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(11/25/13 2:11am)
If you did not think this year's Auburn-Alabama game could get any bigger, check again because it just got bigger.
No. 4 Baylor and No. 5 Oregon losing on Saturday helped Auburn jump to No. 4 in both the BCS and the AP Poll, and No. 5 in the USA Today Coaches' Poll, setting up a top-five matchup in the Iron Bowl for the first time since 1971.
Last week the Tigers were ranked No. 6 in both the BCS and AP Poll and No. 7 in the USA Today Coaches' Poll.
Alabama still remains at No. 1 with an 11-0 record. Florida State remains at No. 2 with Ohio State at No. 3.
All three teams ahead of Auburn in the BCS and AP are undefeated, making Auburn the highest ranked one loss team. In the USA Today Coaches' Poll one-loss Clemson is ahead of Auburn at No. 4.
The Auburn-Alabama game is always a big game, no matter what the record is, but this year the winner of the game will represent the western division in the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta, making it even bigger than usual.
(11/15/13 9:35pm)
Cy Brown is the sports editor for The Red and Black, the student newspaper at the University of Georgia. In this edition of "Know Your Enemy," Brown gives Auburn fans a scouting report on the Tigers' oldest rivals, the Bulldogs from Athens. Georgia started the year with a lot of preseason hype, but injuries have hampered the Bulldogs' progress in 2013. How do you grade the team's performance so far this season? I'd say B-. People thought if Georgia got through Clemson, South Carolina and LSU 2-1, it would be on easy street. Then Missouri and Vanderbilt happened. However, the injury factor also makes fans a bit more understanding than they would normally be. Out of all the injuries Georgia has had this season, which one do you think has been the biggest blow to the team? Even though he's back now, it's Todd Gurley. His presence was sorely needed in all three of Georgia's losses this year. He sat half the Clemson game and didn't play against Mizzou or Vandy. His ability to break off big yards make him a game-changer. Had he played, Georgia would likely have won at least one of the Mizzou or Vandy games, perhaps both. It seems that head coach Mark Richt is always on the hot seat in the eyes of some Georgia fans. What do you think his job security is like in the midst of a season like this? It's highly doubtful he's going anywhere. The people who call for his head are a vocal minority. Fans may say they want him gone at times, but that doesn't matter. He has a complete commitment from the Athletic Association and the University. If the pressure ever got to be too much, he could let go of a coordinator, grab another and the fans would let up. Again, the injury situation also makes the difficulties this season more understandable. Who are some players Auburn fans need to keep an eye on in this matchup? Freshman outside linebacker Leonard Floyd has been a force this season, piling up 5.5 sacks so far. Inside linebacker Ramik Wilson is the most sure tackler on the team and his name should be called often on Saturday. He's averaging more than 10 tackles per game. Aaron Murray's favorite target is wide receiver Michael Bennett. Expect that to be a potential connection on third downs. And, as always, pay attention to Todd Gurley. He just needs a bit of space, then all he sees is endzone. Where does Auburn rank in the rivalry hierarchy to Georgia fans? Where does the dislike rank in comparison to Georgia Tech and Florida? The Auburn-Georgia rivalry is an interesting one. It isn't the biggest for either team. Georgia fans hate Florida the most -- Tech is thought of more as an annoyance and obligation than a rivalry -- and Auburn fans, obviously, hate Alabama more. But it's not "The Deep South's Oldest Rivalry " for nothing. These teams are 54-54-8 against one another dating back to 1892. Pat Dye played at Georgia. Vince Dooley played at Auburn. Our mascot even wants a piece of you guys. These two schools are eternally linked. I don't think there's a more underrated rivalry in college football. Alright, prediction time. How do you see this year's edition of the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry turning out? Both teams will put some points on the board. The one thing that lays into Georgia's hands is Auburn inability to pass the ball. That plays into hands of the Georgia defense, that has a terrible secondary. But, I have more faith in Gus Malzahn being able to put up points than I do Mike Bobo. Auburn has won 83 consecutive games when it scores 30 or more. That will move to 84. Auburn 33, Georgia 27
(11/11/13 1:48am)
College football's most important rankings continue to favor Auburn as the Tigers move up to No. 7 in this week's BCS standings.
The Tigers moved up from No. 9 in last week's BCS rankings jumping Clemson and Missouri.
Alabama continues to hold on to the No. 1 spot with Florida State at No. 2.
Auburn made a slight move in the other two polls on Sunday by coming in at No. 9 in the USA Today/Coaches' Poll and remaining the same in the AP Top 25 at No. 7.
