Houston, TX, Friday October 18th, 2013, 5 PM. My wife, Melodye, and I are sitting in our little white Toyota Yaris on the parking lot that is I-10. We are hoping to get to our hotel, on the west side of the sprawling megalopolis, at some point that evening. Why does it seem like we ALWAYS hit the largest cities at rush hour? Oh well…

Tomorrow our 5-1, 24th ranked Auburn Tigers will go to war with the 7th ranked Texas A&M Aggies. If I said we overly excited and charged with eager anticipation it would be an understatement.+

The year before I had spent two weeks working in Houston as an inspector for AAA. That second week I had camped out at a Fairfield Inn By Marriott that we were attempting to reach on this pleasant Friday afternoon. I knew the lay of the land well and just wanted to get there.+

Sigh… COME ON TRAFFIC!!! MOVE!!!+

We FINALLY reach our destination well after six o’clock and were chomping at the bit to unpack and walk to a popular Mexican eatery I had come to enjoy back in 2012. But the bottom fell out and we had to drive the very short distance. The place was packed. The food was quite good. The drinks were cold and they helped to temper our mood which was now building to a fever pitch.+

When we got in our car the prior day, late Thursday after Mel arrived home from teaching school, I turned to her and said, “We are going to Texas for ONE reason and that is TO WIN THIS FOOTBALL GAME!!!” We then, in unison, went into a big WAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRR EAGLE!!! HEY!!! And off we headed to Mobile, AL to spend that night.+

It is now Saturday morning. We woof down some bacon, eggs and biscuits and we bound off to the Yaris for the hour plus trip to College Station. We arrive several hours before the 2:30 PM kickoff. The game is to be televised by CBS with Verne Lundquist doing the play by play and Gary Danielson taking care of the color duties.+

We park in the back yard of some student’s house just off George Bush Drive. Now it’s time to explore the Aggieland campus. It is a lovely place and HUGE. The enrollment is somewhere north of 50,000. You can smell the oil money.+

The massive end zone facade of Kyle Field rises before us, jutting regal into the pale blue lone star sky. We begin our walk and we glide with our feet, seemingly, off the ground. I get a lump in my throat, as I always do when I arrive as a first time visitor on the opposition’s ground. +

Wipe your eyes and take a deep breath Bird. It’s on!!!+

Now let me say this… we have been to EVERY campus in the SEC, except Missouri, and most of them multiple times. But we have NEVER been treated so warmly as we were in College Station. Great folks! We will make every effort to return there in 2015.+

So, after a few beverages and some great conversations we make our way to the stadium for the Tiger Walk. It turns out that the Tigers actually won’t be allowed to walk. The buses will drive through the throngs of people and pull into a fenced-in area beside Kyle Field and they will disembark there.+

Ok, the Auburn cheerleaders lead us in a few ‘War Eagles’ ‘Bodda Gettas’ and ‘Two Bits’. The band plays. And then we hear some sirens and spot the buses headed our way. There are a great many of the Auburn faithful here and they scream, shout and wave their shakers vigorously.+

We are very near the front of the crowd lining the street. Now the first bus moves toward us and we can see inside. There on the front seat, beside the driver and sitting by himself, is head coach Gus Malzahn. BOOM!!!+

The caravan rolls in and disappears from sight. The electricity is palpable now. Two hours until kickoff. Let’s grab a couple of bracers and find our way to the heights of the upper deck in the north end zone.+

We make our way through gate 11 and up to section 505, row 30, seats 1 and 2. End seats, just like our permanent spot in Jordan-Hare, thank you baby Jesus!+

Inhale… exhale… inhale… exhale. Now compose yourself and focus Bird.+

Wait, I can hear the starting lineups being broadcast over the PA system. The announcer is doing the A&M offensive first eleven. “At quarterback number 2, Johnny Manziel.” GULP!!! Chill bumps. GULP again.+

Well sports fans, you know what happens from here. High drama deep in the heart of Texas! The game goes back and forth and back and forth. How on earth did Johnny Football make that throw to Mike Evans? Did Sammie Coates just toss that defender like it was nothing? Can we at least slow them down? What a catch by Marcus Davis!!! Tre Mason! They reviewed it! He scored!!! Oh crap! There’s still well over a minute left. That’s an eternity for the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner to march the Aggies down the field. He did.+

BUT… Kris Frost runs Manziel down over on the left sideline. Oh mercy It’s 4th down! Manziel is back to pass… wait wait wait… he’s being chased by Dee Ford like a heat seeking missile… HE’S SACKED!!! +

Auburn wins!!! Auburn wins!!! Auburn wins!!!+

Auburn 45, Texas A&M 41+

The Tigers rush the field! They are leaping and hugging and crying tears of joy!!+

I sprint up and down the steep steps and bear hug my bride and our tears of joy flow as well!!!+

The band plays War Eagle over and over!!!+

I think this Gus Bus thing IS FOR REAL!!!+

We’re back!!!

