After nine tough weeks, Auburn needed an easy weekend. It got such with a game against Furman and took full advantage.
More important than the 63 points Auburn put up in the win was the chance to play many, many young players.
Auburn virtually emptied its bench following halftime and let second, third and fourth-stringers get in on the act.
It was especially beneficial for back-up quarterback Neil Caudle, who looked good throwing the football and leading the team to several second-half touchdowns.
Should starting QB Chris Todd go down at any point in the final two games, Caudle at least now has a little more game experience under his belt and shoud be a capable replacement.
Big one coming up at Georgia on Saturday. It should be pretty much a toss-up. If Auburn can pull it off, of course that would mean win No. 8. It would also mean a much more attractive bowl date on the horizon.
Auburn’s 33-20 win over Ole Miss on Saturday certainly showed everyone this Tiger team will fight with everything it has.
Unlike a year ago when the team completely fell apart during hard times, this group has met the challenge head on and was rewarded on Saturday for the efforts.
The Tiger defense, while giving up the big play at times, did the job against one of the top offenses in the conference.
And the Auburn offense put more points on the scoreboard than any team has against the Rebels.
It wasn’t a thing of beauty, but it was certainly encouraging for Auburn to pull out this win.
With Furman up next, Auburn will almost certainly be 7-3 going to Georgia in two weeks.
Not bad at all.
Auburn looked bad, bad at LSU on Saturday night. It really makes one wonder what has happened to an offense which was so promising early in the season.
I realize opponents may be catching on a bit to what Auburn is running, but I also have to believe this offense will work if executed correct. Of course, it’s no secret the Tigers are lacking in the talent department, but I still believe there are enough good players around to give a much better showing than we’ve seen in the past three weeks.
I think as much as anything the loss to Kentucky two weeks ago put some Auburn players in the mindset of a year ago - that everything is falling apart.
If Auburn still has some fight left in them, there’s time to turn it back around. Ole Miss is good, but Auburn could take them at Jordan-Hare if the offense starts clicking again and the defense plays strong.
If not, it will be another long day for the Tigers come Saturday.
I didn’t see it coming, Kentucky’s 21-14 win over Auburn. I really thought Auburn would come out on fire and bury Kentucky early.
What I do see now, very clearly, is the depth issues this team has - especially on defense. The Tigers unit, while playing well for most of three quarters, wilted like warm lettuce in the fourth quarter.
It will be interesting to see how this team responds at Baton Rouge on Saturday night. For some strange reason, maybe because I do believe this bunch has a lot of pride, I think Auburn will make a real game of it against LSU.
An upset? Not ready to go that far, but I think it will be a very interesting night.
