SB Nation - Chris Todd

The Gauntlet Has Been Thrown - and It Smells Delicious

hmlee — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 19:35:18 -0000

Hello Rivalry readers!

If you've read this site before, you know me as the Northwestern writer. You probably also know that I am currently a law student at Northwestern. What you may not know, though, is that in addition to making my home in the windy city I am also a born and bred Chicagoan. Okay, okay, that's not that shocking. Now anyone who knows Chicago knows that we loooove our food. Perhaps it's the bitterly cold winters or just the midwestern sensibilities, but we here in Chicago love all things culinary at least as much as (and probably way more so) than any other city or region in the United States.

As a lifelong Chicagoan, I've always been amused by that peculularily Chicago tradition of betting food on sports games. You see, up here, our mayor likes to engage in friendly wagers with opposing mayors whenever a Chicago team makes it into the playoffs. The terms of the bets he makes are simple. The loser sends the winner a heaping pile of food unique to their region after the game or series is decided. Over the years, that's resulted in some quite amusing show downs complete with spreads fit for Mayor Dale - er, a king - and amusing televised posturing.

Sports, egoism, and food. What could be better?

Now, granted, I'm no city mayor. But I am an amateur sports blogger, and that's pretty close, right? To that end, I decided to see if I could rope another SB Nation blogger into such a bet. I tracked down Jay from the SBN blog for the Auburn Tigers, Track 'Em Tigers. I sent him an e-mail proposing that we wager regional goodies on the outcome of the Outback Bowl between Northwestern and Auburn. Fortunately for me, Jay loves food just as much as I do and was extremely excited about the prospect of such a tasty wager. Of course, he foolishly thinks he's going to be the one enjoying food this year, but I digress...

The terms of our bet and some friendly smack talk from Jay after the jump...

Law Buck takes a look at what the Big 10 faces come this bowl season...

Bama Hawkeye interviews the Alabama Blog, Roll Bama Roll, for their take on the Outback bowl...

So once Jay agreed to our bet, I faced the daunting task of attempting to choose some food that would represent Chicago adequatley enough for a bet. This is a lot harder than you may think. Yes, Chicago has a lot of food to choose from... but that's just it. We have a lot of food. How is one supposed to pick from all the culinary awesomeness that is the Windy City? Deep dish pizza... cheesecake... gigantic chocolate cookies... italian beef sandwiches... pickled hot peppers... It's almost too much! But, then via some sports inspiration, it hit me. The perfect thing to bet on a sports game?

The Chicago hot dog. Of course.

I am huge fan of the Chicago hot dog. Trust me, you do not want to engage me in an argument on the merits of the Chicago style hot dog vs. other so called "hot dogs" in the country. It will not be pretty. I even wrote a college entrance essay many years ago on these such hot dogs (seriously).

Luckily enough for me, there are apparently enough ex-pat Chicagoans home sick for Chicago food that there is a whole cottage industry just ready to ship packages of hot dogs with all required to turn them into Chicago style dogs at your command. One of the restaurants willing to ship such goodness? Portillos, a name that should be instantly familiar to any Chicagoan. Should the Auburn Tigers somehow manage to pull out a victory over my Northwestern Wildcats, I will be sending Jay a box containing everything he needs to enjoy a Chicago hot dog feast... namely:

10 specially packed all-beef hot dogs, 10 popy-seed buns, mustard, onions, tomatos, pickles, sweet relish, sport peppers, and celery salt. Of course, there will be no ketchup within a mile of this box of awesome.

Now, as I mentioned above, Jay somehow believes that Auburn will go out on the field and score him some that box of goodies. I was rather suprised by this confidence of his, but he was kind enough to talk to me and provide some enlightenment as to why he thinks the wrong kind of feline will be victorious come January 1st... Jay said,

"First off, Auburn players and fans are pumped up to be playing Northwestern in the Outback Bowl. Having played Wisconsin in bowl games twice in the past six years, the Wildcats are a welcome opponent. To Southerners, Northwestern is viewed as the Vanderbilt of the Big Ten - smart students, but not so much on the football field.

However, it's also widely acknowledged that we'll likely all work for a Northwestern grad before our careers are over. In fact, I can check that box. I worked for an NU MBA grad for several years and have to say he was awesome. I'm not sure how well he played football though.

This game is a dangerous one for Auburn. They are expected to win because of tradition and the tough SEC. Tiger fans are finding out that these purple Wildcats are a great football team. They certainly closed the season much better than Auburn. While my Tigers lost to Georgia and collected a "moral victory" over top-ranked Alabama, Northwestern was perhaps the hottest team in the Big 10 coming down the stretch.

Auburn will win a very close game because of running back Ben Tate. While Alabama's Mark Ingram got most of the attention, Tate quietly became one of the most dominant backs in the nation. Quarterback Chris Todd has solid senior leadership and rarely makes mistakes. On defense, Auburn is led by All-SEC defensive end Antonio Coleman. He's a sack master and loves to apply the pressure.

So, I like Auburn to win and deliver to me some of the finest hot dogs in all of Chicago and America. As I take each bite, I'll think of each and everyone of you. See you in Tampa!"

While I think Jay is completely and utterly wrong, I admire his confidence. At this point, you're probably all asking, "Hilary... what do YOU get if the entirely predictable result of a Northwestern victory happens?" (Okay so maybe I was the only one thinking that but uhm... still...) Well, you'll just have to mosey on over to Track 'Em Tigers to find out what I'll be feasting on come the new years....

Hot Dog Time In Auburn!

Jay Coulter — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 17:54:13 -0000

Thanks to Hilary (a.k.a. HMLEE) at the SB Nation blog, The Rivalry, Esq., this year's Outback Bowl will take on more meaning for me. As the Northwestern writer for the Big Ten site, she laid down a challenge this weekend that's hard to pass up. Hilary suggested a friendly wager on the game that involves one of my very favorite things - food.

The bet is simple. The winner receives a catered meal (by mail) from a famous local establishment chosen by the loser. The dish is to be something regional in flavor and well known among Auburn and Northwestern fans. To say I'm excited is an understatement.

So what do I offer up? That's been the million dollar question this weekend. The first major hurdle is finding an appropriate dish. After that, it's finding an establishment that's set-up to ship overnight. That narrows things quite a bit. Fortunately, I've come up with the perfect solution.

Should Northwestern upset our Tigers, I'm prepared to overnight to Hilary some of Alabama's best barbeque from my favorite place, Dreamland. Now I know it started in Tuscaloosa, but it has locations all over the state, so I really don't think of it as affiliated any longer with that school up the street.

Here's what she'll receive: 1 slab of ribs, 1 lb. of pork, 1 lb. of hickory smoked sausage, 1 quart of their legendary sauce and 1 bottle of dressing. Also included are wet naps, bibs and a loaf of Sunbeam bread. To finish it off, I'll throw in a gallon of the finest lemonade in the world from Auburn's very own Toomer's Drug Store.

Does that sound good or what?

What's in it for me? Can you say world famous Chicago hot dogs? Hilary has come up with the perfect meal - hot dogs from Portillo's. Here's what I'll be receiving should Chris Todd get it done through the air and Ben Tate on the ground: 10 of Portillo's beef hot dogs with all the fixings. It includes everything you need to create an authentic Portillo's style hot dog including, 10 hot dogs in a cryovac pouch, 10 poppy seed buns, mustard, relish, 1 fresh onion, 2 red ripe tomatoes, 2 whole kosher pickles, sport peppers & Portillo's hot dog seasoning.

I can hardly wait.

After talking with Hilary Saturday night, she seems fairly confident in her Wildcat's chances and even talked a little smack. "I like Northwestern's chances in this matchup," says the NU law student. "Oh sure I was surprised when they jumped Wisconsin for the Outback, but, unlike some of my esteemed colleagues, I don't think that's nearly as much of a problem as they do.

"Had Northwestern not jumped Wisconsin and instead found themselves in the Champs Sports Bowl they would be looking to a matchup vs. Miami right now. That potential matchup scares me much more than the current one. Sorry Auburn fans, but unlike Miami, you just don't have any wins on your roster that make me quake in my boots. Miami does. Further, Northwestern and Auburn are both spread offenses, so I feel confident that Coach Fitz can get the team prepared to face the Tigers.