The Tigers moved up one spot from No. 10 last week in the USA Today/Coaches' Poll.
Four one-loss teams remained ahead of Auburn in the USA Today/Coaches' Poll in Stanford (5), Clemson (6), Oregon (7) and Missouri (8).
Only two one-loss teams remain ahead of Auburn in the AP Poll in Stanford and Oregon at five and six.
Even though the Tigers are behind these one loss teams Auburn can still reach the SEC Championship Game if they win their final two games beginning this week against the No. 25 Georgia Bulldogs.
Georgia came in at No. 25 in this week's BCS standings and AP Poll, but were not ranked in the Coaches' Poll.
CBS announced on Sunday the Georgia game will kick off at 2:30 p.m. on CBS.
Auburn has opened up as an early three-point favorite.
(11/09/13 9:57pm)
Auburn's run game and special teams proved to be too much for the Tennessee Volunteers to handle after the Tigers cruised to a 55-23 victory on the road in Knoxville for its ninth win of the season.
The Tigers finished the day with 444 yards on the ground and two special teams touchdowns.
"It was a successful day," Tre Mason said. "We are getting better every week, and we're showing it. Of course the offensive line we feel like they are they best in the country and they're proving it. We get wins like that."
It was a very big win for us on the road against a team that has been playing well at home and it was a great crowd," head coach Gus Malzahn said. "It was a true team effort."
Tennessee came out running the ball well against the Tigers, scoring on a field goal in the first five minutes of the game.
The Auburn offense would get off to a slow start coming out and throwing the ball four times on its first drive and having to punt the ball back to the Volunteers.
Auburn finally was able to start moving the ball on the ground against the Tennessee defense, but because of a Tre Mason fumble and poor tackling by the Auburn defense Tennessee was able to keep the game tied at 13-13.
It looked like Tennessee had all of the momentum, but the Auburn defense finally came up big sacking Tennessee quarterback Joshua Dobbs on third-and-long forcing a punt.
Chris Davis then took the Volunteers punt 85 yards for the touchdown giving Auburn the 20-13 lead with 9:51 left in the first half.
"We faced some adversity early, and I'm real proud of our special teams," Malzahn said. "The two special teams touchdowns were big momentum plays and really helped turn the game around."
Davis' return was the first punt returned for a touchdown since Robert Dunn against Louisiana Monroe in the season opening game in 2008. It was also the third longest punt return in Auburn history.
Auburn continued to pound on the Tennessee defense with the running game on a six-play 85-yard drive to extend the lead to 27-13 on a seven-yard touchdown run from Marshall.
Nick Marshall finished the first half with 164 yards rushing and two touchdowns, which is the fourth most rushing yards in one half in Auburn history.
Auburn would go into the half leading 34-20.
Corey Grant would continue the momentum for the Tigers opening up the second half with a 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown extending the Tigers lead to 41-20.
It was the Tigers second special teams touchdown of the game.
"Corey Grant cut it back across the field and he has real speed," Malzahn said. "Coach Fountain has worked real hard on the little things, and I think it helped us win the game."
Auburn would continue its dominance on the ground in the second half and cruise to the 55-23 final score.
Marshall finished the game with 214 yards on the ground, which is the third most rushing yards in a single game by a quarterback in school history.
"We were just taking what the defense was giving us, and the offensive line was blocking their tails off. Me and Tre were able to gash the defense," Marshall said.
Mason would also have a good day running the football, finishing with 117 yards putting him over the 1,000 yards rushing mark for the year.
This is the second year in a row Mason has rushed for 1,000 yards.
The defense struggled a little defending the run after giving up 226 yards to the Volunteers, but they still managed to only allow one Tennessee offensive touchdown all game.
"We don't like all the rushing yards," said safety Ryan Smith. "We felt like we had a lot of misfits, but we'll get that fixed this week in practice."
Next week will be a big game for the Tigers as they face the Georgia Bulldogs in the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry.
"I told the team to enjoy this win," Malzahn said. "We'll start worrying about next week tomorrow."
(11/07/13 6:52pm)
Punter Steven Clark and defensive back Trent Fisher have been named to the 2013 District 4 Capital One Academic All-District Football Teams, according to a press release from the Auburn Athletics Department.
The teams recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the football field and in the classroom.
District 4 is made up of all colleges in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Puerto Rico.
Clark graduated in May with a 3.70 grade-point average in exercise science. He is currently enrolled in graduate studies in biomechanics.
The All-SEC and All-America punter is a two-time semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award and ranks among the Auburn top five in all career punting categories.
Fisher currently holds a 3.73 grade-point average in communication.
