Here's how my advance for today's Auburn-Ball State football game starts:

AUBURN, Ala. — Like every football coach in the country, Auburn’s Gene Chizik refuses to admit to looking ahead on the schedule, not wanting his players to follow suit.

So when the subject came up this week about getting some of the Tigers’ star players rested for the heart of the SEC season, Chizik didn’t bite, not with Ball State scheduled to arrive at Jordan-Hare Stadium tonight.

“If it was a perfect world and it ended up that way, we would be OK with it, but we’re certainly not looking at it like that,” Chizik said. “We prepare for every game to be a last-two-minutes-of-the-game win, and this won’t be any different.”

It likely won’t be that close. Despite the standard coach speak, Auburn (3-0) enters today’s game as a 33-point favorite against the Cardinals (0-3). Without coach Brady Hoke and quarterback Nate Davis, who both left in the offseason, Ball State is a shell of the team that started last season 12-0.

The Tigers have won both of their games against Ball State: 30-0 in 2001 and 63-3 in 2005.

To read the rest, click here. And follow the blog on Twitter for instant updates leading into the game.

Ball State (0-3, 0-0 MAC) at Auburn (3-0, 1-0 SEC)

As Loverboy once sang (and Chris Farley once danced to as a Chippendale's employee) "Everybody's Working for the Weekend." So why not click these links to make time go a little faster? That's what I thought ...

• Ball State has been a regular on the ESPN Bottom 10. This week is no different. The Cardinals are No. 3.

• Little known fact: Ball State head coach Stan Parrish has a 31-game winless streak as a head coach. Four with the Cardinals and his final 27 with Kansas State in the mid-80's. The Wildcats lost the last five games of the 1986 season, went 0-10-1 in 1987 and 0-11 in 1988.

• Ball State has seen Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn's offense in action before, and it wasn't fun, writes Teddy Cahill of the Ball State Daily News.

• No matter how Ball State fares, its checkbook will be a lot fatter come Saturday. The Cardinals will receive $800,000 for playing Auburn, the largest payday in school history, writes Vinnie Lopes of the Ball State Daily News.

• Ole Miss was exposed much earlier than anybody thought it would be last night at South Carolina, writes David Brandt of the Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Miss. That being said, did anyone really believe the Rebels were the No. 4 ranked team in the country?

• It was South Carolina's first win against a top-5 opponent in 28 years, dating back to a 1981 victory against No. 3 North Carolina, writes C. Aluka Berry of The State.

• ESPN.com's Chris Low writes that Thursday's win was finally a breakthrough for Steve Spurrier's Gamecocks.

• Lane Kiffin went on Dan Patrick's radio show and said that Tennessee sent a message with its performance against Florida last week. "I was excited about a number of our young guys," Kiffin said. "Next year we get to play them and Superman won't be there any more."

• Alabama's defense might be good this year, but Gene Stallings isn't ready to compare it to the 1992 national championship squad, writes Don Kausler Jr. of the Birmingham News.

• Georgia defensive coordinator Willie Martinez is feeling the heat, writes Paul Newberry of the Associated Press.

• Former Auburn receiver Rod Smith has had some hard times lately. He got released by the Chargers, then his house in Gwinnett burned down after it was struck by lightning during last week's storms.

• Sweet fancy Moses, Army has a 6-foot-10 wide receiver! Good luck guarding against him on a lob pass.

• The three Iowa State players suspended after being arrested for being found with marijuana residue and seeds have been reinstated by coach Paul Rhoads. The 'Clones also have a chance to start a season 3-1 for the first time since 2005.

• Houston, yes Houston, is back on the national stage, writes Sports Illustrated's Stewart Mandel. Big game against Texas Tech this week for the Cougars.

• UCLA's Rick Neuheisal scoffs at Auburn's limo tour of the state. He shuttled from high school game to high school game in the inner city of Los Angeles last week in a helicopter, writes Bill Plaschke of the L.A. Times.

• The Kansas basketball and football teams do not like each other, apparently. A series of fights lately has been the culmination of a "turf war" that's been brewing for years, writes J. Brady McCollough of the Kansas City Star.