"Finally, it should be noted that I also write on Wisconsin and given what Northwestern did to Wisconsin's normally solid defense, I have no desire to see the Badgers up against Auburn. Maybe Miami isn't any better, but I still like their chances more. For all these reasons, Northwestern is going to trounce Auburn in the Outback bowl and I will be ringing in this new year with my very own box of Alabama treats."

You have to give Hilary credit. While somewhat delusional in her love for Northwestern, she's certainly confident. I have a feeling that Antonio Coleman, Darvin Adams, Todd and Tate will hit a little harder and run a little faster than that weak, showboating school in Miami.

Do you smell hotdogs?

Fear-o-meter: the Auburn offense.

Rodger Sherman — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 22:50:16 -0000

So, I told y'all about Auburn, the college, and Auburn's names, but I haven't told you much about Auburn's football team.

You might remember I used to do bi-weekly preview posts, one about the other team, and then one about how I expected Northwestern to play that team. Then, one week, I didn't do it, and we beat Iowa. So I didn't do it the next week, and we won again. Don't mess with success. So I'm doing it slightly differently.

I've constructed this: the fear-o-meter. As you can probably tell from the left side, I'm a big fan of o-meters, so, here's another one. I'll tell you how scared on a customized scale you should be of a varying aspect of our opponent's team and gameplan.

It goes from things you should be the least scared of to most scared of:

Chinchillas. Soft, furry, and adorable.
The Swine Flu, represented by the cover to Tony Yayo's mixtape of the same name.
Public speaking. Not really that scary, but the one thing people generally say they're scared of.
The Most Dangerous Game, represented by the poster to the film "Surviving the Game" starring Ice-T and Gary Busey. The Most Dangerous Game, of course, refers to either "game" as in "something you hunt", in which case the most dangerous game is man, or "game" as in "contest", in which case the most dangerous game is used to refer to one-on-one ten-beer, ten-cup beer pong, but probably should be used to refer to something more dangerous, like six-bullet Russian roulette.
Clowns. Yeesh.
Zombies. Self-explanatory.
Kidney stones, highly inaccurately represented by a picture of a kidney bean and a stone, because I really didn't want to google image search "kidney stone".
Flying sharks. The image is taken from the motivational poster.
The 2012 apocalypse. I was debating whether to put this or kidney stones, but they're both pretty bad.

Ignore the km/h markers and the red line pointing to zombies: I made this using Preview in about 13 minutes, so chill out. I'll tell you exactly how scared of each thing you should be.

First off, disclaimer time: to be honest, I don't know as much as I'd like to about Auburn as I'd like - I only got to watch a half of one of their games this year. I planned on watching a few of their archived games on ESPN360, but apparently I can't do that because I'm not on a college campus anymore, and don't get the service. So everything you read below is based on me doing a lot of reading, perusing stats, and watching highlight footage. But for the real scoop, you should probably ask an Auburn fan.

So now, on to diagnosing Auburn's offense, after the jump:

Quarterback: All things considered, Chris Todd had pretty good season, throwing 21 touchdowns to only six picks, picking up 8 yards an attempt for 2377 yards, pretty good considering where he's come from. You see, Todd has had a rather freaky career: he started out at Texas Tech, where he played well in limited mop-up action in their crazy spread offense but obviously wasn't going to be a part of the plan. He wanted to transfer to Auburn, but rather than spend a year not playing, he went to juco for a season, where he played at a school called Hutchinson, and quite frankly, he was very bad there: he went 104-212 with six touchdowns and eight picks. Not stellar numbers, especially considering the lower level of competition. Last season, he looked shaky again, starting the team's second game and four more after that, but only completing 55% of his passes and tossing six picks to five touchdowns, and went down with a shoulder injury that ended his season early.

This year he threw six picks again - the difference is he threw 21 touchdowns to go along with it.

But I wouldn't get freaked out by that stat. Todd isn't an astonishingly great quarterback as a 21-6 ratio would seem, and after a very strong early part of the season, he's looked suspect at best as Auburn got deeper into their conference schedule. Todd is definitely solid: when his receivers are open, he'll hit them. (See: 17-18 with four touchdowns against Furman, 19-26 with five against Ball State, 25-35 as a Texas Tech quarterback with their freaky all-out passing Michael Crabtree offense.) But when they're not, we've got issues (see: throwing more picks than touchdowns two years ago at a junior college.). Todd has shown the maturity this season by not forcing stupid passes - hence the only six picks - but against good defenses, he's shown a really tough time getting anything going. (See: the games Auburn has lost this year, where he's thrown five of his picks and been dragged down for 13 of his 18 sacks.) In those situations, he just sort of holds on to the ball, and sometimes heaves up a pass that has no chance of being received. There's a reason that just four weeks ago, people were talking of benching him. He doesn't have a particularly strong arm due to a career riddled with shoulder injuries, and he can't run with it (negative rushing yards on the year), but he's pretty accurate with the short stuff, and at times can use this to pick apart defenses, although the golden boy that emerged over the beginning of the season tailed off towards the end.

Fear-o-meter: Zombies.

Also playing a little bit of time at quarterback is the decently named Kodi Burns, who plays Auburn's version of the Wildcat. He was a starting QB last year, tossing two touchdowns and seven picks, but after that sorta bad season, he was converted to wide receiver, where he's been pretty sub-par at that too, with only four catches on the year. But he's looked alright running the Wildcat, throwing for two TD's and running for five more, but he doesn't throw much - he's 4-13 out of the set passing, but has ran the ball 51 times.

Fear-o-meter: Public Speaking.

Running back: Ben Tate is a fantastic running back, and don't let anybody tell you otherwise. The senior ran for 1254 yards on 5.2 yards a carry with eight touchdowns, and that's not even telling the whole story. He's fast, strong, and long story short, was the second best running back on a team in the state of Alabama. There's only so many ways I can say "uh-oh" in a paragraph.

Fear-o-meter: Flying Sharks.

Onterrio McCalebb is Tate's change-of-pace backup, and he literally provides a change of pace, as he's probably speedier than Tate but isn't as good at finding holes up the gut as Tate. He got the ball 99 times - a decent amount for a backup - and turned that into 547 yards, 5.5 a carry. He ran for 114 and a touchdown against Mississippi State, and nearly outgained Tate against Georgia with 60 yards on the ground on only 11 carries while Tate had one of his worst games with 67 yards on 20. Basically, don't forget about McCalebb.

Fear-o-meter: Clowns.

Last but not least, Mario Fannin and his backup, Eric Smith. They're more in the vein of what we call "superbacks", but they actually have a vital effect on the game. They primarily block, but are the third options in Chris Todd's passing game as he loves to throw to guys these two out of the backfield, particularly on screens, and the pair racked up a combined 629 yards receiving, including 82 on this brilliantly edited youtube clip of a screen against West Virginia. Fannin also gets the ball a decent amount, rushing for 271 yards on 8.5 - 8.5! - yards per carry, while Smith added 99 of his own. Teams might overprepare for guys like Tate and wide receiver Darvin Adams, but these guys might slip under the radar and help Auburn's spread offense dink and dunk down the field a la NU.

Fear-o-meter: Clowns.

Wide Receiver: Basically, there's one guy to worry about. Darvin Adams is Chris Todd's first, second, and third options on most pass plays, and it shows, as nobody else on the team is close to his 855 yards and 10 touchdowns. By comparison, Terrell Zachary has 466 and five touchdowns, and four of those scores and 241 of the yards came on four passes. Adams is the team's only deep threat, but he's worth paying attention to as he will get open down field - the question is whether or not Todd hits him.

Fear-o-meter: Kidney Stones.

The rest of the unit, as noted, is rather slipshod. Lots of dropped passes, and not much production. Terrell Zachary has been able to get open for big plays, generally against inferior opponents, but he's not the type of guy worth double covering or anything. If you're wondering, Auburn's leaderboard for receiving yards goes like this: wide receiver, wide receiver, H-back, H-back, tight end, running back, wide receiver, tight end. Tommy Trott is a decent tight end, but he's a goal line threat and little more.

Fear-o-meter: Swine flu.

