Recruiting update

Auburn has, again, come through with a couple of big commitments today in 3-star defensive lineman Sigler from B.C. Rain High School in south Alabama and a 4-star RB from Florida, Tre Mason.  This gives Auburn 21 commits and a #5 ranking in Scout.com's rankings.  I believe Auburn is 6th on Rivals.  Auburn should finish with another 5-star safety in Erique Florence from Valley and possibly 4-star TE Fulse and 4-star DL Gabe Wright.  This will push Auburn to a top 5 ranking (at least) for the 2nd year in a row, which is something new for us.  Auburn has never recruited this good for consecutive years and it is just setting the foundation for success for the future.  Signing day is Wednesday, Feb 2 and I will let you know how things turn out.

Celebration in Jordan-Hare and recruiting

I got the privilege of being able to attend the National Championship celebration today in JHS in Auburn.  This was a minor respite for me not being able to make the game in Arizona, but nonetheless, it was an awesome time.  I was able to meet up with some friends from work and we all got to sit together and freeze our rear ends off together.  The high temp was supposed to be around 47 but i dont think it ever got that high.  When i got back in my car after it was over, the thermometer read 44, but with the wind blowing like crazy and sitting in the shade for most of the ceremony it was more like 35.  It was a really good time and I am so so so so glad that I was there.  Jay Jacobs MC'd it and there were other speakers such as Jay Gouge (the president of AU), Gordon somebody who is the president of the AU letterman club, Robert Bentley (governor of AL), David Housel (former AU AD), Lloyd Nix (QB of the 1957 national champs) and players Kodi Burns, Nick Fairley and Cam Newton.  Gene Chizik also spoke and thanked God; I love it when he does that.  It will be something I will always remember and will be able to tell my grandkids about someday.

Now, on to recruiting.  Auburn has done a monster job these past two weeks in bringing in some major talent.  Robinson Therezie, a big-time DB verballed during the Army All-Star game as did LB Kris Frost.  Just this past Friday, Christian Westerman, the 3rd best OL in the country from Arizona decommitted from Texas and verballed to AU.  Unreal! We stole one from TEXAS??!!  Oh yeah, almost forgot, Auburn also stole another big-time recruit from bama in Brent Calloway.  He is a five star LB/RB that had been committed to bama since the summer and decided he wanted to be an Auburn Tiger.  This weekend AU hosted alot of prospects and some that were not supposed to be here but showed up anyway.  Erique Florence from Valley was supposed to be in Tuscaloosa but canceled his visit and came to AU instead and Sigler was supposed to be in LSU this weekend but also canceled and came to the celebration.  This looks good for AU.  It is really hard to know what a 17-18 year old kid is going to do as far as which school he is going to pick.  I dont envy the decision these kids have to make:  which school to go to for the next 4-5 years of their life.  Big, big decisions that could make or break their future careers.  I think AU will get their share of big-time players and will be good for years to come.  Gene Chizik has built this program into a contender based on love for each other and love for the game.  I cant wait to see how the next 10 days of recruiting plays out.  Should be fun...

BCS Championship Review

It is obvious now that I did not go to the game.  Oh, I wanted to go, but there was just no way that I could justify paying that much money and leaving my wife at home with three kids who are 3 years and younger.  I am, however, jealous of the ones that did get to go.  If you didnt know, Sunday before the game we had a bit of what we call in the South "weather".  We had a pretty bad ice storm sweep through Birmingham and the surrounding areas that completely shut down the city.  The airport, too was closed and most all flights out Monday were canceled.  There were many people that did not get out and had to eat the tickets they spent so much money on.  Most did make it, though, and Auburn fans showed up in droves to the game.  I heard that the ratio of Auburn fans to Oregon fans ranged about 3:1 or so.  It was probably around a 63-35 or 70-30 split inside the stadium, or at least thats the way it looked on tv.  Needless to say, there were many Auburn fans there supporting the team and looking for a victory to cap off a great season.