• The swine flu hysteria -- or any flu, or that matter -- if officially out of control. No more slapping or shaking hands for Ohio State. Just elbow bumps. Seriously.

I wrote a notebook for today's newspaper. Here's how the first item starts:

AUBURN, Ala. — College football coaches generally aren’t forthcoming when it comes to divulging details about their teams.

But when filmmakers approached Auburn and head coach Gene Chizik about a weekly reality TV show that chronicles the behind-the-scenes workings of the Tigers football program, it sounded like a great idea.

“Auburn’s a great story,” Chizik said. “And we just felt like there were a lot of great Auburn people out there who would enjoy the every day part of it that very few people on the outside really have a chance to kind of see inside.”

The 30-minute documentary-style show, “Auburn: Every Day …,” has aired four episodes and is produced by the Auburn ISP Sports Network in association with Authentic Films. It follows players and coaches throughout the week, from practice to meetings to games, catching their every move with a multitude of cameras.

“At first it was (strange), but after a while you start not even noticing them,” linebacker Craig Stevens said. “They just become another thing back there with us.”

To read the rest, click here. And while you're in a clicking mood, follow the blog on Twitter .

Sorry about the technical problems we had with the chat earlier. We'll have those corrected by the time next week rolls around. I'm sure everyone will have plenty of questions leading up to the Tennessee game.

Please accept this video instead. It's from interviews Wednesday night with head coach Gene Chizik, wide receivers coach Trooper Taylor, running backs coach Curtis Luper and defensive line coach Tracy Rocker. Enjoy.

Sorry, folks. I'm having some technical difficulties trying to get today's LIVE chat on Auburn football launched. I apologize for the inconvenience.

I think we might have to scrap it for this week and give it another go next week for Tennessee, when I'm sure you'll all have a bunch of questions.

Feel free to post any questions you might have had in the comments section below and I'll answer them there. Again, I'm sorry we couldn't get this to work today.

It's Thursday, which means it's almost Friday, which means football Saturday is practically here. Read these links to help pass the time:

• Ball State running back Miquale Lewis says the running game is a work in progress, writes Doug Zaleski of the Muncie Star Press. Lewis ran for 1,736 yards last year with 22 touchdowns and a 5.4-yard average. Through three games this year, he has 141 yards, one touchdown and a 3.4-yard average.

• ESPN.com's Chris Low makes his weekly SEC picks. I can't believe he picked against Auburn. I'm joking. He didn't.

• "Auburn 42, Ball State 10: A year later, the euphoria is gone for Ball State. The Cardinals had a memorable run last season, but lost just about everybody from that team. They limp into Jordan-Hare Stadium with a 0-3 record, including a loss to the same North Texas team that was trounced last week by Alabama. Look for the Tigers to go to 4-0 and pour it on in this game, almost as hard as the rain poured last weekend on the Plains."

• Low also lists his things to watch in the SEC during Week 4. Nothing Auburn-related. Although quite honestly, why would there be when Ball State is the opponent.

• Former Alabama linebacker Barry Krauss likes what he sees out of the Crimson Tide's current crop of linebackers -- Rolando McClain, Dont'a Hightower and Eryk Anders -- writes Michael Casagrande of the Decatur Daily.

• Kevin Scarbinsky of the Birmingham News writes that defensive-minded Alabama coach Nick Saban and offensive-minded Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino are an interesting match on the field.

• Georgia cornerback Brandon Boykin had an up-and-down day at Arkansas, returning an interception 100 yards for a touchdown but also getting burned for two scores, writes David Hale of the Macon Telegraph.

• The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party (or whatever the schools would prefer it be called) will remain in Jacksonville through 2016, according to this AP report.

• LSU's Les Miles is a voter in the USA Today/Coaches' Poll, yet he says he doesn't know who the best teams in the country are because he doesn't get to see them every week, writes Glenn Guilbeau of the Shreveport Times.

• ESPN.com's Mike Fish writes that the swine flue reports on football teams have been getting a bit sensationalized.

• Ray Melick of the Birmingham News writes that SEC commissioner Mike Slive could be a candidate to succeed Myles Brand as NCAA president, but he asks would that be a promotion in power at all?