O-line: Haven't been great at giving Todd a lot of time, but Auburn's spread isn't necessarily predicated on that. They've been good at opening up holes for Tate and at giving Fannin room to run off of those screens, and it shows. All in all, a pretty decent o-line. They gave up only 1.5 sacks a game, and as noted, 13 of those came in their losses, when the failure was probably on any receiver to get open, causing Todd to hesitate and take too long. The line produced two all-SEC second teamers in left tackle Lee Ziemba and Ryan Pugh, and this is pretty much all I can say about them. For what it's worth, Ziemba is one of the few offensive linemen in the country to have recorded a reception, as Auburn runs a trick play in which he runs a screen route but unfortunately for Ziemba's stats, it went for -3 yards.

Fear-o-meter: Zombies.

Auburn's offense: It's a good one. You don't score 32.9 points a game in the SEC by accident. That being said, it's a stoppable one. Teams have shut down Chris Todd rather easily, and when they do that, regardless of how otherworldy Ben Tate is, they generally aren't going to win with a spread offense if they don't have any semblance of a passing game. (Theory in numbers: Todd has thrown under 200 yards five times this season. Four resulted in losses for the Tigers, and in those four losses, Tate averaged 107 yards on the ground, which isn't too bad. The fifth game was a 49-24 romp over Mississippi State that featured 390 yards on the ground.) (More theory in numbers: Darvin Adams recorded either a touchdown or 100 yards receiving in six of Auburn's seven wins, and failed to do either of those in four of their five losses.)

I look at this team and see a very good offense. But all things told, they're passing game, although it's worked well, seems just a few tweaks away from getting shut down completely. This is a team that lost five of their last seven games, and one of those wins was against Furman, and a major contributor in those losses was Chris Todd's inability to perform at the same level that he had at the beginning of the year, whether it be due to a nagging shoulder injury, not enough time being given from the line, or failure of his receivers besides Darvin Adams to do anything that could compel a defense not to focus their cover Adams with all they had. So although it's a unit with major scoring potential, and one that certainly causes a major threat, it's flawed.

Offensive fear-o-meter: Zombies.

So that's that. I'll have another one on the defense sometime, not necessarily soon, but sometime.

Gearing up for the Northwestern Wildcats!

Acid Reign — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 07:25:00 -0000

This highlight clip comes directly to you from the Northwestern Athletic Department. What a refreshingly modern approach to video! (As opposed to the SEC's antique model...)

War Eagle, everybody! It's time now for a look at Auburn's 2010 Outback opponent, the Northwestern Wildcats. Trying to imagine what will happen in this contest has NOT been easy. Auburn and Northwestern have never played each other in football. There are NO common opponents on the two teams' schedules. Both teams feature wide-open offenses that try to push the tempo. Auburn's spread attack has been more run oriented. Northwestern, without a feature back, has aired it out more. Both teams have tended to favor the 4-man rush on defense, and zone coverage. Both Auburn and Northwestern have had up and down periods, losing games they shouldn't have, and beating ranked teams. For those who are expecting a media-bandwagon "SEC is superior to the Big 10" post in this space, you are going to be disappointed. I think bowl history in the past ten years shows the two leagues to be remarkably even.

Northwestern began the season looking like a lower echelon Big-10 team. After blowing out Towson, the Wildcats struggled to a 27-24 win over Eastern Michigan. Losses on the road to Syracuse and Minnesota followed. The Wildcats appeared to be headed for a third road loss at Purdue, trailing 21-3 in the second quarter. The Wildcat D stepped up, forcing six turnovers. Northwestern would rally to beat Purdue 27-21, salvaging the season. A defensive win over Miami of Ohio followed, but then the Wildcats were shut down in East Lansing, falling to Michigan State 24-14. If you thought the 21-3 deficit was huge against Purdue, Northwestern fell behind 28-3 to Indiana at home. 26 unanswered points provided a miraculous 29-28 win over the Hoosiers. Northwestern appeared to be on the way to a major upset hosting Penn State. The Wildcats led 13-10 at the half, but quarterback Mike Kafka was hurt, the dam broke in the 4^th quarter, and Penn State won going away, 34-13. With a 5-4 record, and games left against Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, it looked like Northwestern was in dire trouble. In Iowa City, quarterback Mike Kafka was limited with a leg injury, and gave way to backup Dan Persa. Then Persa hurt his hand. Kafka limped back on the field, and led Northwestern to a stunning 17-10 upset of the BCS-bound Hawkeyes. In Campaign Illinois, again with Kafka hobbling, the Wildcats downed Illinois 21-16. A huge underdog in their home finale against Wisconsin, Northwestern led much of the day, behind a 326-yard passing effort by Kafka. In the end, it was the Wildcat defense turning the Badgers away again and again. Northwestern won it, 33-31. The Wildcats finished 8-4, 5-3 in the Big Ten.

Offensively, the Wildcats try to run a balanced spread attack. This year, with a young offensive line and a variety of backs, rushing totals have been down. Fireplug freshman Arby Fields is the team's leading rusher, with 294 yards. Quarterback Mike Kafka is close behind with 265. Many of the big Wildcat rushing plays have been on quarterback scrambles, which happens to be one of Auburn's defensive weaknesses. The Tigers have been plagued all year by 3^rd and long plays in which the quarterback pops through the middle for big yards. Auburn will have to contain Kafka, who should be 100% healthy after battling leg ailments in the latter half of the regular season. Northwestern's passing attack is dangerous, if Kafka gets time to throw. Senior H-back Zeke Markshausen has caught a whopping 79 passes, and lanky senior wideout Andrew Brewer has added 49 more. Five Northwestern receivers have at least 23 or more catches, and 8 receivers have ten or more catches. The Wildcats are averaging 266 passing yards per game, and 386 total yards per game. By comparison, Auburn is averaging 214 rushing, and 219 passing, for 433 total yards per game.

Defensively, Northwestern has a stout front seven that has weathered brutal Big-10 trench warfare well. A banged up patchwork Wildcat secondary has managed 15 interceptions. The bad news for Auburn is that all 4 starters should be healthy for the Outback Bowl. Lockdown senior corner Sherrick McManis has 4 interceptions and 7 pass breakups, and I'd expect to see him matched up on Auburn's Darvin Adams for much of the morning. Auburn's Chris Todd will have to be careful airing the ball out, as Northwestern's defensive backs all seem to play the ball well. Where Northwestern has had problems is against pounding running games, and against screens. On the line, the Wildcats look to senior defensive end Corey Wootton. Wootton suffered a major knee injury in last year's Alamo Bowl, and has battled a high ankle sprain all year. Despite that, he's still managed 6 tackles for loss and 4 quarterback hurries. All in all, a pretty salty Wildcat defense has tallied 62 tackles for loss and 27 sacks. By comparison, Auburn has 71 TFLs and 25 sacks. Defensively Northwestern gives up 344 yards and 23.3 points per game. Auburn gives up 354 yards per game and 26.9 points per game.

On special teams, Auburn has a few advantages, although a couple of glaring holes remain. Auburn has yet to locate a punt returner who doesn't drop the ball. While this has yet to cost the Tigers meaningful points off a turnover, it has seriously impacted field position. Auburn also has a porous kick coverage unit. Northwestern covers kicks and punts pretty decently, but their returns are only average. Auburn has struggled punting the football with only a 35.4 yard net, but Northwestern is worse, managing only 31.7. Both teams have good placekickers. Auburn's Wes Byrum only missed one field goal all year. Northwestern junior Stefan Demos has hit 18 of 23.

Unit matchups, after the jump!

Auburn defensive line vs. Northwestern offensive line: Auburn enters this bowl with a veteran line anchored by senior All-SEC defensive end Antonio Coleman, who led the SEC in sacks despite ligament damage in his arm. Northwestern is young on the offensive line. The veteran is junior guard Keegan Grant. There are three sophomores: center Ben Burkett, guard Doug Bartels, and left tackle Al Netter. Right tackle Neal Deiters is a redshirt freshman. Auburn has a pair of bullrushing tackles in Jake Ricks and Mike Blanc. And Auburn can bring Nick Fairley off the bench for a breather. Coleman against Netter is a good matchup to watch, but a better matchup will be on the other side, where junior Antoine Carter takes on a freshman tackle. Carter spent the early part of the year injured, but came on against Ole Miss and beyond. The combination gives Auburn speed rushers on both edges, and creates protection problems. Auburn's biggest problem on the D-line has been quarterback contain, and the Wildcats have the guy to exploit it in Mike Kafka. On the other hand, Northwestern has given up 29 sacks. Auburn has 25 on the season. Advantage: Auburn.