Last week we took a look at the Gus Bus at the halfway point of the season. The emphasis was what lay ahead for Coach Malzahn and his Tigers. This week will feature a potpourri of stats, past years at this stage of the season and a prediction for the upcoming South Carolina game.

A comparison of a few stats from this year vs. the 2013 season:

2014 Offense
Yards rushing 1572
Yards passing 1355
Total offense 2927
Average per game 487.8
Points per game 38.8

2014 Defense
Rushing yards allowed 724
Passing yards allowed 1278
Total yards allowed 2002
Average per game 333.7
Points allowed per game 18.3

2013 Offense
Yards rushing 1724
Yards passing 1123
Total offense 2847
Average per game 474.5
Points per game 34.3

2013 Defense
Rushing yards allowed 878
Passing yards allowed 1517
Total yards allowed 2395
Average per game 399.2
Points per game 18.8

So… This year the Auburn offense has more passing yards, total offensive yards, yards per game and points per game than in 2013.

The defense has allowed less rushing yards, passing yards, total yards, yards per game and points per game. Rushing yards is the only area where the 2013 team exceeded the 2014 team output, and that is only by 152 yards.

From looking at these statistics and watching this year’s team perform, I think Auburn is improved over last year. The Tigers also have more experience, talent and depth. The coaches and players are also more comfortable with each other and the system.

Those numbers being what they are, and with the 2014 team passing the eye test, we must ask ourselves some pointed questions.

How is team chemistry compared to 2013? Is the hunger and desire at the same intensity? What about all the intangibles that really cannot be measured like numbers can be measured? And last but not least… What about good old fashioned luck?

As far as the record goes, this year’s team and last year’s team both found themselves at five wins and one loss after six games. Now let’s take a look back at what past Auburn squads were 5-1 and what transpired afterward. We will begin with Shug Jordan’s first season on The Plains, 1951. You will find below the final record for each season, followed by the SEC record including bowl games:

1951 (5-5, 3-4) 1959 (7-3, 4-3) 1960 (8-2, 5-2) 1962 (6-3-1, 4-3) 1970 (9-2, 5-2) 1972 (10-1, 6-1) 1979 (8-3, 4-2) 1982 (9-3, 4-2) 1983 (11-1, 6-0) 1985 (8-4, 3-3) 1988 (10-2, 6-1) 1996 (8-4, 4-4) 2000 (9-4, 6-2) 2001 (7-5, 5-3) 2005 (9-3, 7-1) 2006 (11-2, 6-2) 2009 (8-5, 3-5)

It is somewhat intriguing that Auburn found itself with the exact same record, and a darn good record after six games, nineteen times since Ralph “Shug” Jordan prowled the sidelines.

If I could compare AU’s 2013 contingent with any team on that list it would be the 1972 group, The Amazins. And it is no small wonder that these are my two favorite Auburn teams EVER.

How about the 2014 Auburn Tigers? What team, from years past, do they most resemble? Well, regular season, record wise, we will know by the evening of November 29th when the Iron Bowl has been completed. But what do we see when we gaze into the crystal ball?

When one considers ALL factors it appears, from this angle, that the 2014 Auburn Tigers might align themselves somewhere just north of the 2005 and 2006 teams and just south of the 1983 and 1988 squads. Let’s hope they are very close to those great ’80s teams at season’s end. BOTH of those units were SEC Champions. Both played in the Sugar Bowl. In 1983 Auburn was proclaimed national champions by the New York Times. In 1988 they missed playing for the national title due to a crushing 7-6 loss to LSU down in the Red Stick. The ‘Earthquake Game’… SIGH.

