Another week, another award for Auburn. Defensive tackle Nick Fairley was named SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week for his performance against Louisiana-Monroe.

It's the second time Fairley has won an SEC award. He won SEC Defensive Player of the Week after Auburn's victory against Mississippi State.

The Tigers have been honored by the SEC on offense or defense six times in five weeks (Cam Newton twice, Fairley twice and Josh Bynes and Mike Blanc once each).

Fairley, a junior, dominated the Warhawks, despite playing barely any snaps in the second half. He had four tackles, getting three tackles for a loss of 16 yards. One was a sack of eight yards.

Fairley leads the SEC in sacks (5) and tackles for loss (11.5). He is tied for sixth nationally in sacks and tied for third in TFLs.

Asked yesterday if he had taken his game to another level this year, Fairley said, "A little bit. I'm not saying I've gotten all the attention. The guys around me have helped me, for real. If it weren't for Antoine Carter a couple of times, the quarterback would have been stepping out of the pocket. ...

"Working together as a unit. A unit thing. That's basically helping me out, allowing me to make plays."

A couple of Auburn's stars felt refreshed after carrying a lighter load than usual in Saturday's 52-3 win against Louisiana-Monroe.

After being Auburn's primary ballcarrier the first four weeks, quarterback Cam Newton was delighted not to have to fill that role against ULM.

The junior didn't have a designed run all afternoon. His only carry was a sack that lost 11 yards.

Although he lost the SEC lead in rushing, he felt refreshed Sunday morning.

"I felt great," he said. "The game spoke for itself. I really didn’t take too many shots and I think that goes to the game plan that was put in place."

Defensive end Antoine Carter, meanwhile, found out last Thursday he would have Saturday off. The senior dressed out but didn't play.

"It wasn't chillin'," he said. "Just making sure my backup was doing the right thing. Just watching the young guys, coaching them up a little bit. It's a mental game."

Carter has five tackles for a loss, three sacks and 12 quarterback hurries this year, but he got nicked up through the first few weeks, which is why coaches gave him the afternoon off.

"Just a minor setback for a major comeback," Carter said, not giving specifics of his injury. "Just sitting out that game so I can be all right for the rest of the season."

Follow the blog on Twitter and Facebook.

Here are some other notes and quotes from the late round of interviews:

• Linebacker Craig Stevens practiced throughout his two-game suspension to start the season, but he didn't get as many reps as before. It was almost as if he was a freshman again. "Something like that," he said. "An older freshman."

• Stevens, a preseason second-team All-SEC pick, thinks he's shaken of the rust since Gene Chizik sat him down two games for undisclosed reasons. After struggling in his first action back against Clemson, the senior has had two decent games, getting in on eight tackles. "I have my legs back under me," he said. "The first game, I felt like I was thrown into the fire. My legs were dead. It took a while to get back into the flow of things. I feel like I'm back now."

• Cornerback T'Sharvan Bell (who I'll have more on for Tuesday's paper) worked with the first team some today. He's essentially a third starter at corner. He went in the game on the opening possession last week after Neiko Thorpe got rocked on Auburn's first kickoff. "He got jacked pretty good, so that’s what got me into the game," Bell said. "Because his eyes were like wandering.”

• Defensive coordinator Ted Roof said Bell has made big strides this year. "He committed himself to the game, learning the game and becoming more physical," he said. "He missed a couple of plays the other day, but he’s playing better and playing more consistent."

• Roof, on freshman linebacker Jake Holland finishing with three tackles, a sack and a fumble recovery in his first action. “He looked like he belonged.”

• Lots of young guys got in the game Saturday, which was valuable. "It was a good for those guys to get some experience because you never know when it’s going to be their turn for the duration, not just for a backup role or a substitution role," Roof said. "They’re one ankle away from carrying the torch."

• DT Nick Fairley leads the SEC in sacks (5) and tackle for a loss (11.5). While his teammates say they always knew he had the talent to be a force. "I'm not saying I've gotten all the attention," he said. "The guys around me have helped me, for real. If it weren't for Antoine Carter a couple of times, the quarterback would have been stepping out of the pocket."

• One key? Playing angry. "You've got to be angry," he said. "You can't be nice playing in the trenches. If you come up being nice, they're going to bully you around. I just think about something to motivate you. Just what I'm doing this for, something like that."

• Steven said Fairley is a talker, too. "I'd say he's one of the top guys -- especially down there," he said. "You have to be nasty down there. You can't be a nice guy playing d-line."

• 'When told Zach Clayton doesn't seem like a mean guy, Stevens said: "He's not mean talking, but the way he plays is violent. You saw that suplex he had last week."

• Fairley said linemen smell blood when they see a guy slow getting up. "When you see them getting up real slow, you're like, 'We've got them right where we want 'em,'" he said. "Just keep on tackling him. It won't be long before he gets out of there."

• Linebacker Josh Bynes didn't know where Auburn was ranked. When told the Tigers were eighth, he quickly shot back, "I don't even care. There ain't nothing to it."

• Other players echoed similar refrains. "We know we can’t be looking ahead, but of course everyone’s goal is to be No. 1 at the end of the year," tight end Philip Lutzenkirchen said. "We’re taking it slow. It’s nice that we’re getting some respect and being in the spotlight, but we know that we’ve got a lot of work to do."

• Don't know if anyone remembers this (OK, they probably do), but Kentucky beat Auburn last year. It didn't sit right with some players. "They came into our house and beat us last year and we’re going to try and do the same thing to them and get after them and not let what happen last year happen this year," Lutzenkirchen said.

• Bell had similar thoughts: "I think there’s always a chip on your shoulder. You’ve got to have an edge. There’s that sour taste in your mouth you want to get out of your mouth.”

• Kentucky has two dangerous players who gouged Auburn last year: running back Derrick Locke and athlete Randall Cobb, who plays several positions. Bynes said the key is to hit them. Repeatedly. "You’ve got to hit them straight in the mouth," he said. "You’ve got to hit them dead in the legs. You’ve got wrap them up. Do something. With that head ducking and all that other stuff, you’ve just got to hit them. You’re going to have to hit Locke, hit the fullback and when Randall Cobb catches the ball, you’ve got to hit him and not take his legs out from under him. That’s why you see us miss a lot of tackles because we do some dumb tackles, which is very stupid. I think we need to go ahead and lean into them, wrap up and make the tackles."

• Roof again emphasized that tackling will be key. "We’ve got to do a better job in wrapping up," he said. "The key example was Daren Bates on third down. He went low and if he had just stayed high he was in good position. We’ve been working on it, but it didn’t happen, and as a result of that, we stayed on the field. That’s a big point of emphasis."