Auburn linebackers vs. Northwestern runners: Auburn has absolutely been ravaged by injury in the linebacker corps. Juniors Josh Bynes and Craig Stevens have had to play every snap in most games, and have had difficulty holding up as Auburn played 11 games in a row without a break. After a week off, the pair STONED Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram, holding the Tide great to 30 yards. Weakside linebacker has been a rotating cast. Sophomore Eltoro Freeman is perhaps Auburn's most talented linebacker, but injuries have held him back. He's trying to recover in time for the Outback Bowl, and is practicing. The only other scholarship linebacker available is true freshman Jonathan Evans. Northwestern runs the ball by committee. Quarterback Mike Kafka seems like the biggest threat, running the zone read with aplomb. The likely bowl starter at running back will be sophomore Scott Concannon, who averaged 3.6 yards per carry on the season. Advantage: Auburn.

Auburn corners vs. Northwestern receivers: Auburn's Walter McFadden, a senior, will likely spend the day matched up with Northwestern's Andrew Brewer. McFadden has handled a number of dangerous SEC wide receivers well, good for 4 interceptions and 8 pass breakups. Where Auburn may struggle is on the other side. Sophomore Neiko Thorpe has been suspect from time to time, although he does have 1 interception and 8 pass breakups. The battle between Thorpe and Northwestern junior Sidney Stewart will be interesting to watch. Both are tall and athletic. Advantage: Even.

Auburn safeties vs. Northwestern secondary receivers and quarterback: Auburn will need SERIOUS help here from the linebackers and corners. The Tigers start true freshman Darrin Bates at one safety, and sophomore JUCO Demond Washington at the other side. Washington has only started 3 games. Both guys have lots of speed and are hitters, but are short on experience. Redshirt freshman T'Sharvan Bell is first in off the bench in nickel situations. Northwestern has OPTIONS in the slot. As mentioned above, Zeke Markshausen is a mainstay. The Wildcats can go heavy with "superback" sophomore Drake Dunsmore, a 235-pounder with 38 catches. Northwestern is particularly good at running "clear-outs," where the corners are pinched in on slants and posts, and the slot guys go out and up. Quarterback Mike Kafka has the arm to make all of the throws. Huge Advantage: Northwestern.

Punting: Auburn senior Clinton Durst dropped two yards in his punting average this year, finishing at 40.7. In Durst's defense, special teams coordinator Jay Boulware has revealed upon occasion that Durst was instructed to kick the ball out of bounds rather than test our suspect coverage unit. Junior Stefan Demos has struggled likewise for Northwestern, averaging only 35.3 yards per punt. Coverage for the Wildcats has been shaky, giving up 9.9 yards per return. Auburn's been downright bad on coverage, giving up 13.8 yards. Northwestern's 6.6 yard per punt return average won't impress anyone. Auburn has gone through a merry-go-round of return men, and has probably dropped a dozen punts on the ground over the course of the season. The Tigers' 4.5 yard punt return average is among the worst in the nation. It's been a miracle that the punt teams' woes haven't resulted in a loss. This may be the game! Advantage: Northwestern.

Kickoffs: Auburn is slightly better on kickoff distance, averaging 62.0 yards to Northwestern's 59.9. Auburn coverage has been worse, giving up 23.6 yards per return, to Northwestern's 21.1. Auburn has kicked 5 balls out of bounds, to Northwestern's 1. Lately, we've cheered kickoffs out of bounds, because the other team usually does BETTER than the 40 on returns! Northwestern averages 20.4 yards on returns. Auburn averages 23.6. The thing to note about the Tiger kick return game is that they discovered sophomore Demond Washington's talents late. Washington wasn't used on returns till late in the season, and he's averaging 32.2 yards per return. Slight Advantage: Auburn.

Placekicking: Auburn junior Wes Byrum has had a nearly flawless season, hitting on all of his 49 extra points, and 14 out of 15 field goals. Northwestern's Stefan Demos has a good year, too. Demos has hit on 31 of 32 extra point attempts, and 18 of 23 field goal attempts. Advantage: Auburn.

Auburn offensive line vs. Northwestern defensive line: This is a strength vs. strength matchup. The Tiger line has held its own all year, and was only really beaten against Georgia and LSU. Auburn placed junior left tackle Lee Ziemba and junior center Ryan Pugh on some second-team All-SEC units. Auburn runs an array of traps, draws, and misdirection plays. Pulling guards Mike Berry and Byron Issom have been used almost like fullbacks, and have been very effective blocking on the corner. Despite playing in a spread offense, the Tigers have only given up 18 sacks this season. Where Auburn is weakest is handling the speed rush at right tackle. Senior Andrew McCain is a solid run blocker, but has trouble with speed off the edge. I look for Northwestern to at times move senior defensive end Corey Wootton to the right to try and get a mismatch. Wootton vs. Ziemba should be a good battle. Wootton vs. McCain worries me. Wootton is big, at 280, and fast. Wootton isn't the only capable lineman Northwestern has. Junior tackle Corbin Bryant and senior Adam Hahn are solid. Sophomore defensive end Vince Browne is tied for the lead on the team with 4 sacks. There is Wildcat depth in front four, too. Slight Advantage: Auburn.

Auburn backs vs. Northwestern linebackers: Auburn's backs have done well most of the year, and should benefit from weeks of rest. Running back Ben Tate made second-team All-SEC. H-back Mario Fannin was a blocking force and caught 39 balls. Backup H-back Eric Smith is a threat, too. Freshman tailback Onterrio McCalebb is a speed-demon. He's been battling ankle injuries in the last 8 weeks of the season, but should be healthy for the bowl. Juniors Nate Williams and Quentin Davie anchor the Wildcat defense. The pair combined for 160 tackles, including 14 for loss. Davie has been dangerous as a pass rusher too, with 4 sacks, 6 quarterback hurries, and 4 forced fumbles. These are prototypical Big 10-sized linebackers at around 235-240, and they won't be bowled over easily! Advantage: Even.

Auburn receivers vs. Northwestern corners: For the Tigers, this is the Darvin Adams show. Left out of All-SEC balloting, Adams finished in the top five in the league in every category, including a spiffy 17.8 yards per catch average. Terrell Zachary holds down the number two spot, and is a threat on the end around. Zachary only has 24 catches on the year, but is averaging 19.4 yards per reception. Northwestern will counter with senior Sherrick McManus and sophomore Jordan Mabin. Mabin has only two passes defended on the season in 12 games, so look for Auburn to try to test him. Advantage: Auburn.

Auburn secondary receivers and quarterback vs. Northwestern safeties: Auburn will go with senior quarterback Chris Todd and a battle tested bunch. Blocking tight end Tommy Trott has been off and on as a receiver, and Chris Todd has struggled to get him the ball late in the season. The main receiving threat of the secondary receivers is Mario Fannin. That bubble screen to Fannin is probably our single most popular pass play, and I look for Northwestern to have the short zone dialed up for that. With a pair of seniors deep for Northwestern, Auburn may have trouble in the middle. Brad Phillips and Brendan Smith are solid, and sophomore Brian Peters are all among the leaders on the team in tackles. Advantage: Northwestern.

Auburn is not going to wow anyone on special teams, but they MUST minimize mistakes! When Northwestern has the ball, Auburn must really run to contain Kafka and the spread. If Auburn loses the battle at the line of scrimmage, it will be a long day of chasing Wildcat receivers. When Auburn has the ball, they have to continue to be multiple. If the Tigers have to rely on either the run or the pass too much, Northwestern has the scheme and players to shut it down. Chris Todd needs to have an accurate game in his Auburn finale, for the Tigers to win.

Prediction: With an El Nino pattern firmly in place, the gulf coast is seeing wave after wave of low pressure systems, mixed with waves of cold air from the northwest. It's been one of the wettest years on record, in the Southeast. Expect rain, for this year's Outback Bowl. Both teams will struggle with the conditions, and Auburn's running game is the difference in this one. Auburn wins, 27-20.

Postseason in the the SEC

Acid Reign — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 09:00:21 -0000

3rd team All-SEC?

War Eagle, everybody. The postseason of 2009 is on us, and the regular season is over. This time last season, I think most folks were glad it was over. Of course, December 2008 would turn out to be a terribly tumultuous month! We ran a head coach and staff off, at a cost of a cool $5 million. We hired a 5-19 replacement as the new head coach. The program was quite frankly in disarray! We were the laughing stock of the SEC, hands down.

