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Is third quarterback a charm for Tigers in homecoming match-up?

On Saturday, Nov. 3, Auburn will find out if it actually has a starting-caliber quarterback on the roster.

AU club soccer team scores nationals berth

The Auburn's men club soccer team ran into its 2012 season with high expectations, high hopes and team goals.

Q&A with junior golfer Marta Sanz

Marta Sanz is a junior on the women’s golf team. Originally from Madrid, Spain, Sanz hopes to turn professional after her time at Auburn is over. Sanz agreed to sit down with The Plainsman and discuss her recent playing and goals for the future.

Her view: The Bible Belt's well-defined buckle

The "Bible Belt." The phrase evokes so much for me here at Auburn: the First Baptist Church of Opelika; friends' Bible studies; Campus Crusade.

Auburn a 'special' place for Moon Taxi, returns to Supper Club Nov. 2

Playing shows in Auburn is nothing new to Nashville, Tenn. band Moon Taxi; in fact, Moon Taxi played at War Eagle Supper Club last April from midnight to 5:30 a.m. Moon Taxi will return to Supper Club Nov. 2.Tommy Putnam,(Moon Taxi’s bassist), tells The Plainsman about playing in Auburn, touring with Tea Leaf Green and details on their newest record.MK: Although you’ve played here a few times before, how do you like playing in Auburn?TP: Auburn was the very first place we ever played on the road. I’m from Birmingham, and I had a lot of friends who went to school at Auburn. It was the first gig I actually booked ever, which was at Quixote’s. It’s always been a special place for us. It was the first time we ever got in a car and drove somewhere to play a show.MK: What are you looking forward to the most about playing again here?TP: It’s been a while since we’ve played Auburn. We’ve made a lot of friends over the years. Getting to see them and playing for our fans. They haven’t seen us in their hometown in a while.MK: How does Moon Taxi usually prepare for a tour?TP: We pack accordingly. We were out all summer. You kinda just have to say no to a lot of different things that normal people would do, like weddings and birthdays. You gotta miss a hell of a lot of those things that people generally get to do and take for granted. We write a lot on the road, too; at least I do.MK: What is one of your favorite songs to play live off the new record?TP: Mercury is the best one because the crowd enjoys it the most. It feels like every time we play it, the crowd just goes nuts, and we kind of just feed off that.MK: How does your sound vary from your first album in 2007 to now?TP: The first one we made in college, and we really did not know what we were doing. We played a lot of shows, and we tried to define ourselves somehow. Almost five years to the day, we put out this other one, and I think there’s a lot of maturity that shows from the first album to the newest one. The one in between was live, but I felt like we weren’t quite ready to put out another studio effort, and I think that one bridged the gap between the first one to this new one.MK: How is touring with Tea Leaf Green?TP: They’re great. They’re awesome dudes. Reed Mathis, the bass player; he’s a monster. Everybody knows he’s one of the best guys around. He proves it when he gets out there, and I really respect that. That makes me want to step up my game. They’re from San Francisco, and most of us are from Alabama. It’s a different world, and it’s really fun to meet these people that grew up North.MK: Future plans?TP: In the end of November and December, we’re going to do another East Coast run, like New York, Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia. We’re doing one of the days with Umphree’s McGee in Atlanta after that, and our New Year’s Eve show in Nashville. Those are some things we’re really looking forward to.

