled with eight players because of injuries. Five of them had four fouls by the end of the game.

• Free throw shooting will be a priority after an ugly 14-for-28 effort. Auburn's players didn't seem to have many answers for the dismal showing afterward, either.

• Forward Lucas Hargrove had a nice game, with 13 points, five assists and three rebounds in 33 minutes. He also went 5-fot-7 from the line, which should exempt him from extra running or something this week.

• Impressive showing by forward Brendon Knox, one of the four junior college transfers. In 13 minutes off the bench, he had 10 points, three rebounds, an assist and a block. That's good production for such limited time.

• Tay Waller came back to earth with his shooting a little bit, going 4-for-8 from 3-point range. He was 7-for-12 in the exhibition game against Morehouse. I will say that he never appears to get his shoulders squared when he shoots. He's always falling off in one direction or another. Take a look at the picture on the right. I don't know how much that will fly once SEC play starts.

Women's hoops: Auburn 91, Alabama A&M 53

DeWanna Bonner led the No. 20 Tigers with 25 points, eight rebounds and six steals. Five players finished in double figures for Auburn. KeKe Carrier had 11 and Trevesha Jackson, Sherell Hobbs and Reneisha Hobbs added 10 points apiece.

Auburn-Georgia preview

The Ledger-Enquirer teamed up with the Macon Telegraph again for tomorrow's paper, breaking down the Auburn-Georgia game position-by-position. I handled the Auburn half of the breakdown. Macon's David Hale handled the Georgia half.

Here's what we came up with (note: these are the advantages that I came up with):

Quarterback

• Auburn: Since assuming the starting job, Kodi Burns has shown glimpses of his vast potential. He threw for 319 yards at Ole Miss, then ran for 158 yards against UT Martin last week. But the sophomore still struggles with his reads at times (he threw three picks at Ole Miss) and has yet to face a defense of Georgia's caliber.
• Georgia: Matthew Stafford is coming off one of the best performances of his career, having thrown for 376 yards and three touchdowns against Kentucky last week. His ability to make quick throws, avoid pressure and get the ball downfield have helped Georgia overcome a bevy of offensive line issues this season.
• Advantage: Georgia

Running backs

• Auburn: The fact that Burns has been the team's leading rusher in three of the last four games speaks volumes about Auburn's inability to run the ball. Normally a strong suit, the Tigers haven't been able to settle on one back all year, spreading carries among Brad Lester, Ben Tate and Mario Fannin. Fannin, a sophomore, might start because of his big-play ability.
• Georgia: On his first carry of the game last week, Knowshon Moreno became just the second running back in school history with consecutive 1,000-yard seasons. He has 1,113 yards and 15 touchdowns this season. Fullbacks Brannan Southerland and Shaun Chapas are among the best blocking backs in the SEC and are also scoring threats in the red zone.
• Advantage: Georgia
  

Wide receivers/Tight ends

• Auburn: Auburn has plenty of bodies here but no standouts. Rod Smith, a No. 1 target by default, leads the Tigers with 283 receiving yards. Robert Dunn, a backup, leads the team with two touchdown receptions. Tight end Tommy Trott (20 catches, 201 yards) is turning into a nice safety valve for Burns.
• GEORGIA: Senior Mohamed Massaquoi and freshman A.J. Green are easily the SEC’s top pass-catching duo. Green leads the conference in receiving yards, while Massaquoi reeled in a career-best 191 yards a week ago. Both rank among the top 10 in the SEC in catches and yards.
• Advantage: Georgia

Offensive line

• Auburn: A supposed strength heading into the year, Auburn's line has instead been a major liability. The Tigers returned four starters but have struggled to find the nasty streak that made them so effective in the past. Senior center Jason Bosley is banged up all over, but will still start.
• Georgia: Georgia’s line has held up well, allowing just 13 sacks this season, despite a nearly constant barrage of injuries. Right tackle Justin Anderson will miss the game – the fourth starter to miss time this year – and Josh Davis is likely to get the start in his place. Freshman center Ben Jones earned SEC lineman of the week honors after helping Georgia tally 520 yards of offense against Kentucky.
• Advantage: Push

Defensive line

• Auburn: Back from injury are tackle Sen'Derrick Marks and end Antonio Coleman, two all-SEC candidates, and veteran nose guard Tez Doolittle. The trio has combined for 88 tackles, 24½ tackles for a loss and 8½ sacks this year, and should shore up a run defense that was trampled by West Virginia (271 yards) and Ole Miss (233 yards).
• Georgia: The Bulldogs’ interior linemen, Corvey Irvin and Geno Atkins, have been their strength. Both have gotten consistent pressure on the quarterback and helped to shut down opposing runners between the tackles. The defensive ends, however, have struggled, failing to get sacks and allowing three straight opponents to run for more than 160 yards.
• Advantage: Auburn

Linebackers

• Auburn: Tray Blackmon's season-ending wrist surgery but Auburn in a bind, but sophomore Josh Bynes has been outstanding in his place, with 44 tackles, 2 TFLs and 3 interceptions in essentially six games. Merrill Johnson, who has 40 tackles and 6½ TFLs will play despite breaking his hand last week. He, Craig Stevens and Chris Evans have been steady contributors on the outside.
• Georgia: Rennie Curran recorded a career-high 15 tackles last week and now leads the SEC with 89 takedowns. He also leads the team with three sacks. Senior Dannell Ellerbe played his first full game last week after suffering a knee injury against Alabama, and sophomore Darryl Gamble has two interceptions and is third on the team with 54 tackles.
• Advantage: Push

Secondary

• Auburn: For the first time in weeks, Auburn's secondary appears to be healthy, with starter Jerraud Powers (hamstring) and nickel back Neiko Thorpe (ankle) both ready to go. Excluding last week, the Tigers haven't surrendered many yards through the air (175.3 per game), but they've given up 15 passing touchdowns. Only two SEC teams have allowed more.
• Georgia: For the first time all season, Georgia held an opponent without a passing touchdown last week. Still, the Bulldogs rank 10th in the SEC in passing defense, allowing an average of 206 yards per game through the air. Safety Reshad Jones is Georgia’s second leading tackler and his three interceptions are tops on the team.
• Advantage: Push

Special teams

• Auburn: Tristan Davis leads a kick return unit that ranks third in the nation, Auburn leads the SEC in net punting and Dunn, while prone to mistakes, is capable of breaking a big play. At place-kicker, Wes Byrum has struggled all year, but the sophomore went 3-for-4 last week, with makes from 48 and 44 yards.
• Georgia: Georgia’s special teams have been up and down all season, but last week’s performance against Kentucky was a low point. The Bulldogs had one punt blocked and another that netted just 18 yards before bouncing out of bounds. They also allowed a 94-yard kick return and struggled in their own return game. Kicker Blair Walsh has missed five of his last eight field-goal attempts.
• Advantage: Auburn

Coaching

• Auburn: Despite the team's recent struggles, head coach Tommy Tuberville has still won 85 games in his nine-plus seasons on the Plains, with a 12-6 record against ranked teams since 2004. But his expertise is not offense, and the Tigers haven't had any consistency on that side of the ball this season, first under offensive coordinator Tony Franklin and now under tight ends coach Steve Ensminger.
• Georgia: Head coach Mark Richt won his 80th career game at Georgia last week, becoming just the sixth coach in history with that many wins in his first eight seasons at a school. He is 4-3 in his seven meetings against Auburn, including a 2-1 mark at Jordan-Hare. Assistants Rodney Garner and Stacy Searels are both Auburn alums.
• Advantage: Georgia