A year later, how'd that work out for us? Against long odds, Auburn's football team won more than they lost, and they won the hearts of the fans. I don't think ANY of us are ready for the season to be over! In just one season, Auburn has vaulted to a New Year's Day bowl, and a winning record. A tremendous recruiting class seems to be in the making. There are 5 other 7-5 SEC teams, and I don't think they are laughing now!

This season, the SEC will send a record ten teams to bowl games. There are some tough challenges facing the SEC. I think most of the nation would love to see the SEC fall off its high-horse and lose big this bowl season. Texas will be a tough test for the SEC Champion, and the loser of the SEC title game will have to lick their wounds and get ready for another rough test. The Sugar Bowl is likely to match unbeaten Cincinnati against the SEC runner up, and if Cincy loses, then undefeated TCU. Penn State will be an extremely tough test for offensively-challenged LSU in the Capital One Bowl. Auburn's sometimes leaky defense will be tested by Northwestern in the Outback Bowl. Might be a record for points scored in that bowl! The Cotton will be a dangerous bowl, as both Ole Miss and Oklahoma State had hoped for much bigger things, this season. Likely bowl opponents in the second tier are Virginia Tech, North Carolina, U Conn, Texas A&M, and the Houston Cougars. SEC teams need to be on their games to match the success of the past three seasons. The SEC has won 19 of its last 26 bowl games.

The net yards per pass prizes, and ruminations on the SEC Championship Game, after the jump!

At the beginning of the season, I examined the net yards per pass of the projected starters in the SEC. Now that the regular season is over, let's see how they did:

SEC Eastern Division	Record	Record	Starting	Net Yards per pass	Net Yards per pass
Team	SEC	Overall	Quarterback	End of Season	Preseason
Florida	6-0	8-0	Tim Tebow	8.1	8.6
Tennessee	4-4	7-5	Jonathan Crompton	5.5	3.8
Georgia	4-4	7-5	Joe Cox	5.7	6.6
South Carolina	3-5	7-5	Stephen Garcia	5.8	3.5
Kentucky	3-5	7-5	Mike Hartline Morgan Newton Will Fiddler	3.4 4.1 3.3	3.9
Vanderbilt	0-8	2-10	Larry Smith Mackenzi Adams	3.4 3.8	3.4 3.8

SEC Western Division	Record	Record	Starting	Net Yards per pass	Net Yards per pass
Team	SEC	Overall	Quarterback	End of Season	Preseason
Alabama	8-0	12-0	Greg McElroy	6.8	8.1
LSU	5-3	9-3	Jordan Jefferson	6.1	5.1
Ole Miss	4-4	8-4	Jevan Snead	4.9	6.3
Arkansas	3-5	7-5	Ryan Mallett	8.4	4.6
Auburn	3-5	7-5	Chris Todd	7.0	4.4
Mississippi State	3-5	5-7	Tyson Lee Chris Relf	3.4 3.2	4.9 1.4

Only three quarterbacks managed to finish at 7.0 or above, but every bowl eligible SEC team finished with a quarterback over 4.0 yards per pass. Those that did not attain 4.0 are sitting home for the holidays. It's been an odd year, in that most of the very experienced returning quarterbacks actually had statistically worse years in 2009. Tim Tebow's numbers are still good enough for second place, but he's down a half yard. Mike Hartline and Tyson Lee declined, too. Jevan Snead plunged from pre-season All-SEC 2^nd team to 9^th place in the league. Snead paced the SEC with 17 interceptions. Long-time backups Joe Cox and Greg McElroy both saw their stats shrink, thrust into starting roles. The winners in the improvement department are Ryan Mallett, Chris Todd, Stephen Garcia, and Jonathan Crompton. Crompton survived a HORRID September, to finish with a respectable 5.5 net yard per pass.

Ryan Mallett performed well enough to cause All-SEC voters to do some head-scratching. Who IS the best SEC quarterback? If you were arguing on strictly an MVP-type basis, you'd have to give the award to Mallett. Without him, Arkansas easily finishes in the West cellar. Looking at what each quarterback brings to the field, Tim Tebow ALONE makes Florida two-dimensional. However, is Arkansas' one dimension better than Florida's two? Total yards tell the tale: Mallett has 3387, and Tebow has 2962. Comparing the teams, Florida put up 5416 yards, and Arkansas 5272. To me, it's a tough comparison. I think if Tebow has a good game in the SEC title match, he'll win the All-SEC quarterback sweepstakes. If Bama's defense makes Tebow look human, it's Mallett's prize. Number three in the league HAS to be a surprise to everyone: Chris Todd. In this context, he's had a pretty amazing season.

I don't have a strong opinion on who is going to win the SEC title game. Both teams sport awesome defenses and good depth. I think Florida is a little better on offense, and a little better on special teams. And, I think Florida has the best player in the league calling the signals. I see another close Florida win, but it's certainly not carved in stone. The DUI arrest of defensive end Carlos Dunlap could be a distraction factor for the Gators. Alabama received a serious wake-up call in the Iron Bowl against Auburn. It could play out differently on the field, than on paper. I can remember ten years ago, a heavily favored Florida team was dismantled by a more motivated Bama group, 34-7. There have been surprising SEC Title game results this decade, to be sure! There was LSU's stunning 31-20 win over UT in 2001, The 34-13 LSU blowout of UGA in 2003, and Georgia's blowout of LSU in 2005. I'll watch this one for fun, as just a fan of the game! And yes, I'd rather see the West win. But I can't bring myself to say the "RT" words...

End of Regular Season Thoughts

WarDamnZach — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 03:00:15 -0000

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With all the "moral victory" talk and "Bowl" talk I thought I would throw my two copper pieces in about Auburn this season. I do not believe in moral victories, a win is a win and a loss is a loss. What I do believe in is a fan base believing in what a coach and a program are doing. No one really gave this Tiger team a chance in the Iron Bowl, but the staff got the players prepared and ready to fight. That shows me that Chizik and the boys have that never give up attitude, and that was not the case last season. In my view, Auburn has a lot of great things going for them as a program.

Gene Chizik was not my first choice as a coach for "my" Auburn Tigers. I could not tell you who my first choice was, but Chizik was not it. Some members of his staff on the other hand were my first choice. Gus Malzahn has been great for Auburn, Trooper Taylor as well. Curtis Luper has been a surprise for me. I thought that Eddie Gran should be retained, but I guess it is good that he was not. No chance of dissention in the ranks. Ted Roof took a lot of heat from me and others, but he did a lot with very little. It will be a great thing that our young players got serious playing time this season. They will be veterans next season, although they might only be sophomores.

As far as the bowl situation, it really should not matter to the fans where Auburn ends up. The players will have the ability to practice for another month because they are bowl eligible. That is huge, especially for the younger guys… and for next years starting QB. I have no idea who it is yet, but it will not be Chris Todd, so someone is getting extra practice time. Auburn and its players will also get the goodies that go with going to a bowl game. Besides the extra practice time, I think the best thing about going bowling this season is it is a reward for a team that came together and overcame their short roster and coaching changes. I think that there are too many bowls… I bet I have said that at least 100 times, but this Auburn team deserves one this season.

Being selfish, I was hoping that Auburn got to play Georgia Tech in the Chic-fil-A Bowl so I could attend, but I think that it will be UGA and Clemson playing in that game. I though that would have pushed Auburn into Shreveport to play Texas A&M, but somehow Tennessee got out of playing the Outback. Just goes to show you that no one really has a clue when it comes to bowls. Too bad it is a 10am kickoff.

If you have not read AubTigerMans fan post you should. It just goes to show you that playing with the heart of a champion can bring everyone closer together. Auburn fans are the best, and I am proud to be one.

War Damn Eagle

Oh, What Might Have Been!

Acid Reign — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 18:40:51 -0000

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Alabama escapes from Auburn, 26-21.

War Eagle, everybody. It's time now for the Acid Reign Report on the 2009 Iron Bowl. I'm of two minds about this game. Honestly, I think we should have won this game, but a few mistakes held us back. However, there is no questioning that Auburn put forth a superhuman effort. If Coach Gene Chizik and his staff can summon forth that sort energy in future Iron Bowls, we will do well!