If I have any pulse on this year’s Tigers it is this… I believe they have taken the off week to iron out the kinks from the first half of the 2014 campaign. I believe they have recommitted themselves to finding that elusive 13 seconds. I believe they have refocused on their master plan. I believe they have found their best 11 players on each side of the ball. I believe they have focused, not on the BRUTAL schedule that lies ahead, but on improving and beating the South Carolina Gamecocks.

That brings us to the task at hand. Auburn vs. South Carolina. The old ball coach finds himself matched up with someone who admires him greatly, thus Malzahn’s visor, and can stay with him calling plays. Yes, Steve Spurrier, as good as he is, finds himself in the unenviable position of having to face a very, very good football team coming off a painful loss and looking to redeem themselves. They will do just that.

Auburn 45, South Carolina 13

It’s on!!! The College Football Playoff committee released it’s first poll last night and the Auburn Tigers find themselves locked into the number three spot. Yes, it’s on! If Auburn wins the remaining games on their schedule they WILL participate in the playoff. The schedule is brutal, we have discussed that here before, but it can be done.

The strength of schedule is an important component in deciding which teams finish where. The stronger one’s schedule, the greater the opportunity to advance and entrench oneself in a favorable position. Auburn is in a VERY favorable position.

Now the REAL fun begins.

November should be about as interesting a month of college football as we have EVER seen. This thing is beginning to shape up like March Madness.

Saturday’s game vs. Ole Miss pits your number three Auburn Tigers and you number four Ole Miss Rebels. This is an elimination game. Mathematically that is not the case but realistically it is the case.

If that don’t get your fire started then your wood’s wet!!!

My wife, Melodye, and I will begin our trek to Oxford bright and early on Friday morning. We will set up camp in downtown Memphis and make the commute, Saturday, to northern Mississippi. It will be All Saint’s Day Eve there on the banks of the Big Muddy.

That should provide a terrific jump start to a memorable weekend!

I have been beyond fortunate to have experienced countless such weekends centered around college football and my beloved Auburn Tigers. Considering the opponent this weekend is the Ole Miss Rebels, I would like to take a look back at a few of the games pitting these two SEC West division foes.

A fitting place to start would be the 1965 Liberty Bowl game. It was the first time the game was played in Memphis after six years in the City of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia. Despite the heroics of the game’s MVP, quarterback Tom Bryan, the Tigers fell by a score of 13-7.

One of the most memorable and exciting games between these two squads came in the Gator Bowl following my freshman year at Auburn, 1970. Auburn was led by junior quarterback Pat Sullivan, and Ole Miss legend, Archie Manning, was under center for the Rebels. The Tigers jumped out to a quick 21-0 lead but the Rebels fought back to pull within seven at the intermission. The high scoring game ended with the Tigers pulling out a 35-28 win.

The first game I ever attended in the series was on October 6, 1973. It was an historic day on the plains of east Alabama. Auburn’s Cliff Hare Stadium was renamed Jordan-Hare Stadium in honor of longtime head coach Ralph “Shug” Jordan. With less than two minutes remaining in the game, halfback Rick Neel scored on a 33 yard run to give the home team the victory.

In 1985, soon-to-be Heisman trophy winner, Bo Jackson, ran for 240 yards and three touchdowns propelling the Tigers to a 41-0 demolition of the visiting Ole Miss team. Auburn wound up with 606 total yards that day while the visitors could manage only NINE.

The 1995 game wasn’t close as Auburn won 46-13. BUT Ole Miss had a new head coach. He was the former defensive coordinator of the Texas A&M Aggies, Tommy Tuberville. You know the rest of the story.

On October 30, 2004 the undefeated Auburn Tigers traveled to Oxford, Mississippi. They had played nine straight games without a break, and now Auburn head coach, Tommy Tuberville said, “We were running on fumes.” In spite of that, Auburn, led by senior quarterback Jason Campbell, pulled out a tough 35-14 win by scoring 28 second half points. And on that night, the Tigers clinched the SEC West division title. They went on to become SEC and Sugar Bowl Champions and were, arguably, the best team in the country.

Enough of the past. The future is now. The College Football Playoff committee has released its historic first top 25 poll. They have spoken and it is my opinion that they got it right…

1. Mississippi State
2. Florida State
3. Auburn
4. Ole Miss

It was the bold and proper move to place the Rebels at number four. They have a played a typically brutal SEC West schedule and they defeated the number six ranked Alabama Crimson Tide. Hotty Toddy!