Wild card

• Auburn: Never underestimate the motivation of a team whose pride has been wounded. Auburn's season went in the tank long ago, but the Tigers still hold the Georgia and Alabama games in high regard and need a win in one of their final two games to keep a nine-year bowl streak alive. Also, last year's Soulja Boy episode in Athens didn't sit well with many Auburn players, and they've vowed not to forget that when they take the field Saturday. "That got to me," Smith said. "This is the game that's been marked on my calendar since last year."
• Georgia: After Kentucky’s freshman quarterback gashed them for 82 yards and three touchdowns last week, Georgia’s defense held a players-only meeting in an attempt to refocus on their final two regular-season games. For three straight weeks, the Bulldogs have allowed 38 points or more – the first time that has happened in more than a century – but the players vowed they would have a different attitude this week. “Georgia’s main goal is to just get our swagger back and have fun,” Irvin said. “We’ve got to punish, man. We’ve got to punish. That’s it.”
• Advantage: Auburn

The verdict

• Bitter: If there's one type of game Auburn is not equipped to win, it's a high-scoring affair. Georgia, which was the preseason No. 1 team in the country, is as good of an offense as the Tigers have faced this year, having scored 30 or more points in six games this year. Auburn has topped 30 points just twice – against Louisiana-Monroe in the opener and last week against a school from the Football Championship Subdivision. The only way the Tigers can pull of the upset is if they keep the score down, sustain drives to keep Georgia's high-powered offense off the field and make a tide-turning play on defense or special teams. That's a lot of "ifs." Prediction: Georgia 34-13.
• Hale: After last week’s debacle in Kentucky, the defense is angry and wants to put on a showcase performance against an Auburn team that has struggled to move the football at times. The Tigers have a mobile quarterback in Burns, however, and Georgia has struggled against similar runners in the past, including last week. This is a classic example of a game Georgia should win as long as it doesn’t beat itself. Stafford has a chance to become the first Bulldogs quarterback to beat Auburn in three straight games since Johnny Rauch in the mid-1940s, and with Auburn returning three defensive linemen from injury, Georgia’s offensive success may rest on his arm and ability to escape pressure. Prediction: Georgia 24-14.

Thursday update: Rhoads, Gran talk Georgia

Thursday's are becoming one of the better days of the week in terms of interviews now that we're getting assistant coaches on a regular basis. Today we got defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads and running backs/special teams coach Eddie Gran.

Rhoads was especially complimentary of Georgia's offense.

"They're outstanding," he said. "They've got weapons at every skill position. They're outstanding at tailback. Their quarterback (Matthew Stafford) is just a sensational player. He's got the biggest arm we've seen all season but he's smart. He does things at the line of scrimmage that people don't see. He looks here and waits here and sets up a completely big picture for him to throw to and has the patience to do that.

"The freshman receiver (A.J. Green) is as good as anybody we've seen all season. He can make the big catch. He can go over the top of anybody and he can take it the distance if he gets it.

"(Wide receiver Mohamed) Massaquoi is a tremendous football player that's had a lot of success. I can go on and on through numbers and players. Their numbers and what they're doing reflect the talent that they have."

Rhoads didn't forget running back Knowshon Moreno.

"He doesn't go down very easy," he said. "You get him wrapped up and you think he's down and he slips away. He's fallen down and he plants a hand and keeps his balance and comes back out of there. I think he's got a heavyweight fighter mentality where he's coming at you every round. He shows that by how fast he bounces up and runs back to the huddle.

"That sends a message; that's an attitude that he sends to you that says, 'You got to bring more than that because I'm here for all 60 minutes.' If that gets to you with his success than that can wear you down. We've got to wrap up, we've got to gang tackle and we can't be satisfied until the whistle blows and he's on the ground."

Rhoads gaves two big keys for the defense Saturday. First, limit big plays.

"They've gotten big plays against everybody and chances are they're going to get one Saturday afternoon," he said, "but we have to limit them to a minimum number for us to have a chance for success."

Secondly, slow down the run.

"Their play action is built around being successful at running the football," Rhoads said. "If they can't be successful running the football then the play action shouldn't be as effective."

Easier said than done.

Some other tidbits:

• Gran didn't say who would start at running back Saturday, but he sounded high on sophomore Mario Fannin. "He's so physical," Gran said. "He brings that spark to the football team. He's down hill. He's missed some holes where he should have been, but he's not the only one who has done that. He's got to work on when the hole is there, he's got to hit. He does have tendency sometimes to stop, and get East and West. There's a time and place for that. He's hitting it more downhill now. He just brings a spark because of his energy. I think he's a big-play guy."

• WR Montez Billings has practiced this week but hasn't gone full speed. He's a maybe for Saturday.

• LB Merrill Johnson, who broke his hand against UT Martin, will play with a club on his hand. "He'll be out there and he'll be full speed," Rhoads said. Johnson's club isn't as big as the one Tray Blackmon wore earlier this year.

• DT Sen'Derrick Marks, DE Antonio Coleman and NG Tez Doolittle are all back and looking good. "It's probably immeasurable how much it helps (having them back)," Rhoads said. "I think they're as close to 100 percent as they're going to get. I don't know if they could rest a month and be any closer to what they're going to be for this football game."

• Morgan Hull will handle kickoffs. He's been better at getting hangtime than Wes Byrum. "There's a big difference between a 4.0 hang time and a 4.1 hang time than a 3.6 and a 3.7," Gran said. "It's a huge difference, and that's what Hull has brought to the table for us."

Women's basketball signs four

Auburn received letters of intent from four players Wednesday (I'm not expecting the men to be announced until tomorrow).

Here they are, with bits of info provided by the Tigers sports information department:

Morgan Toles, PG, 5-9, Fayettville, Ga. (Sandy Creek High)

• No. 27 prospect in country, 4th best PG according to ESPN.com's Hoop Gurlz
  
• Two state titles at Sandy Creek
• Dad, Alvin, played football at Tennessee; mom, Vicki, played basketball at New Orleans
• "When you put her on the court along with Morgan Jennings and some of the other great athletes we have out here, we get a lot faster,” coach Nell Fortner said. “That is a really good thing for us, especially with the way we are playing right now. She has a great upside to her and she has not reached her full potential by any stretch of the word."

Blanche Alverson, F/G, 6-3, Buford, Ga. (Buford High)

• 15.8 ppg, 7.6 rpg last year
• No. 45 overall prospect, 8th best PF by ESPN.com's Hoop Gurlz
• Has played for Peach State Elite Black club team since eighth grade
• 4.0 GPA, plans to go pre-med at Auburn
• "She has the ability to shoot the three, put it on the floor, she is an excellent passer, and that is a skill that you do not get a lot of kids coming in with anymore," Fortner said.
  

Nicolle Thomas, G, 5-10, Moultrie, Ga. (Colquitt County High)

• 16 ppg, 8 rpg, 6 apg, 3 spg last year
• Ranked No. 24 guard prospect by ESPN.com's Hoop Gurlz
• "Nicolle has a beautiful shot, is a great three-point shooter, but can also get to the hole very strong,” Fortner said. “Her game is very versatile. She has had to play inside in high school, but will play on the perimeter for us."