In my keys to victory post 10 days ago, I said that the Tigers needed to chiefly do three things: run the ball, stop the run, and play turnover-free. There was a little bit of success running. Auburn stopped the run emphatically. Turnovers were costly. Both Chris Todd turnovers, a fumble and an interception, set up Bama field goal attempts. Leigh Tiffin honked one of those wide right, but the other was good, pulling Alabama within 1 point. Had we not had those turnovers, Wes Byrum might have been attempting a 54 yard field goal at the end to send it to overtime. I like Byrum's chances a lot better than a Hail Mary! Auburn also gave up avoiding kicking to Javier Arenas, and that cost Auburn. A 56 yard punt return set Alabama up at the Auburn 33, which resulted in another field goal. We'd have been better off punting it out of bounds for no gain, on that one!

The Tigers came out with a wide-open offensive game plan, utilizing all sorts of misdirection plays, reverses, double passes, and swinging gates. The scheme really slowed down the Alabama pursuit, and forced them to attack more than they wanted. When Alabama started crowding the line, that opened up the Auburn passing game. Unfortunately, the Tigers did not do a good job of taking advantage. Tommy Trott was doing such a good job blocking on the corner that Tide defenders were avoiding being in the same zip code with Trott. We tried several slant passes to Trott, and missed them all. We had a number of opportunities to get running backs loose on screens, but didn't pull the trigger till 3^rd down, when Bama was sitting back in zone coverage. We managed to burn Alabama's corner blitz package with an out and up for a 72 yard touchdown, but never tried it again. Alabama secondary members totaled 5.5 tackles for loss. There was opportunity to throw over them, but we could not do it.

Special teams had a few good plays, but were not very good, overall. There were multiple kickoffs out of bounds, multiple fumbled punts, short punts, and line drive punts. We let Javier Arenas get 3 returns, and he burned us for 102 yards on those. The few bright spots were a successful onside kick, 2 punts killed inside the 20 by Clinton Durst, and 99 kick return yards on 4 kickoffs.

For the first time all season, Auburn utilized a run-blitz package, and it paid dividends! Bama was forced to operate from the shotgun and try mostly short passes. When you've held Alabama to 73 rushing yards, with a first year linebacker and two first year safeties, you've done really well! With good pressure, Greg McElroy avoided the costly turnover, but he was forced into drive-killing bad throws. I'd say defensive coordinator Ted Roof called a brilliant defensive game plan, except for one play. On third and nine from the Auburn 33 in the second quarter, we went with a safety blitz and left a linebacker in man coverage with Colin Peek. That decision resulted in an easy Alabama TD pass. You just don't call safety blitzes on 3^rd and long! ESPECIALLY if you're going to hand an all-SEC tight end off to a linebacker to cover!

Unit Grades, after the jump.

Defensive Line: A. There is little to find fault with, here. Auburn had their best day of the season, up front! Antonio Coleman and Antoine Carter both proved that they could sacrifice personal glory and stats, to play great contain on the Alabama running game. When it was an obvious passing situation, Coleman took James Carpenter and Drew Davis to school a few times. The tackle-end twist worked well too, with Nick Fairley able to turn the corner on Bama tackles. Mike Blanc and Jake Ricks stoned the Bama line, and plugged the middle. Points off on one Jake Ricks offside penalty.

Linebackers: B+. This might have been the best game of the season for the linebackers. It certainly was, against teams with a pulse! True freshman Jonathan Evans stepped up and did not back down against Heisman Trophy candidate Mark Ingram. Bama ran it right at Evans and Evans responded with 8 solo tackles! Josh Bynes was a force, with ten total tackles. Points off on Craig Stevens vs. Bama's Preston Dial, Brad Smelley, and Colin Peek. Bama blockers mostly handled Stevens. Points off also on Josh Bynes letting Peek loose for a second quarter touchdown. Bynes should have never been put in that situation, though.

Secondary: B. Auburn did a good job in two deep zone, taking the long pass away from Alabama. The Tide did try to force a couple into coverage, and both Walter McFadden and Neiko Thorpe responded with pass breakups. Run support from the whole secondary was good, but not great. On Alabama's last drive, the safeties got played a bit. The big 17 yard catch and run on the screen to Trent Richardson was on the safeties. Bates barely hung on at the ten. The fullback on the game-winning touchdown was Washington's man. As you might expect, that was a difficult adjustment to ask of a first year player.

A note on the Auburn defense this season: When Gene Chizik first arrived in Auburn in 2002, he had a very talented defense to work with, including future pro stars Carlos Rogers, Carlos Dansby, Dontarrious Thomas, Reggie Torbor, Spencer Johnson, and Jay Ratliff. Still, it took awhile before those guys "got it." We were diced pretty badly, in the first half of the season, including giving up record rushing yards to Arkansas at home in a 38-17 loss. The light didn't really come on till late in the year, against Georgia, Bama, and Penn State. This year, Chizik and Roof have had to deal with a sub-par interior line, and a woefully thin back seven. Against Alabama, the light came on for this defense. There now seems to be some chemistry, and understanding of what the coaching staff wants. When the light came on in 2002, we were treated to some awesome defense for the next few years. For the 2009 Tiger defense, the light is now on again!

Punting: C+. If Clinton Durst had kicked every punt out of bounds for a 30 yard average, I'd have given the punting unit an A! Auburn did that early on, but in the second half they gave Javier Arenas some chances. Overall it was a solid performance. I hated giving up the 56 yard return, but we are hardly the only team Arenas has done that to! We ended up averaging a mediocre 40 yards per punt, with only a 31.6 yard net. Two punts killed inside the 20 helps this grade.

Punt Returns: D-. On five punts, dropped two on the ground. I pass this unit only because Auburn got both bobbles back. Priority one in the offseason is recruiting, priority two is finding and grooming a new quarterback. But I'd say that next on the list is finding a punt returner. This has been the worst year for Auburn punt returners EVER. We've had some bad years before, but nothing like this!

Kick Returns: C. Demond Washington averaged 24.8 yards on four returns. If that stat is compared to team averages this season, Washington would be tied for 3^rd in the SEC. Not bad, but against the last-place kick coverage team in the league, I had hoped for more.

Kickoffs: B. Morgan Hull kicked deep 3 times, and two of them went out of bounds. Against Javier Arenas, that's a favorable result. I'm surprised Bama didn't make us kick it again, on those! The two out of bounders gave Bama the ball at the 40. When we DID kick it to Arenas at the goal line, he returned it to the 46. Should have kicked all three out of bounds! The Tigers had a perfectly executed onside kick. It was brilliantly conceived, with the team acting lackadaisical, and not even lining up before Byrum suddenly just bunted that ball, and raced with it. It caught Alabama totally off-guard. That cat's out of the bag, I think. We won't be able to catch anyone else on that for at least five years!

Placekicking A+. Wes Byrum continued a near-perfect season by hitting all of his extra points. Byrum finishes the season having converted 14 of 15 field goals attempts, and 100% of his extra points. Magnificent!

Offensive Line: B+. It wouldn't be an Auburn football game without a Lee Ziemba false start. At least he got it over with in the first quarter. Ziemba had a pretty good day blocking on Lorenzo Washington and Brandon Deaderick, as did Andrew McCain. The two Tide ends combined for only 4 tackles, none for a loss. Auburn had less success dealing with Alabama blitzers. Eryk Anders was particularly elusive, racking up 3.5 tackles for loss, and 3 quarterback hurries. The Auburn line basically held their own, but didn't generate much push. Nearly all of Auburn's successful running plays were on trick plays to the outside. Pass protection was decent, most of the time.

Receivers: A. You can't ask for much more than these guys produced. They had great downfield blocking, no drops, and got a lot of separation on a very good Bama secondary. The greatest failure in this game was not utilizing these guys more. Both Darvin Adams and Terrell Zachary looked FAST against the Bama secondary.

Running Backs: C. Ben Tate ran hard, as did Onterrio McCalebb, but that's about all you can say. Great catch early for a touchdown, by Eric Smith. Blocking was quite poor, in this one. The only times the backs slowed Tide defenders down was when Ben Tate picked up a holding call. Mario Fannin bobbled a screen pass away that had the potential to go for a long TD. This might have been the worst day by the backs all year. Bonus points for no fumbles. Still, we needed a LOT better production blocking.

