Here's a video from tonight's round of interviews. It's got offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, running back Mike Dyer and linebacker Eltoro Freeman. Enjoy.

Rain forced Auburn to have a split-squad practice indoors Tuesday. Considering Saturday’s SEC championship game will be played in the Georgia Dome, the Tigers didn’t mind altering their plans.

“It was pretty good for us,” offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn said. “That’s a loud place we’re fixing to play. We turned on some music, some noise. Our guys really focused well. I think back to last Tuesday’s practice. This one was quite a bit better.”

Auburn didn’t go in full pads Tuesday, practicing in shells.

They were limited by the John H. Watson Fieldhouse, which is only half an indoor field. But it gave the Tigers a chance to practice on a turf similar to that of the Georgia Dome.

Auburn has only played one game on artificial turf this year, winning at Ole Miss 51-31 on Oct. 30.

“Our guys will have to get used to the footing,” Malzahn said. “All the turfs are different, too.”

“It’s different the way it makes you run, it makes you feel and your feet work with it,” running back Mike Dyer said.

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And read these other notes and quotes from Tuesday's late interviews:

• Malzahn’s name has already been floated as a possibility for several head coaching vacancies, although he said he’s not paying attention to the rumors. “The only thing I’m focused on is this game and trying to do the best job I can to help our team,” he said. “I don’t pay much attention to it. I guess it would be a little flattering that your name is out there, but I don’t get caught up in that.”

• Malzahn should be a hot coaching commodity this offseason. He is one of five finalists for the Frank Broyles Award, which goes to the nation’s top assistant coach. “Any time you’re up for an award like that, you think about the Curtis Lupers, the Trooper Taylors, the Jeff Grimeses, the Jay Boulwares. It’s a team deal here. I’m flattered to be considered.”

• The award is named after Frank Broyles, an Arkansas coach from 1958-76 who later was an administrator, serving as athletics director when Malzahn was there. Although there are rumors Broyles didn't think highly of Malzahn's system when the latter was Arkansas' offensive coordinator in 2006, Malzahn had kind words about Broyles Tuesday: "I know him well. He's one of the legends. I grew up watching him coach. He was AD when I was coaching football. He's a legend."

• Malzahn on facing South Carolina's defense: "They've gotten better each week. We're a big tempo-based offense and they have seen the tempo before. ... They're extremely fast. They fly around. They're physical up front. They made a lot of really good rushing teams look bad."

• South Carolina has the top-ranked rushing defense in conference-only games, allowing 107.2 yards per game. It should be noted that Auburn ran for 334 yards in the teams' first meeting.

• Malzahn on why TE Philip Lutzenkirchen is such a good red zone target: "He kind of gets lost. He's got great hands. He runs very good routes. It's a tribute, too, to our other play-makers that he can get lost. He's really made some big plays at some big times this year."

• He had less good things to say about Lutz's touchdown dance. "Yeah. I was pretty down about that," Malzahn said. "I asked him: 'What was that?' He said he was excited. Wow. We'll give him that one since that was such a big play. We'll let it go that one time."

• Can Malzahn coach him up on how to celebrate? "Coach Taylor probably can. He's the celebration guy."

• There are 12 Atlanta-area players on the team. Running back Mario Fannin, from Hampton, Ga., is one of them. "It's real special," he said. "We've got a big Auburn base there and fan club there. It'll be great to go home and play in front of your family and play in front of a lot of fans that can't really come out here and see us play."

• Fannin on the team's mind set: "I wouldn't say laid-back. We're just more focused. We understand what we need to do in order to win the game. We're just taking the proper procedures to make sure we do so. You don't want to be too excited before the game but you don't want to be too low for the game, so we're just trying to find a happy medium."

• Head coach Gene Chizik approached Nick Fairley with a request before the Alabama game, after Georgia submitted concerns to the SEC office about the defensive tackle’s questionable hits two weeks earlier. “He said tone it down a little bit,” Fairley said. “It’s all right. I’ve just got to calm down a little more.”

• Fairley did for the most part, although he was flagged for a borderline unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after celebrating a first-quarter sack of Tide quarterback Greg McElroy. He said the flag shocked him, but took blame for it. “It’s my fault,” he said. “It’s never the referee’s fault. I probably overreacted just a little bit. So understandable. You can’t fault him for that.”

• Fairley described the feeling after winning the Iron Bowl: "Anytime playing against those guys, wherever we play them at, if we come out on top, man, it felt good to be out there and have that many fans be quiet. Our fans would be in the upper deck and we could hear them over everybody, so it felt pretty good."

• Although Marcus Lattimore is only a freshman, Auburn isn't treating him like one. "I wouldn't say he's young anymore," Fairley said. "He went through 12 games. Can't say he's young anymore. I know he's matured a lot, so I wouldn't say he's a freshman."

• We talked to LB Eltoro Freeman tonight and got a bunch of good stuff that I plan to use for a feature story later this week. Here's how he described his night: "I was so hyped, and I also didn’t want to make no mistakes. I just wanted to go and make everyone proud. The turning point of the game came for me when I missed a tackle. Then, when I went to the sideline, to hear Coach (Ted) Roof tell me, ‘Toro, it’s alright.’ I was so worried about, ‘Man, ya’ll are gonna take me out now.’ He was like, ‘Toro, it’s alright. You’re gonna stay in the game. Everything will be alright.’ To hear him say that made my confidence level just shoot up. It was just unbelievable. When I went back out there, dawg, I just played free. I didn’t have to worry about making this mistake or worry about, ‘Oh man, I’m gonna have to sit out the whole game.’ I could just play football now. I didn’t have to be on pins, needles, anything. With him telling me that, it just took my name to another level.” More on Toro later this week.