• And why would he want to leave when he gets to deal with coaches acting like second-graders first-hand?

• No bags of any size will be allowed in Michigan Stadium on Saturday, according to this AnnArbor.com report. The move is in response to a terror alert issued earlier this week that said stadiums could be potential targets.

• The Wizard of Odds has a poll up for which school has the best team poster for football. I like Iowa State's. Maybe I'm just partial to Paul Rhoads.

I wrote a story for today's paper about Auburn's defensive tackles. Here's how it starts:

AUBURN, Ala. — Tracy Rocker never subscribed to the idea that a defensive tackle serves merely as a space-filler.

Auburn’s defensive line coach was a wrecking ball during his playing days on the Plains, a disruptive force who was among the team leaders in tackles every year of his Hall of Fame career. Naturally, that approach hasn’t left him.

“Why let (linebackers) Josh Bynes and Craig (Stevens) get all of it? I don’t believe in that,” Rocker said. “I believe we have the first opportunity to take advantage of it. Let them figure out the rest.”

Rocker’s defensive tackles have been making plenty of plays this season. Against West Virginia last Saturday, Jake Ricks intercepted an errant screen pass, Mike Blanc forced a fumble on a sack and Nick Fairley got in on a tackle for a loss and produced two quarterback hurries.

“He stresses that a lot,” Blanc said. “We have to be the ones to make the plays. We’ve got to be the play-makers. We’ve got to be the ones with the interceptions. We have to get the fumbles. A defensive linemen doesn’t go into a game and think you’re going to stand this guy up while the linebacker makes the play.”

Read the whole thing here.

AUBURN, Ala. — Auburn wide receivers coach Trooper Taylor has a favorite saying for players nursing injuries: “You can’t make the club in the tub.”

“I definitely heard that phrase a billion times,” said wideout Tim Hawthorne, who recently returned to action after breaking his right foot during the summer. “Probably thought about tatting it on my forearm just to remind me. But it’s the truth. You can’t make the club in the tub. You have to go out there and prove yourself like everyone else.”

That’s now Hawthorne’s aim after he missed all of the preseason and the first two games. The junior started against West Virginia last Saturday, although he didn’t make a catch. Still, Trooper liked what he saw.

“His awareness on that football field was really special, and he deserved and earned the right to start,” Taylor said. “He worked his butt off and I wanted to send a message to reward guys for overcoming injuries.”

Hawthorne, who was expected to be one of the Tigers’ primary receiving threats, has had his share of hurdles getting on the field. He missed nearly all of spring practice in 2007 after injuries suffered in a car accident that killed a friend. The next spring, he broke his arm.

This summer he heard a pop in his foot after making a cut during drills. Since then, he’s worked his way back, doing plenty of hydrotherapy (not a tub) while helping out during practices any way he could, whether it was hitting receivers with blocking pads or instructing the Tigers’ inexperienced players.

Hawthorne’s aggressive rehab worked. He was not expected back until Week 6 against Arkansas. He instead returned by Week 3.

His role remains undefined. Darvin Adams has thrived in his absence, while Terrell Zachery has done well as the other starting receiver. As a result, Hawthorne has moved around, taking reps at all three of Auburn’s receiver positions, just trying to find a role.

“I’m really still trying to find that out,” he said. “I’m taking it as it comes.”

Three things of note:

1. Follow the blog on Twitter. Seriously, do it. You won't regret it.
2. Join my LIVE chat Thursday about Auburn football. It starts at 1 p.m. ET/noon CT.
3. Read the rest of these notes from Wednesday's practice.

• Gabe McKenzie is being given a look on defense again after playing sparingly as a tight end the first few weeks of the season. “We’ve got to be better at third down,” Auburn head coach Gene Chizik said. “I’m not saying that’s the answer but we’re just looking at some things that could be possibilities.” The 6-foot-5, 252-pound McKenzie, a tight end his entire career, moved to defensive end at the beginning of last season. He made 11 tackles (2½ for a loss) and returned an interception for a touchdown against LSU in the season’s fourth week. But a lack of playing time plus Tommy Trott’s knee injury in November prompted a move back to tight end, where he caught three passes for 33 yards. At the time, McKenzie said being a tight end was what he was “born to do.”

