aubiefifty

it is more fun to sneak it in and a hell of a lot cheaper. i am sure it is harder to do now tho.

Nothing. He’s gladiator!

are baseball games expensive and can you park close? thanx for humoring me.

my fat turns to muscle at midnight.................

thanx richard i should have known you would not be nice..............

sear is a great player and i do not hate opposing teams players unless they hurt someone.i think bruce's coaching helped mr sears considerably.

and how stupid are bama fans?

say something nice to those of us that try and fail.................

247sports.com QA with Butch Thompson heading into 2024 season Jason Caldwell 7–9 minutes TUSCALOOSA, Alabama — Auburn's first loss in nearly two months came in dramatic fashion on the road. The Tigers fought their way back from a double-digit deficit and made for a back-and-forth game down the stretch, but couldn't make enough plays — and free throws — at the end, as No. 8 Auburn's 11-game winning streak came to an end in Tuscaloosa with a 79-75 loss to Alabama on Wednesday night. Here are Auburn Undercover's five takeaways from Auburn's first SEC loss of the season. NOT ENOUGH AT THE END As has been customary for these teams in recent seasons, Wednesday's rivalry matchup came down to the final minute. Alabama led by 3, 71-68 with just over two minutes remaining. Jaylin Williams, who had struggled a bit offensively at the start of the game, hit a quick hook shot. Auburn played strong defense on the other end of the floor against Rylan Griffen, who missed a contested 3-pointer, but Alabama pulled down its 15th offensive rebound, and Grant Nelson made two free throws. Johni Broome (25 points) had easily been Auburn's best player all night, but he missed a shot at the rim which could have cut the lead back to 1. And Alabama's 16th offensive rebound was also a killer, as Nelson skied overtop of the defense for a putback dunk to put Alabama up by 5. Still, the Tigers didn't go away, as K.D. Johnson hit two free throws, and Auburn got a stop with under 30 seconds left. Then Chad Baker-Mazara was fouled on a 3-point shot. But Baker-Mazara, an 88.7 percent foul shooter this season, couldn't tie things up at the line, though, making only 2-of-3. Making 5-of-7 free throws, Baker-Mazara missed multiple foul shots in a game for the first time all season. "They’re a good team," Bruce Pearl said. "We missed some shots tonight that you need to make to win against a really good team on the road." Including a couple by Nelson, Alabama had four offensive rebounds in the last 5:22 of the game. "They got 16 offensive rebounds and 21 second-chance points," Pearl said. "I thought that and the 3-ball were the differences in the game as far as them getting 79 points." AUBURN WEATHERS BAMA’S 3-POINT SHOOTING Things looked like they could have gotten away from the Tigers based on Alabama's early shooting, but Auburn weathered the storm and gave itself a chance at the end. Auburn had a couple more turnovers and went cold from the floor — and Alabama took full advantage going into halftime. The Crimson Tide made 6-of-8 shots, Auburn went 1-for-9, and it ended up a 13-4 run for Alabama to take its largest lead of the game into halftime, up by 14. Alabama shot a crisp 8-of-17 from beyond the arc in the first half, four of which came from Griffen. Auburn was able to offset some of the damage with a quick 9-0 burst right out of the locker room, thanks in part to 5 quick points by Denver Jones, and an 0-for-10 start to the half by the Crimson Tide. "Really proud of my guys for bouncing back in the second half," Pearl said. "The locker room was really positive at halftime. Guys were really encouraging each other." The Tigers continued to make seven of their first 12 shots out of halftime to cut the lead down to as close as 3. After Tre Donaldson and Mark Sears (22 points and eight assists) exchanged 3-pointers, things settled a bit at the under-12 timeout, as Alabama led 57-51. A big key in Auburn cutting down the deficit was also cutting down on turnovers, with just one through the first nine minutes of the second half. Auburn also held Alabama to just 4-of-20 shooting out of halftime, including misses of six of the Crimson Tide's first seven 3-pointers. "I thought we just got really good leadership," Pearl said of Auburn's response out of halftime. "We got good chemistry, we've got great kids. We got some stops, and we had some shots. We came here to win a game. You could tell." And after a couple made 3-pointers by Donaldson, he ripped the ball from Aaron Estrada, raced down the floor so fast the mop crew had to sprint from under the basket, and gave Auburn a 58-57 lead with 11 minutes left on a breakaway dunk. EARLY TURNOVER TROUBLES ON THE ROAD One constant for Auburn through its success this season has been the Tigers’ ability to take care of the basketball. They’ve been efficient on both ends of the floor, of course, but have also limited extra possessions for opponents. Relative to its usual numbers, Auburn struggled a bit with 14 turnovers over the weekend against Ole Miss, and those issues were magnified in a hostile environment in Tuscaloosa. Alabama had 12 early points off Auburn turnovers, taking advantage of five giveaways by the Tigers less than seven minutes into the game. Auburn had two more turnovers down the stretch of the first half that helped Alabama close the half with a 14-point lead. The Tigers returned to running their tight ship down the stretch, though, with only two turnovers in the second half. As a result, Alabama's points off turnovers careened from a whopping 16 in the first half to only 2 after halftime. “I thought their ball pressure really bothered our guys," Pearl said of the turnover issues in the first half. "Point guard is the only position we’re young. They disrupted us. I’m sure we’ll see that. ... Did a better job with the offense in front of us taking care of the ball and getting organized in what we were trying to run." BROOME A FORCE ON THE INSIDE Perhaps it should have been obvious from the first possession that Johni Broome was going to have a good night. The big man made a 3-pointer with half Coleman Coliseum's lights out — which caused a 16-minute delay — for Auburn’s first points, and he certainly didn’t slow down once the floor was properly lit. For the majority of the first half, Broome was Auburn’s only consistent offense, accounting for more than half (16) of the Tigers’ 30 points at the break. Broome, whom Alabama coach Nate Oats called a "monster" postgame, continued to punish the Crimson Tide on both ends of the floor, and he notched a double-double with six minutes left in the game. He finished with 25 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks. “Johni Broome had a real advantage on the inside tonight — we took advantage of it," Pearl said. "But he was terrific. Played like a first-team all conference player, and he did it at both ends. He scored. He blocked shots. He switched out defensively." Broome fouled out late — in his second straight trip to Coleman Coliseum — despite having zero fouls in the first half. PEARL ENCOURAGED BY CLOSE LOSS With Auburn's schedule moving into a tougher stretch following a 5-0 start, thus begins higher-intensity atmospheres, pressure and opponents on the road. The Tigers were an underdog to the Crimson Tide on Wednesday for only the second time all season. And Pearl was encouraged by what he saw from his team, especially after trailing by 14 at halftime after being blitzed by 3-pointers early. "This may not be the outcome we wanted, but this is an outcome that tells me something," Pearl said. "You gotta be pretty good to come in here and not get run out in this environment against us." *** Subscribe to Auburn Undercover for the latest news and intel, podcasts, recruiting coverage and more *** *** Get Auburn news straight to your inbox with the Auburn Undercover newsletter ***