That brings us to the de facto elimination game pitting number three against number four.

It appears that it will be unseasonably cold Saturday night in the land of Faulkner and Grisham. The winds will be howling and the Tigers will be growling. After spending all day in The Grove, the fans fervor will be at a fever pitch. The home team’s faithful is being exhorted to wear red. Miss LeCroy and I will counter with navy blue attire.

Good friends, Gus Malzahn and Hugh Freeze will concoct a Strange Brew (RIP Jack Bruce of Cream) on this All Saint’s Day evening. This one promises to be a true donnybrook.

Auburn 31, Ole Miss 23

Survive and advance.

This week the Gus Bus is in the shop for a tune up and some repairs. She wasn’t hitting on all eight last week. The ride to Starkville proved to be a rough and tumble one. There were some sputters. There were some misses. And there were even some zebras cluttering the highway that caused the bus to swerve completely off the road.

But be not dismayed AU faithful. The Gus Bus will return to the freeway as fast as ever, a week from Saturday, and fully equipped to make a run toward either Pasadena or the Big Easy.

Here are the stops that newly tweaked vehicle will make along the way.

Back to the friendly confines of Jordan-Hare Stadium first. The opponent will be the struggling South Carolina Gamecocks and, barring some kind of total collapse, the Tigers should prevail.

Next stop Oxford, Mississippi. Better check the tires and fluids, change the oil and wash the windshield for this excursion. The Black Bears will be a highly formidable foe. This could be the most challenging game left on the schedule.

November 8 will find a return trip back home. Texas A&M will come calling. They will fill the crisp, cool air with footballs. I know I will be ‘Trilled’ to see this battle. The home team does have a much better defense and they should be able to outscore the visiting Aggies at worst.

Athens, Georgia will be the destination as the Tigers hit the road for their tenth game of the 2014 campaign. This is a hard team to read. One thing you can expect is that the pups will come out growling and snarling. They WILL be ready to take on the Tigers. The Cats and Dawgs create some flying fur between the hedges.

Auburn’s first Heisman Trophy winner, Pat Sullivan, brings yet another group of canines to the place where he thrilled Tiger fans, a few decades ago, for the eleventh game of the year. Wow! Where does the time go? It seems like yesterday that I was sitting in a Math 100 class with Super Sully’s favorite target, Terry Beasley. We wish Coach Sullivan well, but the Gus Bus should flatten the visiting Bulldogs.

The Iron Bowl. The last stop of the regular season. The biggest game of the season. THE game of games each and every year in the state of Alabama. One of the most watched and talked about games across the nation. The orange and blue machine will roll into Tuscaloosa on November 29th. All eyes on T-Town. But what will be at stake? Will either team still have a shot at the College Football Playoff? Will the SEC West Championship remain within the grasp of either squad? None of these questions can be answered with certainty. The one thing we do know is the championship of the state of Alabama will be decided that day, and THAT is enough. But… something tells me that more will be within reach of at least one of the participants of the Iron Bowl.

So there we have it. We are halfway home. It has been a good ride on the Gus Bus thus far. Now buckle up for the remainder of the trip. And what a long, strange one it promises to be.

Auburn faithful, kick back and enjoy some great college football this weekend from the comfort of your living room, man cave, sports bar or wherever you might find yourself Saturday. Take time to enjoy all that is on tap. Refresh, refuel, refocus and GET READY TO RUMBLE!!!

I’m sure many of you are familiar with the old Stealer’s Wheel song entitled ‘Stuck In The Middle With You’. That is the way I feel at this point in the college football season. I’ve got, now sing along with me, ‘Corn dogs to the left of me, cowbells to the right, here I am…’

When we’ve heard the clang of the last cowbell in Starkville, MS early Saturday evening, the Auburn Tigers will have completed playing their sixth game of the 2014 season. The same will be true for the host Bulldogs.

One of these teams will stand tall with a 6-0 record. The other will be 5-1. It will be extremely difficult for the loser of this game to capture the SEC West title. The winner of this contest will have to lose TWO conference games in order for the loser to have even a slight chance at winning the division. BIG game folks. REALLY big game!

But ah, before we break this huge clash down, let’s take a quick look at last Saturday and Auburn’s win over the LSU Tigers.

Auburn 41, LSU 7. That matches the largest margin of victory in this series for the Alabama Tigers. The 1999 game also ended in that very same score.