• Auburn is 5-0. Bynes, to steal a phrase from Roof, is not satisfied. "I know we're not satisfied," he said. "We was down two times and won and now people think it's going to be the same outlook as last year was. And obviously our mindset is not. It's a brand new year. It's not the same mindset as '09. It's 2010. And we just have our mindset that we're hungry and we're still motivated for more. We're not satisfied where we're at in the polls. We're not satisfied until we not only get to an SEC championship game but win it. And also go further beyond that. So we're just going to take it one day, one snap and one opportunity at a time."

• Guard Mike Berry diagnosed last year's dropoff after a 5-0 start, when the team lost three straight: "We were looking forward to the rest of our games that year. We've bought in more. I'm not saying we didn't buy in last year, but we know that we're working towards a goal and we're on track to be able to get to that goal."

• On last TV note: the Auburn-Kentucky game will be televised by ESPN2. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. ET.

Walk-on wide receiver Jay Wisner decided to leave the Auburn football team early last week for personal reasons, head coach Gene Chizik told reporters Sunday.

Wisner didn't have a reception this year but established himself as an effective blocking receiver, usually playing in the slot. He threw a block on the perimeter that cleared the way for Emory Blake to score on a screen pass against South Carolina two weeks ago.

The parting of ways sounded amicable.

"He is a great young man and he has done everything we've asked him to do," Chizik said. "And we're going to try to help him in any way, and we wish him well. But last week he decided to leave the team."

Wisner, a senior from Bozeman, Mont., informed the coaches of his decision early last week. He's no longer enrolled in school.

He appeared in 17 games in his career for Auburn and made three catches for 56 yards.

Chizik said a variety of young receivers will step into his role. He named DeAngelo Benton, Antonio Goodwin, Travante Stallworth and Shaun Kitchens specifically.

Follow the blog on Twitter and Facebook.

Here are some more early notes and quotes:

• No word on backup quarterback Barrett Trotter's injury. The sophomore hurt his knee on an 18-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter and did not return. Chizik called it a "nick and bruise" thing but wouldn't give more specifics.

• He did not know who would be the backup QB if Trotter can't play. Either Neil Caudle or Clint Moseley would be next in line. Moseley replaced Trotter in garbage time yesterday against Louisiana-Monroe. "We've got two great options there," Chizik said. "I don't know yet. I don't know what we would do. We've got two great ones in Neil and Clint. We'd have to play that one by ear and see what direction we would go."

• Chizik was predictably unconcerned with Auburn's No. 8 ranking in both polls: "We haven't talked about it. I don't really know what it means to them. And I think they've got a really good grip on the fact that that really doesn't affect anything one way or the other. Obviously it's nice wherever they have you, but I don't think that has any bearing on the way anybody thinks or prepares. We simply don't talk about it. One day at a time, one game at a time, that's really how we are."

• Kentucky beat Auburn at Jordan-Hare Stadium 21-14 last year, a stunning upset that snapped the Wildcats' 15-game losing streak in the series. "Last year's result and last year's team really have no bearing on this year at all," Chizik said. "That was a different team with different people in a different year. We don't use that as any type of motivation at all. We're trying to get better every day within our own team. That's really not part of the equation."

• Do-it-all WR/RB/QB Randall Cobb was a big reason for last year's upset. Chizik remains impressed. "He is all over the place," Chizik said. "But he's a dynamic player. He's one of the best players in the league. And he's got a great future for himself in my opinion after it's over. So they're using him the way they need to. He's a return guy. He's a wideout. He's a Wildcat guy. They do it all with him and rightly so. That's smart on their part."

• Chizik liked the way Mario Fannin ran the ball yesterday. The senior had 10 carries for 89 yards and a touchdown, getting some confidence back after early season shoulder and fumbling problems. "With Mario, it’s really a confidence thing in we’ve got to make sure he feels confident, with just feeling nicked and bruised and beat up a little bit," Chizik said. "The plan was to get him some perimeter stuff, which is what we did. I thought he handled it great. I thought he had a quick twitch in his step, that he ran with confidence. His circumstances have been dictated more by injury than anything. But I think he ran with confidence yesterday."

• Chizik didn't think Fannin's fumbling problems were all injury related. He does think Fannin can be a contributor for this offense, though. "We have confidence that Mario’s going to hold on to the ball," Chizik said. "He made a mistake, he’s very conscious of it, and he’s going to fix it."

• T'Sharvan Bell continues to impress. He started for the first time Saturday (albeit in place of Neiko Thorpe, who got his bell run on Auburn's first kickoff), but he finished with five tackles and one pass breakup. "I though he played well," Chizik said. "He’s a former quarterback in high school, so he’s got a great feel for the game. He made some things happen. He’s trying to play more physical, which is part of what we’re trying to impart defensively to all our guys. But he’s starting to show up as a more physical player. He’s starting to becoming a better secondary player, and he hasn’t been back there very long. His best days are ahead of him."

• DT Nick Fairley added to his SEC lead in sacks (5) and tackles for a loss (11.5). His problem had been inconsistency, but he's working on eliminating that. "I think Nick's really tried to take that part of his game and really take it to another level," Chizik said. "I won't say that he has arrived in terms of every day, every play, but I can tell you he's light years ahead of where he was last year. We are consistently reminding him of that message and he gets it and he understands it. And I've been pleased with the direction he's trying to move out at practice, because he's going to do in a game what he does in practice."

Gene Chizik has come and gone. Here's what he said:

• On being No. 8 in both polls: "We haven't talked about it. I don't really know what it means to the players. I think they have a good grip on the fact that that doesn't have an effect on anything. ... We simply don't talk about it."

• "There's so much football left. This time of the year just doesn't really sink in."

• Thinks there are areas where team could improve more, but "overall, the final result of everything was obviously what you'd be looking for in a game like that."

• Said Kentucky is a really, really good football team. Look at them offensively, they're at the top of the rankings. "This is a very good football team and they're well-coached."

• "We got first-hand how good they are last year."

• "Challenge of going on the road in the SEC is difficult in itself."

• "Last year's results and last year's team really have no bearing on this team at all. That was a different team with different people."

• Nobody jumps out from yesterday's game. Glad to get to play a lot of young guys.

• Anthony Morgan apparently played both ways yesterday. Chizik said he did well. Also mentioned DeAngelo Benton, Jake Holland and Kenneth Carter as doing some encouraging things.

• "Any time you can get guys in the game and get them experienced and get them play, it's good for team morale."

• Clarifies earlier answer: result of game has no bearing on how to proceed. Team obviously will look at game tape.

• Doesn't think things are different with Joker Phillips running the show. "Offensively, it's pretty similar."

• On Mario Fannin: "It's a confidence thing. The plan was to get him some perimeter stuff. I thought he handled it great. I thought the ran with confidence."