Quarterback: C-. Auburn had a plan to exploit the Alabama defense. When it moved to phase two, and we had to hit some short passes, we couldn't. Chris Todd had some nice downfield throws to Darvin Adams, but none to any other outside receivers. Terrell Zachary can run down the field all alone, and Todd will never look his way. Todd completed a decent amount of screen passes, but these were usually on third and long, and ended up well short of the first down. Todd missed the slant to Tommy Trott three times way high, ending up with an interception on the last one. Todd missed the quick hitch three times. Todd had a sack-fumble. Sack-fumbles are somewhat excusable from the blind side, but Todd was hit from the front. Sometimes a QB just has to fall down and eat it. After the first quarter, Todd kept us in the game with the 72-yard pass to Adams, but did very little beyond that. A half dozen better throws would have given Auburn a double digit win over the Tide.

I hate losing to Alabama, make no mistake about it. At home, it's an even more bitter pill to swallow. This one is easier than the last two Iron Bowl losses in Jordan Hare, because we appear to be on an upswing with our program. This is a game a more experienced Auburn squad might have dominated. It also makes one wonder where we'd be if we had played like this against Arkansas, against Kentucky, against LSU. Carrying the momentum over will be a challenge for the returning players and coaching staff.

My hat's off to Alabama. They got a lot more than they bargained for on this road trip, but they didn't panic. They didn't turn the ball over, and they didn't give up. Perseverance gave the Tide their second perfect regular season in a row. I think the Tide folks also know that they'll need a LOT better performance in the SEC Championship game, if they are to defeat the Gators.

It will be an exciting bowl and off season, for Auburn, but we must temper our expectations with realism. As Pat Dye said last week, next year's team won't be much better than this one. Problems will have to be worked on, and newcomers brought in that will play immediately. Nowhere will Auburn be hit harder by graduation than on the defensive line. The loss of Antonio Coleman and Jake Ricks will be huge. The loss of Walter McFadden will be big, too. McFadden was a top-flight cover corner, AND a great leader. Auburn will be solid kicking the ball, but will have to find a new punter. Returns and coverage were an absolute mess this season, and should see a lot of work. The offensive line will have to replace a tackle, and the replacement of seniors Tommy Trott, Ben Tate, and Chris Todd will not be easy. The quarterback race will be critical. Unless Kodi Burns makes a dramatic comeback, we'll be starting a green QB, next fall. If we learned nothing this season, we know that Malzhan's offense is heavily tied to quarterback play.

War Eagle to all, and have a great finish to Thanksgiving Weekend!

The Light of a Clear Blue Morning: Thoughts on the Iron Bowl

Todd — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 16:55:27 -0000

More photos » by Dave Martin - AP

25 days ago: Alabama's Roy Upchurch (5) catches a 4-yard pass from quarterback Greg McElroy (12) late in the fourth quarter of an NCAA college football game as Auburn's Neiko Thorpe (15) and Antonio Coleman (52) pursue at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala., Friday, Nov. 27, 2009. Alabama won 26-21. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

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OTS will have his initial impressions up later, but there's a few things I wanted to note after looking at the box score and thinking back on all the things we said about this game over the past week. Although the Tigers managed to outgain us in total yardage (332 yards to our 291) and hold us to only 73 yards rushing (and a horrible 2.1 ypc average), there were quite a few other factors that played heavily into the Tide's victory:

1. QB Play: All week long "taking Ingram away and making McElroy win the game" was considered the key if Auburn hoped to pull the upset. Well, they succeeded in both aspects but it didn't turn out like Auburn hoped. Compare the stat lines.

	Comp	Att	%	Yds	YPC	TD	INT	Sack	YdsL
McElroy	21	31	67.7	218	10.4	2	0	3	7
Todd	15	25	60.0	181	12.1	2	1	3	32

When it came down to it, McElroy completed at a higher percentage and moved his offense while Todd gave Alabama two scoring opportunities with turnovers. Barron's INT set up the FG that drew Alabama to within 1 point, and his fumble on a sack by Eryk Anders resulted in a missed FG. And while we're talking sacks, both QBs took three, though Todd managed to lose 32 yards when getting hit while McElroy gave up only 7. Further, McElroy operated the two minute offense to perfection on the final drive, leading the Tide down the field on a 15 play, 79 yard TD drive to take the first lead of the game, all while completing 6 of 7 passes and converting three 3rd downs (including the TD throw to Upchurch). The closest Auburn came to mounting a similar lengthy drive was the 12 play, 58 yard second TD drive (after the recovered onside kick), which was greatly aided by a false start penalty and a unsportsmanlike call on Justin Woodall's boneheaded tantrum.

2. Number of Snaps: Thought it might not have seemed like it, we did flip the script on Auburn, holding them to only 59 offensive snaps while getting 67 ourselves. It was the lowest number of offensive plays Auburn has run in conference play (with 61 against LSU being the second closest).

3. Cheap Scores: On the Radio Hour we talked about the need to keep Auburn from getting cheap scores on our defense. I said repeatedly that Malzahn's offense is so good at it's misdirection and causing missed assignments resulting in big gains that it would present a challenge for our defense, forcing us to stay at home and take proper pursuit angles all while playing at the same aggressive speed we've come to prize. Sure enough, two of Auburn's three* TDs came as a result of missed assignments and Auburn's players making plays in space that could have been stopped short but for a) effort on their part and b) poor technique on ours.

Cheap TD the First: Terrell Zachary rushes for a 67 yard TD on a reverse. How did it happen? As Bamagrad noted, Eryk Anders lost contain on the reverse and let the play get rolling, but two other players could have kept Zachary from the end zone. Kareem Jackson had a shot at a tackle after getting off of a block by an Auburn offensive lineman, though it would have been an ankle tackle at best. Arenas also had a chance but he overran the play, allowing Zachary to cut back inside and reach the end zone for the score. A missed assignment and a bad pursuit angle gave Auburn their first score of the game.

Cheap TD the Second: In the 3rd quarter, with Alabama having tied the game back up at 14 before the half, Chris Todd finds a wide open Darvin Adams for a 72 yard TD. It was a two play scoring drive (Kodi Burns had rushed for four yards on first down) that put the Tigers right back in the driver's seat, and it came on a missed assignment. We'd been having success with the corner blitz and went back to the well, but Mark Barron, instead of staying over the top, stayed shallow and allowed Adams to blow right by him, resulting in the second "cheap" score of the game. That's 14 points given up by the defense because of missed assignments.

4. Extending Drives: Alabama had 13 drives in the game (including the two play drive at the end of the first half with :39 left on the clock) and made first downs on 8 of them (62%), while Auburn managed 14 drives and managed a first down on only 6 of them (43%). That includes their two play, 72 yard TD drive. Going further, only 3 of their 14 drives resulted in a scoring opportunity, while six resulted in 3 and outs, two ended in turnovers, and the final drive...well, you know what happened there. Meanwhile, Alabama had four 3 and outs and a turnover on downs, but otherwise was generally able to extend their drives into scoring opportunities (punting only once after having previously converted a first down on the drive).

5. Taking Their Best Shot: Lost in the hoopla of Auburn's quick start and control of the scoreboard until late in the game is that Alabama won the final three quarters 26-7 and effectively stymied the Auburn offense through the latter half of the game. Credit the team's resilience and confidence for not panicking and continuing to grind away.

Putting it all together, the game played out like a lot of us expected. Auburn sold out to stop Ingram, threw everything they had at us early, and managed to catch us off guard for some easy scores. Thankfully, it also played out for us like we pretty well expected; we limited their snaps, took advantage of take aways and good returns by Arenas, and when it counted dug down and ground out a win against a thin and gassed defense.

* while the third TD came after an actual drive, that drive was forced to cover only 58 yards after a surprise onside kick that should have been tipped by the weird formation Auburn was using. I won't say Auburn didn't earn the TD, but I will say they caught us napping once again to set up the score.

Iron Bowl Thoughts... Right Now

WarDamnZach — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 03:00:19 -0000

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With a couple of days to go, I have some serious waffling going on in my mind. On the one hand, it appears that Bama is a well oiled machine, and will roll over the Tigers. On the flip side of that, Auburn is coming into this Iron Bowl with "no chance" to win. The last time I can remember that it was 1989. Nothing will compare to that game and the atmosphere in Jordan-Hare will not be that electric again, especially in this 2009 matchup.

