AUBURN, Ala. — Count Auburn coach Jeff Lebo as one of South Carolina guard Devan Downey’s biggest fans.

Just not on Saturday.

Downey beat Auburn every way he could at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum, finishing one point shy of a season high with 33 as the Gamecocks knocked off the Tigers 80-71 in the SEC opener for both teams.

“I can’t wait to see him leave,” Lebo said. “He’s one of my favorite players in the country. The more you watch him the more you love him.”

The senior guard went 11-for-23 from the field, making four 3-pointers and scoring 21 points in the second half, including 17 in the final 10 minutes after Auburn tied the game at 52 apiece.

“My fears came true in this game,” Lebo said. “We tried everything against him. We doubled him, zoned him, doubled the ball screen, switched the ball screen, hedged the ball screen, dropped the ball screen. We guarded it every which way you can guard it and he beat it every which way you can beat it. ... He just single-handedly just whipped us.”

It was the sixth time in seven seasons Auburn (9-7, 0-1 SEC) has dropped its conference opener.

The Tigers had some bright spots. DeWayne Reed scored 19 points to go with eight assists, although he also had six turnovers. And Lucas Hargove posted his fourth double-double this season with 12 points and 12 rebounds.

Auburn’s biggest boost came off the bench, where forward Brendon Knox scored a career-high 22 points on 9-of-11 shooting in 30 minutes. Mostly because of Knox, Auburn held a dominating 52-26 advantage in points in the paint.

But the Tigers had no answer for Downey, the SEC’s second-leading scorer entering the game at 18.5 points per game. The 5-foot-9 guard did everything for South Carolina. Despite eight turnovers, he spearheaded South Carolina’s pressure defense, finishing with four steals, and ran circles around Auburn defenders, adding three assists.

“He’s fast,” Knox said. “He can handle the ball. When you have to press a guy that quick, it gives the whole team problems. You have to give him credit. He’s a good player.”

When Auburn tied the game at 52, Downey turned it on. A quick layup by the guard started an 8-0 run that gave the Gamecocks some breathing room. Downey later hit two 3-pointers to push the lead to 68-58 with 4:53 remaining.

“When he’s making 3’s, you don’t guard him,” Lebo said. “He’s one of those (guys) who makes me nervous every time he’s in the game. He was just unbelievable tonight. Unbelievable.”

The Tigers never got closer than eight after that. Downey finished things off by making seven free throws in the final three minutes.

South Carolina had three others in double figures, getting 12 from Sam Muldrow, 11 from Brandis Raley-Ross and 10 from Austin Steed.

The Gamecocks shot the ball well, going 11-for-25 from 3-point range. The Tigers were a season-worst 2-for-13 from long range, failing to connect on a 3-pointer in the game’s final 33 minutes.

The loss is only the beginning of a particularly brutal SEC stretch for Auburn. The Tigers play three of their next four on the road — at No. 16 Tennessee, LSU and Vanderbilt — with their lone home game coming next Saturday against No. 3 Kentucky and freshman sensation John Wall.

“Is there one we don’t need?” Lebo said. “We need them all. This league is brutal, so you’ve got to try to win at home.”

Tommy Tuberville is back in the coaching game.

The former Auburn coach will be hired by Texas Tech, according to ESPN. He is expected to be announced as the Red Raiders' coach at a press conference Sunday afternoon.

Tuberville, 55, replaces Mike Leach, who was fired last month after allegedly mistreating a player who had suffered a concussion. Leach went 84-43 in 10 years at Texas Tech.

Tuberville was 85-40 in 10 years at Auburn before resigning a little over a year ago. Auburn paid him $5.1 million to settle the remainder of his contract.

Tuberville also went 25-20 in four years at Ole Miss before that, giving him a career 110-60 record. He spent one year in the Big 12, going 10-0-1 as Texas A&M's defensive coordinator in 1994.

Texas Tech also interviewed interim coach and former Red Raiders defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill for the job.

I wrote a story for today's newspaper about Auburn's SEC basketball opener. Now that I've found a reliable Internet source, here's how it starts:
Read the full story here.

If you haven't been here all week, I'm doing a position-by-position look at Auburn's 2010 roster. The blog has done quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers/tight ends and offensive line.