• Defensive line coach Tracy Rocker was hopeful that McKenzie would get a few snaps against Ball State on Saturday. “If everything goes well,” Rocker said. “If he catches on to what we’re doing this week.”

• Sophomore linebacker Spencer Pybus has returned to practice after missing nearly all of August because of a concussion, linebacker Craig Stevens said. “I’ve been waiting for him to come back,” Stevens said. “I guess he had a really serious concussion, but it’s good to have him back now.” The 6-foot, 215-pound Pybus earned All-SEC freshman honors after playing in all 12 games last season, getting in on 14 tackles, one of which was for a loss. He provides depth in a thin Auburn linebacking corps, which has primarily used four players in the first three games — Stevens, Josh Bynes, Eltoro Freeman and Adam Herring.

• Chizik didn't sound confident that Pybus will play this week. He also said DE Antoine Carter is still day-to-day.

• Here's Rocker's take on Carter: "The biggest concern is just, hey, throw him out there and getting those nerves out of you. He's been repping the last couple of weeks, but it's a little bit different when you go over there (game). We just need to make sure he's in the right frame of mind. I made it clear to him, just do what you're supposed to do. I'm not asking you go to out there and make some great impact. Just do what you need to do to get well, feel good, feel comfortable, get adjusted back into the game."

• DE Dee Ford spelled Antonio Coleman for a while when AC went down with an injury Saturday against West Virginia. Rocker thought was strange because of a conversation he had with Ford while eating dinner prior to the game. "The conversation was, 'You've played two games, Ford, and you're no longer a freshman,'" Rocker said. "'I've dealt with you two weeks now. I've been on you, trying to teach you how to play. Now it's time to play.' I was proud of him. I think he got a little more sense of confidence about himself. Hey, sticking him in a game like that ... In the same breath I'm saying, 'OK, do well, do well.' And you're also hoping he doesn't screw this up with a big mistake that can hurt the defense in that type of game. But he was in there, he played hard, and he did what he was supposed to do. Now it's a matter of keep getting better and better. Like I've said before, twos are going to be very important on this team."

• Chizik commented on the team's locker room upgrades: "We’re are very demanding of our guys and what we ask them to do. In return we want to give them the best we can give them of everything. Our administration has been great on moving forward with different projects that we think are going to really upgrade the whole football facility. We thought the locker room would be a great place to start for gameday and I think the players were really excited the first time we walked in there. It was a great improvement.We’re just taking different sections that we feel will make a difference and our goal is to continue to upgrade and provide them the best we can give them."

• Trooper sounded like he was pretty demanding of Adams in the offseason. "I was really tough on Darvin going into it, but he just continued to fight," Taylor said. "That’s what makes me so proud of the kid because he had every reason to fold the tent because I was really tough on him. Not just him, but all of them, but I was a little extra hard on him because he had that aura about him that he was good, and that he was the man. You try to break that down. But it’s good that he stuck with it."

• Taylor on Anthony Gulley emerging as a reliable punt returner: 'It’s helped him a bunch. Obviously, we were searching for a returner, and he had been telling me he could do it. I didn’t want to start with a freshman back there to start the season. But when he got his opportunity, he made plays. You can tell he played baseball."

• Running backs coach Curtis Luper commented on the running game hitting its first bit of adversity this season. "That was a first for us," he said. "I was on the headphones with Ben (Tate) and he said, 'Well, Onterio McCalebb's a little dejected because they've got eight men up there and he's not having the success he's accustomed to having.' I had Ben talking to him and I was talking to him. It was just like an SEC game. You may get 20 carries, you may get 100 yards, but on that 21st carry when that hole opens, we've got to be in a position to go 60 and get it done. I was proud of them just because of the elements. We stood up in the elements and we didn't turn the football over -- the ball didn't go on the ground. That was my concern. I wasn't concerned with them stuffing us on the run because I knew we could throw it, too."