A week in Auburn sports

Tennis- The women’s tennis team recorded 15 wins at the Roberta Allison Fall Classic hosted by the University of Alabama from Oct. 5–6.Freshman Ashley Kitchen was the only player to win her draw. Kitchen won her first two singles matches in straight sets, but was forced to grind out a three set victory over Florida State’s Kristina Schleich 7–6 (5), 4–6, 6–4. The men’s tennis team won an impressive victory Sunday, Oct. 7 as well. At the ITA All-American Championship in Tulsa, Okla., senior Andreas Mies and junior Daniel Cochrane played doubles together for the first time competitively and took home the All American Doubles Championship. It was Auburn’s first-ever victory at the All-American Championship. The team won its fifth match in four days 7–6 (8–6), 6–2 to claim the crown.Equestrian- Thursday, Oct. 4, the Auburn equestrian team lost to No. 2 South Carolina, the second top 5 team the team has faced in its first two games. The team lost 10–9, but were able to sweep all four Most Outstanding Player awards. Indy Roper won the MOP in Western horsemanship and reining. Jennifer Waxman earned her title in equitation over fences, and Lindsay Portella won the MOP for equitation on the flats.Golf- The women’s golf team placed third at the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic hosted by the University of Georgia in Athens Oct. 5–7.The team led the first two days, but fell on the final day to finish behind North Carolina and Alabama. Junior Marta Sanz led the way for Auburn, finished tied for third and shot a 71, 69 and 75 throughout the weekend. Those scores were good for a 1-under-par finish and her first top-three finish of the season. Sophomore Victoria Trapani and senior Carlie Yadloczy also recorded top-30 finishes. The team will play in the Tar Heel Invitational in Chapel Hill, N.C. Oct. 12–14. The men’s golf team will look to build on its recent success Tuesday Oct. 15–16 when it plays in the Jerry Pate Invitational at Old Overton Golf Club in Birmingham.Swimming and Diving- The Auburn swimming and diving team began the season Friday, Oct. 12 with the War Eagle Invitational meet. The meet lasted from Oct. 12–14 with the main scheduled opponent being Alabama. After the War Eagle Invitational, the Tigers will stay at home for a match against LSU Oct. 20 and a women’s meet against Notre Dame Oct. 26. The first road test of the season will come Nov. 2 at Kentucky.