• Auburn's defense gets knocked on quite a bit, but Freeman thinks the Tigers make plays when it counts. "When it’s time for us to step up and make the play, we do that," he said. "Every time. Every game. (GA Travis Williams) always tells us, ‘We ain’t got to be the best defense in the country. But come Saturday, as long as we’re the best. That’s all that matters.’ And we go in with that attitude.”

• Freeman also had a poignant take on the the 2010 team doing its part to make the national title game because the 2004 group never got that chance. "I’m going to do everything in my power not to let it slip away," he said. "The whole team, we’re all working hard, we’ve got this thing. Because six years ago the team went undefeated and they were wishing. They didn’t know if they were going to play for the national championship or not. We know. All we’ve got to do is win out. So that’s big. To bring a national championship here to Auburn University, that’s a big thing to do.”

Here's a video from today's early interviews. It's got left tackle Lee Ziemba, tight end Philip Lutzenkirchen and linebacker Craig Stevens. Back with more later.

It was in Auburn's first matchup against South Carolina that the Tigers began to get an idea of just what Cam Newton was capable of.

The quarterback, who now a Heisman Trophy contender, accounted for 334 yards and five touchdowns, including his signature moment -- a 54-yard touchdown run up the sideline in the first quarter that he punctuated by leaping head first in the end zone the final 7 yards.

"In everyone's mind that we all thought, 'Wow, he's the real deal and this team is going to do something special this year,'" tight end Philip Lutzenkirchen said. "So that was kind of the turning point for our season."

Newton remained unavailable to the media Tuesday. The quarterback, whose father has been accused of having pay-for-play discussions during his son's recruitment to Mississippi State last year, last spoke with reporters on Nov. 9.

Lutzenkrichen said Newton continues to go about his business -- in his own way.

"Business as usual for Cam is just straight goofball," he said. "He's always joking around, always messing with everyone. That hasn't changed at all throughout this year throughout any of this. So it's just good to have regular ol' Cam."

Head coach Gene Chizik declined to answer a question about Newton's lack of media availability. He also refused to address a question about whether or not Auburn would abide by the SEC rule that mandates all players be available to the press following the conference championship game.

In an e-mail Tuesday, SEC spokesman Charles Bloom cited the rule that outlines the punishment for failing to adhere to the rule: "Failure to comply with these rules and regulations may subject the coach and/or the institution to a fine by the Commissioner."

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Here are some quick notes and quotes from early interviews today:

• Lutzenkirchen has taken a lot of grief for his dance after catching the game-winning touchdown against Alabama. "Just one of those things where I was so excited I really didn't know what I was doing," he said. "I've heard Riverdance, jig, a bunch of different stuff."

• LT Lee Ziemba added "leprechaun dance" to the list. "It was a pretty bad dance," Ziemba said. "Coach (Gus) Malzahn was saying: 'They'll be playing this touchdown to your grandchildren someday and then … oh wow, look at that.'"

• Does Lutzenkirchen think it'll catch on? "I hope it doesn't," he said. "I really hope it doesn't. It's all fun and games."

• I'm doing a Lutzenkirchen story today or tomorrow, so I'll have more in that, but the sophomore has 12 catches this year, five of which have gone for touchdowns. "It's just kind of coach Malzahn's offense where the fullback/tight end kind of is used as a blocker for most of the game and kind of slips out in the red zone and people forget about it and it just happens to be a touchdown catch," he said.

• His thoughts on catching a wide open pass? "Don't drop it," he said. "Everything kind of slows down and you've really got to focus in and make sure you see the ball into your hands and pray that you don't drop it."

• Lutzenkirchen on the team's goals every year: "At the beginning of the season, the first goal is to win the West. Well, the first goal is to beat Bama. The second goal is to win the West. And the third goal is to hopefully win the SEC championship if everything lines up. We're really trying to stay humble with it and knowing that this is the next game. It's the biggest game so far."

• Alabama stuffed Newton on the run last week, holding him to 39 yards on 22 carries. Ziemba thinks the offense is to blame. "We weren't playing as well as we needed to be at some points in the first half," he said. "The game plan didn't change from the first half to the second half. Their game plan didn't change. Ours didn't either. It's a matter of executing and getting all 11 guys doing the same thing."

• Auburn has started out slow in games (witness, its 24-0 hole against Alabama). LB Craig Stevens thinks that needs to change. "I think overall we have to go into games with more focus," he said. "Last week we kind of let our emotions take control of us to the point where sometimes we got out of line a little bit, out of whack a little bit. We just have to calm down and play our game, not wait for a team to get up on us.”

• Stevens on South Carolina RB Marcus Lattimore: "Oh yeah, he’s a good player. He kind of reminds me of (Alabama's Trent) Richardson with how hard he runs. He runs through a lot of tackles. It will be a tough task to slow him down. “You either hit him low or you've got to wrap him up when you tackle him. That’s one of those things, he’s not going to go down with just a shoulder. You gotta wrap him up. He has strong legs and he carries the ball forward. We’ve got to do a good job of rallying to the ball on him.”

• Stevens said Lattimore doesn't do too much trash-talking on the field. That was before he had 1,114 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns. "He can talk now," Stevens said.

• Of all the games Auburn has played in this year, Stevens felt more fortunate to come away with a win in the Clemson game. "They were that close," he said. "That guy missed that field goal. That game right there, we took a deep breath after slipping by those guys."

• The players have not been in this undefeated situation before. Chizik has, as part of the 2004 Auburn team that finished 13-0 and Texas' 2005 national championship team. "None of us have been in this situation before and he has a few times," Ziemba said. "He does a good job of making sure our focus is in the right, making sure we're not looking ahead to different things and we're focusing on the task at hand. He check us frequently each week. That really brings us to the place we're supposed to be."

• Ziemba was asked about some fans not exactly embracing the Chizik hire two years ago. "I trust the guys who hired him," he said. "I wouldn't second guess them or anything."