Auburn truly needed this game to exorcise some Bayou Bengal demons. Les Miles was 7-2 against Auburn and a couple of those wins were just flat out luck, or as I stated in last week’s column… Voodoo. The big victory created a massive, collective smile across the face of the Auburn Family.

Auburn played, by far, it’s most complete game of the season in Jordan-Hare Stadium last Saturday night. The offense was hitting on all eight cylinders and the defense was lights out. It was a great TEAM effort. HUGE win.

That is all well and good but it is time to focus on the business at hand.

Auburn vs. Mississippi State

The Bulldogs are averaging 541.8 yards per game while the Tigers offense is totaling 497.2.

State’s yardage has come by 272.6 yards rushing and 269.2 yards passing. Auburn is running for 268.0 and passing for 229.2 yards per outing.

State is scoring 42.6 points per game and Auburn scores at a 42.0 per game clip.

On defense the Bulldogs are struggling a bit giving up 426.4 yards each game with 328.2 coming through the air, but they only allow 98.2 rushing yards each outing. They sit at thirteenth in the SEC in total defense.

The Tigers are allowing a total of 306.0 yards per game. They are permitting an average 206.4 yards passing and 100.2 yards rushing each outing. They are number fourteen nationally in total D. In scoring D they come in at number nine giving up only 14.4 points per game while State allows 19.4 points per game.

Here are some take aways from observing those statistics. Both teams are very well balanced on offense. Both teams are very tough against the run on defense. They are practically dead even in scoring offense.

But here is where we get some separation. Auburn is much stronger in total defense giving up almost 120 yards per game less than State is allowing each time they take the field. Big edge to Auburn.

Also, MSU’s 328.2 average yards allowed passing indicates a leaky secondary. Nick Marshall’s passing was noticeably better last week. He hit 14 out of 22 passes for 207 yards. He also rushed for 119 yards. It appears the Marshall is hitting his stride.

Now let’s not take anything away from Dak Prescott. The young man is on fire! He is averaging 336 yards total offense per game and he is cool under pressure. AND he is a bona fide Heisman candidate.

Running backs. The Bulldog’s Josh Robinson has 592 yards rushing. The Tiger’s Cameron Artis-Payne has 594.

Both teams are 5-0. Auburn is ranked second in the AP poll while Miss State is tied with arch-rival Ole Miss at third in the country according to the AP.

Both teams are coming off emotional wins on their home fields.

This contest is being billed as the biggest home game in Miss State history. Tickets are going for as much as $1200 a pair. Their fan base is frothing at the mouth and at a fever pitch. They have never experienced anything like this in their school’s history. ESPN Game Day will be on hand.

Auburn has been there… many times. The last time was on September 18th in Manhattan, KS.

I have found myself in much the same position as the State fans find themselves now. I have seen the Tigers fail to seize the moment. I have seen Auburn rise to the cusp, only to watch it slip away.

13 seconds. That is how close the Auburn Tigers came to capturing their second national title in four years. Those 13 seconds have been a mantra around their football facilities since that fateful night in Pasadena earlier this year in the venerable Rose Bowl venue.

I sense something very, very special brewing on The Plains. TNT… Tough and Together.

From this vantage point it appears that the Auburn Tigers are much better on defense and special teams than their opponents, with Quan Bray taking two punt returns to the house. It seems that the two offenses are about equal.

Mississippi State has the cowbells and the home field advantage.

I think the game will be very close for the most part with Auburn’s overall talent, depth, coaching and big game experience prevailing in the end.

Auburn 41, Miss State 27.

My first exposure to LSU football emanated from the studios of the Roosevelt Hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana. WWL radio was situated in the venerable old gal. The station was found at 870 on your AM dial. Heck, what was FM back then? Did it even exist? This was in the early 60′s.

My family attended an average of about three Auburn games per season. The radio was our prime source for football information and live games.There was usually only one college game each week on TV. My daddy and I would often listen to the Auburn game in the afternoon and the LSU game at night. When we did go to Auburn I would stretch out in the back seat on the way home, we didn’t have seat belts either, and take in the other Tigers game from that position.

Great radio announcers are a dying breed. They should be able to paint a vivid picture of the game for their listeners. I could “see” LSU head coach Charlie McClendon’s Chinese Bandits, the term for the Tiger defense, as they swarmed a ball carrier. I could smell Death Valley’s turf. The commercials made me wonder about places like Ville Platte and Bogalusa, LA.