The junior safety has appeared in 21 career games, starting two, and has recorded 25 career tackles.
His 60-yard interception return for a touchdown against Alabama A&M in 2012 was the seventh longest interception returned for a touchdown in Auburn history.
He is also the son of current St. Louis Rams head coach Jeff Fisher.
First, second and third-team All-America honorees will be selected later this month.
First-team Academic All-District honorees advance to the Capital One Academic All-America Team ballot.
(11/01/13 4:59pm)
Arkansas natives Gus Malzahn and Kiehl Frazier have both played games against their former home state school of Arkansas, but this time will look a little different for them. Malzahn made a name for himself coaching his way through the high school ranks, winning multiple state championships at Shiloh Christian and Springdale High School before leaving to become the offensive coordinator at the University of Arkansas.
Malzahn left Arkansas after one season with the Razorbacks and became the offensive coordinator at Tulsa before leaving to join Gene Chizik's staff at Auburn in 2009.
Malzahn has only returned to Fayetteville one time since leaving and that was in 2011 while he was still at Auburn as offensive coordinator.
Saturday will be the first time he will return as a head coach.
"To be honest with you, it's just another game for us," Malzahn said. "I've been back before and played before. We're just trying to do everything in our power to play good football, and try to come out with a victory."
While Malzahn tried to downplay going back to Arkansas, fellow Arkansas native Frazier said it will be exciting for Malzahn to go back home.
"I think it will be exciting because it's a place where he grew up and a place where I grew up, so I think it will be exciting at first, but he's such a professional guy that whenever the game starts he'll be ready," Frazier said.
One thing Malzahn has tried to do while he's been at Auburn is use his Arkansas high school football ties to recruit the state of Arkansas.
While Alabama, Georgia and north Florida will always be Auburn's main recruiting ground, Malzahn has been able to pull some recruits away from the home-state school.
Auburn signed three players from Arkansas during Malzahn's time at Auburn; Michael Dyer, Dakota Mosley and Kiehl Frazier.
Both Dyer and Moseley were dismissed from the team for a violation of team rules, but Frazier is still on the team.
Frazier was a highly touted quarterback from Arkansas, being named USA Today Offensive Player of the Year in 2010, and was expected by many to be Cam Newton's replacement.
When Malzahn left to become the head coach at Arkansas State and new offensive coordinator Scott Loeffler was hired to install a pro-style offense, Frazier struggled and was benched halfway through the season.
With the return of Malzahn's offense, Frazier was in line to compete for the starting job he lost in 2012, but halfway through fall camp Frazier decided to move to the defensive side of the ball to help the team.
Frazier's roommate and teammate, tight end CJ Uzomah, said he saw a different Frazier when he made that decision.
"He's grown so much as a player and as a person," Uzomah said. "He was willing to change positions just to help the team, and I think that says a lot for him, about his character as a person and his determination to help this team any way he can."
Now the former high school quarterback star will return to his home state, not as a quarterback, but as a receiver.
"I haven't really thought about going back (home)," Frazier said. "I don't think it will be anything like my freshman year, because I'm more of an Auburn guy now than an Arkansas guy."
Uzomah said that Frazier returning home will be a more emotional experience than Frazier has led on.
"I think it will be emotional for him, because he loves Arkansas, and going back there will mean the world to him," Uzomah said.
(10/28/13 1:04am)
For the second week in a row Auburn is ranked No. 11 in the BCS standings.
Auburn made its way back in the BCS rankings last week at No. 11 for the first time since being No. 25 in the final BCS standings of 2011.
The only other SEC schools ranked higher than Auburn was Alabama at No. 1, and Missouri at No. 9.
Auburn was also ranked No. 8 in the AP poll.
The Tigers will begin a tough four-game stretch this weekend at Arkansas, and then follow with Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama in the season finale.
If Auburn can win the remaining games on its schedule they will be SEC Western division champions and play in the SEC Championship game with a chance to play for the national championship.
(10/20/13 9:45pm)
Jamie McMurray in his Auburn and Cessna Aircraft sponsored car beat out NASCAR's most popular driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. on Sunday in the CAMPING WORLD RV SALES 500 at Talladega.
McMurray hung around in the back of the pack for most of the day trying to avoid to the big wreck that has made Talladega racing so famous over the years.
With 40 laps to go McMurray made his final pit stop and started making his way to the front.
Once McMurray made it to the lead, with a little more than 20 laps to go, he had to hold of Earnhardt for the win.