Oregon won the toss and elected to receive the ball.  Auburn forced a 3 and out and I immediately felt better about the game.  Auburn had stopped the might mighty duck offense and now Auburn is going to get the ball and drive down and score.  Um, no.  Auburn got a first down on the first play but thats about it.  Cam forced a ball into double coverage (like earlier this season) while Kodi Burns streaked uncovered down the field and it was intercepted by all-Pac10 Cliff Harris.  Oregon did us a favor by throwing a couple of interceptions too so the first quarter was a turnover-fest and ended with no one scoring.  Oregon, in all their offensive splendor, did not score a single point against a much maligned defense.  Oregon did drive it down deep into AU territory on the next series but Auburn forced OU to a field goal and the score was 3-0.  Auburn took the ensuing kickoff and marched down the field getting first downs with the pass and run (mostly due to Cam's scrambling ability).  Auburn had, I believe, a second down and Cam threw the ball down the field.  It was overthrown a bit, but Cliff Harris made an amazing diving catch while falling out of bounds around the 10.  At the time it happened, the refs called it incomplete because he did not have possession of the ball before he went out, but of course they reviewed the call.  When I saw the review, it looked like he made an incredible play and had possession, but the refs could not find enough evidence to overturn the call, so Auburn ball.  The next play Cam found Kodi Burns over the middle and Kodi made a great move to juke the safety and then outran everybody else into the endzone for his first receiving touchdown of the year.  After everything Kodi has been through, I am so glad he got a TD in his last game and being in the BCS game, it means that much more.  Auburn went up 7-3.  Oregon did score again and made it 9-7 and lined up for the extra point.  Herbstreit kept talking about how OU liked to go for 2 after their first TD and sure enough, OU faked the extra point.  AU had it covered really well but our end didnt cover the man he was supposed to cover thus allowing the ball to be pitched and the 2 point conversion successful.  Zac Etheridge was supposed to cover the kicker and allow the inside LB to race and get the holder (who had the ball).  Zac took the holder and so he pitched it back to the kicker.  Bates couldnt get to the kicker in time before he was able to score, so the score was 11-7.  Auburn took the ball and was able to move down inside the 5 yard line.  On first down, AU ran it with Cam and got to the 2.  Dyer ran it for no gain and Cam rushed to the 1 on third down.  That set up a 4th and 1 from the 1.  Auburn lined up in the jumbo package but on the snap, Cam stepped back to throw to a wide open Eric Smith.  Cam short armed the throw and Eric wasnt able to hold on so OU stopped AU from scoring.  On the second play from OU's one yard line, LaMichael James was tackled by Mike Blanc in the endzone for a safety.  Auburn had cut the lead to 11-9 and was about to receive the ball.  Auburn drove down to the OU's 30.  Cam dropped back and had lots of pressure.  He found Emory Blake streaking down the sideline, beating the defensive end that had dropped into coverage because the corners had blitzed.  Blake caught it and scored a TD with less than a minute remaining in the first half to give AU the lead 16-11.  That's how the first half ended.

In the second half, Auburn took the ball and was driving again but stalled and had to settle for a field goal to make the score 19-11.  After that, no one scored again until late in the 4th.  Auburn did stuff Oregon 4 straight times from inside the AU 3 yard line for a goal line stand.  Nick Fairley made huge plays and the defense did an outstanding job in containing the OU offense and only allowed James 49 yards rushing.  He averages about 160 ypg.  AUsome!!!!  With about 5 min to go in the game, Auburn had the ball and only had to run out the clock to win the game.  Casey Matthews chased down Cam on a QB draw and popped the ball out and OU recovered.  With that huge momentum change, OU took the ball down and scored a TD and converted their second two point conversion of the night to tie the game 19-19.  Auburn had about 2.5 min to get into field goal range and give one of the best clutch field goal kickers in AU history a chance to win the championship.  On the second play, Mike Dyer took the ball and was spun down on top of an OU defender and popped right back up.  He hesitated for a second and then kept running all the way down to the 25 yard line.  Of course, the play was reviewed because everyone thought he was down, but the review showed that Mike's knee never hit and he kept only his hand on the ground.  It was the correct call and AU was in business!  On third down, Dyer got the ball again and broke through the line and raced down to the one where he was, again, spun down and thrown into the endzone.  The original call was a TD which sent me into a complete frenzy!  The call was reversed because this time his knee was down at the 1/2 yard line.  AU let the clock run down to 2 seconds and Wes Byrum kicked it through for a 3 point AU Championship win.  It was so awesome and hopefully wont be the last time that this happens. 