P.J. West, C, 6-8, LaGrange, Ga., (Troup County Comprehensive School)

• 10 ppg, 10 rpg last year
• No. 25 post prospect by ESPN.com's Hoop Gurlz
• Led state of Georgia in blocked shots; ranked in top five in the nation
• Father, Wally, was drafted by Utah Jazz in 1980 after finishing career at Boston Unversity
• "P.J.’s upside is tremendous," Fortner said. "It is just a matter of how good she personally wants to be"

Blackmon still in school, with team ... for now

Tommy Tuberville dismissed rumors that injured linebacker Tray Blackmon is no longer a member of the team or attending classes at school.

"He's going to class," Tuberville said after Wednesday's practice. "He wanted to get a part-time job because he's got some kids. That's what he needed to do."

Tuberville did not say for certain that Blackmon would return next year.

"I'm sure he'll make his decision after the first of the year what he wants to do – whether he'll stay in school or (leave)," Tuberville said. "That's a personal decision for him. He's got to make it for what's best for his family.

"I think a lot of times when guys get injured they tend to look at the other side: 'Do I need to keep doing this?' But he's a football player, and I think he'll make a decision based on his future, and for his family. We'll be supportive of it."

Blackmon suffered a broken wrist against LSU on Sept. 20 and had season-ending surgery following the Arkansas game a few weeks later.

Rumors began to surface earlier this week that Blackmon was no longer a part of the team after he was not spotted on the sideline for the UT Martin game. Tuberville said Blackmon hasn't been to any of the games since having surgery.

Blackmon hasn't been around Auburn's practice facility, since there isn't much he can in terms of rehab at this point.

Q&A with Bulldogs beat writer David Hale

In the spirit of synergy, I've done an exchange of Q&A's with David Hale, the Georgia beat writer for the Macon Telegraph, a McClatchy sister paper of the Ledger-Enquirer.

You can read his excellent blog here.

I'll have an update after practice tonight.

Here are a few questions I e-mailed David this morning and his responses:

War Eagle Extra: QB Matthew Stafford and RB Knowshon Moreno look like top 10 picks in next year's NFL Draft if they choose to leave. How good is this Georgia offense relative to others you've seen this season, and does it have any weak spots?

Hale: "At the skill positions, this is probably the best Georgia team since the Herschel Walker years. Beyond just Stafford and Moreno, the Bulldogs have a pair of receivers in A.J. Green and Mohamed Massaquoi that are among the best in the league. Green, in particular, is a Randy Moss clone and is on pace to become only the second Georgia receiver ever to post a 1,000-yard season. Fullbacks don't get much publicity, but Georgia also has a pair of FBs in Brannan Southerland and Shaun Chapas that are both exceptional blockers and occasional playmakers.

"The problem for the Bulldogs' offense, however, is the line. Four starters have gone down with injuries since fall camp, and all five members of the line are freshmen or sophomores. Right tackle Justin Anderson suffered a foot injury last week against Kentucky and will be out this week, meaning Auburn could find picking on fill-ins Josh Davis and Kiante Tripp a pretty easy task."

WEE: In their last three games, the Bulldogs have allowed 38, 49 and 38 points. Plus, they allowed 41 to Alabama at home in a loss earlier this year. What are some of the reasons the defense has struggled to keep other teams off the scoreboard?

Hale: "If I had the answer to that, I might be hired as the new D coordinator. Honestly, there's been a ton of explanations thrown out there -- everything from poor coaching to poor preparation to bad leadership and bad execution. The Bulldogs defense held a players-only meeting this week, however, to discuss the issues, and they insist things will be different this week.

"The key, I think, is stopping the run. Georgia had been the No. 3 rush defense in the nation prior to the LSU game, but have given up at least 170 yards on the ground in three straight weeks. They had a particularly tough time against UK's mobile QB Randall Cobb last week, and Kodi Burns could prove to be another big weapon. If Auburn can run the ball effectively, its offense may actually do some damage."

WEE: Georgia had plenty of hype surrounding it coming in as the preseason No. 1, but losses to Alabama and Florida ended any thoughts of a national championship. What is the team's attitude like considering it won't even be playing in the SEC Championship game?

Hale: "They're bummed, but upbeat, from what I can tell. I actually think the close game against UK was a good thing for them because it was a reminder they can't sleepwalk through their final three games and still win. There was definitely a hangover effect -- at least with the defense and special teams -- last week, but I think the fact that they nearly lost to Kentucky was an eye-opener. It also helps that they get Auburn and Tech -- two of their biggest rivals -- in the final two regular-season games. It's hard to overlook them."

WEE: What do you think are a few keys to a Georgia victory?

Hale: "Three big things: 1.) Stop the run, particularly Burns. Georgia's defense is angry about how Cobb gashed them last week, and I think they'll be more prepared to stop Burns than they were Cobb.

"2.) Avoid turnovers. Auburn's offense hasn't shown the ability to consistently put drives together, but Georgia's D has faced some short fields lately thanks to turnovers. The Bulldogs can't go doing Auburn any favors.

"3.) This is a biggy -- play sound special teams. Last week, the Bulldogs had a punt blocked, shanked another one, allowed a kick return to the 3, made some terrible decisions on returns of their own, and they have a kicker who has missed five of his last eight field goals. Compare that to Auburn, which is among the best in the league in return yards and punting, and it's a recipe for disaster for Georgia."

Wednesday video: Georgia talk

Got a new video for you. It's got head coach Tommy Tuberville, tight end Tommy Trott, center Jason Bosley, kick returner/fullback Tristan Davis and running back Brad Lester.

Enjoy.

Tuesday update: Billings, Johnson doubtful

Not the biggest news day out of Auburn today, but head coach Tommy Tuberville said WR Montez Billings and LB Merrill Johnson are doubtful. Billings broke his nose against Tennessee-Martin and Johnson broke his hand.

If Billings can't go, Tuberville said a group of players would rotate in his spot.

Chris Evans will start at OLB for Johnson.

In other news:

• Auburn will wear a helmet sticker with Virgil Starks' initials to honor the Senior Associate Athletic Director, who died of a heart attack last weekend.
  

• It seems some Auburn players just can't get the Soulja Boy episode out of their heads from last year's Georgia game. It didn't help that the trainer was playing it on a loop all afternoon to remind them. "Um, there won't be no more Soulja Boy. That's all I can tell you," CB Walter McFadden said. "They came out last year, played a great game, their fans got into our heads, everybody doing the Soulja Boy dance. We're feeling down for ourselves. And by our trainer playing it, he really don't have any type of athletic ability and he's in there dancing around, he's making us upset. Like I said it was stuck in our heads, so today the music was a lot of helmets banging against each other."

• This was from Sunday, but CB Jerraud Powers called Georgia's Matthew Stafford the best quarterback in the country.

• For the Georgia natives on Auburn's roster, this week's game is their Iron Bowl. Just listen to KR Tristan Davis: "Me being from Georgia, hate's a strong word, but I kind of hate Georgia."

• The dancing struck a nerve with Davis too, who has something planned if he scores a touchdown: "Oh yeah. I've got something for them. Don't let me get in the end zone. If I score on a kickoff return against Georgia, I'm with (strength and conditioning coach Kevin Yoxall) the rest of my life. I'm going to let it be known. They might want to get me right now."

• Let the record show Davis was laughing the whole time he was saying this.

Monday video: Soulja Boy, Blackouts and Stafford

New video is up. This is from Sunday's interviews. We've got CB Jerraud Powers (easily the best quote on the team, by the way), WR Rod Smith and QB Kodi Burns.

Enjoy.

