This Week on the Plains | 11.14.2014
A summary of this week's stories in The Auburn Plainsman.
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A summary of this week's stories in The Auburn Plainsman.
Auburn sophomore center Matthew Atewe is out indefinitely due to a reoccurring stress fracture in his left leg, head coach Bruce Pearl announced Wednesday. Atewe reinjured the leg during last Friday's exhibition opener against West Alabama, though the initial injury was suffered last season. "Matt reinjured the same leg," Pearl said. "We're pretty sure he played on a stress fracture last year so we shut him down, inserted that rod into his leg and hoped that he would not break it again." Despite consulting with Dr. James Andrews to examine the injury, Pearl said it was too soon to give a timetable for the sophomore's return. "When a kid has an injury, you want to give the doctors, the trainers and the student-athlete enough of an opportunity to look at what they've got and decide what the best course is," Pearl said. "Sometimes it just doesn't happen right away." Pearl said he's never felt Atewe was quite 100 percent following his injury last season and at times saw him favoring his right shin as well. The injury has left Atewe "discouraged" after a long offseason of rehabilitation, according to Pearl. Pearl's attention has now turned remedying the Tigers' depth issues. "We were already undersized going into the year and with losing Matt, it puts us down to nine scholarship players," Pearl said. The lost production of Atewe will now fall to six-foot-six big man Cinmeon Bowers, who will likely be surrounded by a four-guard lineup during most games this season. The added responsibilities come with added pressure, as Pearl expects opponents to target Bowers and force him into foul trouble. "You know teams are going to go at him and try to get him in foul trouble," Pearl said. "He's got to be able to play through that."
Auburn kicked off the Bruce Pearl era with a 94-58 exhibition win over West Alabama Friday night in the Auburn Arena. Despite the win, Pearl said there was plenty of room for improvement. Full team and player interviews can be found below.
This week, plainsman sports editor Eric Wallace and assistant sports editor Kyle Van Fechtmann review and preview everything Auburn sports.
Auburn has risen to the top of the SEC leaderboard in a number of statistical categories in two seasons under head coach Gus Malzahn. Whether they are fielding the top rushing offense in 2013 and 2014 or topping the league in punt returns this season, Malzahn's Tigers top the conference in more than just the final standings. But Auburn has become an SEC leader in a startling new category this season: penalties. After finishing in the middle of the pack last season, the Tigers lead the conference in penalty yards per game and have been backed up 547 yards because of infractions. That's 45 yards worse than Missouri, the SEC's next most penalized. It's not that the Tigers are committing the most penalties. They're only ninth worst in the conference in that category. But the penalties they are committing are damaging and often untimely, putting the offense behind schedule and bailing opponents out of tight situations. Perhaps the most egregious example of Auburn's penalty prowess came in last week's 35-31 escape in Oxford, Mississsippi. Of the Tigers' 13 penalties, which totaled a season-high 145 yards, their final two, a late hit by Ricardo Louis and a defensive holding by Jonathon Mincy, allowed Ole Miss to drive within range of a go-ahead touchdown. We all know how Auburn escaped that situation: Kris Frost forced a fumble as Laquon Treadwell was entering the end zone, an outcome likely caused by the gruesome injury he suffered on the play. I'm not a proponent of the idea that Auburn's success is largely founded in luck. That said, the Tigers were lucky to survive Saturday night. As often as we've seen Nick Marshall, D'haquille Williams and Cameron Artis-Payne make championship plays this season, it's become just as common for the Tigers to commit inexcusable, potentially back-breaking penalties. Auburn is as talented a team as they come in 2014, so it'll be disappointing if that talent falls short of the College Football Playoff because of silly, unnecessary penalties.
No. 3 Auburn's College Football Playoff hopes are alive after their 35-31 shootout victory at No. 4 Ole Miss.
A recap of the Auburn vs. South Carolina football game.
The Auburn Plainsman Sports Editor Eric Wallace and Assistant Sports Editor Kyle Van Fechtmann have a nice conversation about this week's happenings in Auburn sports.
While the Tigers have put themselves into serious contention for the College Football Playoff, a 38-23 loss to No. 1 Mississippi State has reduced their margin of error to zero. With its playoff destiny resting in its own hands, here are three areas Auburn will need to improve in if they wish to make it to the final.
Senior defensive back Jermaine Whitehead has been reinstated to the football team following a four-game suspension for undisclosed reasons. Malzahn wouldn't go into detail regarding the cause of his suspension, stating that the information is between "me and him." "He practiced with the team on Sunday," Malzahn said. "He's going to do everything he can to return and put himself back on the field. I don't know how long that is going to take." Malzahn gave no timetable for the senior's return. Whitehead had two interceptions in Auburn's opening two games against Arkansas and San Jose State prior to his suspension. Malzahn also announced that freshman wide receiver would miss the rest of the season after undergoing shoulder surgery. "Truitt had surgery and he will be out for the year," Malzahn said. "That's a guy that was coming and played well, but hurt his shoulder. We just wanted to do the right thing and get it fixed for the future." Truitt, a true freshman from Monroe, Georgia, had two catches for 13 yards prior to his injury. Malzahn said the team will pursue a medical hardship waiver to grant Truitt an extra season of eligibility due to his injury.