There are so many players that have been so vital to this team and I want to dedicate a post to them so that will hopefully be my next one.  It has been an awesome week and I will continue to relish in this for a long time.  It's still sinking in: AU National Champs! 

BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!!

This picture pretty much sums it up for me as an Auburn fan: family.  Right now, it really hasnt sunk in how awesome and perfect this season really was and how long we have waited for this championship.  Auburn was shafted in 1983 when the #3 Tigers beat Michigan in the Sugar Bowl while the #1 and #2 teams lost.  Instead of Auburn moving up to #1 (like they should have) #5 Miami was moved ahead of them.  Miami beat the then #1 Nebraska because Nebraska went for two after they scored a touchdown to cut the Miami lead to one.  Miami held them and won the game and the national championship.

In 1993, Auburn was on probation and ineligible for postseason play.  They were not, however, ineligible to be voted #1 or win the championship. Auburn beat the defending national champs (Alabama) and the then #1 Florida Gators.  The Tigers did not get a chance to prove they were the best and were only voted to #3.

In 2004, Auburn was streaking toward the end of the year, playing the best ball of anyone in the country.  Auburn played a top ten Georgia team in the next-to-last game of the year and absolutely waxed them.  Georgia scored 6 points and they shouldnt have even done that.  Auburn was so dominating that the voters put Auburn #2 in the BCS, tied with Oklahoma and behind USC.  Auburn traveled to Tuscaloosa the next week and played a very gritty bama team in the pouring rain.  Auburn struggled early, but put bama away in the third quarter.  Bama scored a late meaningless TD to put the score at 21-13 but voters who didnt watch the game saw the score and thought the game was alot closer than it was.  Bama didnt even cross the 50 one time in the second half until that late TD drive against AU's 2nd string.  Auburn beat UT in the SEC championship but allowed them to come back and cut the lead to 10 late in the game.  Same situation here, AU dominates but allows some late scores and the voters think that the game is closer than it is.  AU stays at #3 and doesnt get a chance to play for it all.

This year, Auburn controlled their own destiny and took care of business the whole way round. Overcoming deficits, dispelling hack reporting, not listening to the people doubting and beating probably more talented teams was what this team did this year.  I am going to go through a list of one play in each game that defined the AU perfect season:

Ark St. - Cam escaping pressure and running around for what seemed like forever while the line blocked their butts off and it ends with around a 70 yard TD scramble.

Miss St. - Going into a tough environment and beating a good Bulldog team.  Emory Blake catching a screen pass and then keeping his feet moving while being tackled and falling into the endzone.

Clemson - Falling behind by 17 and coming back and never giving up.  Picture of things to come.

South Carolina - Again falling behind and coming back.  Sorry, but I've got two: Cam's run and dive into the endzone for the first TD of the game and setting up him being the go-to-guy for AU. #2 is Josh Bynes and Demond Washington and the AU Defense stepping up and getting 4 HUGE turnovers to seal the victory.

Louisiana Monroe - first AU game for my 3yo daughter and Cam threw a 97 yard TD pass and didnt run once!

Kentucky - after getting out to a big lead, UK came back and tied the game late.  Auburn then drove the length of the field in about 71/2 min and kicked the game winning field goal to go 6-0.