An award and a correction

Tristan Davis earned the SEC's special teams player of the week award after returning the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown against Tennessee-Martin last week in Auburn's 37-20 win. Plus, he did it on a bum hamstring that coaches said was about 80 percent.

Davis is the first Auburn player since 1970 to return two kickoffs for touchdowns in the same season and leads the SEC with a 30.9-yard average on 17 returns.

Also had to correct something from today's story about the Auburn-Georgia rivalry. AUBURN leads the all-time series 53-50-8. I had that information incorrect in my story. Thanks to the 12 or so people who pointed that out.

Tuberville reacts to Starks' death

As expected, Tommy Tuberville and the rest of the football team took the unexpected death of Virgil Starks, the Senior Associate Athletics Director for Student-Athlete Support Services hard.

"It’s a shock to all of us, " Tuberville said. "He’s been a huge part of these kids being able to work toward and education and get a degree and play football at the same time.

"He fought for the players real hard in a lot of situations on the hill over there, early registration, a lot of things that help a student athlete. And not just football. I’m talking all athletes."

For Senior Day against Tennessee-Martin, Starks stood on the field with linebacker Chris Evans, whose parents were unable to attend.

"He’s kind of like a head coach in academics," Tuberville said. "And sometimes the players think that he was on them a little bit too hard, but as I told them, he was doing it for the betterment of them. He took his job seriously. He worked at it hard, day and night and did a lot for the program."

On to some football developments:

• Tuberville expects injured defensive linemen Sen'Derrick Marks (ankles), Antonio Coleman (shoulder/ankle) and Tez Doolittle (groin) to be able to practice starting Tuesday.

• Center Jason Bosley, who left the UT Martin game after rolling his ankle, should be fine. KR Tristan Davis (hamstring) too.

• Tuberville on playing a game against an FCS team like UT Martin: "As coaches you think, 'We got it over with.' We didn't get any major injuries and we got some guys healthy."

• On playing Georgia and Alabama to close the season: "It's kind of like two Iron Bowls back to back."

• Tuberville said Neil Caudle has earned the backup quarterback job. Caudle went 4-for-5 on the final two drives of the UT Martin game. Tuberville wanted to get Caudle in during the first half, but the Skyhawks converted a long third-down conversion, then went on to score in the final minute, nixing that plan.

• Tuberville would like to see quarterback Kodi Burns protect himself more at the end of runs."You don't want him going headfirst, but yesterday he looked like a running back going down the field," Tuberville said. "He wasn't going to go down, he broke arm tackles and that's what we saw of him when he was in high school."

• School president Jay Gogue reiterated his stance that Tuberville will be evaluated after the season, as all coaches are. Tuberville had this as a response: "He's told us all about that. He told us when he first got here in our meeting with all the head coaches that each coach would be evaluated after their season. He doesn't get involved. That's the way he handles it, which I think is pretty good.

Auburn-Georgia start time announced

Auburn’s game against No. 13 Georgia at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday will be televised by Raycom Sports and start at 12:30 p.m. EST.

It’s the third time this season the Tigers have appeared on Raycom.

Auburn mourns Virgil Starks

Virgil Starks, Auburn's Senior Associate Athletics Director for Student-Athlete Support Services, died Saturday evening of cardiac arrest while returning from the Tigers' football game against Tennessee-Martin. He was 46.

"Words can’t express the feelings of sorrow and mourning that we have at the passing of our dear friend Virgil Starks," Auburn Athletics Director Jay Jacobs said. "Virgil was passionate about all facets of his life and cared for Auburn student-athletes as if they were his own children. He will be dearly missed by all that he touched. Our thoughts and prayers are with Virgil’s family, friends and our Auburn Family in these difficult times."

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Tigers Unlimited Foundation in memory of Virgil Starks. All donations will benefit Starks’ passion, the academic and life-skills enhancement of Auburn student-athletes.

Starks is survived by his wife, Donna, and three daughters, Carolyn, Victoria, and Anastasia.

Memorial arrangements will be provided when they become available.

Final: Auburn 37, UT Martin 20

Interesting game. Not a great performance by Auburn, but a win nonetheless. When you've lost four straight, that's all you can ask for.

Pretty impressive performance by Kodi Burns, who looks like he gets a little better each game. It's hard to figure out why he was kept off the field for so long this year.

Anyway, here's a preview of tomorrow's lede. I'll blog some more about it tomorrow when we follow up with head coach Tommy Tuberville.

By Andy Bitter
abitter@ledger-enquirer.com

AUBURN, Ala. – A familiar feeling overcame Kodi Burns in the third quarter Saturday, shortly after Tennessee-Martin, a Football Championship Subdivision school, pulled even with a lackadaisical Auburn.

Nauseating describes it best.

“I was just sick of seeing this,” the quarterback said. “It’s the same story every week. I was just sick of seeing it and didn’t want to see it again.”

Burns made sure the Tigers’ season didn’t sink any lower, running for a career-high 158 yards and scoring two touchdowns in Auburn’s sometimes-shaky 37-20 win.

It was Auburn’s first win since Sept. 27, a streak of 42 days. The Tigers avoided their first five-game losing streak since 1999.

“It was great to sing the Auburn fight song again,” running back Ben Tate said.

End third quarter: Auburn 27, UT Martin 20

That sure was getting close for a while. If there's one rule of underdogs, it's that you can't give them any confidence by hanging around. UT Martin was on the brink for a while, but it might have missed its chance with a bad interception in field goal range midway through the third.

Other thoughts:

• UT Martin is really going after CB Jerraud Powers, whose hamstring can't be 100 percent. Powers is giving all sorts of room and receiver Mike Hicks keeps catching short 6-yard passes with Powers on his heels. Hicks made a nice touchdown grab, tipping an overthrown ball into the air, settling under it and hauling it in in the end zone.

• Hicks, by the way, has 12 catches for 132 yards and two touchdowns.

• Jordan-Hare had all the excitement of a morgue after Hicks' touchdown, which tied the game at 20-20. The student section is long gone. I can't really blame them with this being homecoming and Auburn playing poorly. I probably would have cut out early too.

• Auburn's best offense is Kodi Burns on the quarterback draw. It's almost like a high school offense. Give the ball to your best offensive player and let him run. There are certainly a lot fewer variables in doing that. It's tough to make a bad read or run the wrong route on a QB draw.

• Burns has nine carries for 91 yards and a touchdown.

Halftime: Auburn 20, UT Martin 13

Well, things got a little more interesting here. UT Martin went 71 yards in just under two minutes to score a touchdown when Cade Thompson connected with Mike Hicks from 7 yards out. The Skyhawks missed the extra point, so it's only a touchdown lead.

(This is where somebody always has to mention that the extra point miss COULD be costly. Well, duh. It's one less point on the board. I hate it when people make a big deal about pointing that out.)

Anyway, Auburn is certainly not going to waltz away with a victory in this one.

Some halftime thoughts:

• The good news is that the Tigers finally put together a nice offensive drive, going 85 yards in 16 plays and capping things with a 1-yard Brad Lester run. It took 8:19 off the clock. Auburn went to the ground for most of the drive. Mario Fannin accounted for 29 yards. Kodi Burns had two designed runs that went for 22 yard and a pair of first downs. He also hit Tommy Trott for an 11-yard pass on 3rd-and-9 when UT Martin brought the house on a blitz.