Today, we'll jump over to the defensive line ...

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WHO'S GONE?

• Starters: Antonio Coleman, Jake Ricks
  
• Reserves: None
  

WHO'S COMING BACK?

• Seniors: Antoine Carter, Mike Blanc, Michael Goggans, Zach Clayton
  
• Juniors: Nick Fairley, Joel Bonomolo (JC)
  
• Sophomores: Dee Ford, Derrick Lykes, Cam Henderson, Chris Humphries, Jamar Travis
  
• Redshirt Freshmen: Nosa Eguae
• Incoming freshmen: Craig Sanders, Kenneth Carter, Justin Delaine

The biggest moment that defined Auburn's defensive line last season happened about a year ago at this time: Coleman announced his intentions to return for his senior season, a major coup for Gene Chizik and a staff that was still under construction. Despite some nagging injuries and a brief midseason swoon, AC turned in a senior season to remember, leading the SEC in sacks and tackles for a loss and generally being a disruptive force in the second half of the season.

Now Auburn has to replace him, which won't be easy. Midway through the season, I would have said the Tigers would have a hard time trying to find a replacement for AC. Now I think they have one with the same initials. Carter became an all-around threat in the latter part of the year, working off the left end and giving Auburn bookend pass rushers that could get to the quarterback. Even better, Carter played a well-rounded game. Once a pass rushing specialist, he focused more on stopping the run, allowing him to get on the field for more than just third-down situations. Is he on Coleman's level? Of course not. Coleman was an NFL talent at this time last year; Carter is not quite there yet. But the dropoff from Coleman's departure doesn't look like it will be as drastic as once feared.

Beyond Carter, Auburn has some talent on the line, although still probably not as much as line coach Tracy Rocker would prefer. Blanc is back at tackle and will probably be paired with Fairley, who showed glimpses of being an impact performer. If he can play consistent enough that Rocker can trust him being on the field the majority of the time, he should be OK. Clayton, who will finally be able to let his ankle heal this offseason, gives the Tigers another option at any position on the line, although he'll probably be in the rotation at tackle. Goggans, who fought through injuries this year and lost his starting job to Carter, has made 18 career starts, bringing loads of experience. And even Lykes seemed to start making some progress toward the end of the year, being part of Auburn's wholesale four-man substitutions in the bowl game.

But the X-factors, I think, are Ford and Eguae. Ford showed some skills this year, thrust into the playing rotation despite being woefully undersized and a bit inexperienced. Another year in the weight room should help him add to his 214-pound frame, a must if he's going to be anything more than a third-down factor. But he did show some ability to get to the quarterback, using his speed to his advantage to get in on 2.5 sacks this year. After losing AC and his 10 sacks, Auburn will need someone to bring the pressure.

The bigger question is how will Eguae perform? There was no freshman on the team (other than Daren Bates) who drew more praise from coaches and players than Eguae. In August, he was the newcomer everyone predicted would make an immediate impact. But a foot injury on the eve of the season kept him out the first few games. By the time he returned to full strength, Carter had worked his way back into the rotation and burning Eguae's redshirt would have been a waste. But that benefits the Tigers next year. Eguae was healthy by the end of the year, practicing in the weeks leading up to the bowl game without restrictions. Everyone think Eguae's going to be special. I'd be surprised if that many people missed the mark with their prediction.

So what does that give Auburn? Two full lines to work with: Carter, Goggans, Ford and Eguae at end; Blanc, Fairley, Clayton and Lykes at tackle. That's a start. It'll be interesting to see who else gets in the mix. I don't know much about Bonomolo, other than he had surgery on his rotator cuff in November. You never quite know how much junior college transfers contribute once they get into a program, but I would imagine that he could crack the rotation. Beyond that, there are plenty of question marks. Henderson's status with the team remains in limbo after Chizik kept him out of games all year. I can't imagine the staff thinks too highly of Travis, since they burned his redshirt to fair catch a kickoff. And freshmen are freshmen: they might be able to contribute some right away, but there's always a size limitation that prevents them from being major forces off the bat. This is especially true on defensive line. (Although Sanders plans to enroll in January, which gives him a head start.)