Arkansas - Getting two fourth quarter turnovers to seal a victory in the highest non-OT scoring game in SEC history.

LSU - Cam's half-the-field run through and over and by the LSU defense, including Pat Patterson, on his way to a TD and elevating himself to the Heisman favorite.

Ole Miss - After being newly crowned #1 in the BCS that week, Cam's TD catch from Kodi Burns while dispelling the notion that it was going to be a let down Saturday in the Grove.

Chattanooga - the week the allegations were released.  Auburn came out with a workmanlike effort and gave the starters the rest they needed for Amen Corner.

Georgia - allegations in full swing, would Cam play? would the season be shot? Could Auburn rise above it an actually win?  Yes, Auburn scores a bunch and Fairley abuses Aaron Murray.

Alabama - being down 24 points, Auburn storms back and wins by one.  The play that signifies the season for AU is Antoine Carter running down Mark Ingram (2009 Heisman winner) and knocking the ball out of his hands and into the endzone for a touchback.  The second best was the second play from scrimmage in the 2nd half where Cam threw a 70 yard TD pass to T Zac that cut the lead to 10 and put AU right back in it.

SEC Championship vs South Carolina - After USC scored to cut the AU lead to 7 right before half, AU launched a hail mary into the endzone as time expired and Darvin Adams caught the tipped ball for a TD and a backbreaking momentum shift.

BCS National Championship vs Oregon - I would say it has to be Mike Dyer's run after it appeared he had been tackled but his knee never hit the ground.  Oregon stopped but Mike didnt and he kept running til he put us in field goal range.  The defense played great and held Oregon to 30 points below their season average.

It's great to be an Auburn Tiger!  In my next few posts, hopefully, I will give an overview of the game and where Auburn stands for recruiting this year (so far very good) and how the team may look next year.  Cant wait to celebrate with my friends that got to go to the game! Til next time....WAR EAGLE!

BCS Championship Game

Tomorrow night is when it all begins.  We can finally stop talking about it and get down to actually playing the game.  Auburn is still about a 2 1/2 point favorite which basically means it's a pickem game.  Auburn comes into the game at 13-0 having won the SEC Championship and beating 5 teams ranked in the top 25 including a 24 point come-from-behind victory at Bryant-Denny Stadium.  Oregon has beaten one ranked team.  I will spare you the usual comparisons that you have heard for the past 37 days and tell you what I think will be the keys to winning the game for Auburn.

Yes, Auburn is bigger but that doesnt mean that Auburn will be able to control the line of scrimmage.  I think that will be the key, however.  Auburn needs to attack the interior of the Duck defensive line and run right at them.  Oregon will try and contain Newton from breaking long runs at all costs so if Auburn can execute the read-draw successfully with Dyer or McCalebb, Auburn will have a big game on offense.  The Ducks will also load the box so that will leave man-to-man coverage on the receivers.  That has usually meant success for the passing game so if Cam is on at all and the receivers dont drop any gimme catches, Auburn will explode.  The Ducks will do the same thing on offense; trying to run and do alot of misdirection to try and keep the Auburn defense off balance.  LaMichael James is very good and quick so Auburn will try and keep him under wraps.  This may mean, in the beginning, Oregon will get some good gains while Auburn tries to figure out the Ducks.  Thomas can pass too and he spreads the ball around better than most QB's.  He doesnt run much but is very effective when he decides to take off with the ball.  Auburn must do a good job of containing him on the edges or he will kill us. 