When the white flag flew with one lap to go rookie driver and third place car Austin Dillon made a move on Earnhardt for second place. When Dillon stepped out of line he lost control of his car and went flying into the backstretch wall bringing out the caution and sealing the victory for McMurray.
The victory was McMurray's second-career victory at Talladega.
"It's really cool to have Auburn University on the car with Cessna and McDonalds," said McMurray on ESPN following the race in victory lane.
McMurray's biggest achievement in his career was winning the 2010 Daytona 500.
McMurray's team sponsor Cessna Aircraft is a business partner of Auburn's, and the university is not paying for the logos to be on the car.
(10/20/13 12:16am)
After a high scoring game Auburn has upset the No. 7 Texas A&M Aggies 45-41in their first ever trip to College Station.
Auburn stayed in the game through most of the game, but heading into the fourth quarter Texas A&M had gained control of the game and taken a 10-point lead.
It looked as if Texas A&M would hold on for the victory, but then star quarterback Johnny Manziel went down with a shoulder injury.
Manziel's injury gave Auburn new life and they were able to overcome a 10-point deficit and regain the lead with a two-yard touchdown run by Cameron Artis Payne with 9:06 remaining in the game.
Even though Manziel was injured he would return to the field and help Texas A&M back to a 41-38 lead with 5:05 to go in the game.
After Texas A&M regained the lead Auburn would go on a 13 play 75-yard drive that was capped off with five-yard touchdown run from Tre Mason.
If Auburn would want to win they would have to hold Manziel and Texas A&M out of the endzone one final time with 1:19 remaining in the game.
With Manziel's injury bothering him on the final drive Auburn's Dee Ford would sack Manziel on fourth-and-18 with 11 seconds to go to seal the victory for the Tigers, and a huge win for head coach Gus Malzahn in his first season.
A big factor that lead to the victory was the Tigers' rushing attack that finished the day rushing for 379 yards with Mason and quarterback Nick Marshall both rushing for 100 yards each. Marshall also had a good day throwing the ball, finishing 11-of-23 for 236 yards and two touchdowns.
The two teams combined for 1,217 yards total offense led by by Auburn's 615.
(10/18/13 2:35am)
Daytona 500 winning NASCAR driver Jamie McMurray will be driving the No. 1 Earnhardt Ganassi owned Chevrolet decked out with the Auburn logo and Cessna Aircraft Company this weekend in the CAMPING WORLD RV SALES 500 at Talladega.
"I am excited to have the opportunity to carry the Auburn University colors on the No. 1 Chevy SS this weekend," McMurray said in a press release. "I know that there are a lot of Auburn Alumni and fans at Talladega every year, so hopefully we can give them something to cheer for on race day."
The Auburn University logo will adorn the hood and lower rear quarter panels on the Cessna car.
This is not the first time Auburn has had a car represent them for the Talladega race. In the 2011 spring race Michael Waltrip drove a car with the Auburn national championship logo.
Auburn does not have any direct ties to NASCAR, but mechanical engineering students do participate in motorsports.
Members of Auburn's War Eagle Motorsports teams participate in Formula SAE and Baja SAE collegiate competitions. Also, Auburn engineering graduates work in many forms of professional racing.
McMurray has five career top-five and six top-10 finishes at Talladega including one win in the 2009 running of the Camping World RV Sales 500.
(10/16/13 9:35pm)
At the 2013 SEC Basketball Media days, head men's basketball coach Tony Barbee stepped up to the microphone and said this year's team would be a "new look" team.
"We've got eight newcomers this year, and the veterans have worked hard to increase their games, but some of our newcomers are going to make the difference for us this year," Barbee said.
Auburn's eight newcomers will be KT Harrell, Dione Wade, Tahj Shamsid-Deen, Alex Thompson, Benas Griciunas, Chris Griffin, Ronald Delph and Matthew Atewe.
"Obviously KT Harrell, a transfer from Virginia, who sat out last year is going to have a major impact on our team," Barbee said. "Our point guard Tahj Shamsid-Deen from Atlanta, Georgia is just a winner. He's a two-time state champion and Mr. Basketball in the state of Georgia, and he's a kid that can run the team and score in a variety of different ways. I'm excited about all the newcomers."
Senior forward Allen Payne said all the new faces in the locker room have helped the overall chemistry of the team.
"Our chemistry is good, because of us incorporating so many new players," Payne said. "I think that's the biggest thing for us right now, but we'll just have to let it play out and see."
After last season's disappointing 9-23 season, Barbee said improving team chemistry was a big focus this offseason. To help with that Barbee went to someone outside the program for help.
"We brought in one of the leading sports psychologists in the country to work with us this summer on bonding and chemistry," Barbee said. "This team is as close as any team I've coached, so it's going to go a long way this year."