• There were a couple plays where Auburn players tried to reverse field about six times on the same play and lost 10-plus yards. Listen, I know you're playing an FCS team, but you're not Bo Jackson in Tecmo Bowl. It's simply not a smart thing to do.

• Wes Byrum missed a 44-yarder a few minutes before the half. Maybe he hasn't completely turned the corner. (Side note: Does he attempt any field goal shorter than 40 yards? Can't Auburn get this guy some chip shots?)

Some halftime stats:

• Total yards: Auburn 201, UT Martin 151.

• Passing yards: Auburn 81, UT Martin 240.

• Rushing yards: Auburn 120, UT Martin 11.

• Quarterbacks: Burns: 6-13, 81 yards; Thompson: 13-22, 140 yards

End first quarter: Auburn 13, UT Martin 7

Auburn definitely looks like a superior team out there, but a major special teams gaffe by the Tigers has kept UT Martin in the game.

Can't say I'm too impressed with the Auburn offense. It hasn't produced any touchdowns, and hasn't been able to move the ball much. The Tigers' two field goals were mostly the result of good field position.

Quarterback Kodi Burns hasn't thrown the ball well. He severely underthrew Chris Slaughter on Auburn's first drive after Slaughter had four or five steps on his defender going to the corner.

Other thoughts:

• We got to witness one of best and worst special teams plays in a span of three minutes. Tristan Davis' 95-yard kick return to open the game was pretty. I don't know how he got through the crease.

• But Robert Dunn's muffed punt was just a terrible, terrible decision. First of all, he drifted back from the 10-yard line, where you're supposed to let the ball go. Then he tried to pick it up and run from the end zone, only complicating matters and allowing UT Martin to recover for a touchdown. Inexcusable.

• By the way, it was the Skyhawks' long snapper, Chip Martin, who recovered the ball for a touchdown. Nice hustle.

• Nice first quarter by Wes Byrum, who looks like he might break out of a season long slump. He nailed a 48-yarder into the teeth of a pretty strong wind on the first one. I honestly didn't think they should have tried it. Shows what I know. Byrum added a 44-yarder later in the quarter.

• UT Martin looked like it had something going on its final drive of the quarter, but running back Roren Thomas coughed up the ball deep in Auburn territory. Heads up play by safety Mike McNeil to recover the ball in bounds along the sideline.

Auburn-UT Martin pregame

You're looking LIVE at (the mostly empty student section of) Jordan-Hare Stadium for today's game between Auburn and, as Anniston Star scribe Luke Brietzke said, bizarro Auburn ... I mean, Tennessee-Martin.

If it's not enough that the Skyhawks' home jerseys look exactly like Auburn's, the UT Martin pep band was playing the Tigers' fight song.

Some pre-game notes:

• A couple players are not dressed today, including DT Sen'Derrick Marks and DE Antonio Coleman. Zach Clayton and Antoine Carter will start instead.

• CB Jerraud Powers, WR Rod Smith and NG Tez Doolittle are dressed, although Chris Slaughter will start in Smith's place and Mike Blanc will start for Doolittle.

• Mike Berry will start for Byron Isom at right guard.

• Little windy out here today, witha 16 mph wind out of the West Southwest. That should definitely play a role in the kicking game.

• Sure enough, Auburn's wearing white and UT Martin is wearing orange. I feel like I've seen two opposing teams wear solid-colored jerseys in the same game before. Couldn't Auburn have still worn blue? It seems like the colors are different enough.

• Not a great crwod so far. I can't imagine this place will sell out, but you'd typically expect a pretty big crowd for homecoming, right?

Auburn-Tennesse-Martin preview

Has a win against a Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA) team ever meant so much for an Auburn football team?

It's a sign of the hard times when a team like the Tigers is grateful to have an FCS team come into town. Normally, Auburn would have its backups in from the second quarter on. I don't think you'll see that Saturday.

For one, I think UT Martin is a decent football team, its 56-7 drubbing by South Florida in its only other game against FBS competition notwithstanding.

And secondly, if Auburn gets something -- anything -- going on offense, you would have to imagine that it would continue to hammer it home for the whole game. It's not as though this offense has been hitting on all cylinders this season.

Here are some other thoughts about tonight's game before I head to Prattville to cover the Smiths Station-Prattville 6-A playoff game. (You've got to like Prattville's football home page. It's better than most small college Web sites. Plus it hits you with some GNR just to make sure you're extra pumped. Well done, Lions. Well done.)

• I've written it before and I'll write it again. FBS teams are 80-2 against FCS competition this year. An upest tomorrow -- despite how poorly Auburn has played of late -- probably isn't in the cards.

• Coach Tommy Tuberville has said repeatedly that he's going to try to play everyone in this game. As some posters have pointed out, that might not be the greatest idea in the world. I can't see much logic in playing someone like CB Jerraud Powers, who has been bothered by a nagging hamstring injury the last three weeks. Same goes for DT Sen'Derrick Marks (ankles), NG Tez Doolittle (groin) and WR Rod Smith (hip pointer). I'm all for not looking past the opponent of the moment, but you have to be reasonable as well. Georgia and Alabama still await. You'll want to have a full roster of healthy players for those two teams, because you're going to need it.

• Auburn averages 6-foot-5, 291 pounds across its offensive line. UT Martin averages 6-2, 260 across its defensive line. If the Tigers can't simply line up and overpower the Skyhawks with the run tomorrow, they never will.

• Had a good convesation with UT Martin coach Jason Simpson this week. It seems he is prone to calling it Division I-AA every now and then instead of the preferred Football Championship Subdivision. He had a good quote about not caring what it's called, though: "It’s not a knock. I don’t take it as a slight when you say I-A, I-AA. It is what it is and be proud of who you are. Not every player can go play at Alabama, Auburn. Not every coach is going to have a chance to coach at one of those SEC schools. I’m proud to be here and I hope our players are as well."

• Auburn probably won't fill all 87,451 seats for tomorrow's game, but if it does, it will be more fans than UT Martin has played in front of all season. The Skyhawks have played in front of 83,180 fans in their first nine games, with over half of that (48, 058) coming in their season opener at South Florida. Credit Auburn-Opelika News number cruncher Andrew Gribble for that fun fact.

• I know most of you don't care, but I'm going to throw a uniform note in here anyway. UT Martin will wear orange uniforms tomorrow (there's a picture on the right). Auburn will wear all white. The Skyhawks asked for permission to wear special unis for this road game and the Tigers obliged. What's funny is a lot of Auburn fans have wanted to wear orange uniforms at home for a while. Tuberville, on his radio show, said he likes having a more traditional uniform, though, one that you can recognize on TV instantly, and that's why he sticks to the home blues and away whites. Someone on his radio suggested the Tigers wear orange uniforms and blue pants. Tuberville's response? "I better win a few more games before I do that."

Prediction time: For as bad as Auburn has played this season, I can't envision a scenario in which it loses. At the same time, I don't think the Tigers make it a complete rout. Auburn wins 38-10, getting a defensive touchdown or a special teams score.

Auburn will wear all white Saturday

Tommy Tuberville said on his Thursday-night radio show that the Tigers will wear their all-white uniforms against Tennessee-Martin on Saturday.

Tennessee-Martin has orange uniforms that it asked Auburn if it could wear for this game. So there were not two solid colored uniforms on the field, the Tigers agreed to wear white in a rare instance at home.

The Skyhawks' blue home uniforms are almost identical to Auburn's. (Check out the picture on the right. That's UT Martin.)