I think Auburn will play really well and even tho they will give up some points to Oregon, I do not think the Ducks can stop Auburn.  The only thing that can stop Auburn is Auburn and I believe that the time is now for Auburn to finish it off.  When Auburn has reached 11-0, they have never finished the season with a loss and I dont expect it to happen now.  Prediction: Oregon 41 Auburn 45

I want to end this entry with something I wrote for another blog site called auburnwinitfor.blogspot.com.  It is a site where you can write your own entry about who you want Auburn to win it for and why.  Here is mine:

Win it for the "Cardiac Kids" of 72, win for "Bo over the top", win it for "The Reverse", win it for "First time ever", win it for "Eleven and Oh!", win it for "The interception game", win it for all the close losses we have had as well.  Win it for Jim Fyffe who passed way too early and provided us with so many memorable moments on the radio (esp in 93).

Win it for the Auburn family who has suffered with living with Bama "fans" their whole lives.  Win it for the men and women serving here and abroad who will never get another chance to see their beloved Tigers play.  Win it for the 1992, 1998, 1999 and 2008 teams that went through the muck and played their guts out only to see the opposition come out on top.  They went through coaching changes, player rebellions, fans booing and still suited up and played with the pride and determination that defines an AU man.  They laid the foundation for the 93, 2001, 2004, 2006 and 2010 teams to be successful. 

Win it for my mom and dad who went to AU in the 70's and suffered through the Barfield era.  They are the biggest AU fans I know and were 3 the last time AU won the championship.  Win it for my grandmother who is 85, a HUGE AU fan who may not ever get another chance to see this.  Win it for your wives, sons, daughters and/or family who dont get to see you due to your sacrifice of many hours spent practicing/studying film and in the classroom. 

Above all, win it for Auburn because Auburn signifies all that we hold dear.  "And because Auburn men and women believe in these things, I believe in Auburn and love it."

War Eagle and bring home the trophy!!

Christmas recap

Well, here is the long awaited Christmas entry.  We had a really good time as we watched the kids open presents and play with the toys that Santa brought.  We were so blessed to be able to give the kids alot this year and we really really loved the screams and laughter as they tore open the gifts and played with them.  Speaking of Christmas gifts, the puppy has been staying at my in-laws (which was the original plan) for the last couple weeks and will continue until probably this Sunday.  She has been doing alot better about going to the bathroom but she still has accidents from time to time. 

We went to my parents' house around 10 and opened more presents and visited with my grandmother who came in from Atlanta.  We then went to my other grandmother's house and ate lunch and opened even more gifts, oh yeah, and we also ate a ton!  We left there and went to my in-laws where we ate again and yes, opened some more gifts.  We are so very blessed!  Im going to try and post some pics as soon as i can put them on the computer.  Til next time...

Sugar Bowl

okay, okay, so i was wrong about last night.  wow, was i ever!  Stanford came and dominated, especially in the 2nd half.  Even though the score was 13-12 at half, Stanford had multiple chances to extend the lead but mistakes and penalties didnt help any.  Now, to the Sugar Bowl.

Other than the BCS NCG, this is the game I am most looking forward to.  This matchup is great!  The Big 10 vs SEC, high powered offense vs good defense, Terrell Pryor vs Ryan Mallett.  I cant wait!  The keys to the game are simple: run and stop the run.  I think that with Arkansas' newly founded running game this year, Ohio St will have to try and stop the run some so that will open up the passing game.  I expect Arky to have a huge game passing the ball and Ohio St. also struggling to stop the run at times.  Ohio St. counters with a very fast and big defense that has played well when put to the test this year.  On offense, the Buckeyes are pretty good with Pryor passing and especially when he takes off and runs.  He single-handedly beat Iowa with a last second drive and their run game is 14th in the nation.  They play really hard-nosed and disciplined.  That being said, they are 0-9 vs the SEC in the last 9 games including two national championship games.  I am very interested to see Arky defense trying to stop Ohio St.  Remember, this is the same team that gave up 65 points to Auburn back in early October.  Should be fun.  Prediction: OSU 31 Arkansas 42