Barbee has worked with this particular psychologist with other teams in the past.
"To see the impact he has had on the chemistry on teams is, I think, where you turn the corner," Barbee said. "I've always had him in my back pocket, and I felt like this was the team that would benefit the most from him."
Prior to the beginning of media days, on Tuesday, Auburn was selected to finish last in the SEC by the media in the 2013-14 season. Putting what the team learned this summer from the psychologist into action.
"We don't really worry about where we should be," Payne said. "The biggest thing coach Barbee preaches to us is we are our own judge, and we stay in our own locker room and we don't worry about what everyone thinks. Personally I don't think we should be picked last, but I don't worry about those things."
The media are not the only ones who don't have confidence in what this team can do this season.
After last season many will have Barbee starting this season off on the hot seat.
"That doesn't mean a thing to me," Barbee said. "The only thing that matters is how I perform everyday in preparing this team, and I could care less about what anybody else thinks."
Payne said that outside voices talking about Barbee's future with the team does not bother the team at all.
"I'll speak for my team that we fully support and back our coach and have full confidence in what he's trying to do," Payne said.
Before Barbee stepped away from the microphone Tuesday he was asked if he had a message for the Auburn fans. His answer was simple.
"Just be patient, and this team will make you proud."
(10/13/13 5:01pm)
Auburn's 62-3 victory against Western Carolina earned the Tigers a 24th place ranking in this week's AP top 25 rankings.
This is the first time Auburn has been ranked since Nov. 6, 2011 when they were ranked No. 24 before the 45-7 loss to the Georgia Bulldogs.
Last week Auburn barely missed the top 25 when they came in at No. 26 after the 30-22 victory against Ole Miss.
Auburn's ranking sets up a top 25 matchup with No. 7 Texas A&M this week when the Tigers travel to College Station, Texas to take on the Aggies.
(10/12/13 10:52pm)
Highly touted freshman quarterback Jeremy Johnson lived up to his hype Saturday in his first start against Western Carolina.
Johnson finished the day completing 17-of-21 passes for 201 yards with one interception.
"It was great I enjoyed every minute of it," Johnson said after the game. "You never know when the opportunity will come, and I just want to give all the praise to my teammates and God."
The decision to start Johnson was not a game-time decision, but it was close. Johnson said he did not find out he was going to start until the team left for the hotel Friday.
"Coach Lashlee called me up to the front of the bus and asked me if I was ready and I said 'yes' and he said well we are going to start you on Saturday," Johnson said. "From that point on I just stayed focused."
Head coach Gus Malzahn was also pleased with Johnson's performance.
"I thought Jeremy did a solid job, and I thought he made some good decisions," Malzahn said. "Our line protected him extremely well, and he's been playing very well in practice and it carried over into today."
Even though the decision to play Johnson was made Friday, Malzahn said he had been thinking of playing Johnson for a couple of weeks.
"He's been in the mix for a couple weeks now, and our starter was not 100 percent healthy and we felt like it was a great time to get him in there and we feel like he can help us the rest of the season."
When players received the news Johnson would be the starter they had confidence he could step in and perform as well as Nick Marshall.
"Everybody was fine with it and we have confidence in Jeremy," said senior H-back Jay Prosch. "He's a guy that practices a lot, and he's always in there, so we were comfortable and fine with it."
Johnson replaced Nick Marshall who was injured against Ole Miss last week, and even with Johnson's performance Malzahn wanted to remind fans who the starter is.
"I want to make this clear that Nick Marshall is our starting quarterback," Malzahn said. "When Nick is 100 percent he will be back, but the great thing is we feel very good about Jeremy and it's great to get him some in game experience."
At this point, following tonight's win, Marshall's status for next week's game is still unknown, but if Johnson is asked to play, coaches and players feel confident he can produce.
"Yeah, for sure," Prosch said. "Nick is our starter, but I definitely believe Jeremy could step up and perform as well."
(10/11/13 11:03pm)
Freshman quarterback Jeremy Johnson will start in Saturday's game against Western Carolina instead of injured starter Nick Marshall head coach Gus Malzahn announced via Twitter on Friday.
"Nick Marshall is not 100 percent so we are going with Jeremy Johnson at QB tomorrow," Malzahn wrote. "We have a lot of confidence in him and he is well prepared."
Marshall injured his knee while running the football during the Ole Miss game last week.
Johnson was a highly touted high school recruit when he signed with the Tigers. He was named Mr. Football in the state of Alabama at the end of last season.