• Also of note: Auburn will show SEC championship game on high-definition video boards in Auburn Arena following women's basketball game against Temple. Admission free at halftime.

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

• "Exciting times for us here at Auburn. Obviously it's going to be a great football team Saturday. Our team is really, really looking forward to playing in the championship game."

• On SC: "They were a very, very good football team when we played them eight weeks ago. They've kept improving."

• Said SC is No. 3 in SEC in scoring defense. "That's the ultimate stat."
  

• "I think they've steadily improved since we played last."

• Said defensively Auburn has made some strides. Said Tigers have been sporadic, though, which is a concern going up against Stephen Garcia and Alshon Jeffery.

• "I think we've been through a lot in finding different ways to win since then."

• On handling the pressure of a big game: "We've been through a lot of big games the last five weeks. I think that's helped."

• On playing bad in the first half: "I see guys who are out of position. I see guys who aren't maybe communicating like they should. You prepare for things and then teams change, you've got to adjust to what you're seeing. That's certainly not an excuse. I don't care what we're seeing, we need to play better. Not acceptable."

• On personal vindication: "That's not how I live. That's not what's important to me."

• On going through his third perfect regular season: "It's extremely difficult to do. Just being able to be blessed to go through it two other times, there are things I can pull to help our coaches."

• On playing in Atlanta, a big market: "I think it's great. In the history of Auburn, there have been so many great players that have come out of Georgia. Atlanta is so close. Knowing that that's a huge recruiting base for what you're trying to do, it's a huge inspiration for our guys to go back to that area. It's neat for our guys to be able to do that."

• On Cam Newton in the first SC game: "That was a special game for him. That was eye-opening for us at that point in time. That was a learning moment for us coaches on what he was going to be able to do."

• On the 2004 experience being able to help him this time: "Every team has a different identity. This team is different in its own way. I think the dynamic is different, just so many true freshmen a part of what we're doing, with a good mixture of older guys. 2004 was different, because there weren't a whole lot of times where we had to come back and win games."

• On the punt return game: "We're going to evaluate that this week. Obviously we're not happy. That was a potentially game-changing event."

• On if he anticipates Newton speaking to the media again: only commenting on Newton's first 12 games.

• Pointed out that SEC mandates all players have to be available after the conference championship game. Chizik again chose not to comment.

• On seeing signs of support around town for Newton: "This is a great community. This community was built on family. It was built on supporting one another. When you pull up after a bus ride from Tuscaloosa and come up to hundreds of fans, that's what it's all about."

• On winning the first SC game: "It means nothing."

• On if there are worries about being the favorite: "Those are all things for the media and the outside people to speculate about."

• On the Iron Bowl being a classic: "I don't know how many teams in the course of history would have been able to do that. But that was an incredible challenging task at the time, and our guys rose up to it. I'm sure when all the smoke clears, we'll look back on that and go, 'Wow.'"

• On Marcus Lattimore: "He's a great football player. They do a great job of utilizing him the right way." Said SC uses him well in the passing game.

• On Mike Dyer's evolution: "You can tell his comfort level has improved drastically since the beginning of the year."

• On Alabama slowing down Newton in the run: "They're very physical up front. They're well coached. They've got some good players."

• On Gus Malzahn being up for the Broyles Award: "He's huge to us and our staff. Gus has been a huge part of what we've done here. He's a great football coach and anything he gets, I'm all in. He deserves it."

And that's a wrap.

Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn made the cut as one of five finalists for the Frank Broyles Award, given annually to the nation's top assistant coach.

• QB Cam Newton: Offensive POTW against Arkansas State, South Carolina, Arkansas, LSU, Georgia, Alabama
• DT Nick Fairley: Defensive POTW against Mississippi State, D-line POTW against Louisiana-Monroe, Arkansas, LSU, Alabama
• LB Josh Bynes: Defensive POTW against Clemson
• DT Mike Blanc: D-line POTW against South Carolina
• PK Wes Byrum: Special teams POTW against Kentucky
• CB Demond Washington: Special teams POTW against Ole Miss
• RB Mike Dyer: Rookie OTW against Ole Miss
• LG Mike Berry: O-line POTW against Georgia

Here's a video I put together from tonight's interviews. Lighting issues across the board for my flip cam. I blame the spotlight from one of the TV cameras. ANYWAY, it's got defensive coordinator Ted Roof, left guard Mike Berry, linebacker Josh Bynes and safety Zac Etheridge.

Auburn called for a cornerback blitz early in the Alabama game, but T’Sharvan Bell couldn’t quite get to the quarterback in time. The Tigers went back to it late in the fourth quarter, and Bell made a game-changing play.

The junior sacked Crimson Tide quarterback Greg McElroy on third-and-12, knocking Alabama out of field goal range.

“I was licking my chops when coach called the blitz,” Bell said. “I really wanted to get him, just make some kind of play. And I did. My eyes got big, heart beat a little faster. I was just happy.”

Bell ducked the tackle to get the quarterback, slinging McElroy around by the jersey and into the ground for a 4-yard loss, forcing Alabama to punt with Auburn leading 28-27.

It was Bell’s first career sack and knocked McElroy out of the game with a concussion.

“Nick (Fairley) taught me that,” Bell said, referring to Auburn’s sack leader. “He taught me everything this week.”

Bell also made a tackle earlier in the game, splitting two linemen to stop a sweep play near the end zone, something he wouldn’t have done a year ago.

“I’m not even sure it was a play he would have attempted to make last year,” defensive coordinator Ted Roof said. “And that excites you when you see kids grow and lay their bodies out for the football team.”