Even though I was a die hard Auburn fan, I dreamed of attending a game in Baton Rogue at night. We didn’t even have lights in Jordan-Hare Stadium until 1981. Coach Shug Jordan was adamant that college football should be played on real grass in the daytime.

My dream of attending a game in the Red Stick after dark finally happened in 1988. The undefeated and fourth ranked Auburn Tigers were 4-0. LSU had been beaten and was not ranked. The game was a defensive slug out. Auburn clung to a tenuous 6-0 lead with less than two minutes remaining in the game. LSU found itself with a fourth and goal at the Auburn eleven yard line. Auburn only had to muster a great pass rush one more time. They did not. Tommy Hodson hit Eddie Fuller in stride as he cruised into the end zone. Tiger Stadium exploded. The game has come to be known as the Earthquake Game. The noise caused a seismograph, in a nearby campus building, to register as an earthquake. My heart was completely broken as Auburn’s hopes for a national championship evaporated in the oppressive humidity of the October Louisiana night. Final score… LSU 7, Auburn 6.

I have not gotten over that game to this day.

The series is replete with oddities and bizarre occurrences.

There was the 1994 “interception” game and the 1996 contest when Auburn’s old basketball arena, The Barn, went up in flames. I won’t even talk about the 2005 and 2007 games. Voodoo! Pure and simple.

The 2004 and 2010 games were major turning points in Auburn’s march to national championships. Yes, I count the 2004 season as a mythical National Championship.They were proclaimed such by People’s Choice. Auburn was the best team in the country that year.

We will move on to this year’s matchup shortly after a quick look back at last week’s game against LA Tech.

One ex-Auburn quarterback called the homecoming clash a “glorified scrimmage”. That pretty much sums it up. Auburn was expected to dispose of the Bulldogs without a great deal of difficulty. They did.

Nick Marshall had a good day completing 10 of 17 passes and rushing for over 100 yards. Quan Bray was a force of nature. He scored three touchdowns and one of them was a 76 yard punt return. The other two came on superb passes caught. Duke Williams also made a circus catch for a TD.

The most impressive aspect of Auburn’s win was, once again, the defense. This unit is truly making great strides toward becoming one of the nation’s best. Hat’s off to Auburn’s defensive coaches Ellis Johnson, Charlie Harbison, Rodney Garner and Melvin Smith.

Ok, Auburn and LSU. Auburn has been made an 8 point favorite. The game will be televised on ESPN at 7 PM EDT. LSU is 4-1 with wins over Wisconsin, Sam Houston State, UL Monroe and New Mexico State. Their lone loss was to Mississippi State in Baton Rouge. Auburn is 4-0 with its wins coming over Arkansas, San Jose State, Kansas State and, as mentioned, LA Tech.

Auburn is ranked number 5 in both polls. LSU comes in at number 15 in each of the two.

The visiting Tigers are young but very talented. They are big and strong and fast as we have come to expect a Les Miles team to be. Auburn is big and strong and fast and laden with seasoned veterans. This is crucial .

LSU will start a freshman, Brandon Harris, at quarterback. He will be starting his first game in one of the most hostile environments in all of college football, Jordan-Hare Stadium at night. Baptism by fire. This is crucial also.

And I can’t help but think the Tigers from Alabama retain a very bitter taste in their mouth from their only regular season loss last year. They went down, 35-21, in Louisiana and it was a turning point in their season. They grew up and became a team on that rainy night on the bayou.

This is one of those games that could come down to turnovers. Auburn has been very good in taking the ball away from the opponent. Expect their front seven to rattle the young QB and help force a couple of picks.

When it’s all said and done, the host Tigers should be able to put the visiting Tigers away after yet another bruising battle between the two SEC West powers.

Auburn 31, LSU 20

Whew! That would be the collective sigh of relief from Auburn fans after the Tigers escaped Manhattan, Kansas last Thursday night with a win. It was not easy. It was not pretty. But it was a W, and if a team is going to become champions it is going to have to win one or two when they are not on their best game.

In hindsight, which coach Pat Dye once said is 50/50, it was a BIG win. The Tigers went on the road and beat a ranked non-conference opponent for the FIRST time since 1984. That is huge brothers and sisters.