Marshall and Johnson both battled against each other for the starting job in fall camp before Marshall won the job.
(09/28/13 6:42pm)
One thing that has provided motivation for the men's basketball team this summer is proving doubters wrong.
Auburn was picked to finish last in the SEC this summer, and all that has done is motivate the team to rebound from last season's disappointing 9-23 record.
"All we are worried about is just winning and proving people wrong this year" said senior guard Chris Denson. "They've got us picked last in the SEC and that's just motivation for everybody in the locker room."
Head coach Tony Barbee does not put too much effort into worrying about preseason predictions.
"What other people think about you I never thought mattered," Barbee said. "It's what you think about yourself and what you believe you can accomplish. This group as a whole believes we can accomplish something special this year."
With the first official practice of the season being held Saturday morning, Sept. 28 at Auburn Arena, the Tigers are looking to continue from what has already been a successful summer.
Auburn traveled this summer to the Bahamas to participate in the Bahamas Basketball Federation Summer of Thunder Tournament, and the positives coming from the trip according to Tony Barbee were invaluable.
"Playing the games was invaluable, but more importantly the 10 days of practice we had for all the new guys puts us so far ahead of the curve right now, and it's good to be in that position," Barbee said.
Denson believes the time in the Bahamas was important because it allowed the team to hit the ground running on the first day of practice.
"It was real important, because we don't have to teach all the drills like we used to," Denson said. "With all the freshman coming in we didn't have to reteach stuff we just went right to it."
Being able to have the new players will be important for the Tigers after losing two of their best players from last season in Frankie Sullivan and Josh Wallace.
Six of the Tiger's 14 players are either freshman or transfers who have not seen much playing time. The extra time this summer will be much needed to get them acclimated to playing SEC basketball.
However, extra practice and game time was not the only benefit that came from the trip this summer.
Last season one of the biggest problems Auburn had was team chemistry. The goal of the Bahamas trip was to help build the team's chemistry and use it on the court this season.
"Last year it seemed like they didn't have that much chemistry, but this year that's our big thing is becoming brothers and building chemistry so we can be successful on the court," said freshman guard Tahj Shamsid-Deen.
Barbee can already see a difference from this year and last year's team.
"This is a hungry bunch, we've got competitors and guys that love competing and want to play at a high level and do it together," Barbee said.
Auburn will have another practice on Saturday afternoon, and will continue with two-a-days into next week.
Friday, Oct. 4 Auburn will host the inaugural Jungle Jam as a celebration of the beginning of the 2013-14 season.
Jungle Jam will not only include an introduction to the team, but will also feature entertainment by Mike Epps and Ludacris. The event will begin at 7 p.m. at Auburn Arena.
(09/22/13 5:28am)
After a rainy night in Baton Rouge, Auburn fell to the No. 6 LSU Tigers 35-21, dropping them to 3-1 on the season and 1-1 in SEC play.
The night started off looking good for Auburn after a couple nice runs from Tre Mason and a run after the catch from Ricardo Louis, but things quickly changed after a fumble from a bad exchange between Nick Marshall and Cameron Artis-Payne gave the ball to LSU.
After the fumble on the first drive LSU's Jeremy Hill scored on a 49-yard touchdown run to give LSU the early lead.
On the next series after the fumble Auburn punter Steven Clark mishandled the snap and was taken down at the 10-yard line setting LSU up with great field position.
Hill scored one play later and Auburn found themselves trailing 14-0 early in the first quarter.
"I think it was obvious that at the first of the game we didn't respond very well to the elements and to the crowd and we got ourselves in a hole," said head coach Gus Malzahn.
Auburn would trail LSU for the remainder of the game, but the Tigers continued to fight until the game ended.
"I am proud of our team coming back in the second half," Malzahn said. "They came back and battled. We did make some mistakes, and even though it hurts right now I think there are some good things out there that we could improve upon for the rest of the year."
One of the big things that hurt Auburn was LSU's Hill who finished the night rushing for 191 yards on 25 carries with three touchdowns.
It was the most rushing yards by a LSU player since 2004.
Most of Hill's rushing yards came in the first half when Auburn was having trouble with its run schemes.
"I feel like he got most of his yards in the first half," said linebacker Cassanova McKinzy. "We had a lot of schemes to try and confuse (LSU) and in the first half we had a lot of miss assignments, so we came out in the second half and made things real simple and just got after them."
A positive for Auburn from the beginning of the game to the end was running back Tre Mason who finished with 134 yards on 26 carries.
"Tre [Mason] is definitely a good back," Malzahn said. "He is a tough guy. He always wants the ball. I think whenever you want the football that is always a good thing, and he had a very solid night."