Tuberville also said CB Jerraud Powers (hamstring) is getting closer to a return and could play some snaps this weekend. He said he wasn't wild about him playing at West Virginia two weeks ago, but relented anyway. Powers didn't dress at Ole Miss last week.

Auburn assistants not worrying about next year

We had a surprisingly interesting round of interviews this morning with head coach Tommy Tuberville, wide receivers coach Greg Knox and defensive line coach Don Dunn.

A lot of the talk centered on the coaching staff's future. Tuberville was grateful to myriad fans who have supported him by calling in to his radio show the last few weeks.

"You're going to have ups and downs in this business," he said. "I think a lot of people are going to understand that. ... I do appreciate everybody's support and we've had a tremendous amount. You never worry about anything but trying to get better, but my phone has rang -- my e-mail and my text messages -- and I do appreciate it."

Dunn said the assistant coaches aren't concerned with what others are saying.

"I dont have time to worry about that stuff," Dunn said. "First of all, if you're in my business you've got a job to do and that job is to get your players to play the best they can play on every rep. Every rep's important. And that's all we're focusing on. We're over here -- you guys see us, you guys are here late -- we're here from 5 in the morning until midnight.

"We ain't got time to listen to all of that. What's the use of it? It's out of our hands. ... Life's too short for me to worry about all that junk. I'm worried about our players and getting Auburn football back in the win column. We need a win."

Does Knox think he and the coaching staff will be back next year?

"I do," he said. "I have no doubt."

Normally Thursdays are light days in terms of notes, but we got quite a few nuggets today.

• WR Rod Smith (hip pointer) is a gametime decision. The senior hasn't been able to do much this week other than catch passes on the side. If he can't go, Chris Slaughter will start in his place.

• On the d-line Zach Clayton and Mike Blanc will start on the interior, with Jake Ricks backing them up. It sounds as though Sen'Derrick Marks (ankles) and Tez Doolittle (groin) will see little, if any, playing time.

• Speaking of Blanc, he only has to wear a cast on his sprained hand, not a big ball like Tray Blackmon had to use.

• Tuberville side RG Mike Berry has been doing so well that Byron Isom (concussion) is having a hard time to get back in the lineup.

• Tuberville sounded like he had renewed confidence in place-kicker Wes Byrum. "I think Wesley Byrum might have turned a corner. We've got to get him out there on the field some to see if he's improved, but I think his technique is much improved."

• Tuberville hopes to use both Clinton Durst and Ryan Shoemaker at punter. (I assume he'd prefer to use neither of them if given the choice.)

• Both Robert Dunn and Slaughter will be back returning punts Saturday. After a strong start, Auburn hasn't done much in its return game lately. "A lot of it has to do with the punters," Tuberville said. "Hang time. We're seeing a lot of people that run the spread formation that the coverage is outstanding. You give up a little bit of protection and people try to block them on you. But it's just hard to get a return on those type of teams."

• Don Dunn was extremly candid when talking about the defense's inability to stop the run the last few weeks. "If you're a football coach, it's embarrassing, it's frustrating because I know we're better than that," he said. "We didn't do it the first part of the year. Why? Lot of reasons I'm not going to go into and ya'll can figure those out. But the bottom line is: fundamentals, being where we're supposed to be, and when we're there make the play."

Wednesday update

Brief meeting with head coach Tommy Tuberville tonight with nothing major to report. Tuberville didn't make it sound like Saturday's game against FCS Tennessee-Martin will be a cakewalk. He's not using it as an opportunity to rest any starters, that's for sure.

"We're not a good enough team yet to just say we're going to go out and play and rest everybody and hopefully win the game and get them ready for next week," he said. "Guys need to play. Those that have watched us the last four weeks know that we're not a team yet that's just going to roll our jerseys out there and be good."

Other developments:

• Center Jason Bosley (ankle, shoulder) participated in part of Wednesday's practice. From the sounds of it, the senior has been battling several ailments all season.

• Tristan Davis is officially the team's fullback when it goes to an "I" formation. Auburn rarely had a use for the fullback in the spread, but since Tony Franklin was fired, has introduced elements of last year's power-based running game.

Hopefully there will be more to report tomorrow.

New video, plus a rumor squashed

Got a new video for you here from interviews done yesterday. It's got head coach Tommy Tuberville, tight end Tommy Trott, left tackle Lee Ziemba and running back Brad Lester.



Also wanted to touch on the rumor circulating that Tuberville to Clemson was a "done deal." Apparently, radio host Tim Brando and Atlanta Journal-Constitution writer Tony Barnhardt were doing some speculating as to what would be a good fit for the parties involved and the message boards ran with it.

Paul Strelow, the Clemson beat writer for The State in Columbia, S.C., debunked the rumor in this blog post today. Here's an excerpt:

"All this fodder flooding message boards about Tommy Tuberville being a 'done deal' as Clemson’s next coach is just speculation.

So agrees Tony Barnhart, the respected Atlanta-based reporter of all things southern college football – and who allegedly reported it as fact.

Not so, Tony says.

As a regular guest on Tim Brando’s syndicated radio show Monday, Barnhart said he and Brando were discussing Auburn’s situation, and Brando pointed out that when Auburn has made coaching changes, it traditionally has done so before the Iron Bowl against Alabama.

So the two took the idea a step further, pondering what would happen if that played out. And it was logically concluded that Clemson would be a perfect fit for Tuberville for numerous reasons – none the least of which is Clemson doesn’t have a full-time head coach.

'It was all just speculation,' Barnhart said."

Tuesday football update

Nothing major coming out of Tuesday's round of interviews, but there were some minor nuggets to update:

• I'm doing a running game story for tomorrow, so I don't want to spoil it too much, but LT Lee Ziemba had this to say about the offensive line: "We're not tough enough right now. Running the football, we're not where we were last year. I know we had a little setback and we keep striving for that. It ain't the want-to, we want to, we just got to get it done. We've just got to stop talking about it and just do it."

• LG Tyronne Green on switching offensive approaches midseason: "Yeah, it's been pretty tough, because for the spread offense, we were always emphasizing the tempo of the offense. It wasn't really man-on-man blocking. It was more zone blocking. ... It just takes a little time to get back to it."

• Tuberville sounded surprised when he told us CB Neiko Thorpe (high ankle) practiced today. He wasn't sure about the game, but the fact that the freshman is out there three weeks after suffering a high-ankle sprain is encouraging.

• DT Sen'Derrick Marks (ankles), NG Tez Doolittle (groin), DE Antonio Coleman (ankle), CB Jerraud Powers (hamstring) and WR Rod Smith (hip pointer) did not practice today.

• Talked to handful of players who sounded like they paid quite a bit of attention to this year's election, though they were finding it hard to get to a polling place Tuesday. QB Kodi Burns was bummed he didn't fill out an absentee ballot on time. I can relate. After moving from Virginia, I didn't register to vote in Alabama on time so I'll be an onlooker today as well.

Men's b-ball: Vot earns second-team all-SEC preseason honors

Auburn senior forward Korvotney Barber was named to the SEC's preseason second team by the coaches Monday. Barber averaged 13.8 points and 6.9 rebounds last season before breaking his left hand and missing the final 20 games. He was leading the nation in shooting percentage (72.0) at the time of his injury.