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Quite a few interviews tonight. Here are some notes and quotes:

• In case you missed the previous post, Auburn is back at No. 1 in the BCS rankings. "It really doesn't matter," linebacker Josh Bynes said. "The only thing we have to do is take care of what we're supposed to do this week against South Carolina. We know what's going to happen after that. In order to get there, we have to play that one game. If we take this opponent lightly or we play that kind of game where we give them the SEC championship, then we won't get there."

• Roof on Sunday's practice: "It was a little more involved than most Sundays, because we had an extra day in between when we played last. It gave us a little more time as a staff to evaluate and watch tape than we normally would have on a Sunday when you're grading your own tape and you're trying to get ready for your next opponent. So we're a little bit further ahead than we would be on a Sunday."

• How hard will it be to get back up for the SEC championship game after a draining Iron Bowl? "How many games have we had that haven't been very draining and emotional?" Roof said. "Most of our games, there's been something involved in it that's been very emotional. You know what? This is to win the championship. And as a competitor, that makes your competitive juices flow when you know you start talking about championships and rings and things of that nature. So there's absolutely no problem getting juiced up for this one."

• RG Byron Isom doesn't think it will be a problem. "It’s just another notch under your belt and you move on to the next week," he said. "In this conference you play good teams all the time, and I think we did a good job on this season putting the wins behind us and moving on to the next step, and I don’t think it will really affect us this week."

• The regular season is barely over, but head coaching vacancies exist already at Minnesota, Colorado, Vanderbilt, Miami and Indiana, among others. With Auburn’s assistant coaches — especially offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn — expected to be potential candidates, head coach Gene Chizik cut off things before they could begin Sunday, refusing to answer any coaching vacancy questions. “I don’t want to address any potential rumors and coaching issues out there that are flying around,” he said.

• Chizik was more forthcoming about helping assistants land better jobs last week. “It’s a fine line, because when you have a great coach, it is human nature to be selfish and to want to keep him as long as you can,” he said. “But in the same breath, without trying to talk out of both sides of my mouth, these guys, if they have great opportunities out there, I want them to be able to achieve their own goals as well. And I certainly want to try to help guys do that.”

• Lots of talk about the team's first-half performance against Alabama. Roof boiled it down to its simplest terms: "We can't play another first half like we did, because we won't be able to overcome it."

• Roof wouldn't pin the problems on the secondary. "We all made too many mistakes," he said. "We win and lose together, and there is no one particular group that is great. We were all bad in the first half. We win and lose as a team. That's how we approach it. We've all got to get better."

• Safety Zac Etheridge doesn't like the fact that the secondary gets a lot of the blame. "We get tired of hearing about the secondary not playing as well, but when you look at it, with the game on the line, we get the job done, so we don’t really go into statistics," he said. "We just play the game until the last seconds tick off the clock. Every defense, you’ve got to stop the run. If they’ve got both of them going at the same time, that’s definitely hard to stop. So you’ve got to stop the run and try to control the pass.”

• Is there a stern message for the secondary, though? "We've got a stern message for all of us,"Roof said. "Let's get better now real quick. Let's get a lot better real quick. That's the message."

• Bynes agreed: "If we put together a truly complete, four-quarter game, this team would be a lot better. This team would be unstoppable. That second half showed what kind of team we are -- regardless of what the scoreboard shows."

• More stuff from Roof on Bell, who wasn't the most physical player his first two seasons. "I think that you've got to be very honest with your evaluation, so you can address problems," Roof said. "Because if the problems aren't brought to the forefront, sometimes they can fester and become a huge problem. So he's a good kid who cares about this football team and we owe it to him to address the truth. He did something about it and I've got a lot of respect for people that do that. And like I said, he's grown a lot. Not to be confused with enough. There's still a lot of room for growth, this week preferably."

• Bell's response to being called not physical enough last year? “It felt bad to me to know first what my family stands for," he said. "To know that my dad and my mom never raised a soft kid. I took it personal, I really did. I guess that’s the kind of chip on my shoulder I came out with.”

• Etheridge had high praise for Bell. "He will do whatever he can to sacrifice his body for the team and the Auburn family," he said. "So he just goes out and throws all 180 or 170 or whatever into somebody. He just plays with his heart and gives his body up for the team.”

• One series that was somewhat overlooked was the defense stepping up after Quindarius Carr fumbled a punt in the third quarter. Alabama had great field position but couldn't get a first down and had to settle for a field goal to only go ahead 27-21. "That was really huge from a momentum swing," Roof said. "We all make mistakes, and that's being a team. That's our job. Our job is to go and respond, and when we're put in that situation to make them attempt a field goal and not just let them take it down on us for a touchdown. So we did what we were supposed to do."

• Roof said LB Eltoro Freeman earned his start the other day (the junior made 9 tackles, 2 TFLs and a sack) with his practice performance. Roof said he and Daren Bates will still both get a shot at starting next week, though. "We're evaluating that constantly, because it's our job as coaches to try to get the best group out there," he said. "Also, there are some incentives out there to practice too. There are rewards for performance."

• Freeman was a little worked up early (he whiffed on McElroy on one tackle) but Bynes had a talk with him. "He was a little down because he missed tackles or whatever," Bynes said. "I told him: You have to calm down. Let's calm down. If you calm down, things are going to happen and it's going to be perfect for you. When he did that, he went out there and played great. It was a great scenario for him."

• Roof said South Carolina is playing with more confidence now, especially quarterback Stephen Garcia: "He's making good decisions and taking care of the football. You see him against everybody, where he's moving the sticks with his feet. Anytime you get a quarterback who's got mobility back there, that presents a whole other set of issues. So we've got our work cut out for us."

• WR Alshon Jeffery had eight catches for 192 yards and two touchdowns the first time he played Auburn. "He’s a different player now than he was the first time we met him," Bell said. "He’s stepped his level of play up, and we’ve definitely got to step ours up. We just haven’t been getting it done on the back side, speaking for the secondary. We know what’s at stake this weekend. We’re going to do everything we can.”

