AUBURN, Ala. — In what has become a weekly ritual, Auburn coach Gene Chizik addressed his struggling punt return team again Sunday, a day after Philip Pierre-Louis had two returns for negative yardage and a third punt that he muffed, resulting in a turnover.

“We’ve got to get somebody back there that we can count on to do that,” Chizik said. “Obviously, we don’t have anybody at this point we feel like can (do it). So if it has to be somebody new, then that’s what we’ll do this week. But we’ll investigate more as the week goes on.”

Auburn has cycled through a series of returners this year who have struggled to catch the ball, from Mario Fannin to Demond Washington to Anthony Gulley to Pierre-Louis. A fifth, Quindarius Carr, was back for a few punts but never had a chance to return one.

Gulley said he and Washington worked as returners during Sunday’s practice.

“Mainly, (it’s) not looking down when the ball is coming at me,” Gulley said of what he worked on. “I had that problem against Ball State. I looked down right before I tried to catch the ball and that’s what caught me, it hit me on my shoulder pads and it bounced off. That’s my main problem.”

Chizik said it’s more complicated that simply sticking a receiver back there with reliable hands.

“Punts are different,” he said. “Because you can catch a ball that’s spiraling at you. If it’s being thrown in your hands, that doesn’t necessarily equate to being able to catch punts. It’s just a whole different animal. But the confidence of an older guy and the confidence of a guy is certainly not out of the question that we look at.”

Auburn is averaging 3.8 yards per punt return, ranking 114th out of 120 Football Bowl Subdivision teams.

The Tigers have six fumbles/muffs this year on punt returns and have turned the ball over three times.

Be sure to follow the blog on Twitter. And read these other notes from Sunday's interviews ...

• The number of Auburn cornerbacks are dwindling, but Chizik said the cupboard’s not completely bare. “There are very few options left,” he said, “but there are a couple.” The Tigers are down to three scholarship cornerbacks after Washington moved to safety — starters Walt McFadden and Neiko Thorpe and reserve D’Antoine Hood. Freshman wide receivers Gulley and Pierre-Louis were tried at cornerback Saturday against Furman. Coaches have already said they won’t continue to use Pierre-Louis back there in the future. Chizik wasn’t so sure what he’ll do with Gulley. “Obviously he’s a very good athlete, so he can do a couple of different things,” he said. “But you can’t just throw him out there at corner against the Georgias and Alabamas of the world and say, ‘Hey, good luck.’ I mean, it’s a little different deal. So we’re going to have to be smart about what we ultimately do about him.”

• For the moment, Hood, a Central-Phenix standout, is the No. 3 cornerback. Chizik said Auburn still has the option of moving Washington back to cornerback in a pinch, with Mike Slade or T’Sharvan Bell stepping in at safety.

• Linebacker Adam Herring didn’t dress against Furman because of an injury to his foot/ankle area. The sophomore had surgery on his heel last offseason. Chizik said he’s “tough-and-go” right now. As for Herring playing the last two weeks, “it’s up in the air.”

• That leaves true freshman Jonathan Evans as the next man in at linebacker behind starters Josh Bynes, Craig Stevens and Eltoro Freeman. Evans, who has spent most of his time on special teams this year, had his most active day yet against Furman, playing most of the second half and finishing with five unassisted tackles, second most on the team. “He’s improved a lot on his vision, things he needs to see,” Stevens said. “Early on, when he first got here, he was basically running around playing off instinct. Now he’s reading his keys and just doing simple things like that, that he wasn’t doing early on.”

• Stevens talked about gaining momentum with the last few wins. "I feel like that's a big part, just playing well one game and being able to carry it over to the next game," he said. "I feel like that plays a major part in the way you're playing. You've got to have momentum. I feel like if you play bad one week, it's always in the back of your mind like, 'Man, we played bad. I wonder what we're going to do this week.' I feel like once you play well that one time, you're able to keep working on it and you're able to get better."