Here's the rest of the selections:

First team
Nick Calathes, Florida
Patrick Patterson, Kentucky
Tasmin Mitchell, LSU
Marcus Thornton, LSU
Chris Warren, Ole Miss
Jarvis Varnado, Mississippi State
Devan Downey, South Carolina
Tyler Smith, Tennessee
A.J. Ogilvy, Vanderbilt

Second team
Ronald Steele, Alabama
Alonzo Gee, Alabama
Michael Washington, Arkansas
Terrance Woodbury, Georgia
Chris Johnson, LSU
Jodie Meeks, Kentucky
Dominique Archie, South Carolina
Wayne Chism, Tennessee
J.P. Prince, Tennessee

Quick tangent: What's the point of putting nine players on the first team and 10 on the second team. Doesn't that water down the honor? I thought it was pretty standard to put five players on a team. The NBA does it that way. So does the ACC. What gives? It's almost like a participation award this way. [End of rant]

The Tigers have an exhibition game against Morehouse this Friday at 7 p.m. EST. They open the regular season Nov. 14 by hosting Missouri State at 8 p.m. EST.

Monday video: Burns' progress, running game struggles and family ties

Just finished a new video. It's got quarterback Kodi Burns talking about improving by the week, center Jason Bosley talking about the running game's struggles and cornerback D'Antoine Hood giving insight to his relationship with his cousin, former Auburn standout and current Arizona Cardinals cornerback Roderick Hood.

Enjoy.



One more note: CBS elected to use a six-day option for which game it will televise Saturday, Nov. 15, meaning Auburn's game against Georgia will be televised by either CBS at 3:30 p.m. EST, ESPN at 7:45 p.m. or Raycom at 12:30 p.m. The other options that day are South Carolina-Florida and Mississippi State-Alabama.

The dominos continue to fall: Fulmer to step down

Word from ESPN.com's Chris Low is that Phil Fulmer has come to an agreement with Tennessee to step down at the end of the season after 17 years as the Volunteers' head coach.

So what does this mean for Auburn? It certainly makes things a lot more interesting.

For starters, Auburn's Tommy Tuberville would be the dean of SEC coaches if he were to return next year, with 10 years at the same school.

For those thinking Tuberville's $6 million buyout is too much for the school to afford in these times of economic crisis, guess what Fulmer's buyout was? $6 million, according to ESPN, with another $3.55 million for the rest of the assistants and a whole boatload of money to bring in a new coach. I've said it before, I'll say it again: where there is a will, there is a way in the SEC. No buyout figure will ever save a coach.

This will certainly put the pressure on Auburn to make a decision on Tuberville before the end of the season. Already, the Clemson, Washington and Tennessee jobs are open. If Auburn delays its decision on Tuberville until after the regular season is finished to, as athletic director Jay Jacobs said, evaluate "the body of work," does it risk falling behind in what is expected to be a competitive market for coaching hires this offseason? The hot names out there -- Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp, Boise State's Chris Peterson, fired Oakland Raiders coach Lane Kiffin -- have already been mentioned for the Tennessee job.

And now for our favorite part of the Coaches Hot Seat Game, the comparison round. This week: Fulmer vs. Tuberville.

Career records
Fulmer: 150-51 (.746)
Tuberville: 84-38 (.649)

SEC record
Fulmer: 94-34 (.734)
Tuberville: 51-27 (.654)

SEC Championship game appearances/wins
Fulmer: 5/2
Tuberville: 2/1

National Championships
Fulmer: 1
Tuberville: 0

Record last five years
Fulmer: 37-23 (.617)
Tuberville: 47-14 (.771)

Recruiting ranking since 2002
Fulmer (SEC rank/national rank) -- according to Rivals.com
2002: 1/2
2003: 7/18
2004: 4/11
2005: 1/4
2006: 7/23
2007: 2/3
2008: 8/35
2009: 2/6

Tuberville (SEC rank/national rank) -- according to Rivals.com
2002: 3/6
2003: 6/11
2004: 6/21
2005: 3/13
2006: 4/10
2007: 5/7
2008: 5/20
2009: 5/10

Bottom line: Tuberville has clearly been better the last five years than Fulmer, and, while he hasn't hit the highs on the recruiting trail that Fulmer has, he hasn't had any big misses during his tenure like Tennessee did in 2008. (That's if you go by those recruiting rankings, which is an extremely inexact science.)

And while this season has gone south for Auburn (4-5, 2-4 SEC), it's not as bad as it has been for the Vols, who are 3-6 and 1-5 in the SEC. This is Tuberville's first bad season since his first, nine years ago. For Fulmer, it was his second dud in four years (Tennessee was 5-6 in 2005). In my opinion, the "what have you done for me lately" argument certainly hurt Fulmer more than it does Tuberville.

Sunday update: Injuries abound

Today's blog post is being sponsored by the final season of "E.R."

We got to speak to Tommy Tuberville today and, after some prodding, he rattled off the list of injured players. It's a pretty big list. Here are some specifics:

• DT Sen'Derrick Marks (ankle): injured his other ankle during the game and only played two snaps in the second half. Will not practice today.
• NG Tez Doolittle (groin): was not even going to travel to Ole Miss. Did as an emergency reserve only. Ended up playing in the second half. Will not practice today.
• DE Antonio Coleman (pick an ailment, he's got it; specifically an ankle this week): has not practiced in a month but has played in every game.
• DT Mike Blanc (hand): broke his hand at Ole Miss, is having X-rays today, might miss the rest of the year.
• DE Michael Goggans (ankle): re-injured it on Saturday.
• LB Josh Bynes (deep thigh bruise): will not practice until Wednesday.
• LB Craig Stevens (turf toe): has had the injury all year, but it probably the healthiest player of all the injured players.
• LB Merrill Johnson (hamstring): played 22 snaps on Saturday but wasn't effective. Coaches took him out because he was struggling to stop the run.
• CB Jerraud Powers (hamstring): probably will not play this week.
• CB Neiko Thorpe (ankle): probably will not play this week.
• CB Walter McFadden (ankle/knee): will not practice until Wednesday, leaving true freshmen D'Antoine Hood and Harry Adams as starting corners during practice.

Phew, that's exhausting just writing that out. The trainers look like they'll be making their money this week.

Other developments from Sunday:

• Tuberville said everyone in his family -- specifically his two sons -- is taking all the talk about his job security OK: "They’re fine. Of course, they hear the talk like everybody else, but they know the business. They know how tough it is and you’ve got to deal with the good and the bad. It’s a good lesson for them. You just kind of persevere and take it one week at a time. They’re old enough now to understand what’s going on."
  
  
• On QB Kodi Burns: "He made some very, very good decisions. And he made some very, very bad ones. But that's part of growing up."
  
  
• Strange comment about WR Chris Slaughter, who caught eight passes for 131 yards at Ole Miss. Tuberville called him a "role player" and described him as more of a possession receiver than a big-play guy. Funny, I seem to recall him catching passes of 37 and 42 yards Saturday.

• On the struggling running game: "We don't have the one guy at running back that we know we can call his number and they're going to do the perfect thing like we've done in the past. We just have a bunch of guys back there who kind of alternate in trying to find the right consistency."

Final: Ole Miss 17, Auburn 7

They're closing down the press box, so I'll have to brief. I'll try to get more of a game recap up here tomorrow, since I drive back to Auburn tonight. In the meantime, here's tomorrow's lead:

OXFORD, Miss. – For the first time in nine years, Auburn’s holiday calendar looks like it might be wide open.

The Tigers’ once-certain bowl hopes took a huge hit Saturday after a 17-7 loss to Ole Miss at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. The Rebels (5-4, 3-3 SEC) ran wild for a season-high 233 yards and Jevan Snead threw two touchdown passes to send a reeling Auburn to its fourth straight loss.