• More on Fannin: "We don't think he's going to fumble a lot. That's not how we feel about him. He's got to help us. He's a big part of what we're trying to do when he's healthy."

• On T'Sharvan Bell: "I was impressed with him yesterday. He made some things happen. He's trying to play more physical, which is a part of what we're trying to impart on all our guys. He's starting to become a better secondary player, and he hasn't been back there very long."

• Said Kentucky is going to be similar to Clemson and South Carolina. Said they have a great offensive scheme. "They're physical, they're fast, they know exactly where every guy is supposed to be."

• On Randall Cobb's versatility: "He's one of the best players in the league. They do it all with him and rightly so."

• No word on QB Barrett Trotter's injury. Said he has two great options if he can't go.

• Called it a "nick and bruise" type thing.

• On Nick Fairley: "I think Nick's really tried to take that part of his game and really take it to another level. I don't think he's arrived at every day, every play, but I can tell you he's light years ahead of last year."

• WR Jay Wisner left the program last week for "personal reasons." Chizik was extremely complimentary of Wisner's departure. Said he and the team would help him out with whatever they can.
  

• Logical replacements for Wisner's unsung duties: Antonio Goodwin, Travante Stallworth, and Shaun Kitchens.

And that's a wrap. Back with more later.

Actually had time to get quotes today. While I work on some stuff, here's how tomorrow's story will start:

AUBURN, Ala. — After giving its fans heart palpitations for three straight weeks, Auburn allowed them to rest easy Saturday.

The No. 10 Tigers didn't need a huge comeback, fourth quarter defensive stand or a fortuitous field goal miss in an easy 52-3 win against Louisiana-Monroe at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

"It was a very bizarre feeling, very bizarre," said Auburn head coach Gene Chizik, who's grown accustomed to nail-biters. "But I will take it every time."

Auburn (5-0) got everything it wanted out of its final tuneup before getting to the heart of the SEC schedule, building an early lead and getting the backups plenty of work.

Sixty-eight players got in the game for the Tigers, giving the starters some down time. Quarterback Cam Newton threw for 245 yards and three touchdowns in 2½ quarters. Defensive end Antoine Carter didn't play a snap.

The second team took over midway through the third quarter and the third team finished off the fourth, an important note as Auburn heads into what Chizik called a "brutal" four-game stretch at Kentucky, home against Arkansas and LSU and on the road at Ole Miss.

"There are guys who we felt like are bumped and bruised up," Chizik said. "We have to watch out. It is a long road here before we get any week off. We are just trying to be very prudent on how we proceed."

Read the whole thing here. We'll cover the rest bullet-point style:

• Slow start? Not today. Auburn scored 14 points in four plays, avoiding the big first-half deficit that made games against Clemson and South Carolina so tough. "We never want to let a team get hope and string it out through all four quarters," offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn said. "When we had time to make plays, we made the plays."

• The Tigers finished with 505 yards of offense, the sixth time in the last two seasons Auburn has topped the 500-yard mark. Before last year, the Tigers hadn't had a 500-yard game since 2005. That's the power of Gus right there.

• Short day for Newton, who was taken out after throwing a 5-yard touchdown pass to Philip Lutzenkirchen in the third quarter. Newton, the SEC's leading rusher entering the day, didn't have one designed run, finishing with negative-11 yards after being sacked once. The coaches were all on the same page in saying that the defense was giving them a look that didn't require any QB runs. Center Ryan Pugh had a more truthful answer. "There's no reason to take hits when he doesn't need to," Pugh said.

• Senior tailback Mario Fannin, who has been slowed by a shoulder injury and a fumbling problem, got the most work, running for 89 yards and a fourth quarter touchdown. I thought this part was remarkable: he got 10 carries for the first time since his sophomore year. "I think his confidence is getting back up there," Chizik said. Fannin, by the way, became the 35th Auburn player to rush for 1,000 yards in his career. He's at 1,085 now.

• You want diversity on offense? Nine players had at least one carry and nine more had at least one reception. Backup quarterbacks Barrett Trotter and Clint Moseley both made an appearance, although Trotter came out after being shaken up at the end of an 18-yard touchdown run. Malzahn said he thinks Trotter is OK.

• Defensively, Auburn allowed 232 passing yards but not much else. Quarterback Kolton Browning went 25-for-33, giving the Tigers some fits with quick, short passes. But Auburn allowed only 12 rushing yards up until the final drive of the game. The Warhawks finished with 38 rushing yards on 33 carries. " That's the main thing," defensive end Nosa Eguae said. "When it comes down to every day in practice, the first five, 10 periods is all about run stop, run stop, run stop. So as a defense, that's what you need to hang your hat on."

• Despite having a number of second- and third-team guys in the game, Auburn didn't allow a point in the second half. "We really wanted to come in and make a statement," cornerback T'Sharvan Bell said. "No matter what the score was, we just wanted to play hard and do a good job. They only got three. We're happy with that."

• Auburn forced four turnovers for the second straight week. Safety Zac Etheridge picked off a pass on a fake field goal and the reserves recovered three fumbles in the second half.

• The Tigers burned the redshirt on freshman linebacker Jake Holland, who is Josh Bynes' backup in the middle now. He had an active day, finishing with three solo stops, one tackle for a loss and a fumble recovery. "I thought he played well for his first time," defensive coordinator Ted Roof said. Holland is the 14th true freshman to play this year.

• Dee Ford started in Carter's place at rush end and made four tackles. True freshman Corey Lemonier added two tackles for a loss, including a sack. The duo combined for four quarterback hurries. "It is good again to see some young guys being able to step up to the plate when we have to have them," Chizik said.

• You know who didn't take a day off? Nick Fairley. The defensive tackle added a sack and three tackles for a loss to his increasingly impressive résumé. Fairley, the SEC leader in both categories entering the day, now has five sacks and 11.5 TFLs this year.

• Freshman wide receiver Trovon Reed did not dress, keeping him eligible for a medical redshirt if his bothersome knee doesn't improve. Reed hasn't played the last two weeks since making his brief debut against Clemson.

• Cornerback Anthony Morgan, a converted wide receiver, finished with a game-high six tackles, making a big hit on a fourth-down play in the fourth quarter that knocked the ball loose from a receiver.

• Wes Byrum scored 10 points (a field goal and seven extra points), moving him past Bo Jackson and Carnell Williams into second place on Auburn's all-time scoring list. Byrum's 279 career points are 33 shy of fellow kicker John Vaughn's record.

• Some other notable stat lines:

• Blake: 2 catches, 101 yards, 1 TD
• Lutzenkirchen: 4 catches, 41 yards, 1 TD
• WR Terrell Zachery: 4 catches, 50 yards
• DT Kenneth Carter: 2 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 fumble recovery

• Auburn started out 5-0 last year too, remember? That team went into an October nose dive, losing three straight. "This year team is very special and is very capable of taking that extra step rather than taking a step back," Newton said.