al.com Auburn Board of Trustees to vote on Jordan-Hare Stadium north endzone videobard project Updated: Jan. 25, 2024, 11:46 p.m.|Published: Jan. 25, 2024, 10:46 p.m. ~3 minutes Jordan-Hare Stadium on the Auburn University campus on Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023. (Ben Flanagan / AL.com)Ben Flanagan Auburn’s Board of Trustees are set to vote to approve a project to put a new videoboard in the north endzone of Jordan-Hare Stadium at its Feb. 2 meeting, according to documents posted Thursday to the Board of Trustees website. The documents currently suggest the vote is only to add a new video board to replace the antiquated scoreboard currently present but does not include the full-scale renovation to add more premium seating to the north endzone as athletic director John Cohen suggested in an interview with AL.com. but does not include the full-scale renovation to add more premium seating to the north endzone as athletic director John Cohen suggested in an interview with AL.com. It is not clear from the Board of Trustees documents currently posted whether the vote will encapsulate the full renovation Cohen is hoping to lead. The larger-scale project approval will likely come at a future meeting. Cohen did not give a budget or a timeframe for the project during his sit-down with AL.com in mid-January. Documents posted to the Board of Trustees website state the project is expected to be paid for with athletic department funds but does not note an expected cost or completion date. According to the Board of Trustees meeting materials posted online, Auburn plans to use the firm LBYD Engineers of Birmingham, Alabama, to facilitate an “accelerated design process.” Cohen has long suggested a plan to change the outdated north endzone scoreboard during interviews and appearances on Auburn’s Tiger Talk radio show. But the expected vote in early February will be the first tangible sign of progress toward an upgrade on the north end of the stadium. Much more information including possible designs, timelines and budgets may be discussed at the upcoming Feb. 2 meeting. Matt Cohen covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @Matt_Cohen_ or email him at mcohen@al.com