My wife, Melodye, and I made the long drive to the Little Apple and we can testify to this… Bill Snyder Family Stadium is one of the toughest places to play that I have ever seen. I don’t know how 50,000 plus can make so much noise in an open-ended arena but they do. I have been to every stadium in the SEC, except Missouri, and most of them multiple times. It doesn’t get tougher in ANY of those venues than it does at Kansas State. They come to play. They expect to win.

I watched the game again last night and came away more impressed with Auburn than I was in the aftermath of the game last week.

I’ve heard moaning and groaning about Nick Marshall. Folks, he was a gamer. I cannot think of many, if any, quarterback in the country that I would like to have leading my Tigers than number 14. He has ice in his veins. He is a winner.

And how about that D ??? This is the best defense Auburn has put on the field in at least six years. They are nasty. They fly around. They hit you square in the mouth. They play with attitude. They have given up less than two yards per carry since the second half of the Arkansas game. Jake Waters, the Wildcats QB, was their leading rusher going into the game and he rushed for MINUS seven yards.

The pass defense was very good as well. They continually harassed Waters, played some great coverage and limited the big play that has haunted Auburn for some time. The longest reception they allowed was 23 yards.

Now… on to the upcoming homecoming battle with LA Tech. Coach Holtz, Skip not Lou, brings his Bulldogs into sold out Jordan-Hare Stadium with a 2-2 record. The wins came over Louisiana-Lafayette, 48-20 and North Texas, 42-21. The losses were to Oklahoma, 48-16, and Northwestern State, 30-27. Who? The Northwestern State Demons are an FCS school located in Natchitoches, LA.

Auburn’s 1989 SEC Champions will be honored at the game Saturday. This team will bring back many fonds memories for the old grads and all other Tiger fans. They went 10-2 and finished number 6 in both polls. This record includes a 31-14 win over THE Ohio State Buckeyes in the Hall of Fame Bowl which was played in Tampa, Florida.

Here are the scores from that championship season:

Auburn 55, Pacific 0

Auburn 24, Southern Miss 3

Auburn 14, Tennessee 21

Auburn 24, Kentucky 12

Auburn 10, LSU 6

Auburn 14, Florida State 22

Auburn 14, Miss State 0

Auburn 10, Florida 7

Auburn 38, LA Tech 23

Auburn 20, Georgia 3

AND… The most memorable game ever played at Jordan-Hare Stadium…

AUBURN 30, THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE 20!!!!!

As most of you know, this was the first time Alabama had ever played in Auburn and it was the most electric atmosphere I have ever experienced.There has simply never been anything like it before or since. I get a lump in my throat and a tear in my eye whenever I recall that day.

What a day!!! What a weekend to be more accurate!!!

And the Tiger Walk? Wow! Thousands upon thousands of fans crammed Donahue and Roosevelt streets. Auburn fans bellowed as loudly as they ever have. Bama fans stood with mouths agape. Coach Pat Dye led his team through the masses. He also likened it to the falling of the Berlin Wall. Grown women screamed. Grown men cried. It is a moment that will never be replicated.

If I had been a gambling man I would have taken Vegas to the cleaners that memorable day. Alabama was ranked number two in the country and was favored by 3 or 4 points. I knew in my heart of hearts that there was no possible way the Crimson Tide, under head coach Bill Curry, would win that game. The Green Bay Packers would not have been able to defeat Auburn that day. The Tigers would not, could not lose, no way, no how.

If you are headed for The Plains Saturday, do not miss the tribute to the 1989 Auburn University Football Tigers. That will be a treat!

And so… there is the matter of Auburn vs. La Tech.

The kickoff for homecoming will be at 3 PM CDT. It will be televised on the fledging SEC Network. Auburn has been established as a 33 point favorite.

Without belaboring the point, Auburn is a much better team on offense, defense and special teams. I don’t even see how Coach Skip Holtz’s father, were he the coach at Auburn, could poor mouth over this game, but you can bet he would try. Auburn will win the game and they will win it handily.

Auburn 55, LA Tech 10.

There will be a huge and very important Big Cat Fight in Manhattan, Kansas on Thursday night. Over 50,000 fans will cram into Bill Snyder Family Stadium to watch the hometown Kansas State Wildcats take on the Auburn Tigers. There will be clawing. There will be scratching. There will be weeping. There will be wailing. There will be gnashing of teeth. The entire football world will be tuned in to ESPN. Big stage. Big game.