• One last quote. Chizik doesn't ever seem to satisfied with what his team has accomplished. "Our best game is still lurking out there," he said. "It's going to have to come in the month of October. That's for sure."

AUBURN, Ala. — Any fears that Auburn might have a letdown against Louisiana-Monroe were dismissed quickly Saturday afternoon.

The Tigers have a 31-3 halftime lead against the Warhawks at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Auburn score 14 points on its first four plays. Onterio McCalebb zipped around the edge on for a 50-yard touchdown run 32 seconds in.

On the next drive, quarterback Cam Newton lofted an easy pass to a wide-open Emory Blake that went for a 94-yard touchdown to make it 14-0. It was the longest play from scrimmage in school history, topping Chris Todd's 93-yard touchdown pass to Terrell Zachery in last season's opener.

Mike Dyer added a 3-yard touchdown run and Quindarius Carr a 16-yard touchdown reception.

Newton is 11-for-14 for 231 yards and two scores. He hasn't had a designed run and likely won't play much, if at all, in the second half.

ULM quarterback Kolton Browning has had success with short passes. He's 18-for-25 for 149 yards but hasn't been able to get the Warhawks in the end zone.

The Warhawks have three rushing yards on 15 attempts.

You're looking live at (YAWN) an early glimpse of Jordan-Hare Stadium, where Auburn and Louisiana-Monroe will be playing far earlier than anyone ever should on a Saturday. I wrote about it for today's paper. Here's the advance.

It's cool out here today, relatively. Nice crisp weather for the South. Feels like football. Let's hope it stays that way for a while.

I'll be posting some pre-game musings and updates as the game gets closer. Auburn already went through Tiger Walk and had its pre-game prayer at midfield. (Click the picture to embiggen.) I don't recall any crazy rumors being out there of anyone who might not play, so I wasn't sure who to be looking for.

Well check guys off the list once they get out there with uniforms, so check back later.

And if you want instant updates or want to follow game-long musings about today's proceedings, follow me on Twitter.

Time for some pre-game minutia:

Rise and shine. It's an early one today. Here's how today's Louisiana-Monroe advance starts:

It's Friday. And I know you're waiting on the edge of your seat to see who has the edge in Auburn's game against Louisiana-Monroe, so here it is. No surprises in any of these categories, so we'll keep this brief.

I wrote a story for today's newspaper about Auburn's running back situation, which is clearing up. Here's how it starts:

AUBURN, Ala. — A pecking order has emerged among Auburn’s running backs, and it’s not the picture coaches painted in the offseason.

Days after he had career highs with 23 carries and 100 yards, Mike Dyer officially ascended to the top of the depth chart, a promotion on paper only, considering the freshman started Auburn’s previous two games.

“We felt confident enough to give him the ball 20-plus times the other night,” coach Gene Chizik said. “I think he’s getting better every week. We’ve just got to continue with that progression with him and continue to let him play and get the experience he needs.”

It’s a departure from Auburn’s offseason chatter, when senior Mario Fannin was trumpeted as the next in line of the Tigers’ great backs. Running backs coach Curtis Luper even promised a 1,000-yard season for Fannin.

But through four games, the senior has nine carries for 25 yards, two fumbles and a nagging left shoulder injury.

Read the rest of the story here. Follow the blog on Twitter and Facebook.

Another good chat today. Went for 75 minutes or so. Not bad for ULM week. Sorry if I didn't get to everybody's questions. We'll try it again next week. If you missed it, here's a replay:

Here's a video I put together after post-practice interviews. It's got wide receivers coach Trooper Taylor, running backs coach Curtis Luper and offensive line coach Jeff Grimes. Enjoy.

And see you at tomorrow's live chat at 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT. Link will be up tomorrow.

Auburn special teams coordinator Jay Boulware is mostly satisfied with how his many units have played this year.

The punting game is a notable exception.

The Tigers enter Saturday’s game against Louisiana-Monroe ranked last in the SEC in net punting with a 34.8-yard average. They’re 82nd nationally.

Senior Ryan Shoemaker has handled all 16 of Auburn’s punts this year, averaging 38.9 yards. That’s nearly two yards less than Clinton Durst’s average last season.

“You’d like for a senior to be able to handle the responsibilities of punting, since he is a senior, he has played in games,” Boulware said. “He’s done some decent things, but obviously you don’t want him to just do what he’s supposed to do, which is get rid of the ball. You want him to do that and beyond.”

Auburn has another option on the roster. Steven Clark, a strong-legged, 6-foot-5 freshman from Kansas City, battled Shoemaker for the starting job up until the final week before the season. If he plays, he’ll lose his redshirt.

“That’s something that obviously we’ll keep evaluating,” Boulware said. “Steven’s a young kid that’s got a lot of ability. There are some things that he needs to continue to work on as well.”

(Quick blog plugs: Twitter and Facebook. I'll also be doing my regular live chat tomorrow at 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT. The link will be up tomorrow.)

And now for some more quotes and notes from today's interviews:

• Place-kicker Wes Byrum uncharacteristically missed a pair of field goals against South Carolina, coming up short on a 52-yarder before hitting the right upright on a 23-yarder early in the fourth quarter. The senior, who was 16 of 17 on field goals last year, has missed three of his last five attempts. “Wes has been going through a number of other things that nobody knows about,” Boulware said, declining to give further specifics. “Obviously that field goal is inexcusable from our standpoint. ... And I think that field goal has really gotten his attention in terms of trying to work himself through those things. We’re hoping that we’ll see last year’s Wes come through.”

• Boulware, commenting specifically on that 23-yard miss: "You should never miss a 23-yard field goal. Ever. Ever, ever, ever, ever, ever. Ever. That's the type of thing that you're supposed to be able to close your eyes and swing and make.We didn't execute that one. He actually hit it really good, to be honest with you. His aim was off, which is very unusual for Wes, which you guys know."

• Head coach Gene Chizik said he couldn't think of any freshmen who have not played who might. "Off the top of my head, no," he said. (I'm guessing Clark could be an exception.)

• Wide receivers coach Trooper Taylor said Trovon Reed (knee) looks better but has not been able to go full speed in practice. The freshman will need to during today’s practice if he is to play against ULM.

• If Reed is unable to get to full speed, he could apply for a medical hardship waiver, which would allow him to redshirt even though he played in one game already. NCAA rules allow for that if a football player has participated in three games or less and not in the second-half of the season. "I don’t want to go there," Chizik said, when asked about the possibility. "Obviously, he’s had some injuries we’re trying to tend to, but again, we’ll play it by ear and see how it unfolds."