• Luper has been very pleased with what Eric Smith has added to the offense since he returned to the team following his August arrest. "Eric is big for us because he's a very intelligent football player, so we can do lots of things with him," Luper said. "He can babysit Onterio on the field. There are some times that Onterio needs some help with things because he's never played college football before. He's versatile. He can make plays in the passing game for us. He's a great pass protector. He can run the football. He's a coach's dream because he's a safety net for us. If there's ever an issue, I can just say, 'Eric, go,' and he'll take care of it. He's still a load. He's tough to tackle because he is 230 pounds and he runs behind his pads very well. He has great feet for a big guy -- deceptively fast, I guess. He looked fast on that first vertical ball he caught. He's earned the right to carry the football."

• Luper on Tate: "He's done every single thing I've asked him to do in eight months. I know that he wants to be successful, he wants to move on and play at the next level, he's already graduated from college, so all he really has now is football. Ben is like the first senior that I've coached that I didn't coach as a junior. That's been new for me, but he's been all-in from Day 1."

Back by popular (and my editor's) demand, the blog once again has video. It's of low video quality, but we like to think a lot of heart and grit went into the making this short movie. And next to talent, superior video capability, a crisp audio component and luminous lighting, aren't those the most important things?

ANYWAY, this video's got offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, wide receiver Tim Hawthorne, cornerback Walt McFadden and defensive tackle Mike Blanc. Enjoy.

And be sure to be online for my LIVE chat about Auburn football tomorrow at 1 p.m. ET/noon CT. If last week's attendance is an indication, I'll be able to get to every question asked.



Now on to the links ...

• ESPN.com's Pat Forde writes that Auburn is for real in his weekly Forde Yard Dash:

• "Auburn (32). Record: 3-0, with victories over Louisiana Tech, Mississippi State and West Virginia. Sagarin ranking: 15. When the first loss will come: Either Oct. 3 at Tennessee or Oct. 10 at Arkansas. Verdict: Contender. The Tigers are scoring in gushes under new offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn and getting solid quarterback play from Chris Todd, who was derided by many Auburn fans last year as an overmatched SEC QB put in a bad position by former coordinator Tony Franklin. The Dash still can't believe there's room for a fourth SEC West power team, but Auburn is well ahead of expectations right now."

• ESPN.com's Chris Low lists Todd and Malzahn as a couple of early-season surprises in the SEC.

• Fellow Auburn beat hack Evan Woodbery of the Mobile Press-Register had an interesting story on the Tigers' poorly-punctuated weekly reality TV show, "Auburn: Every Day ..."

• Jerry Hinnen of the War Eagle Reader tries to remember the last time Auburn won a game against a non-conference opponent the caliber of West Virginia.

• Alabama's offensive line is lighter and quicker than last year's, but it's still doing well, writes Michael Casagrande of the Decatur Daily.

• Georgia punter Drew Butler has a family legacy -- and a pretty good foot, for that matter -- to live up to in Athens, writes David Hale of the Macon Telegraph.

• The College Football Hall of Fame is moving from South Bend, Ind., to ... Atlanta? Really? Strange. The ATL doesn't exactly strike me as being as rich in college football tradition as South Bend.

• Stadium officials are taking notice after a national security advisory was issued earlier this week on stadiums being the potential target of terrorist attacks. It should be noted that federal officials knew of no specific plans when they issued the alert.

• This is not shocking in the least: the NCAA goes easier on BCS conference schools when it comes to punishment for rules violations. How does that quote from former UNLV basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian go? "The NCAA got so mad at Kentucky, they put Cleveland State on probation for another two years." Seems about right.

• Three Iowa State players are in trouble after police say they found marijuana and marijuana seeds in their bedrooms. They've been suspended by head coach and former Auburn defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads.

• Florida coach Urban Meyer is trying to squash this whole petty feud with Lane Kiffin. He reels off a string of no comments here.

• Still more flu problems for the Gators, who have to travel to play Kentucky this week. Anybody smell an upset here? Neither do I. Unless Tim Tebow gets sick. Do you think Meyer's got him quarantined right now? I can imagine him practice in one of those Bubble Boy suits.

• And we'll end on a humorous note from The Onion: "Athletes Can Play Through Those Injuries, Says Man Who Gets Sore From Sitting Too Long."

• I'll be back with another update after tonight's practice.