All in all, I think this group should be solid. It might not have the headliner name like AC, but it has a deep enough group of potential contributors that it should be able to hold up well.

(Quick programming note: We'll take the weekend off from these position-by-position looks and resume with the linebackers on Monday.)

Auburn’s SEC football opener against Mississippi State next season has been moved to Thursday night.

The Tigers will play the Bulldogs in Starkville, Miss., on Sept. 9 instead of Saturday, Sept. 11, as originally scheduled. The game will be televised by ESPN.

It’s Auburn’s second game of the season. The Tigers open at home against Arkansas State on Sept. 4.

Auburn has not played a Thursday night game since 2008 at West Virginia. The Tigers are 6-2 all-time on Thursday nights.

The Tigers and Bulldogs previously met in an ESPN Thursday night contest in 2002, with Auburn winning 42-14 in Starkville.

Here is Auburn's full 2010 schedule:

• Sept. 4: ARKANSAS STATE
• Sept. 9: at Mississippi State (ESPN)
• Sept. 18: CLEMSON
• Sept. 25: SOUTH CAROLINA
• Oct. 2: LOUISIANA-MONROE
• Oct. 9: at Kentucky
• Oct. 16: ARKANSAS
• Oct. 23: LSU
• Oct. 30: at Ole Miss
• Nov. 6: TENNESSEE-CHATTANOOGA [HC]
• Nov. 13: GEORGIA
• Nov. 26: at Alabama (CBS)

We've done the quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers/tight ends, now it's time to continue our look ahead to Auburn's football team in 2010 with the offensive line ...

(Oh, and don't forget to follow the blog on Twitter)

WHO'S GONE?

• Starters: Andrew McCain
  
• Reserves: None
  

WHO'S COMING BACK?

• Seniors: Lee Ziemba, Ryan Pugh, Byron Isom, Mike Berry, Bart Eddins, Jorrell Bostrom, Darrel Roseman
  
• Juniors: Jared Cooper, A.J. Greene, Vance Smith, Roszell Gayden (JC), Brandon Mosley (JC)
  
• Sophomores: John Sullen
  
• Redshirt Freshmen: Andre Harris, Aubrey Phillips
• Incoming freshmen: Chad Slade, Shon Coleman, Ed Christian
  

Auburn's offensive line is of no concern in 2010. Not with four returning starters. It's 2011 that the Tigers should be thinking about. With Pugh, Isom, Berry and (most likely) Ziemba coming back for their senior year, four-fifths of Aubun's offensive line has a combined 108 starts heading into next season. Check your history books and you'll see that teams with that kind of experience usually have pretty good success.

But what is on the roster beyond that quartet? Offensive line coach Jeff Grimes was hesitant to dole out many kudos to the second-teamers this season and even less eager to put them in the game unless the situation absolutely forced his hand or Auburn was winning by 30. That's not a good sign. There is a significant gap between a deep senior class and the next wave of capable scholarship linemen, something the Tigers have tried to patch up with a pair of junior college transfers in Gayden and Mosley. But like all junior college transfers, you don't know how they'll acclimate to the FBS level. Look at a few cases from last year on Auburn's roster. Demond Washington didn't seem overwhelmed with anything that was thrown his way. Eltoro Freeman had his struggles until finally getting settled in near the end of the year. And Nick Fairley showed glimpses of being a player, although he didn't get too much of an opportunity. The point? There's no guarantee that they'll step in and be reliable right away.

Again, I don't think The Gap (as we'll call it from now on) is much of a detriment next season. I can see two scenarios for the offensive line in 2010. The first keeps the returning four at the their positions from last year and plugs a new player (likely Gayden, if he can enroll in January and go throgh an entire spring practice) into the lineup at right tackle for Andrew McCain, who gave Auburn exactly what it wanted last year, a reliable, trustworthy player who was durable. The second scenario involves Berry moving to right tackle (a position he played during practice at times this season) and Eddins, Sullen, one of the junior college transfers or somebody new sliding in at guard, where being on an island is less of an issue (I'll keep Phillips out of this discussion, because I'm not sure what his standing with the team will be next year). Eddins held up decently in that role last year when Isom was suspended and Sullen should be a year further along in his development, so I can see that lineup working as well.