• Defensive coordinator Ted Roof said 31 players got on the field defensively for Auburn against Furman. "Some guys that were wide receivers, some guys that were scout team offensive tackles, offensive guards, jumped out there and got some reps for us," he said. "We were doing some old-time country coaching. But that's good. That's fun. Those guys work hard and I'm glad they were able to have that opportunity. I'm just excited about that for those young men."

• Roof, on defending Georgia WR A.J. Green: "Certainly, you do a good job of moving him around to a bunch of different places, so it's not like you can say, 'He's going to be here, so you can call this.' They do a real good job with that. And he's a guy who is one of the best in the country. And sometimes you see where people have great coverage on him and he delivers the ball and makes great plays and when that happens, you just have to keep your head up and move on to the next one. Because he is a great player is going to make some great plays."

• Chizik had no substantive injury update on wide receiver Travante Stallworth, who left Saturday’s game in the first quarter with an apparent knee injury and didn’t return. He said running back Onterio McCalebb (ankle) remains “day-by-day.” McCalebb did not play for the second straight week last Saturday.

• Your early line for Saturday? Georgia by four.

• Gulley was thrown in at running back last week after not practicing there at all. He seemed to do well, with touchdown runs of 13 and 50 yards in the second half. "We might have drawn it up in the dirt beforehand," Chizik said. "He was good. He knew where to go."

• Gulley, apparently, knew the play. "(Neil Caudle) just had to tell me where to line up and that was it," he said.

• Gulley seemed to think the defensive back thing was just an emergency deal. He expects to be back on offense full-time in the spring.

• Chizik was asked if before the season he would have been pleased with seven wins at this point. Here's his response: "We expect to win every game. Our players do. We do as coaches. That's a little bit of a question that I probably don't feel comfortable answering. I expect to win every game. The ones we don't — we're very disappointed. Our team is playing well at this point in the season. We're happy to be where we are. We don't look back; we keep looking forward."

• Of course, Auburn's players have vivid memories of the last time they made a trip to Athens. If you don't remember, it was the Soulja Boy game. "Last trip to Athens, I remember I was hurt for that game and Quentin Groves had to play my position," Stevens said. "I remember we were in the game for a lot of the game and then out of nowhere it got out of hand. They were dancing on the sidelines. I think that was the first game that they wore those black jerseys. That's always in the back of your minds after that game." (Also, does it not seem like that song came out 10 years ago. Really, two? That's it? It has not aged well.)

• Chris Todd didn't have much of a role in either of the Georgia and Alabama games last year, sidelined with a bum shoulder. "Growing up you want to play in big atmospheres like that," he said. "They’re not hard to get amped up for, and they’re going to be doing the same thing. They’re real exciting to watch, but being able to play in them is definitely something you look forward to."

• Todd and Darvin Adams hooked up for three touchdowns Saturday against Furman. "He’s been able to do a great job," Todd said. "He definitely has a great feel for doing that. Being able to catch balls across the middle is something not everybody can do…to have a comfort zone out there. Being able to catch a ball in traffic is something that is definitely important. You get a comfort level with them and you get confidence in them, knowing you can throw the ball and they can make a play for you. He’s definitely made some big plays for us."

• Auburn's bowl fate might rest on this game. Win, and the Cotton or Capital One bowls are a distinct possibility. Lose, and the Tigers are going to be in a scrum with a bunch of SEC teams (assuming a loss to Alabama, which I don't think is far-fetched at this point). "We think about it," running back Ben Tate said. "What if we win these next two? Or what if we win one and lose one. We think about it. Hopefully we can get to a good bowl game — the Cotton Bowl again, Capital One Bowl, Outback."

• Tate added: "I don't want to go back to the Chick-fil-A Bowl." We asked him why? "It's just that Atlanta is right there. You want to go somewhere that's a little different — or that you can't get to easily. We can get to Atlanta any time. It's only an hour away."