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A spirit that is not afraid

West Virginia Mountaineers Make First Trip to The Plains to Play Auburn

Auburn will host the West Virginia Mountaineers (2-0, 1-0 Big East) who will make their first ever visit to The Plains this Saturday.

The Tigers are coming off a win against conference foe Mississippi State, defeating them 49-24 while racking up an impressive 589 yards of total offense.

Auburn currently ranks second in the nation in rushing offense (345.5) and fourth nationally in total offense (572.5).

Head Coach Gene Chizik said after Saturday's game the final numbers show that the offense was effective in a number of ways, although there was still a lot of room for improvement, something they would look at closely in preparation for Saturday's game against West Virginia.

Junior wide receiver/quarterback Kodi Burns accounted for four of Auburn's touchdowns in Saturday's game against Mississippi State, throwing for one and running for three.

Burns now has 12 career rushing touchdowns, four this season.

The Tiger's running game was solid as they put up 390 yards in last week's game, becoming the only team in the country with two players averaging more than 100 yards rushing per game, making Auburn the only school in the country with two rushers averaging 100 yards per game

Senior running back Ben Tate leads the SEC, ranking seventh nationally in rushing (137.0) and 10th in school history with 2,233 career yards.

Joining him is freshman running back Onterio McCalebb who leads the SEC in all-purpose yards (196.0) and is the first freshman in Auburn history to rush for more than 100 yards in the first two games of his career.

Senior quarterback Chris Todd was 10-of-23 for 186 yards and no interceptions, while sophomore wide receiver Darvin Adams had his first career 100-yard receiving game with a total of 116 yards.

Following Sunday night's practice, defensive coordinator Ted Roof said that after reviewing the film of the victory over Mississippi State, he felt the Tigers played well, but there was room for improvement.

"There were some good things, and some things that we're going to have to get better at," Roof said. "Anytime you get a defensive score, you're really excited about that. I thought we played well, but we were a couple of plays away from really being good. We've got to get some mistakes cleaned up this week on the practice field, and we're going to do that."

As the Mountaineers come to The Plains, they bring with them a unique 3-3-5 defense and an offense led by fifth-year senior quarterback Jarrett Brown.

Brown was 24-of-31 for 334 yards and four touchdowns passing while also running 10 times for 73 yards in last week's 35-20 win over East Carolina University.

Brown's 407 yards of total offense tied Mike Sherwood (University of Pittsburgh, 1968) for the third-best single-game performance in school history.

The senior is now averaging 359.5 yards of total offense per game.

On the defensive side of the ball, West Virginia's linebackers Reed Williams and Scooter Berry are in for treatment, and Head Coach Bill Stewart said he would know more on their status after practice.

The Mountaineer defense will bring pressure from all angles, and they were able to shut down Auburn's attempt to pound it up the middle in their 34-17 win last year.

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This year, Auburn has a new offense with a new coordinator which is not only physical, but also has the ability to use motion and misdirection to get the defense flowing the wrong way.

"(The wildcat) is dynamic because you have to prepare for it, and it takes away from actual preparation," Stewart said in Sunday's teleconference. "If you're at Auburn, and you put Chris Todd in there, and all of the sudden Kodi Burns comes in, as a defense you have to switch gears. Remember, Kodi can pass the ball as well."

West Virginia was 2-3 on the road last year accounting for three of its four losses, and the atmosphere at Jordan-Hare will play a big factor.

"We're going into one of the toughest arenas in the country this Saturday," Stewart said, "and I think our guys know that and they are ready to play. They (Auburn) will be waiting for us, just like we have waited for people that have beaten us in the past. It's going to be a fun game in a great arena."

Saturday's game will be televised by ESPN2 and will kick off at 6:45 p.m. CDT.


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