Auburn loses offensive focus in second half, Ole Miss wins 41-20

Auburn's fourth quarter woes on both sides of the ball continued as Ole Miss scored 24 of the game's final 27 points to win 41-20, dropping the Tigers to 0-4 in the SEC for the first time since 1980. The Tigers turned in a mercurial performance that, at times, showcased a powerful running game and precise passing, complemented by a defense that tightened up when it needed to. However, it was also one that more often than not left fans from the Plains feeling something was lacking, especially once the fourth quarter rolled around. Auburn was outscored 17-0 in the fourth quarter and gained only four total yards of offense, bringing the season scoring in the final frame to a remarkable 62-3. The Tigers have lost a conference-high six straight SEC games, with five of those losses being by 17 or more points. "We had some unique things happen in the fourth quarter and failed to capitalize on a couple of opportunities," said Auburn coach Gene Chizik after the game. "But the guys played hard down to the end and never quit." Auburn quickly fell into a 14-0 hole after a methodical nine-play, 80-yard drive was capped off by a 25-yard touchdown on a trick pass from former Rebel quarterback Randall Mackey, to current quarterback Bo Wallace. Auburn's next drive was finished two plays after it began as a Tunde Fariyike snap soared over Clint Moseley's head and into the end zone, where it was recovered by Ole Miss' C.J. Johnson for a score and a 14-0 lead. Auburn struck back with a long, run-heavy drive that ate nearly seven minutes off the clock and went 74 yards in 13 plays. Tre Mason was the star of the drive and punched it in from a yard out to pull Auburn within seven. Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze decided to gamble on Ole Miss' next drive, going for a fourth and one from just inside his own 50. Auburn defensive back Jermaine Whitehead made a huge play, stopping Mackey at the line of scrimmage, putting the ball back in Moseley's hands in great field position. The Auburn drive stalled, however, and they were forced to punt, downing it at the six-yard-line. The swing in field position helped Auburn immensely and on its first play from scrimmage after receiving the ball back, Moseley aired it out to receiver Sammie Coates for a 42-yard pick-up to the Ole Miss six. Tre Mason scored his second touchdown on the next play, and Auburn tied it at 14-14. On the ensuing kickoff Auburn kicker Cody Parkey recovered his own on-side kick, briefly stunning the Vaught-Hemingway Stadium crowd. The offense then had a big drive stall after reaching the Rebel red zone, due to a false start and a five-yard loss by Onterio McCalebb. The team settled for a field goal to take a 17-14 lead with a minute to go in the half. Moseley went into halftime 8-8, passing for 90 yards with no sacks. Ole Miss ran the show from that point on. A quick drive nearly put the ball in the end zone before Freeze decided to take a field goal as the first-half clock expired, tying the game at 17 as the Oxford crowd of 57,068 prepared to watch its homecoming festivities. Ole Miss came out of the gate for the second half on a tear and marched 73 yards in just four plays to retake the lead at 24-17 and didn't look back. Though Auburn held its own for the rest of the third quarter, the offense only managed a 31-yard field goal by Parkey, and it was 24-20 as the teams geared up for the fourth quarter - which was again Auburn's undoing. After an Ole Miss field goal early in the fourth that made it 27-20, the teams swapped possession before an 11-yard Ole Miss punt whimpered out-of-bounds inside its own 40, seemingly giving the Auburn offense at least three points. After an initially confusing moment following the punt, the officials - who were mostly invisible all game - called an offside penalty on an unidentified Auburn defender and allowed a re-kick. There was a 40-yard difference following the re-kick, and Auburn was backed up to its own 20. From there, the offense didn't muster much and the implosion culminated with what is sure to be an Ole Miss fan favorite video for years to come. Running back Jeff Scott - who ran all over Auburn all day - broke a short checkdown pass on third and 19 for a 55-yard touchdown, after nearly everyone in the stadium thought he was down short of the first down markers. A review showed the call of a touchdown was correct and the Rebels' fans made the stadium the loudest it had been all day. After the game, Whitehead said though there are no excuses for that kind of play, he felt maybe the players let up because they were worried about receiving a flag for roughness after the play. The 34-20 score proved overwhelming at the end for the Auburn offense, and a Moseley interception led to a Wallace touchdown run, sealing the win at 41-20. Wallace became the first quarterback in Ole Miss history to throw, receive and rush for a touchdown in the same game, bringing back bittersweet memories of Cam Newton's Oxford performance two seasons ago. Moseley's second half was abysmal, even before comparing it to his perfect first half. He finished the half 3-10 for 22 yards, with two sacks and an interception. Auburn is 1-5 for the first time since 1998. Perhaps a streak of sunlight in the storm surrounding Chizik's program is the fact that Auburn never seems to stay down too long. Dating back to Pat Dye's hire over thirty years ago, Auburn has followed up a losing season with a nine-win season no more than two years later.

'Glee Project 2' star Shanna Henderson and more at upcoming Gnu Fall Festival

The Gnu's Room is thrilled to be hosting the Gnu Fall Festival Saturday, Oct. 13. The event will be on the lawn at Pebble Hill at 101 S. Debardeleben St. in Auburn.

Isaac Brown and Ana Habib film the e-waste processing machine named "David II " at Creative Recycling Systems in Morrisville, N.C. The machine was named in reference to the Goliath amount of e-waste being created in the United States. (Courtesy of the Terra Blight crew)

Auburn to go all blue on Friday

Auburn residents will have two chances to go "all in" this weekend, as a resolution making Friday, Oct. 5 "All Auburn Blue Day" was approved by City Council at the Oct. 2 meeting.