But 2011 is the biggest question. Take away Ziemba, Pugh, Isom and Berry and here's the list of players on the roster who have started a game on offensive line at the college level: Eddins (1), Sullen (1). Yikes. All that means is that Auburn will certainly have an eye on the future when it puts together its practices next year. I'm sure the coaches will continue to target junior college players to fill The Gap during next year's recruiting season. And it certainly makes the ongoing recruiting battle for Coleman, a soft Auburn commit looking at other schools, and Eric Mack, a South Carolina commit considering the Tigers, even more important in the next month.

We're going position-by-position looking at Auburn's potential lineup for 2010. Read the quarterbacks and running backs posts if you missed them.

Now for the wide receivers ...

WHO'S GONE?

• Starters: None
  
• Reserves: Tim Hawthorne, John Cubelic
  

WHO'S COMING BACK?

• Seniors: Terrell Zachery, Kodi Burns, Jay Wisner
• Juniors: Darvin Adams, Quindarius Carr, Ralph Spry, Derek Winter
• Sophomores: DeAngelo Benton, Emory Blake, Anthony Gulley, Travante Stallworth, Philip Pierre-Louis
  
• Redshirt Freshmen: None
• Incoming freshmen: Trovon Reed, Jeremy Richardson, Shaun Kitchens, Antonio Goodwin
  

And tight ends ...

WHO'S GONE?

• Starters: Tommy Trott
  
• Reserves: Gabe McKenzie
  

WHO'S COMING BACK?

• Seniors: None
• Juniors: Bailey Woods
  
• Sophomores: Philip Lutzenkirchen
  
• Redshirt Freshmen: Robert Cooper
• Incoming freshmen: Dakota Mosley

It's a safe assumption that no group out-performed its preseason expectations more than Auburn's starting wide receivers. Adams and Zachery both turned into reliable threats after not doing much their first few seasons on the Plains. Adams is on the cusp of being a star, having set the school's single season record for catches with 60 for 997 yards and 10 touchdowns (if only that fourth-down catch would have counted in the bowl game, he would have had a 1,000-yard season). Zachery, meanwhile, emerged as a big-play threat in the air (26 catches, 477 yards, 5 touchdowns) and on the ground (nobody will forget his long touchdown run on an end around against Alabama). In all, not a bad year for the duo, especially when it was assumed Hawthorne and Montez Billings would be the two major players in the rotation.

But where to look beyond Adams and Zachery? That's Auburn's big question heading into next season. Of the other receivers, Blake led the way with nine catches for 66 yards. Benton has immense potential (receivers coach Trooper Taylor said he would re-write the Auburn record book before he was done here), but didn't show it on the field, finishing with six catches for 88 yards. Wisner was an excellent blocker who did the dirty work but rarely chipped in with any receptions. Burns is what he is: a nice toy to use as a passing threat from anywhere on the field, but he's not a true receiver. And Carr had two catches all year, but they were both big ones, making you wonder where he was all year.

So who will step up next season? Well, Adams and Zachery aren't going anywhere, meaning opportunities will be limited for another receiver to make a major impact. It stands to figure that with a year in the program -- with the extra film work, meetings, practices and strength training that goes with it -- will help Benton and Blake a lot. Both have huge potential. And that usually doesn't manifest itself right away with at the receiver position, especially when there are people preventing you from getting on the field (Adams and T-Zach are perfect examples). There are exceptions to that rule -- A.J. Green at Georgia, Julio Jones at Alabama -- but they are rare. I would expect both Benton and Blake to emerge as solid receiving options.

But it seems like everyone else should be able to contribute. Stallworth seemed to be finding a niche in the offense before he suffered a season-ending knee injury. How he recovers from that will surely affect his role in the offense. And although the coaches seem unsure exactly what to do with Gulley, you can't overlook his play-making potential. Every time he touches the ball, good things seem to happen (even if it did happen against Furman). The bottom line is that with the four true freshman from this year turning into sophomores, offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn will have plenty more viable options at his disposal. And we've all seen the things he can concoct when he's got some options.