al.com How will Auburn change its non-conference schedule in potential 9-game SEC slate? Updated: Jan. 25, 2024, 12:13 p.m.|Published: Jan. 25, 2024, 6:32 a.m. 6–7 minutes With the looming potential of a nine-game SEC conference schedule in football beginning in 2025, Auburn athletic director John Cohen said he currently plans to play every non-conference game Auburn has set contracts for — though he is keeping open plans of how to, if needed, cut one of four non-conference games in upcoming seasons. With the addition of Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC beginning in the 2024-25 academic year, the SEC is largely expected to follow the approach of other major conferences across the country in expanding from eight to nine conference games. “Currently, we’re on schedule to play every game that we have on our future schedules,” Cohen said in a January interview with AL.com “Of course, a lot can change if the southeastern conference goes to a nine-game schedule as many of the other conferences have done.” Within Auburn’s athletic department, it has been suggested that the program may consider negotiating out of currently scheduled future non-conference games against big-name opponents because of the potential addition of another SEC game. At least for now, however, Cohen said that is not happening. Should the SEC make that change, it would begin in the 2025 season. The SEC has already announced its 2024 slate where each team will play four non-conference games and eight league games. Below is a list of Auburn’s currently scheduled future non-conference opponents. AL.com has acquired a copy of the contractual agreement for each game through a public records request. 2024 - Aug. 31: Alabama A&M at Jordan-Hare Stadium - Sept. 7: California at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Auburn will pay Cal $450,000 for the game. Auburn received a $450,000 payment from Cal when it traveled to Berkeley during the 2023 season. - Sept 14: New Mexico at Jordan-Hare Stadium - Nov. 16: Lousiana-Monroe at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Auburn will pay Louisiana-Monroe $1.85 million to play the game. 2025 - Aug. 30: Baylor at McLane Stadium in Waco, Texas. - Sept. 6: Ball State at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Auburn will pay Ball State $1.3 million for the game. - Sept. 13: South Alabama at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Auburn will pay South Alabama $1.3 million for the game. 2026 - Sept. 5: Baylor at Jordan-Hare Stadium - Sept. 12: Southern Miss at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Auburn will pay Southern Miss $1.85 million for the game. 2027 - Sept. 4: UCLA at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California 2028 - Sept. 2: UCLA at Jordan-Hare Stadium 2029 - Sept. 1: Miami at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida 2030 - Aug. 31: Miami at Jordan-Hare Stadium Largely there are two types of non-conference games: “guarantee” games where a large school like Auburn writes a hefty check to a smaller program to play a game, or exposure games where two large programs will play in a heavily-marketed game often broadcast in primetime on a major network. Those highly-marketed games generally do not come with any sort of payout to the opposing school. The home team collects its own revenue as it would with any other home game. Auburn lost one of its “guarantee” games in 2023, giving New Mexico State both a season-defining victory in November and a $1.85 million payout. Auburn currently has many of its big exposure games scheduled through 2030. In 2025, Auburn currently only three non-conference games scheduled to leave it flexible on the SEC’s impending schedule decision. The question athletic directors like Cohen are left with, however, is what type of game to cut out of the schedule when there will be only three non-conference slots. Logically, it will be schools getting rid of a guarantee game. Most large programs often play at least three “guarantee” games in their non-conference slates. Cutting a game like that would save a seven-figure payment. For many of those smaller programs, playing guarantee games where they often lose by large margins is the entire way in which their athletic departments are funded. Auburn is in a small tier of top programs that bring in eight-to-nine-figure revenues on its football program. New Mexico State athletic director Mario Moccia told AL.com after beating Auburn that his school plays those games because they need the money. Multiple athletic directors at non-Power 5 schools in Alabama have raised concerns to AL.com over their budgets if fewer guarantee games are played in the future. Cutting a game against a major conference opponent — like Baylor, UCLA or Miami — would give Auburn one fewer tough game on its schedule in a strengthened SEC. And in the age of a 12-team playoff, the prevailing thought is the SEC is good enough where a light non-conference slate will not hurt a team’s resumé. “I think you’re sensitive to all of that,” Cohen said. “Ultimately, you have to do what’s best for Auburn University. But at the same time. There is compassion for schools that you have that you can compete with who may have budgeting issues surrounding the game guarantee. There are a lot of considerations when you’re dealing with scheduling.” Cohen hasn’t had to make any decisions to cut games yet. Auburn’s future schedule for 2025 would not need to remove a game as it stands now and Auburn has open non-conference spots in seasons beyond even with a potential nine-game schedule. But Cohen did say he has an internal plan to adapt if the SEC does in fact add a ninth league game. Matt Cohen covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @Matt_Cohen_ or email him at mcohen@al.com

