Auburn notebook: Tiger special teams struggle

Another rough night for Tigers special teams: Wes Byrum hit all four of his extra points and nailed a 32-yard field right before halftime.
That’s about all that went right for the Tigers’ special teams in the first half Saturday in arguably its worst 30-minute stretch of the season.

Anthony Gulley, who was perceived to have won the punt returning job with a strong showing against West Virginia, didn’t make it through the entire first half.

He fumbled his first attempt, which was recovered by Ball State and immediately converted into a touchdown. After awkwardly allowing a punt to roll more than 10 yards, Gulley didn’t make the most of his second chance when a penalty gave him a redo, fumbling on the return once again. Jason King recovered the fumble for Auburn to prevent the damage.

Quindarius Carr replaced Gulley for the last punt attempt of the first half.

The gaffes didn’t end there.

Kickoff specialist Morgan Hull committed his third illegal procedure penalty in as many games.

Two Auburn returns were nullified because of holding penalties.

A fake punt attempt late in the first half, when the Tigers led by 23, was borderline disastrous. Not only did Ball State stuff the attempt, but Onterio McCalebb went down with an injury to his right foot.

McCalebb did not return. Ball State converted the prime field position into a field goal.

Burns goes down early: Auburn’s offense lost its Wildcat early Saturday when Kodi Burns went out with an injured quadriceps muscle.
Burns had one carry for two yards in the first quarter and did not return thereafter.

Long list of injured Tigers

The bumps and bruises appear to be mounting for Auburn. Or, it may have simply been a matter of pre-emptive medicine heading into next week’s game at Tennessee.

The injured players were: linebacker Spencer Pybus, safety Mike Slade, safety Drew Cole, defensive end Nosa Eguae, safety Mike McNeil, offensive lineman Jorell Bostrom, offensive lineman A.J. Greene and offensive lineman Vance Smith.

Starting left guard Byron Isom did not dress due to a suspension for a violation of team rules.

New number: Gulley swapped out his No. 24 for No. 84 before Saturday’s game. No. 84 was previously worn by Montez Billings, who left the team last week because of “personal reasons.”

In remembrance: The American flag hanging behind the North end zone flew at half-staff Saturday in memory of Lee County Sheriff deputy James Anderson, who was killed in the line of duty Thursday.

Before the national anthem, a moment of silence was observed for Anderson, who was run over and pinned beneath the car of Gregory Lance Henderson during a routine traffic stop.

Put it on the board: Freshman Travante Stallworth made the first catch of any Auburn freshman wide receiver Saturday, catching a 16-yarder with 51 seconds remaining in the first half.

Delay: For the second consecutive game, Saturday’s kickoff was delayed because of inclement weather. The opening kickoff was delayed 24 minutes.

A severe thunderstorm rolled through the area roughly two hours before the 6 p.m. scheduled kickoff. The delay was announced shortly after the skies cleared.

Moving on up: Antonio Coleman’s half-sack in the first half, which gave him 17.0 for his career, moved him into a tie for sixth place on the all-time Auburn sack list.

Coleman joins Leonardo Carson (1996-99) and Willie Whitehead (1991-94) on the list.

Safety dance: Josh Bynes’ tackle for a safety in the first half was the first made by an individual Auburn player since 1998, when Charles Dorsey collected one against Louisiana Tech.

By the numbers: 5 — Chris Todd touchdown passes, which tied him for most thrown in a single game and gave him 11 for the season.
256 — yards of offense in the Tigers’ 26-point second quarter.
3 — consecutive games Auburn has scored more than 40 points in a game.
4 — punt returners used by the Tigers so far this season.