A week in Auburn sports

Cross Country- The men’s and women’s cross country team will compete in the Greater Louisville Classic on Sept. 29. After three meets, both the men’s and women’s team are undefeated after finishing first in the Trojan Invitational, Auburn Invitational and Azalea City Classic.Baseball- Auburn has begun fall practices and will now welcome the nation’s No. 22 recruiting class. The class includes 16 players: OF Jackson Burgreen, RHP Brewer Carter, RHP Reid Carter, RHP/OF Terrance Dedrick, C/IF Tyler Deese, IF/OF Jordan Ebert, OF Sam Gillikin, OF Hunter Kelley, LHP Conner Kendrick, RHP Cole Lipscomb, LHP Mike O’Neal, OF Rock Rucker, RHP Matt Schultz, IF Dylan Smith, IF Damek Tomscha, RHP Trey Wingenter. Gillikin, Kelley, Tomscha and Wingenter have all been drafted by MLB teams before.Men’s Basketball- Tickets for the season have gone on sale. In addition, coach Tony Barbee announced that former Missouri and New Mexico assistant coach Ryan Miller was named associate head coach Sept. 18. Barbee and Miller have worked together before when the two worked under Memphis coach John Calipari.Women’s Basketball- Tickets are now on sale for the 2012–13 season. Senior guard/forward Blanche Alverson has been selected into the top 5 for Miss Homecoming. The television schedule for the team has also been released with the team slated for six televised matchups: Tennessee, at Kentucky, at Alabama, Florida and at Vanderbilt.Women’s Tennis- After winning 14 matches and earning four titles during the Auburn Fall Invitational in early September at the Yarbrough Tennis Center, The women’s tennis team had another strong showing at the UNLV Invitational in Las Vegas. There, the team won 14 matches and took home three championships.Swimming and Diving- The swimming and diving regular season does not begin until Oct. 12, but the team prepared for the opener with its annual intrasquad Orange and Blue Meet. The orange team beat the blue team 207.5 to 197.5. Of the 22 events, Freshmen Alexandria Merritt (150-yd butterfly), Caitlyn Forman (150-yd backstroke), Jordan Jones (men’s 300-yd individual medley) and Carly Scheper (diving) all won events.

Auburn food truck wins national competition, owners head for New York

Honeysuckle Gelato, a shop operating one of Auburn's food trucks, won a trip up North to learn business tricks from the best.

Gold medalist McGill named volunteer swim coach, trains for 2016 Olympics

Former Auburn swimmer Tyler McGill was named volunteer assistant on Sept. 5. McGill was a part of Team USA along with Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte in the 2012 London Olympics. McGill agreed to sit down with The Plainsman and discuss his future in the Olympics and as volunteer assistant for the Tigers.

Museum hosts "A Little Lunch Music" to break up the day

For those looking for a change of pace in their study habits or a fresh new sound from a local band, the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art is hosting a weekly daytime series called "A Little Lunch Music." The free concert series is every Thursday from noon until 1 p.m. in the area just beyond the lobby of the museum. "Visiting the museum should be a part of the students' education, and we hope it will be just as important as studying at the library or going to football games," said Charlotte Hendrix, director of communications for the museum. Programs are printed to encourage students in music appreciation classes to choose "A Little Lunch Music" for their required viewing of performances outside of the classroom. Hendrix said she hopes the local music, free student membership and Wi-Fi and fair prices on soups, salads and sandwiches will encourage students to study at the museum. "We're thinking it will be Auburn's newest tradition," Hendrix said. The venue has highlighted musicians from the University's music students and faculty. Faculty members and students from Columbus State University, members of the Montgomery Symphony Orchestra and students from Carver Elementary School in Montgomery have also been highlighted. Upcoming performances include Joseph Ikner on Sept. 20 and the Auburn Indian Music Ensemble on Oct. 4. Series coordinator Patrick McCurry said the series began in 2007 by cellist, pianist and electric keyboardist Charles Wright. Wright was a high school friend of McCurry and once led the Auburn Quartet. McCurry said Wright began the series because he was simply looking for a place to play and share his music. McCurry said he began playing the saxophone, flute and cello with Wright in the series in 2008. After a Steinway grand piano was donated to the museum in 2009, he and Wright asked pianist Barbara Acker-Mills to join them. The Woodfield Trio was then born. In 2009, Acker-Mills left to teach psychology at Salem College in Winston-Salem, N.C. Wright moved to Sarasota, Fla., and McCurry took over Wright's position as series coordinator. McCurry said he is excited to see the audience and interested performers growing in number as the series progresses. The series now attracts crowds of approximately 30 to 50 people and performers of all genres. The series mostly displays classical music with some jazz, but it is open to all music performers and has no bar on talent, he said. "Wright occasionally brought in new people, but not like this," McCurry said. McCurry is now looking for sponsors on a student recital level for $150, a local color sponsorship level for $250, the Woodfield Trio level for $500, a chamber group level for $750 and a key performance level for $1,000 to cover time and travel costs for performers. For performances without sponsorship, the museum holds a small honorarium. "As a musician, it's important to me that the musicians get paid," McCurry said. McCurry said his favorite performances in the series are those by artists who are not usually able to perform at recitals. He said he is happy to make that setting more accessible to them. "There's something conducive about Auburn for music," McCurry said. "It is my desire to make its art and music scene grow."