si.com What Would It Take For Auburn To Reach The College Football Playoff In 2024? Lance Dawe 4–5 minutes The Auburn Tigers won't be near any playoff conversations this offseason. With the College Football Playoff expanding to 12 teams, the Tigers could find themselves near the conversation soon, however. Hugh Freeze is doing everything he can to improve Auburn's talent roster, and the momentum on the recruiting trail is giving fans hope. Let's say Auburn somehow finds themselves in the CFP hunt in 2024. What would it take for the Tigers to make it? Here are five things that will need to happen. A much improved passing attack Auburn ranked dead last in the SEC in passing yards per game in 2023 (162.2 YPG) and will look to dramatically improve that number in 2024. Whether or not the young receiver talent takes off in Freeze's second season will likely be answered through his scheming, but the Tigers still have solid pieces around the likes of Cam Coleman and Perry Thompson. Finding a quarterback that can actually get them the ball will be the biggest question. Incumbent Payton Thorne was subpar in his first season on the Plains, leading Freeze to claim the QB competition is "wide open" heading into the spring. Getting Thorne, newcomer Walker White, or someone else to lead the offense more effectively than a season ago will be paramount. At least ten wins Not slipping up in the non-conference schedule feels like it should go without saying. After the New Mexico State shocker last year, every non-con slate should be mentioned carefully mentioned moving forward. Alabama A&M, Cal, New Mexico (no State), and ULM seems easy on paper - we'll count those as wins for now. As for the SEC schedule: Arkansas Oklahoma At Georgia At Missouri At Kentucky Vanderbilt Texas A&M At Alabama There has to be at least six wins here for Auburn to make a case for the playoff. Remember, the 12-team College Football Playoff field will include the six highest-ranked conference champions, which will receive automatic bids. The top four teams will receive a first-round bye to the quarterfinals. The six highest-ranked teams remaining will round out the 12-team format. If the CFP expanded this past season the six at-large bids would have been Georgia, Ohio State, Oregon, Missouri, Penn State, and Ole Miss. All of those teams finished the regular season 10-2 or better. Auburn has to go 10-2 at worst to have a shot at the playoff. A competent rush defense One of the ways Auburn can improve to 10-2 or better is by shoring up their defensive front. The Tigers gave up 61 more rushing yards per game in losses than they did in victories. That is not going to cut it against Oklahoma, Georgia, Alabama or Texas A&M. Auburn has to bottle things up better against, well, everyone - but especially against the toughest teams on their schedule. Speaking of that schedule... A big time conference victory No playoff resume is truly complete without a big win. Losing a game or two may not matter as long as a marquee victory is secured (sorry, Florida State). It could be argued that Auburn's four biggest games are the ones previously mentioned - Oklahoma, Georgia, Texas A&M and Alabama. If the Tigers go 4-0 against Arkansas, Missouri, Kentucky, and Vanderbilt (easier said than done), they have to at least go 2-2 in this stretch. Any combination of victories may work here. If Auburn goes 3-1 against the easier side of their conference slate it makes things much more difficult on their playoff chances. By the time Auburn plays Kentucky we should have an idea as to whether or not the Tigers are truly a contender. Getting through Oklahoma, Georgia and Missouri in consecutive games will be tough. Freeze's young talent taking off Remember those young receivers mentioned earlier? They're going to have to make some plays in big games. Highly touted defensive prospects like Amaris Williams, Demarcus Riddick and Jamonta Waller? They'll be given chances to prove their abilities. They're going to need to take off in order for the Tigers to win the games they need to if they want to make the playoff. There is also a world where Walker White trots out as the Tigers' starting quarterback to open the season. If he wins the job, he has to ball out. Plain and simple.