• More Alshon love from Etheridge: “I mean, he’s big. All of us know it on the back end. He has great hands and he uses his body very well. We’ve got to find ways to stop him. He’s one of our main focuses. He’s probably one of their best players on offense. This game, we’ve definitely got to step up on the back end and try to stop him.”

• RB Marcus Lattimore is pretty good too, although Auburn did a good job of corralling him the first time (14 rushes, 33 yards, 1 TD). "He was a guy who keeps his feet moving after contact," Bynes said. "When he gets wrapped up, he's still trying to strangle, to get up out of there for an extra yard or two. He'll keep his hand on the ground and bust out of there and take it for 20 if he wants to. He's still the same kind of guy we saw earlier in the year. We know our offense has increased in terms of having a lot better energy and physicality since then.

• Auburn and South Carolina have played before, obviously. Left guard Mike Berry said the team can take some things from that game, especially up front. "From a pass-rush standpoint, you’ve pretty much got a feel for what they’re going to do," he said. "But other than that, it’s one of those things where they also have the advantage of they might know a couple calls here and there. At the end of the day, it comes down to who wants it more and who’s going to be physical."

• Isom is from Jonesboro, Ga., so playing in the Georgia Dome is a homecoming of sorts for him. "It’s definitely special," he said. "I never got to play in the Dome. We played in the Peach Bowl, but that was my redshirt year. We didn’t make it to the state playoffs in high school, so I’m really excited to play in it."

• TE Philip Lutzenkirchen did a little jig after scoring the game-winning touchdown against Alabama. Isom asked him about it. "I definitely saw it," he said. "It looked like a Riverdance to me. That’s what I tell him. I asked him what he was thinking. He said he just blacked out."

• Bynes came down to Auburn and South Carolina during his recruiting four years ago. He chose Auburn, obviously. "Auburn was a family kind of atmosphere," he said. "When I went to other schools, it didn't feel comfortable. It didn't feel like him to me. It was all about Auburn. There were a lot of Florida guys here. You felt like you already were part of the team and not like an outcast. I'm not saying South Carolina made me feel like that. When I came here, I felt like I was already on the team."

• Isom, on the Iron Bowl celebration: "It was a celebration like no other. You can’t really put into words, to go in there against your rival in the Iron Bowl and to come out victorious."

Auburn is back at No. 1 in the Bowl Championship Rankings ... by a hair.

The Tigers jumped Oregon by .0002 points in the latest rankings, which were released Sunday night. Auburn's BCS average is .9779. Oregon was at .9777.

TCU was third, .06 behind the two leaders. Stanford was fourth, followed by Wisconsin.

Auburn was No. 1 when the second set of rankings were released Oct. 24. The Tigers were passed the next week by the Ducks, who they trailed for four weeks.

South Carolina's Steve Spurrier and Auburn's Gene Chizik spoke today on the SEC championship game coaches teleconference.

Here's what Chizik had to say:

• "South Carolina is probably playing the best football it has played all year."

• Chizik not answering questions about Cam Newton's off-the-field issues. Also not talking about coaching rumors for his assistants. Lots of restrictions this week. Is he a football coach or a CIA agent?

• On the defense turning things around, said Ted Roof does a good job of making halftime adjustments. Also, "the consistency of what we're trying to do has not always been there entirely on defense. A lot of times that's why you're seeing a tale of two halves."

• On Alshon Jeffery: "I don't think there's any question: he's playing as confident football right now as anyone in America. ... Earlier in the year, I think everyone knew he was one of the best in America. But he's gotten better." Said the QB-WR connection has gotten better as the year has gone on. "It's a tall order to stop this one."

• On confidence: "I think our team is confident all the time. We just need to obviously execute earlier in the football game. We can't start that slow."

• On Darvin Adams' arm, which he was apparently shaking during the Alabama game: "He's doing fine."

• On the team not panicking after falling behind early: "We tell them every week there are storms that you have to weather every week."
  

• "I've never been around a group of guys who have that resolve."

• On facing Spurrier: "I think he's a tremendous football coach, there's no question. He's one of the coaches who are going to be considered one of the great ones of all time."

• Said the first thing you do at halftime while making adjustments is simplifying things. "Usually they're very minor, but again, the devil's in the details."

• On playing teams twice in the same season: "It's a little bit of a different dynamic. When you haven't played anybody before, you have your best educated guess" on how a team is going to play you. "You're not going to have wholehearted changes anywhere on your team, because obviously you've done something good enough to get you to the championship game." Said you can narrow down the subtle things that you can do.

• On the players thinking there's an advantage in already having beaten South Carolina: "I'm hoping it doesn't. This is a brand new team. That was eight or nine weeks ago."

• RB Onterio McCalebb limped off the field apparently. Chizik said he's fine.

• On South Carolina's improvements: "They're running the ball extremely physical now. Not that they weren't before, but you can just tell when they make improvements."

• Also said the timing between QB Stephen Garcia and the receivers is good. Also praised the defense. A more succinct answer would have been: "Everything."

• On stopping Marcus Lattimore and Alshon Jeffery: "I don't know if you can completely stop both of them. That's a phenomenal 1-2 punch." Said you need to do a mix of things to slow both. "And that's still a tall order."

• On playing in a dome and noise: "You really deal with that on the road week-in and week-out anyways."

• On when he knew Newton would be special: Chizik cited the long touchdown run he had in the first game against Arkansas State. "When he broke those big runs early in the year, we said, 'Wow, he's definitely got the ability to improvise.'" Said the Clemson game he showed how good of a passer he could be.

• On Newton: "He's maintained his focus just the way he did in every football game this week and was able to prepare the same every week."