• Running back Mario Fannin practiced without the shoulder harness he’s worn since injuring his left shoulder against Mississippi State. “He looks healed,” Taylor said. “He looks better.” Wide receivers coach Trooper Taylor thinks Fannin shoulder affected him on the fumble. He wasn't able to bring his free hand over the top to protect it. Apparently removing the harness allows him to do that easier.

• Chizik said fullback Ladarious Phillips (ankle) hasn’t been able to do anything more at practice. Phillips, a freshman, hasn’t played this year.

• Taylor said freshman WR Antonio Goodwin (wrist) might have a bigger role this week, both on special teams and as a receiver.

• Trooper said Travante Stallworth (knee) did better this week. He's no longer practicing in a brace after having ACL surgery last year. "He actually did pretty good," Taylor said. "I teased him I was going to take that brace off his knee and put it on his neck if he dropped another ball. But he’s doing a lot better.”

• Trooper did not think Philip Pierre-Louis (knee) would be ready. "That was a tough injury, and he probably came back sooner than he should have," he said.

• It's a big ball security week for Auburn after it fumbled three times against South Carolina, losing two. Even Mike Dyer, who had not fumbled yet, put one on the ground. "We don’t think it’s a chronic problem, but we want to make sure we nip in the bud," running backs coach Curtis Luper said. "He was elevated – off his feet – and the ball was exposed to the defense. He naturally has good ball security."

• Luper would prefer not to see Dyer in that position again. "I like him to be on the ground – both feet ... on ... the ... ground."

• Hey, Eric Smith fumbled too. Here's why: "We lead with our shoulders," Luper said. "We don’t lead with our head or our front, we lead with the shoulder, and that in turn, protects the ball because you keep the ball on the side instead of bringing the ball to the front. Eric had the ball in front. He – and we – were very fortunate on that one."

• Luper thinks Onterio McCalebb has improved since a disappointing first few weeks. "My expectations – and our expectations – for him are high, and he didn’t come close the first couple of weeks," Luper said. "He’s added that dimension that we need, speed on the perimeter. He’s a good complement to Mike and Cam, and we need that to keep defenses honest."

• Luper said McCalebb occasionally needs to slow himself down. "That’s him, because he’s a mile a minute, and a lot of times his feet are out from under him before he knows it," Luper said. "He tries to go too fast. I just want him to slow down a little bit initially and on his cuts."

• Fannin, by the way, has been working all over the place, "just like he always does," Luper said. Hold on a second. I don't believe that was the company line all offseason. He tried to sneak that one past us. I'm guessing Luper would like to take back his "Mario will rush for 1,000 yards: book it" promise from the spring.

• Luper would like Fannin back in the offense, though. He's a threat. "He always has a role out on the perimeter for us and at tailback," he said. "It’s just a matter of health for him. We need to get him back 100 percent so he can get some confidence back, and, hopefully, we can get him in the game this week and get him going and get him in the flow so he can get some of his confidence back and we can get it back in him."

• Add Taylor to the list of coaches impressed Emory Blake's effort on a screen pass touchdown. "I told him we don’t have a drill for that, kind of made me look bad, that kind of one-legged kickback to the side a little bit," Taylor said. "But we had talked about him getting close to the end zone and not scoring and if ya’ll remember we threw the bubble earlier and the guy tackled him by one foot and so when he got to the sideline, he got an earful. He was not going to hear that again, so he got to the end zone."

• As for Trooper designating Blake the "No. 3 receiver," he said it doesn't necessarily work that way. "We really don’t have it based off numbers that way, it’s really based off what’s open," he said. "With Mario’s shoulder being what it is, we wanted to put Emory in position to catch some bubbles that normally Mario would be the guy. But it’s not based off we’ve got to get him so many touches, it’s based off the defense putting one guy inside the box and not putting a guy on top of him. We’ve got to take what they give us."

• South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier gave Auburn offensive line coach Jeff Grimes a compliment earlier this week, saying "I don't know who their line coach is, but he's a hell of a coach." Grimes' response? "Yeah, I need to send Coach Spurrier a check, I believe."
  

• Grimes, usually a tough critic, was impressed by the play of Auburn's line. "Normally when I watch a game in person then I come back and watch it on tape, if I thought we didn’t play very good, it’s usually not quite as bad as I thought," he said. "If I thought we played really well, it’s usually not quite as good as I thought. It’s usually somewhere in between. But the last two weeks have been the opposite of that. Seeing the Clemson game in person, I knew we didn’t play real well but when I watched it on film, it was even worse than I thought. The South Carolina game, I knew we did a good job or we wouldn’t have been able to do some of the things that we did, but when I went back and really looked at it in detail and saw how hard the guys actually played and how physical they were, I was even more impressed. Really, really pleased with their effort."

• Grimes liked RT Brandon Mosley's effort Saturday. He said it's been tough on him, losing out on the job initially and the moving to the left side as a backup for a few weeks. "When guys are competing for a starting job and they don’t get it, typically they go in one of two directions,' Grimes said. "They’ll either go downhill because their focus wanes or they lose motivation. Or they’re driven to do even better. Some cases it helps them get better because the pressure’s off a little bit. I think both of those things happened with him. The pressure was off, and he had an opportunity to just focus on improving as a player. And he was hungry. He wasn’t just going to sit back there and take it. He focused on getting better every day. Really what he’s done the past couple of weeks has prepared him for this opportunity. It really wasn’t just that he did a great job last week in practice. He did. It was a culmination of what he’s done for a while.”

• Apparently John Sullen tweaked a leg last week that kept him out for a little bit of practice. You have to think that plays a factor in him not getting the starting gig.
• Safety Zac Etheridge and Ole Miss running back Rodney Scott were nominated for the 2010 Courage Award, which is given to a player or team that displays courage on or off the field. You've heard the story before. After Etheridge suffered his serious neck injury last year, Scott lay motionless underneath him while medical personnel came to the field. Etheridge was cleared medically this summer and has returned to action, starting all four of Auburn’s games. His 24 tackles are tied for second on the team.

I didn't get Cam Newton or Jeffrey Whitaker on video tonight (they're probably the two best video guys on the team right now), but I did put together a video from interviews with offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, left tackle Lee Ziemba and center Ryan Pugh. Enjoy.

Auburn’s offensive line heard coach Gene Chizik’s challenge to be more physical last week loud and clear.

The front five had their best effort to date against South Carolina, clearing the way for Auburn to run for 334 yards against what was statistically the best rushing defense in the SEC.

“He knew we were capable of playing tenfold better,” center Ryan Pugh said. “When you’re challenged like that to be a man, are you going to stand up? That’s what we did.”

Chizik expressed dissatisfaction with the way his veteran offensive line played the first few weeks, thinking the group that had 125 combined starts could play more physical.