247sports.com From The Dugout Plainsman Park update Tigers ready for full squad practices Jason Caldwell 8–10 minutes Auburn baseball's home, Plainsman Park, continues to get an upgrade heading into the 2024 season. Stadium update This week Auburn baseball opened up the new Hall of Fame Club for single-game tickets for the 2024 season and the response has been incredible to this point. In less than one week, they have sold all but around 900 of the reserved seats for the season. Those are individual tickets for the entire year, meaning that’s just an average of less than 30 seats available per game for the 32 scheduled home games. With the option to purchase standing-room drink rail tickets as well in the section, there are still options left for fans to check out the new area behind home plate this season. This is the only season they will be made available for individual game purchases. After giving Auburn fans an opportunity to see what it’s all about, beginning next year those seats will be sold on a yearly basis just like season tickets. The netting behind the plate has been moved to the front of the new section, opening up the grandstand at Plainsman Park. Speaking of home plate, the new wall that has been constructed in front of the seating area is just around 40 feet from home plate. It’s going to make passed ball decisions very interesting this year because it’s such a short distance and the possibility of a bounce back. Auburn has added new field turf in front of both dugouts that features the Auburn baseball script logo. Something that has been added to the construction is a platform area for students in right field that will put them right next to and actually looking into the visitor bullpen at Plainsman Park. It will be constructed like a large deck with composite flooring and different levels to allow for better viewing for the students. The height of the new deck will allow them to make the outfield wall solid again in that area. Next year the plans are to continue construction and take the area all the way to the batter’s eye. They can’t do that until the construction is done down the first base line. Pitchers ahead of schedule It’s still three weeks until the season opener and three days until the first full team practice on Friday, but coach Butch Thompson believes the pitching staff is ahead of where it has been in the past because of the training regimen brought in by first-year coach Everett Teaford. Taking less time off over the holidays and ramping up quicker, Auburn already has more live pitching and at-bats than in the past. That’s something the coaching staff believes will pay big dividends as they get into the schedule. Projected No. 1 starter Joseph Gonzalez is still on target to be ready to go when the Tigers open against Eastern Kentucky on February 16. His velocity has been strong in the preseason and the next step will be pitching simulated innings when the team gets together later this week. McMurray back and ready to roll One of the keys to success for Auburn last season was the addition of first baseman Cooper McMurray from Kansas. Coming in and earning the role of everyday first baseman for the Tigers, the big lefty batted .272 with 14 home runs and 49 runs batted in last season while playing in just 43 games with 41 starts. Missing part of the fall after having knee surgery, McMurray returned late in 2023 and is full speed as the Tigers get ready for full team practices. He should be a big part of the Auburn offensive attack this season and is one of the leaders for the Tigers in 2024. Spring look A talented baseball player in high school, Auburn freshman defensive back Colton Hood is working with the Tigers as an outfielder. He’s someone that could have a chance to make an impact for this team down the road, but the question is going to be how much time he’ll have when spring football practices open in just over a month. He’s probably not a player that would be ready to get into the playing rotation just yet for baseball, but he’s expected to challenge for extensive playing time as a defensive back following the losses of starters D.J. James and Nehemiah Pritchett at cornerback. It’s tough to play two sports and Hood is talented enough to help on the diamond down the road, but it’s extremely tough to overlap nowadays and that will be the challenge for him if he decides to try to do both.