Not having such a great night was Marshall who finished the night going 17-of-33 for 132 yards and two interceptions.
"Nick never really got in a rhythm," Malzahn said. It was his first road game, and that first quarter it was raining pretty good, the ball was wet, we just never got in a rhythm in the first half."
Even with the Hill's great night, and the less than ideal weather conditions Auburn still continued to fight until the game was finished.
"That shows the potential of this team, and that just shows what we can do," said defensive end Dee Ford. "We just can't continue to fight from behind after shooting ourselves in the foot."
(09/21/13 1:00pm)
Last Saturday night's victory against the Mississippi State Bulldogs was a great victory for the Tigers.
It showed something that has been talked about since the first game against Washington State, and that was improvement.
Auburn showed more improvement against the Bulldogs than they have all season.
The biggest area of improvement was in the passing game.
Nick Marshall finished the game going 23-for-34 for 339 yards and two interceptions. Minus the interceptions, this was by far Marshall's best game, so far, in his Auburn career, and he showed poise and resiliency in the face of adversity.
Marshall was not the only one who made improvements in the passing game. Marshall had more help from his receivers than he has had all season. A total of eight different receivers had receptions against Mississippi State, and two of those receivers had not been very productive in the first two games. However, true freshman Marcus Davis and C.J. Uzomah, both played a big role in the final game-winning drive.
Statistically the defense still has work to do after giving up 427 yards to Mississippi State, but they are still making it tough for offenses to score points. Defense kept Auburn in the game by not allowing Mississippi State to get points when they had good field position in the fourth quarter.
This is a big improvement from last year.
This tendency needs to continue as conference play gets tougher each week.
The team should feel encouraged by their performance last week it could be short lived with them hav- ing to travel to Baton Rouge this week to take on the mighty bayou Bengals of LSU.
This will be the first bump in the road for the Tigers this season.
Going into the game, they will be overmatched at just about every position. The key will be if the Auburn coaches can come up with a good game plan to keep them in the game.
An advantage for Auburn is they have had to play two competitive games so far this season against Washington State and Mississippi State. LSU has only played one against TCU.
Auburn will go into this game expecting to compete, while LSU may not. They may overlook Auburn like last year, and if they do then Auburn will have an advantage.
The key will be how does Auburn respond to adversity in this game. If they make a mistake can they bounce back and act like it never happened?
They showed they can do that last week, but it was also in front of their home crowd. It will not be as easy to bounce back in Death Valley on Saturday night.
Although I think Auburn will go into Tiger Stadium and play a competitive game I don't think they have enough of an identity to beat LSU yet.
Marshall is still missing on big-play opportunities and the defense has shown holes in defending the run.
I think Auburn will stay in this game, but I see LSU puling away to a 35-21 win late in the fourth quarter.
(09/20/13 8:27pm)
Three-time Grammy Award winner Ludacris, and comedic actor Mike Epps will be coming to the Auburn Arena, Friday, Oct. 4 for the inaugural Jungle Jam Madness.
Epps will be hosting the event, and Ludacris will be performing.
Along with Epps and Ludacris, fans will also be introduced to 2013-14 basketball team.
The event will be punctuated with a slam-dunk contest, 3-point shooting contest and a scrimmage.
The Auburn cheerleaders, dancers, pep band and Aubie will also be there.
"More than anything, the Jungle Jam is about getting the students excited and fired up about basketball," Auburn Basketball coach Tony Barbee said. "At the end of the day, you need students to attend your games because they are the best and most loyal fans. We purposely moved this event to the night before the Auburn vs. Ole Miss football game at Jordan-Hare Stadium to make sure as many students would be on campus as possible."
A limited number of floor level seats will be available for Auburn University students. Having an official Jungle Jam wristband is the only way to get a floor level seat for the Jungle Jam.
Students may pick up their wristbands beginning Wed., Sept. 25 at 10 a.m., while the supply last, at the North Arena Box Office located next to the Auburn Team Shop at Auburn Arena. Students will need to show their Auburn Ignited Card to pick up their wristbands. Each student may pick up two wristbands per Ignited card. Floor level access will only be available using the Student Entrance at Auburn Arena.
Admission to the Jungle Jam will be free to everyone.
(09/16/14 9:38pm)
Last week's win against Arkansas State was a good win for the Tigers, but more improvement is still necessary.
The good news for Auburn fans is improvements are being made.
Auburn finished with 301 yards rushing against Arkansas State, which was slightly more than week one's rushing total of 297 yards.
However, in the second game, the ground game was more solid.