Orange Bowl

Tonight in Miami, The Cardinal of Stanford kicks off against the Virginia Tech Hoakies in the Orange Bowl.  This is one of the more intriguing matchups for me.  Stanford has Andrew Luck, a Heisman finalist and probable #1 pick in the upcoming NFL draft, playing QB and Virginia Tech has Tyrod Taylor and a pretty good D.  You remember VT losing early to Boise St. and then to James Madison to start the season 0-2?  Yeah, all VT has done is win the next 11 and the ACC title.  Pretty good finish after an abysmal start with everyone writing off Beamer and saying that he had lost his magical touch in Blacksburg.  So much for that!  Stanford has one of the hottest coaches in America right now and I would not be surprised if, after the game, Harbaugh is on his way to Ann Arbor to be the next coach of the Wolverines.  He is a Michigan man and would fit in nicely up there, not to mention the fact that they love him.  Stanford played Oregon really well earlier this year, until midway through the 3rd quarter and that's when Oregon really poured it on. 

I think this game comes down to if Stanford can stop Taylor and the VT passing attack.  I believe Stanford will have trouble scoring so if VT moves the ball and scores, game over.  VT always has some special teams play that shifts the momentum of the game so look for that tonight.  Stanford is playing really well right now but I have to go with the Hoakies and their 11 straight wins.  Prediction:  Stanford 17 VT 29

Happy New Year and BCS games!

First off, Happy New Year to everyone!  I hope that it is filled with joy and grace.  Annnnnnnnd, it's the start of the BCS bowls!  Today is a full slate of bowls including the Rose and Fiesta Bowl.  The Rose features two really good teams in Wisconsin and TCU.  Wisconsin may be the hottest team north of the Mason-Dixon line right now.  They have been absolutely throttling teams scoring points like Oregon but more.  TCU is the only other undefeated team in the nation that isn't playing in the BCS Championship Game.  TCU has a stellar defense only allowing something like 10 total points in the second half of the last 5 games (or something unreal like that).  It is a clash of the two strengths.  TCU does have a pretty good offense, being able to score points and keep pressure on the other team.  Wisconsin's D has played well this year save the Michigan St. and Iowa games, but they did hold Ohio St. to 18 points.  TCU really didnt struggle against anyone except San Diego St. where they had to come from behind and stop a rally late in the game.  This should be a stellar game and personally, I really do hope Wisconsin wins.  Im definitely not a Big 10 homer but TCU has not played the competition Auburn or even Oregon has played and for the folks at ESPN to continue to push TCU and say they should be in the big game is ludicrous.  Would they play well?  Would they have a chance to win? Yes and yes, but for them to go over Auburn or Oregon?  Two words: No Way!  It would be nice if Wisconsin won and put to rest the talk.  I expect it to be a close game with Wisconsin really trying to establish the running game and TCU stopping it for the most part.  If Wisconsin can adjust and pass well, they will win.  If not, TCU will score enough to beat the Badgers.  Prediction : My head screams TCU but my heart says Wisconsin 27 TCU 26.

The Fiesta Bowl may be the biggest farce in college football this year.  The Big East has an automatic bid (God knows why) and they produced an 8-4 champion in Connecticut who lost to Temple (yes, they have a football team. more on that in a minute) and got shut out by Louisville.  Oklahoma has struggled this year at times but still is really good with Landry Jones at QB.  Back to Temple:  they went 8-4 this year, beat UCONN and still did not get selected for a bowl.  WHAT!!!???  so 6-6 Tennessee did and 6-6 UTEP (who, by the way, went 3-5 in the Mountain West!!!!) got selected.  Unbelievable!  Anyway, this will not be a repeat of the disaster that was UO getting beat by Boise St. in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl.  UCONN is not nearly as good as that Boise St. was.  Unless UO completely falls apart and the world is shifted on its axis, UCONN has no chance.  If they do win, I will be the first to say I was wrong, but highly unlikely. 

Good times today.  I did promise an update on Christmas and it's coming.  Very busy trying to put up decorations and wrangle 3 kids.  Til next time.....