Reese Dismukes, Jonathan Jones, Nick Marshall, Sammie Coates, Cameron Artis-Payne, and Angelo Blackson speak on mistakes and plans for their next game.
MSU gives AU their first L of the season, so plainsman sports editor Eric Wallace and sports reporter David McKinney discuss how it happened in this special post game edition of This Week in Sports.
Auburn broke ground on a hole in Starkville, Mississippi on its first offensive play. By the time the digging stopped at 21-0, there were too many cowbells and Bulldogs in the way for the No. 2 Tigers to dig themselves out. "We started out in a hole," head coach Gus Malzahn said. "I think we turned the ball over the very first two plays we had it and we got in a hole and their crowd got into it." Auburn fell for the first time this season in front of a school-record crowd in Davis-Wade Stadium, but numerous uncharacteristic mistakes will likely haunt Malzahn and his team heading into an off week. "The game is about momentum shifts," defensive lineman Angelo Blackson said. "There were momentum shifts everywhere, but at the end of the day we were just too deep in the hole. We kept on making mistakes. When you keep doing that against a great team like that, you usually can't win those." Of the mistakes, quarterback Nick Marshall's most regular problem this season, having balls batted at the line, was the first of many for the Tigers. "They are tall and lanky and then just they made good plays on the ball," Marshall said. "Being a quarterback, you just have to pick your windows to throw through. It's my job to pick throwing lanes to throw through." The second mistake, a fumble by D'haquille Williams on Auburn's second play from scrimmage, only further deepened the hole. The mistakes forced the defense to defend the short field, something linebacker Kris Frost said was a difficult task early in the game. "It picked up our urgency," Frost said. "They gassed us on a few plays and it ended up coming down to us not fitting right on certain runs. They did a great job of mixing up the run and pass and giving us different looks." While the Tigers were able to stop digging by the end of the first quarter, an uncharacteristic inability to convert in the red zone prevented Auburn from significantly cutting the deficit. After the game, Malzahn placed much of the blame from the loss on the red zone struggles. "I think a big factor in the game was our red zone offense and not being able to score touchdowns," Malzahn said. "I think we had two field goals in the first half and one miss. That was a bigger factor in the game." With an off week looming ahead, the Tigers acknowledged that their playoff chances took a hit with the loss, but many said they took solace knowing they'd overcome a similar loss last season at LSU. "We weren't executing at the high level we were supposed to," Marshall said. "We're just going to focus on that next week and get better."
In this pre-game edition of this week in sports, plainsman sports editor Eric Wallace and assistant sports editor Kyle Van Fechtmann analyze both #2 AU and #3 MSU in anticipation for the big game today.
The Auburn Police Department is investigating threatening social media remarks made toward Auburn football head coach Gus Malzahn and Jordan-Hare Stadium this weekend, according to police chief Paul Register. The threats, which were made from the Twitter account @bhayes4420, refer to cutting off Malzahn's head "ISIS-style" as well as setting off C-4 explosive devices inside Jordan-Hare Stadium. The tweets have since been deleted from the account. Register said the police department is currently working to identify the account holder, which he said has a history of rants toward collegiate athletics. "If you look historically, whoever has that Twitter account has a history of these type of rants involving collegiate athletics," Register said. "I don't know that it's been exclusive to Auburn, but it appears to just be someone ranting on Twitter, but we're still looking into it because they are disturbing remarks." Register said he doubted the legitimacy of the threats, but ensured that an investigation is ongoing and stadium safety protocols are always followed. "We check the stadium and we render that stadium safe every time we have an event over there," Register said. "We did that last time and we'll do that next time. I just don't think there's any credibility to that."
Tight end CJ Uzomah has long made his feelings clear on Mississippi State's cowbell tradition. Those feelings remain as Uzomah and the No. 2 Auburn Tigers prepare for a showdown with No. 3 Mississippi State in Starkville, Mississipppi. "No, that's never going to change," Uzomah said. "Those things are awful." Davis-Wade Stadium may hold just 55,082 people, but the Tigers know the State faithful will make their presence known in this Top-5 matchup. "We know the implications are huge," Uzomah said. "We know that it's going to be a big game and that the crowd is going to be in it." Head coach Gus Malzahn said the team's experience at Kansas State earlier this season, where the Tigers won 20-14 over a then No. 20 Wildcats squad, will be helpful come Saturday. However, Malzahn reiterated there's only so much preparation Auburn can do, even if they may have a few cowbell recordings on hand. "You know you pump in crowd noise and everything that comes with that," Malzahn said. "You just do the best you can." Offensive lineman Shon Coleman said one of the biggest issues with the cowbells is unit communication. "Going into a hostile environment like that, communication is always going to be a key," Coleman said. "We work through practice throughout the week to make sure everything is good and clicking as far as communication." Coleman echoed his head coach's belief that the team's trip to Manhattan, Kansas has been an important experience for the Tigers. "We had to go in and that really helped me out just getting through that game and knowing how it feels to go on the road and get a win out of two ranked teams," Coleman said. Malzahn said he fully expects another close matchup against head coach Dan Mullen and the Bulldogs. "The last three times that I've coached against these guys it's gone down to the last play," Malzahn said. "We're going to have to play well." Uzomah, the hero of last year's 24-20 victory in Jordan-Hare Stadium, said the team is used to playing on the big stage after last year's improbable run to the BCS National Championship. "Playing in big games is something that we've come to enjoy and something that we're used to," Uzomah said. "We play in the SEC, the best conference in college football."