With just three games remaining – and No. 6 Georgia and No. 2 Alabama looming on the horizon – Auburn (4-5, 2-4 SEC) needs two victories to avoid missing a bowl game for the first time since 1999.

“You’re going to have years like this,” head coach Tommy Tuberville. “You’ve got to take the wins, you’ve got to take the losses and you’ve got to go on. …

“Look at all the teams across the country – everybody has a bad year once in a while.”

End third quarter: Ole Miss 10, Auburn 7

Auburn showed signs of life offensively in the third quarter, gaining 146 yards and getting a 27-yard touchdown run by Ben Tate.

Big break for Auburn on a 37-yard reception by Chris Slaughter up the sideline. Slaughter was clearly out of bounds before coming back in to catch the ball. The referee’s explanation was spotty in the press box, but I believe they upheld the catch after review because Slaughter was forced out before he caught it. Seems like a pretty bad call for me.

The Tigers looked like they were in business later in the quarter after a 29-yard catch by Montez Billings, but Kodi Burns threw a bad pick. The QB stared down his receiver, then tried to fire it into traffic. That’s a bad combo.

Ole Miss WR/RB Dexter McCluster has to be the fastest player on the field. He makes defenders look like they’re moving in slow motion. Very impressive.

HUUUUUGE penalty on Rebels WR Shay Hodge after Ole Miss was stopped on third-and-goal. He got in a shoving match with an Auburn defender and was flagged for a personal foul. That turned a 30-yard field goal into a 45-yarder, which Joshua Shene missed wide right. Mark that as a turning point if Auburn comes back to win this game.

Second quarter: Ole Miss 10, Auburn 0

Two words for that half: Bru. Tal.

The good news, Auburn fans, is that things can’t get much worse in the second half. The bad news, is that the offense looks as bad as it has all year. Here’s some of the ugliness as the Tigers go into the half trailing for the first time this year:

• Auburn had 80 yards of offense, 31 rushing and 49 passing.
• The Tigers didn’t cross midfield at any point.
• Auburn had 4 first downs and 6 punts.
• QB Kodi Burns is 8-for-14 for 49 yards.
• Did I mention Ole Miss entered the game with the second-worst defense in the SEC?
• Clinton Durst has punted 6 times for 241 yards. It’s a bad sign when your punter is your offensive MVP.

I’m really at a loss to describe how bad the offense was in the first half, so I’ll move on. I’m sure there will be plenty of time to talk about it after the game, because I see no chance of this turning around.

I think I might have overstated Ole Miss quarterback Chris Snead’s worth. He looked pretty pedestrian in the first half, overthrowing receivers several times. He did get it together to throw a 2-yard touchdown pass just before the half.

Speaking of that play, it was kind of weird. The ball looked like it got snapped early, because nobody on the line really moved. But the play kept going and Snead found Shay Hodge for the score.

The bad thing is the Tigers have traditionally been a first-half team this year. What does that say about their chances in the second half today? I don’t think a comeback is in the cards.

First quarter: Auburn 0, Ole Miss 0

This pretty well sums up your first half. Punt, three-and-out, punt, three-and-out, punt …

You get the idea. Boring game so far, although Ole Miss is showing some signs of life after Cordera Eason broke a 28-yard run into Auburn territory. Of course, that excitement was immediately tempered by a 15-yard clipping penalty on the next play.

Sure enough, Jerraud Powers (hamstring) did not dress. D’Antoine Hood started in his place. Since the Auburn depth chart only goes two deep, we’re trying to figure out who would be next in the game at cornerback with Powers and Neiko Thorpe (ankle) out. Auburn answered our question when Mike Slade, a redshirt freshman from Tallahassee, Fla., went in the game on the nickel. Harry Adams, another true freshman, has also gotten on the field as a corner.

This team just can’t avoid the injury bug. In the first quarter alone, WR Rod Smith, DE Antonio Coleman and CB Walter McFadden went down. Not sure what specifically either injury was, but they were stretching out Smith’s left leg on the sideline. Coleman walked off the field on his own power and later returned. McFadden looked like he got his ankle rolled over. He was back after one play on the sideline. That gasp you heard was Auburn fans exhaling a sigh of relief.

Mike Blanc started at nose guard for Tez Doolittle (groin).

Mike Berry started at right guard for Byron Isom, who is in uniform.

Welcome back, Antoine Carter. The defensive end had a sack and a pressure on Ole Miss’ third drive. He’s been out the last two weeks with an ankle injury.

First quarter offense: Auburn 28 yards, Ole Miss 68. Ugh.

Auburn-Ole Miss pre-game -- Updated (11:12 a.m.)

You're looking LIVE at a) my reflection in the press box glass and b) the sunny skies over Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Miss., a lovely town from what I saw on the short drive from the highway.

I will be updating this post with pre-game updates. Once the game starts, I'll be blogging by quarter, so check back periodically.

Stayed in Tupelo last night and went out to a folksy bar called J.R.'s, whch was hosting its Halloween bash. ("Bash" might be overstating it a bit; perhaps "gathering" is a better word; no, "fete," we'll go with "fete".) Pretty cheap beer and a live band that specialized in both kinds of music -- Country AND Western. My only gripe is the ballad-to-fast song ratio was heavily skewed in former's favor. Also, whenever the band took a break, the default song on the mixer shuffle was always Clarence Carter's "Strokin'." The crowd seemed to love it, though. Apparently Tupelo is stuck in an early-'90s time warp. Or at least J.R.'s was.

Vaught-Hemingway Stadium seems pretty nice. Kudos to the media parking setup, which was about as close as I think I've parked to a stadium this year. One down side: the sun is shining directly into the press box right now. I kind of wish I had worn sunglasses or at least brought some sunblock. I didn't think I'd come back from this game with a tan, but it might happen.

More updates as more players come out to the field.

UPDATE (10:38 a.m.): The kickers are on the field. Wes Byrum and Morgan Hull are the only two who have attempted field goals, so it doesn't look like Clinton Durst will be in the mix today.

Interestingly, all I've heard about Byrum is how he muscles the ball up there sometimes, but he's come up short on a couple of pre-game attempts of 50-plus. Now, that's not a short field goal by any means, but Hull kicked one from 52 that got to the first row of the stands, with no wind helping him out.

CORRECTION: Durst did take a few kicks at the end. He looks like he has a pretty strong leg. It will be interesting to see what direction Auburn goes once the game starts.

UPDATE (11:03 a.m.): Auburn brought three QBs -- Kodi Burns, Neil Caudle and Chris Todd. While Burns and Caudle have been taking snaps under center in warmups, Todd, though dressed, is only a spectator. He threw a little at the next drill, but I'd imagine Todd is only here as an emergency quarterback.

I don't see CB Jerraud Powers (hamstring) working with the cornerbacks right now. Take that for what it's worth. Perhaps he's getting some late treatment in the locker room.

Some numbers you need to know for this game:

8-1 -- Auburn record all-time in Ole Miss.

4-0 -- Tommy Tuberville's record at his old stomping grounds.

3 -- Straight games the Tigers have lost, their first three-game skid since 2001.

1999 -- The last time Auburn lost three straight conference games.

UPDATE (11:12 a.m.): Powers is out. Freshman D'Antoine Hood will start in his place at corner. That could be huge against Ole Miss' passing game. The Tigers really cannot afford any more injuries in the secondary.