Downtown AUtumn Nights rings in new entertainment district

Auburn's new ordinance allowing an entertainment district near Toomer's Corner will be enacted for the first time Sept. 14.

Historic exhibit finds home at Jule Collins

The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art opened an exhibit Saturday, Sept. 8 titled, "Art Interrupted: Advancing American Art and the Politics of Cultural Diplomacy."

From Jane's home to yours

Located on a quaint corner of historic downtown Opelika is Jane Sweet Jane, a local, family-oriented business started by Jane Randall Jackson.

Alleged Auburn shooter Desmonte Leonard indicted by grand jury on six charges, including capital murder

The Montgomery man who allegedly shot six people, killing three at University Heights in June has been indicted by a Lee County grand jury on six charges, including capital murder.

Key matchups to watch in season opener

Clemson QB Tajh Boyd vs. Auburn MLB Jake HollandBoyd torched Auburn’s defense for 386 yards and four touchdowns in last year’s 38–24 Clemson victory. Even without stud receiver Sammy Watkins (suspension) and running back Mike Bellamy (academic transfer), Boyd has plenty of offensive weapons returning from an offense that finished 26th nationally in 2011. It’s Holland’s job to keep Boyd in check. New defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder calls Holland the “lion” of the defense and has placed high expectations on the junior in 2012. With this new scheme, Holland, the quarterback of the defense, is responsible for making sure his teammates are aligned properly. Poor placement or a missed call will lead to Boyd having his way with the Auburn defense once again.Auburn TE Philip Lutzenkirchen vs. Clemson linebackersLutzenkirchen was forced to split duties as a pass-catching tight end and lead-blocking fullback in 2011 and still managed to set Auburn’s single-season touchdown mark for tight ends (seven). With transfer fullback Jay Prosch taking over the main blocking duties, Lutzenkirchen is free to return to his playmaking role as a receiver. Whether split out or close on the line, the senior tight end will be matched against one of Clemson’s speedy linebackers. All three are huge, especially sophomore Stephone Anthony who mans the middle at 6-foot 3-inches and 235 pounds, but they can all cover sideline-to-sideline. Defensive coordinator Brent Venables, who spent the past 12 years at Oklahoma before coming to Clemson this offseason, will allow them more freedom in his simple defensive scheme.Auburn C Tunde Fariyike vs. Clemson DTs Grady Jarrett, DeShawn Williams and Josh WatsonCenter-to-quarterback exchanges fail even when the two players have worked together for years, much less a few days. After returning starter Reese Dismukes was arrested and suspended indefinitely, Fariyike, who played center in one game last season, was thrust into the starting role less than one week before the season opener. Across the ball he will see three sophomore lineman, Jarrett, Williams and Watson, who will rotate testing the sophomore’s mettle in his first collegiate start. The linemen, who refer to themselves as the “Three Horsemen,” are replacing two starters who are currently on NFL rosters. Big shoes are trying to be filled on each side of the ball, and which line can control the line of scrimmage will tilt the game in its team’s favor.

Double bogey in playoff ends Hebert's U.S. Amateur hopes

Senior Michael Hebert shot his way to the second round of match play before falling to Murray State's Patrick Newcomb in the U.S. Men's Amateur at Cherry Hills Village Country Club.