Auburn and K-State, as the Wildcats are often called, have only faced off on three occasions in times past.

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In 1978 Auburn made the long trip to the “Little Apple”. The Tigers came out on top 45-32. James Brooks set a single game rushing record, in the 101 degree heat, that afternoon. He carried the ball 30 times for 226 yards in leading the Tigers to a victory.

Auburn swept the short home and home series at Jordan-Hare Stadium in 1979. They defeated the other Cats by a 26 to 18 score.
The last time these two teams squared off was in 2007. Auburn also took this contest, 23-13. Thursday’s battle will mark the end of another two game set.

Auburn was established as a 6.5 point favorite initially but that line jumped to 9.5 points in blinding speed. Auburn Fast huh?
K-State coach Bill Snyder will bring a 180-90-1 record into the game. He has been the head man in Manhattan for twenty two seasons but not consecutively. He retired in 2005 only to be coaxed back to the sidelines in 2009 after the program went back into a deep slide. Snyder is a lock to be named to the College Football Hall of Fame. He is one of the best to ever grace the gridiron.

K-State is 2-0 with wins over Stephen F. Austin, 55-16, and Iowa State, 32-28.

On offense the Cats will be led by quarterback Jake Waters. It will be critical for the Tigers to contain him if they are to come away with a win. He can light it up both on the ground and through the air. Waters has hit 69% of his passes for 462 yards in the two games they have played. He is also the team’s leading rusher, toting the rock for 193 yards. The guy is flat out dangerous. He can put the team on his back and carry them.

Waters likes to throw the ball to Tyler Lockett. Lockett has 7 receptions for 142 yards in 2014.

The leading defenders for KSU are former walk-on Ryan Mueller and Jonathan Truman.

Ryan Mueller – Kansas State. Photo: kansascity.com
Mueller is a defensive end. He had 62 tackles, 11.5 sacks and 7 tackles for loss in 2013. Truman, a linebacker, made 89 tackles last year and had 4.5 tackles for loss.

The Wildcats are not loaded with four and five-star talent but, as a team, they are very tough. They are extremely well-coached and they don’t tend to make silly mistakes, mental or physical, that will get them beat.

Gus Malzahn will lead his Tigers into the opponents den with a 23-5 record as a head coach. He was 9-3 during his one season at Arkansas State.
Auburn is also 2-0. They have beaten Arkansas, 45-21, and San Jose State, 59-13.

Cameron Artis-Payne and Corey Grant are the Tigers leading rushers. CAP has 289 yards while Grant has gained 196 yards on the ground.
Quarterback Nick Marshall has found leading receiver Duke Williams 13 times for 214 yards. Sammie Coates will return to the lineup, Thursday, and that will be BIG for the visitors.

Middle linebacker Cassanova McKinzy is Auburn’s leading tackler with 16 stops. Big Montravious Adams is first on the team in tackles for loss with 4.

Now here are some very interesting numbers to consider (with a thanks to Stat Tiger).

Auburn has rushed for over 200 yards for thirteen consecutive games. They have scored at least 30 points in the last 12 contests. Since Snyder returned to K-State in 2009, his record is 5-11 when his defenses surrender 200 or more rushing yards in a game. His record is 2-11 when opponents have a winning percentage of .700. This bodes well for the Tigers.

Auburn also leads the SEC in rushing, churning out an average of 330 yards in the two games they have played. Since 1992 the Tigers are 43-0-1 when they run the ball for at least 250 yards per game; another good sign for the visitors, if they can run the ball well.

There is no doubt that Marshall and Jeremy Johnson will have to roll up some passing yards to give Auburn some balance. With the open date they have had time to get in some valuable reps. This should help Auburn as well.

According to the Associated Press Poll Auburn comes in at number five and Kansas State is ranked number 20.

This is shaping up as a very good football game.

I expect both teams to acquit themselves well. The Wildcats can take a quantum leap in the rankings and in the eyes of college football fans everywhere with a win. Auburn can solidify and, possibly, advance its position with a victory out on the Great Plains in a very tough environment.

K-State should be able to hang close to Auburn for at least a half and maybe three quarters. But, in the end, the Tigers superior talent and depth will prove to be too much for the Wildcats in this battle of fighting felines.

Auburn 41, Kansas State 20

Feature Image: Kansas State University