Auburn notebook: Tigers change Sunday practice routine

AUBURN — On the third Sunday after its third consecutive loss, a beat-up Auburn team rested.

Gene Chizik nixed practice in favor of team meetings and added film study Sunday, giving the Tigers a full 48 hours away from the field before practice resumes Tuesday.

“We’re beat up,” defensive end Antonio Coleman said. “Today helped us and tomorrow is going to help us.”

Injury-wise, the Tigers are just like every other team in college football: nicks and bruises across the board, a handful of players sidelined and a whole bunch of fatigue after eight games in a row.

The major injury has yet to hit the Tigers, though, and it’s something Chizik has been cautioning against ever since the first days of practice in August, when the Tigers waited a few extra days before donning pads.

“We’ve been going a long time,” defensive coordinator Ted Roof said. “To take this tape and spend a lot of time on it, and as we always do, go through it in tremendous detail. I think the change of pace is always good and coach Chiz knows what he’s doing and made a good decision. I think we got a lot of good work done today.”

There was plenty to analyze, especially in the first quarter, when the Tigers committed six penalties for 59 yards. Or the breakdowns on LSU’s numerous big plays. Or the missed opportunities on offense.

The list goes on and on.

“It was a good thing in the sense that we watched film, sat down and saw all the mistakes we made and how the correct those,” Coleman said. “We had a lot of time and need to watch film.”

Tailback Onterio McCalebb said the offensive players had a players-only meeting in an attempt to boost each other’s confidence after a third consecutive season-low in points and yards.

“We’re going to go out there and do what we got to do like we did in the first five games,” McCalebb said. “We have enough players on the teams to make plays on offense so we have to go out there and do what we’ve got to do.”

Banged up: Adam Herring was listed on the participation chart as playing Saturday, but Chizik said the sophomore linebacker didn’t make it on the field for a combination of reasons.

“Adam’s been a little bit banged up and beat up,” Chizik said of Herring, who has said before that the heel he had surgery on during the offseason is constantly sore.

“We played a lot of nickel as well, too. There weren’t as many opportunities.”

Eltoro Freeman resumed his starting role where Herring had been playing and led the Tigers with 12 tackles.

To the face: Wildcat triggerman Kodi Burns didn’t have time to see a dentist, so he just kept on playing.

Chizik said Burns had two teeth knocked out and required stitches on his lip after a hit he took in the first quarter.

Burns carried the ball six times for 17 yards and attempted one pass out of the Wildcat.

“Just one of those tough guys,” Chizik said. “I’ve got to give him a lot of credit.”

Penalty talk: Two questionable calls from Saturday’s first quarter were brought up to Chizik on Sunday.

He opted for the high road on both, though he had to smile with clenched teeth when describing one of the calls.

Chizik said he saw the illegal contact that was called on safety Zac Etheridge on a pivotal third down in Auburn territory on the game’s first drive. After an off-sides call against Auburn on the next play, LSU scored the game’s first touchdown.

“To the best of my knowledge, it was basically illegal contact, meaning some sort of helmet-to-helmet call,” Chizik said. “It was an aggressive hit, there’s no question about that.”

The Tigers were also whistled for a head-scratching sideline infraction on an LSU fourth-and-6 with LSU kicker Josh Jasper lining up a 54-yard field goal attempt. The call moved Jasper 5 yards closer, but he still missed the kick.

The call was a career-first for Chizik, who cut himself off before raising any sort of fuss about it.

“They’re doing the best they can do,” Chizik said. “Officials do a good job and they do the best they can do.”