• On what he thought he'd get out of Mike Dyer this year: "You never know how the tailbacks are going to respond, simply because there's so many more things than running the football that they have to do." Thought he would get playing time and get better as the year went on. "Didn't have any preconceived number of plays that he would play, but we thought if he continued to improve, he could be a contributor in our running game. And he's done that."

• "He needs to be that guy who can run in between the tackles from that tailback spot."

• Said teams are squeezing more people into the box to stop Auburn's QB running game. "I think that's everybody's idea going in when it comes to stopping the run game. That's what we're seeing from most games."

• On the big stage of the SEC championship game: "This is a little different feel, because everybody else is watching. It's a unique feel."

• "The good thing for us is the environment we'll go into is going to be the same as we play in every week, home or away."

Spurrier was up first. Here's what he said:

• "Our team has played very well the past three games, probably about as well as we've played all year."

• "I really respect what they've done this year. I wouldn't say the surprise team, but they have been one of the best teams in the country, if not the best team, the first 12 games."

• On the improvement since the first Auburn game: "I think the biggest improvement we made is pass defense. That's what certainly has given us a chance to win." Also said special teams play.

• On if he thought making title game was possible at SC: "That was our goal here at South Carolina: to be there and win the game there. And obviously it still is our goal. We didn't think we had the team until maybe this year."

• On backing the SEC championship game: "This game has helped more teams than it has hurt in the SEC. ... This is like a tournament right here." Said every team has a chance. "It's clear what you have to do. You don't have to worry about people voting, you don't have to worry about your schedule. I think it gives every team hope to have a championship year when you can play for your conference championship."

• On the haters who said he'd never make it to an SEC title game: "That was probably a fair assessment when you look at the history of South Carolina football." Told his wife in 2004: "Let's go to South Carolina and do some things that hadn't been done before."

• On Lattimore: "We didn't know he could carry the team in several big games like he's done this year. ... He's just a total tailback. He can do it all. He does everything you ask. When your star players are really good teammates, you have a chance to achieve a lot as a team."

• On Newton running past two SC defensive backs as they ran into each other on a touchdown run earlier this year: "We're telling our DBs, play your angles now. Then we found out he's doing that to everyone."

• On Gus Malzahn: "Gus and probably the guy in Oregon, Chip Kelly, are probably the guys that coach that spread offense the best in the country. They probably know it better than anybody in the country."

• On playing a team twice in the same season: "Your game plan might be a little different, certainly, but generally we all do what we have to do to win games."

• On Auburn's defense: "I think their defense rises to the occasion when they need to. ... They're 12-0, so they've done a very good job on getting stops when they need to win the game."

• On Newton facing distractions: "He acts like he doesn't read the newspapers or hear anything about it."

• On Newton being Heisman worthy: "Certainly. I think he's the most dynamic player in college ball this year."

• "Hopefully our defense is better now than we were earlier in the season."

• On facing the hurry up: "You've just got to be ready. And offensively we need to be out there as well. I think that slows down those hurry-up teams."

• On the first meeting: "We had our chances. With the turnovers, we didn't have our best game."

• More on Lattimore: didn't play him in the first game because he didn't want to make it look like he promised him he'd start if he signed. Georgia game was next, had 37 carries for 180+ yards. "That's when we noticed he was breaking tackles all over the place, falling forward. That's when we realized we had a special player."

• On playing in the dome: "We've talked about being on the big stage of college football. Our guys get a twinkle in their eye when you say that. ... I told them the other night, now we're going on to the biggest stage in college football in the south in the SEC championship game. And our guys have played well in that atmosphere.""

• Said there's no difference on playing in a dome: "Once the game kicks in, it's still running and passing and tackling."

• On Jeffery, said he's not a quick-step guy like he had at Florida. "What he does so well is when it hits his hands, it sticks. Very seldom is there a breakup pass when he and the defender go for the ball.'

• On Garcia: "He's matured into a very good quarterback. Stephen's a player who has learned through experience and it's just now coming to him how to play the game." Said he throws the ball away now instead of taking sacks. "He can player better, but he's been very productive and very smart with the ball."

• Garcia got hit on the hand last week. Spurrier said he probably won't do much early this week. Expects him to play.
  

Auburn's win against Alabama netted it some first-place votes , but it remained No. 2 behind Oregon overall in the Associated Press, USA Today coaches' and Harris Interactive polls.

1. Oregon (46), 11-0, 1,459 points, LW: 1

2. Auburn (10), 12-0, 1,419 points, LW: 2

3. TCU (3), 12-0 1,343 points, LW: 4

4. Wisconsin, 11-1, 1,282 points, LW: 5

5. Stanford, 11-1, 1,233 points, LW: 8

1. Oregon (70), 11-0, 2,804 points, LW: 1

2. Auburn (42), 12-0, 2,769 points, LW: 2

3. TCU (2), 12-0, 2,621 points, LW: 3

4. Wisconsin, 11-1, 2,441 points, LW: 5

5. Stanford, 11-1, 2,417 points, LW: 7

I touched on this in the game story for Saturday's paper, but here's a longer look at Auburn's positioning in the national title race with one game to go:

AUBURN, Ala. -- Gene Chizik isn’t in to statement games, so a question regarding what kind of a declaration Auburn made in a 28-27 come-from-behind win in the Iron Bowl Friday was met with a typical lack of flair.

The Tigers coach stated the facts, plain and simple.

“I don’t know what kind of statement it will make, but we’ve got one more to win,” he said. “If we win that one, then the statement would be that we’re worthy of playing for the national championship.”

All that remains between Auburn (12-0, 8-0 SEC) and its first Bowl Championship Series national championship game appearance is the SEC title game in Atlanta on Saturday against South Carolina.

Win that, and the Tigers, who are currently ranked No. 2 in the BCS rankings, assure themselves of being in one of the top two spots that guarantee a national title game appearance

We've had some time to soak in what happened at the Iron Bowl last night, and, in hindsight: wow, what a game. Nothing in the cooling off period has diminished how thoroughly entertaining that was. Probably one of the top-five games I've covered.