“It started with getting our feelings hurt a little bit, but that had to happen,” left tackle Lee Ziemba said. “We decided that coach Chizik wouldn’t get up there in front of the team and lie and say something that wasn’t true. So we just had to look in the mirror.”

Quarterback Cam Newton ran for 176 yards, but he wasn’t alone. Freshman Mike Dyer got 23 carries for 100 yards, the first Auburn running back to top the century mark this year.

South Carolina, which entered the game first in the SEC in rushing defense, allowing only 59.7 yards per game, dropped to eighth in the league after getting gouged, watching its average rise to 128.2 yards.

“We had to bring a new mindset to practice and I guess just get a kick in the butt and be reminded what our job is and how we’re supposed to do it,”Ziemba said.

With Louisiana-Monroe on the schedule this Saturday, there’s a new challenge.

“You could say there’s more pressure on us not to be a one-hit wonder,” Ziemba said.

(Quick blog plugs: Twitter and Facebook.)

Here are some more quotes and notes from today's interviews:

• Good moment during the Pugh interview. His cell phone went off. The ringtone? "Lean on Me." Ziemba was off to the side waiting to be interviewing and belted out a line or two of the chorus. Not bad pipes on Ziemba. Bill Withers would be proud.
  

• The line started to see the pace catch up to South Carolina a little bit in the second half. "Once you get it going, you start seeing the defensive guys arguing with each other, not even getting in their stance, looking over to see what the defensive call is while we’re calling the snap count out, you think you’ve got them," he said. "You forget about how tired you are. You want to go faster. You can’t go fast enough."

• Newton, whose name has started popping up on preliminary Heisman lists after being named SEC Offensive Player of the Week for the second time Monday, is not worried about any hype going to his head. Offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn’s wife won’t let him. Newton has had good relationships with his coaches’ wives in the past. He was close to then-Florida offensive coordinator Dan Mullen’s wife, Megan, when he was in Gainesville. He’s formed a similar bond with Kristi Malzahn, whom he calls Miss Kristi. “What doesn’t she do?” Newton said. “She’s always texting me on a consistent basis. I like it. She’s one of the most honest people on this earth. She’s always telling me what she thinks I should do, always giving me her opinion. I’m always around a lot of guys and I don’t get a female’s opinion about a lot of stuff. She’s been a big help for me.”

• Newton said both Gus and Kristi check in on him. "They're always worrying," he said. "If they weren't always worrying, then that's when I'd be worrying. I know they have my best interests at heart."

• After wrapping up his interview Tuesday, Newton predicted he’d hear from her soon. “She’s probably going to look at this and text me tonight,” he said. “Or whenever y’all post this stuff.”

• Chizik said a few weeks ago he didn't like seeing his quarterback be the team's leading rusher. He seems more at peace with it now. Malzahn too. "Well we try to build our offense around our quarterback’s strength," he said. "And obviously we don’t want him to take all the extra hits, and ideally you wouldn’t want to run 25 times a game. But we want to take what the defense gives us. We do run some read things, and if they give him -- they gave him the ball quite a bit on the read stuff. But he can run and he can throw."

• Teams are starting to put a spy on Newton. He's aware. "That kind of limits my game, but I think I'm able to be successful in other ways with a defender spying me," he said. "That's a great deal of respect the defense gives you -- if they feel like they have to spy you and keep you on their mind. That's another thing they have to game plan. I really don't look to run every single down. I feel like I owe it to the receivers -- they're also out there battling and doing their job. I need to get them the ball as best I can."

• Malzahn still doesn't sound thrilled about Newton taking big hits at the end of runs. But he doesn't want him to shy away either. "I’d rather tell him, 'Whoa!' than having guys run out of bounds on their own all the time," Malzahn said.

• Regarding Newton's jump the end zone, Malzhan said: "He’s got a good vertical. Yeah. He’s a very gifted athlete." I assume he thought we were asking about the one that got negated to start the fourth quarter.

• When asked if he was worried about Newton landing on his shoulder the wrong way, like the end of his Superman leap in the first quarter, he seemed more concerned. "He’s a big strong guy, but when you jump that high you definitely worry about coming down wrong," Malzahn said.

• Obligatory Louisiana-Monroe defense answer from Malzahn: "They fly around. They’ve got a lot of speed. They do a lot of unconventional things. They can give you fits. You look at the way they played Arkansas in the first half. We’ve got to be on our A-game and we’ve got to be ready to play."

• Interesting way the coaches handled two separate fumbles Saturday. Mario Fannin lost a fumble and didn't get another carry. Dyer lost one and stayed in the game. "Anytime anybody fumbles, a lot of thoughts go through your mind, and you just got to have a feel for the deal," Malzahn said. "You got to understand with Mario, he’s got a shoulder issue, too, so there’s more to it than just that. You have to think about all those situations."

• Newton on Dyer: "Mike, he's growing up before our eyes. He's embracing it very well."

• Emory Blake got in the box score, but he wanted to make sure fellow wide receiver Jay Wisner got some recognition for the 12-yard screen pass that went for a touchdown in the fourth quarter Saturday. Blake lined up in the slot and caught a bubble screen from Newton. He made three South Carolina defenders miss, but Wisner provided a key block to spring him, pushing his defender six yards off the line of scrimmage. “He just kept pushing,” Blake said. “I felt him in front of me and I kind of started driving my feet behind him, and it was enough to get me in the end zone.”

• "That’s a point of emphasis that we tried to get better on blocking the perimeter," Malzahn said. "That’s a great example. Emory made a good run, but Jay blocked his guy all the way in the end zone, so that’s really nice to see."

• Malzahn came away impressed by how RT Brandon Mosley played, despite a few penalties. He considered the situation. "The thing about Brandon is that he’s a tough guy," he said. "He’s kind of got that Auburn toughness to him. He’s going to get better and better. In his defense, he played right tackle there for a while, left tackle, then back to right tackle. He won the job on Tuesday. They do a lot of things from an odd front, even fronts, moving back and forth ... really felt like he came a long way and did a very solid job for us."

• As usual, an entertaining interview with DT Jeffrey Whitaker (although I regret to say I didn't get it on video). He began it with some playful back and forth with Pugh, who got the better of him on one block. "I tripped over myself," Whitaker said while laughing. "It looked like a pancake on tape. But I know what happened. He knows what happened."

• The freshman played only four snaps against South Carolina, but he thinks his game is coming along. "The progression has grown big time, from Game 1, you're nervous, you don't know how you're going to play, you're worried about going the wrong way," he said. "Now, Game 5, you're just ready to get in the game and show what you can do."