Which leads me to believe it will be hard for the four true freshmen receivers coming in to get immediate playing time. If ever there was a time for a freshman to step in and contribute immediately, it was this year. And to varying degrees they did. But it was nothing major. Reed, Richardson and Goodwin are all four-star receivers and come in with considerable hype. But so did Benton and Blake, who were both four-star receivers themselves. And look how hard it was for them to get on the field in any meaningful way. Now that depth doesn't appear to be an issue for the receiving group and the two starters are firmly entrenched, it would surprise me if a true freshman has a big impact next year, unless his talent is so overwhelming that coaches can't keep him off the field.

As for tight ends, here's what the Tigers have: Lutzenkirchen. Pretty simple. Trott is gone and it has been assumed all along that the multi-talented Lutzenkirchen will take the reins. And with good cause. Coaches loves his upside and his versatility. He seems able to block and move in space. And most importantly, he looks like he can impact the game as a receiver, something Trott never did in a major way during his career. Woods is a long snapper by trade, Cooper will continue his transition to tight end after playing pretty much every other position in high school and Mosley will be a project. That's not many options for Auburn in terms of using a true tight end, so Lutzenkirchen looks like he'll be on the field quite a bit.

AUBURN, Ala. — Minutes after Auburn wrapped up the non-conference portion of its schedule with a 96-72 win against West Georgia on Tuesday, Tigers coach Jeff Lebo was asked if his team is ready for SEC play.

“I hope,” he said. “It’s coming no matter if we’re ready or not.”

DeWayne Reed scored 20 points, Frankie Sullivan 17 and Tay Waller 16 for Auburn (9-6), which tied a season high with 13 3-pointers and scored a season high in points against the Division II Wolves (7-7) at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum.

It gives the Tigers a four-game winning streak entering league play, their longest in an up-and-down first two months that’s included losses to Central Florida, Troy and Sam Houston State.

Auburn built momentum heading into the conference season by beating mediocre competition. The other three wins during the Tigers’ current streak came against Alabama State, Charleston Southern and Georgia Southern, who have a combined record of 14-27.

“We want teams that can challenge us before we get to the SEC, so we can see exactly where we’re at,” Waller said. “But I guess it can go both ways, because momentum gives you confidence. And challenges, sometimes they can be good and bad.”

The Tigers open SEC play Saturday at home Saturday against South Carolina, which is 9-5, with losses in all of its marquee games against Clemson, Boston College and Baylor.

Tuesday was merely a tuneup for the Tigers. Auburn made eight 3-pointers in the first half, getting four from Waller, who scored 14 of his 16 points before the break to give the Tigers a 45-33 halftime lead.

“We came out kind of slow,” Waller said. “I felt like if I could come out and get it going, hopefully the team would pick it up.”

West Georgia hung around, pulling as close as nine midway through the second half on a 3-pointer by Jeremy Smith that made it 66-57.

Auburn answered with 15 straight points, getting 3-pointers by Lucas Hargrove, Sullivan and Reed to start the run.

“Everytime we got close, they would hit a 3,” West Georgia coach Mike Cooney said.

Reed finished with another solid all-around performance, going 8-for-11 from the field and dishing out six assists with no turnovers in 29 minutes.

“I think the last two he’s been pretty good,” Lebo said. “He was solid out there, took good shots, shot the ball well from 3, got into the paint. ... He was under control. The decision making was good.”

The Tigers went 13-for-33 from 3-point range, often taking open shots early in the possession. Although he would have preferred more ball movement, Lebo couldn’t fault them for that.

“It’s hard when you’re a shooter,” he said. “I know when I got one, when I was a shooter, I’d want to put one up if I could see the rim.”

This was news this morning, but I thought I'd at least acknowledge it now. Former Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville is in Lubbock today interviewing for the vacant position at Texas Tech.

The Red Raiders, as you know, fired Mike Leach last month after allegations that he mistreated a player who had suffered a concussion.

The blog's take? Tuberville would be a good hire for any school, but Texas Tech seems like an odd fit. It's an offensive school, and Tommy doesn't have the greatest track record of being an offensive mind. Ask Tony Franklin about that. Plus, despite his claims of having won in Texas before, he spent one year at Texas A&M as a defensive coordinator. Hardly a long resume.

And if the Red Raiders are thinking of going with someone with a defensive background, doesn't interim coach and defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill make more sense?