Here are my thoughts as of this moment… ask me ten minutes from now and I am sure they will have changed, at least slightly. First and foremost is that Chris Todd will have to have a career day. I mean a Tre Smith type of career day, one he will be remembered for. He will have to make the perfect passes over the middle, and be able to complete the deep ball. The Alabama secondary is not all that, but neither is Todd’s deep ball. Terrell Zachery and Darvin Adams will have to make the plays.

Auburn will not be able to pound the ball up the middle. Onterio McCallebb is still nursing the high ankle sprain and Ben Tate could not get free on Georgia’s defense and for sure will not be able to do it on the Tide. The play action will be just for show, as the Tide will be to stout up front. I also have a feeling that the Alabama blitz will be on every play. That is assuming that they will have to blitz to get pressure on Todd. That brings me to my next point.

The offensive line is going to have to give Chris the time to go through his reads. The line is also going to need to keep its composure and discipline. No penalties. None. When they get one it always seems to be at a drive killing moment. So in my mind they cannot have any. No false starts, no holds, no nothing. Personally, I think the screen pass could be the Tigers best weapon on Friday. Again that is assuming that the Tide blitzes on every play.

Offensively Auburn should be able to move the ball. I think that Gus will have some tricks up his sleeve and Auburn will score on some sort of BIG play. Alabama seems to give up plenty of yards, but locks down when they have to. If Auburn can make it through the game with no turnovers, the game can stay relatively close.

Defensively Auburn is just plain weak. No Eltoro at the Linebacker spot will hurt us, but with the previous bye week, Josh Bynes, Craig Stevens and Adam Herring should be well rested. The defensive line will have to get pressure on Greg McElroy. He is the weak link to the machine that is the Alabama offense. If Auburn can rattle him he has been known to make the bad decision, and kill a drive. Auburn will have to cause a least two turnovers to win, maybe one will have to be a score as well. Mark Ingram does not fumble, so the turnovers will have to be off of McElroy.

Speaking of Ingram, I am thinking he is going to make is Heisman push against the Tigers. Saban is not only going to want to blow Auburn out at home, but get Alabama their first Heisman winner in the process. Auburn’s line is going to have to "get big" and plug up the holes. Ted Roof is not going to be able to keep a LB or Safety spying on Ingram. While in the past, I have thought that the secondary of Auburn was okay, watching Neiko Thorpe get beat deep on damn near every play against UGA is a major problem. Walt McFadden is going to have to line up with Julio Jones, because Thorpe will get beat like a dog… again. So Marquis Maze will be the go to guy for Alabama, especially lined up against Neiko. Lastly, Bynes or Stevens will have to be out in coverage against Colin Peek, the Tight End of the Tide. Neither of these guys is very good in coverage, so they will have to step up huge. Peek is one of McElroy’s favorite targets.

Special teams will have to be just that… Special. No turnovers! On the cover teams, they are going to have to play better then they have all year. Javier Arenas is amazing; I would not punt it to him under any circumstances. Clinton Durst is going to have to earn his scholarship this week. I hope he has been practicing his directional punts. Wes Byrum has had a good year, if he can make some big kicks against Bama it could be a great year. If Auburn can have a clean special teams game, it will go a long way to allowing the Tigers to pull the upset.

So as you can see, Auburn will have to have a near perfect game to hang with the Tide. They are for real, but in my view they are still the "luckiest team in America." Sometimes luck has to be on your side to remain undefeated. It is well documented that the Alabama offense struggles in the red zone. If Auburn can just hold on and keep them out of the endzone, Chris Todd and the offense could just pull out the upset. Auburn is playing for pride and bowl position… All the pressure is on Alabama, if they win "they were supposed to." If they lose, "they are finished when it comes to the National Championship."

Auburn could really mess up the SEC in the BCS with a huge win in Jordan-Hare. With a win over Bama and then Bama winning against Florida neither will be in the National Championship game, and it would be quite a remarkable feat for the Tigers to keep the Tide out of the big one.

Can Auburn do it? Damn right. Should we as Auburn fans expect it? No way. Should we scream our collective heads off in attempt up pump up the players? Count on it.

War Damn Eagle

Time To Give Thanks...

Jay Coulter — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 07:00:12 -0000

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It seems Thanksgiving and the end of football season gets here a little quicker each year. It's almost unfair that baseball and basketball can linger on forever, yet the game we love most comes and goes within a matter of weeks. So here we are again, the end of another football season and the beginning of another round of holiday madness.

If you've been a reader of Track'em Tigers over the past three years you know that one of my favorite things to do each Thanksgiving is to stop and give thanks for all the many blessings I've received in life. This is hardly an original idea. For as long as I can remember, I've been getting up on Thanksgiving morning and racing to the paper box to grab a copy of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution to read writer Furman Bisher's annual holiday column. Nowadays, I just crank up the computer - and no, it's not the same.

Bisher retired earlier this year after more than half a century behind the typewriter. Maybe it's fitting that his career comes to an end at a time when the newspaper business is also taking its last breath. He will be remembered as perhaps the greatest sports writer in the history of the South. I hope he won't mind if I take a page from his playbook and share with you all that I'm thankful for this year. Without further ado...

I'm thankful that for the past 16 years I've called the same woman my wife. I guess these days that's a lot of years. Talking her into marrying and staying with me is the crowning achievement of my life. If I never do another thing else, I've done pretty well.
I'm thankful for the hiring of Gene Chizik as Auburn football coach. He wasn't my first, second or tenth choice, but I'm sure glad he's here now. He may not become the next Jordan, Dye or Tuberville, but he sure carries himself the way an Auburn football coach should. He's been nothing but class since his arrival.
I'm thankful for two of the greatest kids in the world. There's not enough money in the world to replace the feeling of seeing them come through the door each evening. I don't deserve them, but I'm sure glad God sent them my way.
I'm thankful for Chris Todd and Kodi Burns. Their pictures will never be on the side of the stadium, but the lessons I've learned from them this year are more important. The next time you face adversity at work, stop and think about these kids and what they've been through on the football field and how they've handled it. It's better than any self-help book.
I'm thankful for the 13 years I had with my Newfoundland - the best dog a man can have. As I write, I do so with a heavy heart. Today, I had to put him to sleep after a short illness. As you can imagine, he's become family after all these years and right now I feel like I've been punched and kicked in the heart a thousand times. To borrow a line from the Georgia faithful, "He was a damn good dog."
I'm thankful for people like Jana Tarleton. As president of the Columbus/Phenix City Auburn Club, she started a program called Tigers For Heroes. Each week she searches all across the Tiger Nation for Auburn football tickets to give out to service members who were injured in combat. What started as something small has grown quickly. Thanks to her, these deserving veterans are getting a chance to feel the Auburn Spirit.
I'm thankful for all the many regulars here at Track'em Tigers. I can't thank you enough for spending part of your day with us. Reading your comments, I realize I'm not nearly as smart or knowledgeable as you are about Auburn football. One of the highlights of my day is reading your thoughts.
I'm thankful for Thom Gossom. The former Auburn player helped break the color barrier on The Plains and now shares his story with others. Thom's experience at Auburn was not like most, yet he still loves his school and continues to be a tremendous ambassador. Do yourself a favor and pick up his book, Walk On. It's a must read for all Auburn people.
I'm thankful for the three guys that share the stage with me here at Track'em Tigers. They are simply the best. Not only are they great writers and knowledgeable about Auburn football, but most importantly they care. Keeping up a daily blog is not easy - especially in March. Yet they always come up with interesting stories. It's a pleasure working with each of them.
I'm thankful for Coke in a stadium cup at Jordan-Hare. Is it just me or do cokes taste better at Pat Dye Field than anywhere else on earth? And no, it's not the bourbon.
I'm thankful for our visitors from other schools. There are a number of Alabama, LSU and Georgia fans who visit TET regularly and share great insight and enjoy the rivalry between the schools. Football is a lot more fun when fans can discuss it intelligently.
I'm thankful for the new SEC television agreement and big screen televisions. I'm not a fan of SEC Commissioner Mike Slive, but I have to give him props for the new television deal. Having access to every SEC game, every week is unbelievable. It's hard to believe that growing up, I spent most of my Saturday's listening to Auburn on the radio.
And finally, I'm thankful for beating Alabama six in a row. The odds are long Friday, but the streak gives us all hope that things will turn around quickly. If you are making your way to Jordan-Hare Stadium on Friday please drive carefully.

Happy Thanksgiving. Beat Bama!