• Tuesday was a physical practice, by all accounts. "You've been out there in practice before [quick note: we haven't], you've heard how practice is," Whitaker said. "That's the way we try to make it happen. Like today, it was a physical practice. Hit, hit, hit, hit, hit. Because this is the only day we get to go out and do that, a physical practice. But Tuesday relates to Saturday a lot. If you would have come to the Tuesday practice last week and saw South Carolina, it was the same thing in practice. We just try to be as physical as we can."

• Sounds like there's some playful competition among the freshmen defensive linemen about who is going to finish his career with the most sacks. Whitaker jokingly said Corey Lemonier "stole" his sack against South Carolina, when Stephen Garcia was flushed out of the pocket and into Lemonier's arms. "This is a competition," Whitaker said. "I said, 'Hey, when we leave, I'm going to have more tackles than you, I'm going to have more sacks than you and I'm going to have more tackles for loss than you.' And so they're looking at me like, 'Naw, it ain't going to be like that.' So now it's a competition."

• The Tigers are trying to stress finishing strong. The defense has stepped up to the occasion, forcing four turnovers in the fourth quarter against South Carolina. "Coach Chizik brought up a lot of examples from last year where we had games won, but we just lost it in the fourth quarter," DT Mike Blanc said. "This year, that's something we definitely wanted to capitalize on. When the fourth quarter's coming around, we want to make sure we're doing the right things and don't mess up on the coverage or on the offensive line, don't mess up on the blocking scheme. And defensive line, just know where you're supposed to fit up. It's just the little things at the end of the game where people win or they lose."

• Blanc likes that the defense is holding up its end of the bargain in some of these games. "We hope that more down the season it can get to that point where, 'Hey offense, you guys go out there and give us seven points and we've got the game won,'" he said. "That's how we would like to see it, like the old Ravens defense where Ray Lewis would be like, 'Hey offense, give us three points and we're going to win the game."

• Blanc won SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week honors after making seven tackles and recovering a fumble against South Carolina. The senior, who doesn't start, is plenty motivated. "This is my last year, and we've got guys on defense making big plays," he said. "If you're trying to make big plays, you'd better be out there hustling to the ball, because if you don't somebody else is going to make it."

• Ziemba brushed off Auburn's top-10 ranking. "We’re not even out of September yet," he said. "I’m not really focused on that."

• Auburn is saying all the right things about not taking ULM lightly. "No one is just going to give us a win just because we're 5-0 or they're in the Sun Belt Conference," Newton said. "It's all even play out there."

Gene Chizik has spoken. Here's what he said:

• "Good to have an early game. First early game we've played. ... We've got to get better as a football team. That's our focus this week. We're really worried about ourselves."

• On dealing with rising expectations: "I hope nobody's expectations are greater than our own. I really believe that every week is never about an opponent necessarily, it's about Auburn. ... We've just got to go back to work."

• "It's a good feeling to be 4-0. It certainly beats the alternative. But we still haven't put together a game that we can be proud of top to bottom."

• "I think we're better each game at certain things, but something pops up that we're not better at." Said it goes back to consistency message he's preached since Day 1.

• Wouldn't say the issues are frustrating. "The little details of the things that we're doing are what need to be fixed."

• First Louisiana Monroe question. The Warhawks spread teams out offensively. Gave Arkansas some trouble in the opener. Defensively, they use a three-man front. It's a different look. "But it won't be about Louisiana Monroe. It'll be about Auburn."

• "Turnovers are an enigma to me." Said some are forced, some are put in your lap by the offense. "I don't know why, but sometimes they come in bunches and sometimes they don't come for a long time."

• Brought up the fumbles. Had three, lost two. "That's unacceptable."
  

• Quarterback Cam Newton is starting to get a lot of attention. "I think Cameron is going to handle it well because he understands the importance of winning games." Chizik stressed the team aspect. If the team is successful, everyone gets considered for awards. Doesn't think it'll be a distraction for Newton. Said he's very "grounded."

• Chizik not getting ahead of himself. Wouldn't even say he would like to get Barrett Trotter some snaps. "We expect this to go down to the end."

• Philip Lutzenkirchen played some more out of the "3" position, which does H-back things, rather than tight end. "The great thing about Philip is he's kind of a dual guy. I think he's becoming a more confident football player as we go forward."

• On if he has a feel for this team after four games: "I feel like if we become a better team for four quarters, we'll have a better chance to win more games."

• "I know our football team is going to fight. I know they're all in to the end." He must get royalties for saying, "All in." I think Poker Stars is a sponsor.

• Thought the team did a good job getting more physical last week after he challenged them. "There's a lot to our guys. And when you challenge them, I think they respond." Added, "But that's got to be a way of life. That's who you have to be all year long."

• Said the interior line guys are playing well. "I think we've got a chance up front there to be a good defensive line."

And that's a wrap. We'll have more later.

My story in today's newspaper is about the defensive line. Here's how it starts:

AUBURN, Ala. — Ted Roof was blunt in his assessment of why redshirt freshman Nosa Eguae jumped past senior Michael Goggans to start at one of Auburn’s defensive end positions last Saturday.

“Our decision is based on performance,” the defensive coordinator said, pulling no punches. “Anytime there’s competition, that’s the kind of environment you want to create. And it’ll make everybody better.”

So far, that appears to be true for a defensive line that has been the strongest part of the Auburn defense.

The Tigers’ front four brutalized South Carolina quarterback Stephen Garcia and neutralized freshman phenom running back Marcus Lattimore in a 35-27 win last week.

Auburn had three sacks and 15 quarterback hurries in addition to holding the SEC’s one-time second-leading rusher to 33 yards on 14 carries, mostly due to the defensive line’s efforts.

Read the whole thing here. Blog plugs: Twitter and Facebook.

I put together a video from tonight's interviews. It's got quarterback Cam Newton, defensive coordinator Ted Roof and defensive end Nosa Eguae. Enjoy.

Heisman talk? Cam Newton's not buying into it.

The Auburn quarterback, who leads the SEC in rushing (121.3 ypg) and pass efficiency (182.46) and has accounted for 14 of the Tigers' 17 touchdowns this year, said he hasn't given the trophy one thought.

“Oh, my goodness, no,” he said. “I’m just going to continue to do my job. I’m not going to think about that right now because I think that would be selfish of me.

“A speaker came and talked to us one day, past player, and said take one day at a time, take one play at a time, and that’s what I’m going to do.”

Newton's case might gain steam in upcoming weeks. He was named Rivals.com's National Player of the Week after his 334-yard, 5-touchdown performance in the Tigers' 35-27 win against South Carolina on Saturday.

His teammate think he should at least be in consideration for the Heisman at this point.

“He’s probably the best player on one of the best teams in the country,” tight end Philip Lutzenkirchen said. “So I think he should be up for it.”