247sports.com More comfortable Bauman ready for bigger things in Year 2 for Auburn baseball Jason Caldwell 4–5 minutes AUBURN, Alabama—A junior college transfer originally from Jacksonville, Florida, 6-foot-5 left-hander Tanner Bauman came to Auburn last season and immediately made a huge impact for Butch Thompson’s Tigers on the mound. Tied for second on the team with 22 appearances, Bauman was 4-1 with a 5.77 ERA in 53 innings last season while becoming a key bullpen arm for the Tigers. Now heading into year number two on the Plains, Bauman said he feels much more prepared and confident after going through a season in the Southeastern Conference. “It’s definitely a lot more comfortable knowing what you’re going to expect,” Bauman tells Auburnundercover. “Knowing that the SEC is a different league. Having a year under my belt, you can understand that you belong and now you can just go out there and play baseball. You can’t let the big names in college baseball take away your strengths or your confidence. Just go out there every day and play your game.” During the fall, Thompson and the staff called on the players to decide who the leaders would be for this year’s team. Bauman was one of the four guys called on to lead the Legacy Group for the Tigers along with Bobby Pierce, Joseph Gonzalez and Cooper McMurray. He didn’t just get selected for the group, when it came time for the players to give their thoughts on their teammates in the categories of character, trustworthiness and integrity, Bauman received a perfect score from every single player on the roster. “That’s a big statement to me because of the character of like a Keegan Thompson, a Casey Mize, a Tanner Burns, a Ryan Bliss,” Thompson said. “I’m not talking about great players, I’m talking about great people. Tanner Bauman, this fall, was the first time in our end of the fall reviews that scored a perfect 5 on everything. It looks like you would make one player mad at you. For every player in the organization to give you a perfect five is incredible. He got his feet wet last year. “I think he’s developing and growing. He’s going to play a bigger impact on our pitching staff, but I want everyone in the world to know that every player in the organization holds him in the highest regard. It hadn’t happened before. What a great platform Tanner has to lead us.” That starts for Bauman with improving his play on the mound for the Tigers. Expected to continue his role as primarily a bullpen piece for the Tigers, he said there are some things he wanted to get better at heading into this season. “For me the biggest thing was consistency,” he said. “I think as a whole team last year it was consistency, especially from the pitching side of things. Going out there and being yourself every weekend and not being a different person, being able to go out there and know what’s expected from you and your teammates is the biggest thing we tried to work on this fall.” Something they have done to help with that consistency has been a constant training program under first-year pitching coach Everett Teaford. With a background in professional baseball, he has Auburn’s pitchers ramping up earlier so they’re prepared for day one and not having to ease into the year. “He’s awesome,” Bauman said. “I feel like we have been in the swing of things for a long time already. We’re getting a lot more innings under our belts and a lot more strength on our arms a little earlier. He’s just been awesome. He’s been a sunshine for us and helped us in so many ways.” Expected to be on the back end of games along with Will Cannon, John Armstrong and true freshman Cam Tilly, Bauman said he’s excited to see what this bullpen can do to help the Tigers win games in 2024. “We have a good problem,” Bauman said. “We’ve got a lot of guys that can finish games this year. We’ve got a lot of guys that can do a lot of things in the back-half of the bullpen. We’re going to plug that in and depending on who’s at bat, we’ll play it by ear.” Auburn opens full-squad practices on Friday at Plainsman Park. The season opener is scheduled for Friday, February 16 against Eastern Kentucky.