The comeback is complete, and what a comeback it was. Probably the best I've seen. There's a long drive back to Auburn from Tuscaloosa tonight, but here's a peak at tomorrow's game story:

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Auburn has had its share of stunning comebacks this year, erasing double-deficits in wins against South Carolina, Clemson and Georgia.

They all pale in comparison to Friday's.

The No. 2 Tigers rallied from a 24-point first-half deficit to pull out a 28-27 win against No. 11 Alabama, ending the No. 11 Crimson Tide's 20-game unbeaten streak at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

"That was a game that will certainly go down in history," Tigers head coach Gene Chizik said, with no hint of hyperbole.

Auburn (12-0, 8-0 SEC) kept its national title hopes alive in the process, with an SEC title game matchup against South Carolina next week in Atlanta all that separates the Tigers from a date in Glendale, Ariz., for the BCS title game.

Although Auburn has come from behind in eight of its 12 victories this season, the 24-point deficit was the largest comeback in school history.

"We've been like situations like this all the time," linebacker Eltoro Freeman said. "We never point fingers. We never do none of that, man. We just stick together. We've been in this situation before."

Well, not quite like this. The three double-digit comebacks earlier this year all happened in the cozy confines of Jordan-Hare Stadium, before a friendly crowd in temperate weather.

Friday's was by far the most daunting — Auburn trailed 24-0 after 22 minutes — took place in chilly, sometimes drizzling weather, and happened before a Bryant-Denny Stadium crowd of 101,821 that Alabama (9-3, 5-3 SEC) hadn't lost in front of since 2007.

It was all Crimson Tide early. Quarterback Greg McElroy threw for 315 of his career-high 377 passing yards by halftime, completing two touchdown passes. Receiver Julio Jones, who had 199 receiving yards, got lost behind a confused Auburn secondary on a broken coverage on one of them for a 68-yard score.

Jeremy Shelley's 20-yard field goal made it 24-0 at the 8:01 mark on the second quarter.

But the Tigers didn't crack.

"The strength of this group is the team," defensive coordinator Ted Roof said. "That's what makes it so fun. They care about each other and they play for each other."

Auburn's defense got timely turnovers when Antoine Carter and Nick Fairley forced fumbles near their own end zone, preventing the Tide from putting the game away in the first half.

The Tigers' offense couldn't solve Alabama early — "They were whipping our butts early," offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn said — but finally got in gear midway through the second quarter.

Quarterback Cam Newton engineered the comeback. He completed a 36-yard touchdown pass to Emory Blake to cut the halftime lead to 24-7, then had a 70-yard hookup for a score with Terrell Zachery on the second half's second play.

A 1-yard touchdown plunge by Newton cut the lead to 24-21 before another Shelley field goal, following a fumbled punt by Quindarius Carr, pushed Alabama's lead back to 27-21.

It was but a mere hiccup in the comeback. On the ensuing possession, Auburn faced a fourth-and-three at the Alabama 47 with 13:49 remaining. After a timeout, the Tigers lined up in a pooch punt formation, but Newton dropped back and fired a 9-yard pass right on the sideline to Darvin Adams for the first down.

"We came here to win the game," Chizik said. "We did not come here to tie. We didn’t come here with our hat in our hand. We came here to win the game. Sometimes you have to make those calls."

Five plays later, Newton threw back across the field to tight end Philip Lutzenkirchen for a 7-yard touchdown. Wes Byrum's extra point gave the Tigers their first lead at 28-27 with 11:55 left.

Newton didn't have eye-popping stats but finished with 216 passing yards and three touchdowns and 39 rushing yards and another score.

"He's a special player," Malzahn said. "He found a way to lead us to victory."

The lead held up. Auburn allowed only 62 yards in the second half. T'Sharvan Bell's cornerback blitz resulted in a sack that pushed the Tide out of field goal range on its second to last drive, knocking McElroy out with a concussion.

Alabama got the ball back with 51 seconds left, but backup quarterback A.J. McCarron threw four straight incompletions to give Auburn the win.

"That's the thing about this team," linebacker Josh Bynes said. "We fight adversity. They had all the momentum in the world, but we know how to fight back."

The victory puts Auburn one step away from the national championship game. Chizik was asked afterward about the BCS national title game, and whether a one-loss SEC team should be considered.

He didn't get into hypotheticals, boiling it down to the simplest terms.

"If we’re lucky enough to win the SEC Championship," he said, "then we’ll be playing for it."

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Auburn might have dug a hole even it can't dig out of.

The No. 2 Tigers have been overwhelmed after 30 minutes, trailing No. 11 Alabama 24-7 at halftime at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

The Crimson Tide raced to a 24-0 lead, out-gaining the Tigers 314 to 2 midway through the second quarter.

Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy carved up the Auburn defense, going 19-for-23 for a career-high 335 yards and two touchdowns. Julio Jones had seven catches for 174 yards and a score.

The Tide, which hadn't score a first quarter touchdown in the Iron Bowl since 1996, scored three Saturday to race to a 21-0 lead.

Mark Ingram scored on the opening drive from 9 yards out before a busted coverage left Jones wide open on a 68-yard score.

An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Auburn tackle Nick Fairley allowed the Tide to convert on fourth down on the next drive. A few plays later McElroy hit Darius Hanks on a 12-yard touchdown pass to make it 21-0 after 13 minutes.

Auburn, which entered the game with the No. 6 offense in the country, didn't get a first down until 18 minutes in.

Cam Newton, the SEC's leading rusher, had nine carries for minus-10 yards. Auburn, which has topped 300 rushing yards in six straight SEC games, has minus-10 yards as a team as well.