Plainsman sports editor and plainsman assistant sports editor discuss if LSU has a chance against AU this week in sports.
It's been an offseason of change for Auburn basketball, but the long summer months of training have finally given way to fall and the official start of practice. In his press conference prior to the first practice, new head coach Bruce Pearl said his team was excited to return to the court while lamenting an overall lack of depth on the roster. That said, the steadily improving health of sophomore center Matthew Atewe has been a good sign for Pearl as official practices begin. "He's not 100 percent, but we hope to get him there," Pearl said. "He's in practice now." Pearl said depth is a significant issue in the frontcourt, so it's likely Atewe will be joined by junior college transfer Cinmeon Bowers at center. "Right now Cinmeon Bowers and Matt Atewe are going to play the same position," Pearl said. "You'd like to think that you could play them together some, and we might against some opponents, but we can't for long because of foul trouble and depth." Additionally, Pearl said he expects to use four-guard lineups at times to combat the lack of frontcourt depth. In those situations, senior guard Malcolm Canada could see time at the four. Change is also expected at the point guard position, where returning starter Tahj Shamsid-Deen is expected to move to the shooting guard position, according to Pearl. "I'm going to try to play Tahj off the ball for most of this year," Pearl said. "We'll be undersized when he's playing the two, but he's better on the wing right now. And Malcolm and KC are better with the ball in their hands. I'll put the ball in Tahj's hands to score, but he's not going to bring the ball up the floor a lot this year." Senior transfer KC Ross-Miller and Canada are currently in competition to start at point guard, but freshman preferred walk-on Patrick Keim is also in competition at the position. Canada said it's been an offseason of improvement for him after playing limited minutes last season. "My teammates came to me, KT (Harrell) mainly, and told me that I am better than I have been playing," Canada said. "We've just been working hard in the offseason." Overall, Pearl said he was pleased with the position the team is in after the offseason changes. Leading returning scorer KT Harrell echoed his head coach, saying the team is in a much better place now than it had been. "I think we've gotten better," Harrell said. "The chemistry is a lot better than I'm pretty sure we thought it was going to be. We're excited about this year and I think we're going to do big things."
They say the best revenge is found in massive success. I believe it was Frank Sinatra who came up with that one. I don't know if Gus Malzahn is a fan of Sinatra or not, but the two certainly can relate on one thing: their achievements have been their own personal form of revenge. The lone regular season slip-up in Auburn's dream 2013 season, a 35-21 steamrolling at the hands of Jeremy Hill and LSU in rainy Baton Rouge in the fourth game of the season, quickly put a damper on what was an otherwise excellent start to the Malzahn era. Nick Marshall struggled in his first SEC road game as a starting quarterback, tossing two picks and fumbling another handoff. That was more than enough mistakes for the Bayou Bengals, who were content to keep feeding their 235-pound future NFL running back all night long. The result of this game was rarely in doubt; LSU led by three touchdowns just 17 minutes into the game, a deficit the developing Auburn offense was unable to match. It seemed an appropriate result at the time as well as Auburn was still considered to be rebuilding, while LSU was expected to ride Hill and quarterback Zach Mettenberger into SEC Championship contention. But my, what a change one year can make to a team. Auburn now sits at the top of the SEC and the reigning champions return many of the pieces that managed to match LSU in the second half of last year's game. Meanwhile, LSU is currently experiencing a difficult transition of its own. Anthony Jennings, the most experienced quarterback on the roster, has lost the starter's job to talented freshman Brandon Harris. Harris, who almost committed to Auburn out of high school, will make his first career start under the lights of Jordan-Hare, an idea that may prompt a little extra grass-eating from Les Miles this week. LSU is one of the most tightly contested annual matchups on Auburn's schedule, and this year will likely be no different. But there is one major difference in the 2014 season: Auburn is the favorite in this year's edition, and rightfully so. The explosive talent Auburn features and its ever improving defense are a stark contrast to the quarterback quandary the Bayou Bengals have found themselves in. It will be important for Auburn to avoid the slow offensive starts we've seen in its last two outings. Doing so would provide LSU opportunities to gain a foothold in the game and quiet what is sure to be an imposing environment Saturday night. A quick start from Auburn would also put more pressure on Harris to carry the offensive load, something I'm sure Miles would like to avoid at all costs. I've been known to drop the kiss of death on teams in the past, but I can honestly say I've never been more confident of an Auburn victory against LSU than I am this year. Just don't try anything too crazy over there, Mad Hatter.