All three running backs got involved, and Cameron Artis-Payne was better at getting the tough yards between the tackles.
Nick Marshall is still a work in progress, but he played better in game two, going 10-for-17 for 167 yards with two touchdown passes and 65 yards rushing.
He looked more comfortable, but he still needs to make quicker passing decisions, because the game is only going to get faster as Auburn transitions into SEC play.
The biggest factor for Marshall is he still has not thrown an interception. This trend needs to continue.
Defensively, Auburn still has a lot of holes, but against Arkansas State they showed more fight than an Auburn defense has shown in a long time.
Stopping the Red Wolves three times on fourth down was nice to see, especially against a team that runs the ball well.
Further, not allowing any touchdowns and forcing Arkansas State to only score field goals was a big defensive improvement.
This defense still has a long way to go, but improvements are being made and they need to continue to be made.
Now it's time for Mississippi State.
This is an important game for Auburn, and it has been for a few years.
Auburn will be looking to snap a 10-game losing streak against SEC opponents this week.
Also, this is a game that will determine the ceiling for this year's team.
Because Auburn has many games this season it's considered underdogs in, Auburn needs to win both favored games, and toss up games against teams such as Mississippi State.
Auburn also has the revenge factor working in its favor.
Last season, Mississippi State embarrassed the Tigers, and gave a glimpse into how bad the 2012 season was going to be. This season, Auburn will be looking to get revenge on the Bulldogs and kick the SEC season off right.
A big factor for Mississippi State is the playing status of their quarterback Tyler Russell. He suffered a concussion in week one against Oklahoma State, and did not play last week against Alcorn State.
Russell torched Auburn's defense last year, throwing for 222 yards and three touchdowns. If Auburn does not find a way to contain him this year, it will be a long day for the Tigers' defense.
Replacing Russell last week was freshman Dak Prescott who went 12-for-19 for 174 yards in the 51-7 victory against Alcorn State. Prescott is a solid quarterback, but Russell will be much tougher to defend.
This game is a tough one to predict, but home-field advantage should work in Auburn's favor.
If Auburn wants to walk away with a victory, the run game will need to be effective, and turnovers on the defensive side of the ball will help out as well.
This game will be a close, physical, game that could be decided late in the fourth quarter.
Auburn wins this game 24-20, but it will be a tough victory.
Auburn's defense must make big plays because the offense does not have enough firepower to take control of a game yet.
Revenge will be a big motivator because Auburn wants its respect back in the SEC, and this week will be a good first step on the journey back up the SEC ladder.
(09/15/13 3:45pm)
Auburn ended its 10-game SEC losing streak with a wild come from behind, 24-20, victory over the Mississippi State Bulldogs.
"We talked before the game that it could come down to the end. A lot of these games with Mississippi State have, and I said we've got to find a way to win," said head coach Gus Malzahn.
With 1:56 to go in the game Auburn had the ball on its own 12-yard line trailing Mississippi State 20-17.
"The atmosphere was we've got the ball and we're going down and score," said receiver Quan Bray. "No less than three (points) we were trying to win the ball game."
And that's exactly what the offense did.
Auburn drove the ball 88 yards and scored the game-winning touchdown with a Nick Marshall 10-yard pass to tight end C.J. Uzomah with 10 seconds left in the game.
"It was unbelievable," Uzomah said. "When I caught the ball I looked up and saw everybody on their feet and I could not hear one thing, everybody was jumping on me and all I could hear was the 80,000 roaring."
Marshall finished the winning drive going 6-for-8 for 66 yards and 19 yards rushing. "Coach told me to just go out there and be cool calm and collected, and don't rush anything," Marshall said. "I just took his word and took with the defense gave me and executed."
Also coming up big on the final drive was true freshman receiver Marcus Davis who caught four of Marshall's six passes on the final drive.
"Marcus is a guy that, he's a freshman, but he's not playing like a freshman," Malzahn said. "He's really stepped up and you'll see him on the field more."
The victory ended Auburn's 10-game SEC losing streak. Auburn's last SEC victory came against Ole Miss in 2011.
"Yeah, you know we did not talk about that one time," Malzahn said. "We just talked about this year. You know, a new start, a new beginning, a new day, and our guys really bought into it. When you win your first SEC game, it gives you great momentum, and I'm really proud of our guys, and the way they got that done tonight."
Even though the team was not worried about ending the losing streak it still feels good for them to be 3-0.
"Especially coming off last year going 3-9 and this year we've already won three games, it feels real good," Bray said. "We just have to take this and run with it and come back tomorrow and think about LSU."