(Quick blog plugs: Twitter and Facebook.)

Let's get on to the bullet points:

• South Carolina defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson apparently said much of Auburn's success was through a finesse running game. Newton disagreed. "I wouldn’t call it finesse," he said. "I would just call it executing the game plan to the best of our ability.”

• Newton ran the ball a career-high 25 times Saturday. He felt OK Sunday. "I’m all right," he said. "I feel like I pick and choose when I’m delivering and taking blows, but all in all, I’m all right. Surprisingly, I’m not as sore as I thought I would be or people thought I would be. I’m OK.”

• Newton took off from the 7-yard line on the plunge at the end of his 54-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, a Superman-like pose for the leap. Offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn wasn't necessarily pleased. "We were watching film and coach Malzahn said, ‘You know, I don’t want my quarterback just diving, landing on his shoulder unless you have to. Did you have to dive?'" Newton said. "I said, 'Yeah, I had to dive because I thought I was going to get tackles. I guess there could have been an alternate way of handling that, but it was spur of the moment and I thought it was the best way of entering the end zone.”

• Did he ever think he wouldn't make it? "That would have been embarrassing,” he said. “But no, I think my momentum was enough that I could have taken off from the 10 if I thought I could make it.”

• Newton liked what he saw out of freshman RB Mike Dyer, who had 23 carries for a career-high 100 yards. "When it comes down to the nitty gritty, when the game is getting close, he wants the football," Newton said. "His eyes are gleaming with give me the football. He knows what he’s capable of doing. I think after he fumbled the football, he wanted it even more. Wanted to get a little bit of payback to say the least about all that. Mike is an excellent player and excellent teammate to be around, and he hasn’t even tapped into what he’s capable of doing yet."

• Newton goes a long ways in carrying out his fakes when he's running the zone read, acting as though he has the ball if he doesn't to confuse the defense. "That can be the difference in you holding the back side safety," he said. "It’s all the little things that help."

• Sticking with the offense, Philip Lutzenkirchen played more snaps in the "3" position (an H-back role) than tight end. It brought him back in the offense. He caught his first three passes this season for 22 yards and a touchdown. "It was my time I guess," he said. "I was open."

• A lot's been made of Auburn wanting to spread the ball to more receivers. Six different players caught passes Saturday. Only three did the previous week. "I mean, if you ask anyone, I think everyone wants the ball more," Lutzenkirchen said. "We’ve got so many weapons on this offense. Cam’s doing a good job spreading it around. When you got guys like Darvin Adams, who’s probably one of top receivers in the SEC last year, guys like T-Zach, I’m not complaining. Just whenever I get the ball, I’m going to do what i can with it.”

• Lutzenkirchen thinks Newton's running ability is opening things up on the offense, forcing team's to use a spy on him. "I think defenses are foolish if they don’t do that," he said. "Cam is a weapon. He always has the ball in his hands. It’s one of those deals I’d have someone spying on him the whole game. But I’m not a coordinator."

• WR Emory Blake made a nice touchdown run after catching a screen pass in the fourth quarter, a play he and Newton credited Jay Wisner for setting up with a good block. It's Blake's second touchdown this year after not doing much his freshman season. "It’s tough," he said. "Sometimes you feel like you can make plays when the coaches don’t think you can, but that’s the coaches’ decision. I’m sure they didn’t feel like I was ready to the end of the year – and I played a little bit more toward the end of the year last year. Now, I’m playing."

• Still on offense, Brandon Mosley said he found out Thursday he's be starting at right tackle. He had an erratic game, getting hit with three different penalty flags but otherwise holding up throughout the night. It helped that he had already gotten in a game as an injury replacement at left tackle earlier this year. "Going from left to right, it doesn't seem as hard," he said. "It's the plays, getting them mixed up. You have to remember what side you're on. That's what kind of got me. It wasn't bad at all because I prepared throughout the week."

• One penalty was glaring. He was flagged for a false start on the first play of the fourth quarter, a fourth-and-1 that would have been a Newton touchdown had it not been whistled dead. "It really frustrated me," Mosley said. "I was just leaning. It's something so small, something so stupid that really hurts. I kind of forgot about it after that and kept on playing."

• Mosley said Auburn's pace took its toll on South Carolina: "You can tell when they got tired -- they were standing up, hands on their hips and weren't ready. We knew we were whipping them. It felt really good to get that pace going and knock them back."

• Let's jump to defense, where Ted Roof's crew had another strong second half. " I think it's good the way that we've had to be on the field at the end of the last three ballgames, where it's come down to the last play," he said. "I think there's a lot of value in that, so when it keeps happening to us to build some confidence that we can shut the door and end the football game."

• Auburn force four turnovers in the fourth quarter after getting just two in the first 15 quarters of the season. "I think some of the pressure that we put on the passer earlier in the game I think adds up," he said. "Those hits on quarterbacks and toward the end of the game, I think that may have been a factor."

• Didn't notice this the other night, but Auburn's defense was on the field for six plays in the third quarter.

• Roof continues to be impressed by Bynes. "He's really an aware football player," he said. "He knows everybody's job on every snap, and I haven't been around many guys that do that. And he works at the game and as a result of that, he's very aware. You saw him flash and then drop off the quarterback's eyes and made a pick. They were giving him a hard time in the film room because he's dropped several of those, and that thing seemed like it was in the air forever. So they were busting his chops when they were watching the tape and he finally caught one. I thought it happened at a pretty good time."

• Roof praised the defensive line, which had a good chunk of Auburn's 15 quarterback hurries and three sacks. "I think you see some increased depth there, which Tracy (Rocker) has done a real good job rolling those guys," Roof said. "So we're playing a lot of people up front and I think it's helped. And I think that those guys are buying in and doing what coach Rocker is asking them to do. Good things are going to happen."

• Nosa Eguae replacing Michael Goggans as a starting DE was performance-based. "We want to reward performance, because if you want to have good things happen to them when they perform, we want them to understand that," Roof said. "And Nosa played well. And he's rewarded with a start. Anytime there's competition, that's the kind of environment you want to create. And it'll make everybody better."

• Eguae apparently knew last Sunday that he'd be starting. "I’ve been doing my job in games, but I pride myself on trying to be a practice player that makes plays in practice," he said. "I feel like if you make plays in practice, you’re going to make them in games. Whatever (Roof) saw, I just want to work hard in games and in practice.”

• Oh yeah, apparently Auburn has a game this week against Louisiana-Monroe. "We can’t overlook anyone," Newton said. "There are plenty of examples of people overlooking in the past, and especially this season. We don’t want to ever get too complacent or too comfortable with the position we’re in. also, whatever publicity we get over the wins, we can’t get too excited. We’ve got to stay on an even keel because you can’t ever take your foot off the gas."