The Tigers showed some signs of life before halftime. After Alabama's Jeremy Shelley made it 24-0 with a 20-yard field goal, Newton hooked up with Emory Blake for a 36-yard touchdown that cut the lead to 24-7.

You're looking LIVE at an empty Bryant-Denny Stadium, a little less than three hours before kickoff in the Iron Bowl.

Despite great weather yesterday, it's cold out. It's 44 degrees, according to weather.com, but feels like 38. Although it rained intermittently on the drive up from Auburn, there's no rain falling right now. The field looks in great shape, so I don't know if slipping will be an issue.

Have I mentioned it's cold? Well, it is. Open air press box too. But we'll tough it out. Follow along at Twitter for updates throughout the day.

And if you've got a spare minute, read today's game advance and a breakdown of the matchups.

And check back to this post periodically leading up to the game. I'll be updating it with any pertinent (and some non-pertinent) information.

Minutia -- who wants it? Coming at ya:

• Alabama leads the all-time series 40-33-1. But Auburn is 6-1 all-time in Tuscaloosa.
• Eighteen of the last 22 meetings have been decided by 10 points or less.
• Auburn has not allowed a first-quarter touchdown to Alabama since 1996.
• The Tigers are third nationally in rushing offense (307.9 ypg), fifth in scoring offense (42.8 ppg) and sixth in total offense (505.2 ypg).
• QB Cam Newton leads the SEC and is ninth nationally in rushing (117.9 ypg) and is the only player in the country with five games of 170 yards or more.
• Newton 20-20 watch: He has 21 passing touchdowns and 17 rushing.
• RB Mike Dyer's 859 rushing yards are sixth-most nationally among freshmen.
• LT Lee Ziemba will break the schools consecutive starts record by making his 50th career start today.
• DT Nick Fairley leads the SEC and tied for eighth nationally with 18 tackles for a loss. It's tied for fourth-most in a season in school history.
• Alabama is 8-2 against teams in the Associated Press top 10 in the last three seasons. Prior to its loss against South Carolina, the Tide had won nine straight against AP top 25 teams.
• Bama has won 20 straight at Bryant-Denny Stadium, dating back to a 2007 loss to Louisiana-Monroe.
• The Crimson Tide leads the SEC and is ranked third nationally in points allowed (12.8 ppg). Alabama has allowed only two offensive touchdowns at home this year.
• Alabama has the No. 2 pass efficiency defense nationally (96.02). It has intercepted 21 passes, most in the country.
• The Tide has allowed only four 100-yard rushers since head coach Nick Saban arrived in 2007.
• WR Julio Jones is two catches shy of the school record for receptions in a season. He needs 115 yards for 1,000 this year.
• One gambling note: Alabama is a four-point favorite at most places right now.

UPDATE, 12:02 p.m.: Well, Cam Newton is here, so rest easier Auburn fans. Alabama's musical choices for when Auburn took the field? "Take the Money and Run" by Steve Miller Band and "Son of a Preacher Man" by Dusty Springfield. There's no punches pulled in the Iron Bowl.

UPDATE, 12:32 p.m.: Another Newton note: as he was leaving the field with the other quarterbacks after the pre-game walkthough, some Alabama fans from the student section threw what appeared to be fake dollar bills near him. They fluttered to the ground as Newton walked by, a state trooper escort in tow.

UPDATE, 1:08 p.m.: No injury updates, but CB Neiko Thorpe doesn't have that huge brace on his left arm anymore. He's wearing short sleeves, in fact.

UPDATE, 1:14 p.m.: Here's the fake dollars that were thrown at Newton.

It'll be a long drive to Tuscaloosa this morning, so here's some pre-game reading to pass the time. And be sure to read the matchups blog post from Wednesday by clicking here.

AUBURN, Ala. -- The popular cliche among Auburn fans during Iron Bowl week is that it doesn’t matter whether the Tigers’ record is 11-0 or 0-11, beating Alabama defines the season.

More than just bragging rights are on the line this year, however.

The Tigers (11-0, 7-0 SEC) have bigger goals in mind when they travel to Bryant-Denny Stadium this afternoon. At No. 2 in the Bowl Championship Series rankings, their national title hopes hang in the balance.

“It’s one of those games where if we win, it’s like everything we did was really worth it,” running back Mike Dyer said. “If we lose, it’s like I don’t really know if 11-0, 10-0, 9-0 is really that big of a deal.”

I hope everyone is having a Happy Thanksgiving. Hopefully this Gus Malzahn story from today's newspaper can tide you over until the Iron Bowl. Here's how it starts:

AUBURN, Ala. -- His system is fast, but on the field during the pre-game, Gus Malzahn is slow and meticulous.

Auburn’s second-year offensive coordinator is in his own little world as he walks every inch of the field, pacing up and down the yard lines while inspecting each blade of grass, a thousand football thoughts no doubt racing through his head.

“His football mind doesn’t have an off switch,” offensive line coach Jeff Grimes said. “His mind is always on. That’s one of the things that makes him great. He’s so driven toward success and so focused in his approach.”

Once derided for his recent background as a high school coach, Malzahn, one of the hottest coaching commodities currently in the college game, is not hearing those kind of insults now.

The system many said would never work against the athletic defenses of the SEC currently ranks sixth nationally in total yards.

With three games remaining, Auburn has already set the school record for points in a season (471) and is poised to be only the fourth SEC team in the last decade to average more than 40 points a game for a season.

Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn was named one of 36 nominees for the Frank Broyles Award, which is given annually to the nation's top assistant.

I was going to save this for Thursday, but there's not a lot going on today, so I figured I'd put it up now.

Here's a video from tonight's interviews with coaches. It's got head coach Gene Chizik, wide receivers coach Trooper Taylor, offensive line coach Jeff Grimes and safeties coach Tommy