I like Tuberville as a coach and eventually making a return to the sidelines. I just don't know if this is the right place for him.

If you missed the first installment about the quarterbacks from yesterday, you can read it by scrolling down or clicking here. And as usual you can get instant updates by following the blog on Twitter.

Now for the running backs ...

* -- scholarship player

WHO'S GONE?

• Starter: Ben Tate*
  
• Reserves: None

WHO'S COMING BACK?

• Seniors: Mario Fannin*
• Juniors: Eric Smith*, John Douglas*
• Sophomores: Onterio McCalebb*, Jason King
  
• Redshirt Freshmen: Dontae Aycock*
• Incoming freshmen: Michael Dyer*

Running backs coach Curtis Luper boldly declared last spring that Tate would be 1,000-yard rusher in his final season on the Plains. 1,406 yards and 10 touchdowns later, he proved to be prophetic, more than hitting the mark. Now it's a matter of replacing Tate, and the Tigers aren't without their options.

Of course the biggest name Auburn fans see coming in is Dyer, ESPN's No. 1 running back recruit and Rivals' No. 3. And playing time for his seems almost a certainty. But how much? It's unreasonable, I think, to expect Dyer to come in and handle the majority of the load like Tate did this year. Look at the best freshman running backs in the country from last year (the ones in the top half of Rivals' Top 100) and how they fared:

• No. 1: Bryce Brown, Tennessee: 101 carries, 460 yards, 3 touchdowns, understudy to Montario Hardesty
• No. 2: Trent Richardson, Alabama: 126 carries, 642 yards, 6 touchdowns, understudy to Mark Ingram
• No. 3: Christine Michael, Texas A&M: 166 carries, 844 yards, 10 touchdowns, nearly an even split of carries with sophomore Cyrus Gray
• No. 4: David Wilson, Virginia Tech: 59 carries, 334 yards, 4 touchdowns, understudy to Ryan Williams
• No. 5: Jaamal Berry, Ohio State: did not play after being charged with felony marijuana possession during the summer
• No. 6: Edwin Baker, Michigan State: 85 carries, 427 yards, 1 touchdown, second-most carries and yards to Larry Caper

The biggest exception to this rule is Pittsburgh's Dion Lewis, who ran 325 times for an amazing 1,788 yards and 17 touchdowns as a true freshman. But that's rare. Normally, it's hard for a freshman to step in and be The Guy from the very start. Is Dyer talented? Yes. Will he get on the field this year? I believe Gus Malzahn will find a way for that to happen quite a bit. Will he be the team's workhorse? Probably not right away but perhaps as the season progresses and he adjusts to the college game.

Seniority always seems to be a major factor in these playing time situations, so let's start with Fannin, who I think has a shot to finally get major carries as a running back. If Eric Smith gets his academics in order and returns to the H-back role that he played so well last year, Fannin seems like a good fit as an every-down kind of back. He's big (225 pounds). He's got some moves. And in his limited time as a true running back this year, he did pretty well. On 34 carries, he averaged 8.4 yards a carry. That's pretty hard to ignore. And you would figure that with his experience, Fannin, a fifth-year guy, would have a much better grasp on the blocking schemes involved in the passing game than an incoming freshman, something that can't be understated.

McCalebb turned out to be what everyone thought he would be: a nice speed option who has questions about durability. And at 164 pounds, I feel like that might always be the case. There's a place for that in this offense, but he doesn't seem like he'll be able to take that pounding of running between the tackles like Fannin or even Dyer, who is stout at 5-foot-8, 201 pounds (and that's before he gets into Auburn's strength and conditioning program).

It'll be interesting to see what happens to Aycock next year. This was a guy who came in pretty high on a lot of peoples' lists and, according to Luper, slimmed down quite a bit during his redshirt season. I figure Auburn will need at least one every-down back to help complement Fannin, and I'd be surprised if the coaching staff made Dyer wait for his turn to get on the field immediately. Where does that leave Aycock in this situation? Can he still steal some carries? At 221 pounds, is he a candidate to play H-back? As a former quarterback, is he someone who can play as a Wildcat quarterback? It'll be interesting to see how things start to shake out in the spring.