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Auburn at California: Stream, injury report, broadcast info for Saturday’s game in Berkeley Taylor Jones Sat, September 9, 2023 at 6:00 AM CDT·4 min read 0 Auburn plays California on Saturday, and if you’re wondering how you can watch the action live, you’ve come to the right place. The Auburn Tigers (1-0) kicked off the 2023 campaign in strong fashion last Saturday by knocking off UMass, 59-14, at Jordan-Hare Stadium. This weekend, their focus shifts to the Golden State, where the California Golden Bears (1-0) await them for a late-night affair. Saturday’s game will be the second for Auburn under Hugh Freeze, and he will have to undergo a great adjustment in order to have his team ready. He shared his thoughts on the Tigers’ West Coast trip during his weekly press conference on Monday. The only experience I had was BYU. It was a long trip. One of the challenges I have for me is to embrace it because I don’t like it. I don’t like scheduling teams on the West Coast. I would like to play somebody over here on the East Coast, but it was done and me complaining or not embracing it, is not the proper response. I haven’t, the only one I’ve done is BYU. It was a challenge and this one is even further. In another time zone. I think it creates some challenges, but this will be a good test for all of us. Coaches, training staff, nutritionists, strength staff, support staff, and players. How do we handle if things are a little uncomfortable or it’s not exactly the way we want it. I’m speaking to myself as much as anyone, and you’ve got to play a really good football team at their place. When our body times are 9:30 or 10 at night and we’re kicking off. All of that is going to be a challenge, but that’s what life is. So how we approach it and the attitude we have for the opportunity we have ought to be one of gratitude and thankfulness. If we have to suck it up and fly a long flight, then that’s what we’ve got to do. We get another opportunity to represent this school, our conference, and each other. So, let’s go make the most of it. Below, you will find everything you need to know ahead of Auburn’s game at California including a broadcast guide, an injury report, and key players to watch. How to watch Saturday's game Shanna Lockwood-USA TODAY Sports Here’s when you should tune in to see the game: Date: Saturday, Sept. 9 Time: 9:30 p.m. CT TV Channel: ESPN (Dave Flemming, Brock Osweiler, Kayla Burton) Live Stream: fuboTV (watch here) How to listen to Saturday's game Todd Van Emst/AU Athletics Listen to Auburn Football on your local Auburn Sports Network affiliate all season long. Andy Burcham and Jason Campbell will provide live play-by-play coverage of Auburn’s game at California. Find your nearest Auburn Sports Network affiliate below: Sirius/XM Ch. 190 Abbeville 98.7 FM Albany, Georgia 102.9 FM Atlanta, Georgia 1010 AM Auburn 94.3 FM Alexander City 97.5 FM Andalusia 93.7 FM Bainbridge, Georgia 99.3 FM Bainbridge, Georgia 930 AM Birmingham 100.5 FM Centre 100.5 FM Centre 990 AM Columbus, Georgia 102.9 FM Cullman 92.1 FM Cullman 98.3 FM Demopolis 106.5 FM Dothan 102.5 FM Eufaula 102.9 FM Evergreen 101.1 FM Flomaton 105.1 FM Florence 94.9 FM Foley 92.5 FM Foley 1310 AM Fort Payne 100.9 FM Fort Payne 1250 AM Gadsden 1350 AM Greenville 94.3 FM Hackleburg 95.5 FM Huntsville 100.3 FM Jasper 88.5 FM Ocean Springs, Mississippi 106.5 FM Oxford 92.7 FM LaGrange, Georgia 102.3 FM Macon, Georgia 102.9 FM Mobile 106.5 FM Montgomery 92.3 FM Moulton 97.9 FM Panama City, Florida 104.3 FM Pensacola, Florida 105.1 FM Roanoke 102.3 FM Scottsboro 1050 AM Selma 1490 AM Spartanburg, SC 1530 AM Sylacauga 100.3 FM Sylacauga 1290 AM Thomasville 95.5 FM Troy 970 AM Tuscaloosa 100.5 FM Vernon 100.7 FM Vernon 1380 AM Auburn injury report Todd Van Emst/AU Athletics LB Austin Keys Thumb Out indefinitely CB JD Rhym Undisclosed Questionable S Caleb Wooden Undisclosed Questionable RB Jarquez Hunter Undisclosed Questionable WR Nick Mardner Undisclosed Questionable California injury report Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports RB King Doerue Undisclosed Questionable RB Justin Williams-Thomas Undisclosed Questionable QB Sam Jackson V Upper Body Questionable RB Byron Cardwell Undisclosed Out for season Auburn's players to watch John Reed-USA TODAY Sports Payton Thorne (10-of-17, 141 yards, TD) Robby Ashford (9 carries, 51 yards, 3 TD) Jay Fair (5 catches, 56 yards, TD) Eugene Asante (6 tackles) Jaylin Simpson (3 tackles, INT, FR) California players to watch Michael Reaves/Getty Images Jadyn Ott (20 carries, 178 yards, 2 TD) Isaiah Ifanse (10 carries, 54 yards, 3 TD) Jeremiah Hunter (6 receptions, 64 yards TD) Jackson Sirmon (8 tackles, sack) Myles Jernigan (2 tackles, sack, INT) Story originally appeared on Auburn Wire

slim pickings today folks........i doubt there are few updates coming out because of all the games today. i will always check back as time permits and golf gives me my car back. tis tough being grounded.

auburnwire.usatoday.com Five reasons why Auburn beats California on Saturday Taylor Jones 3–4 minutes After watching week one’s action, it is clear to see that Auburn is evenly matched with California ahead of their Saturday meeting. Both teams have valuable quarterback options, a solid running game, and a defense that can disrupt a passing game. How can Auburn come away with the victory on Saturday night? Buy Tigers Tickets Thursday, we broke down the five reasons why Auburn may lose to the Golden Bears on Saturday, but now it is time to examine the reasons why Auburn could have an advantage. There are several aspects that make Auburn and California similar, but if Auburn can take advantage of Cal’s vulnerable characteristics, the Tigers may earn a valuable win. Here are five ways that Auburn can defeat California on Saturday. Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports California has two solid transfer quarterbacks in Ben Finley and Sam Jackson V. The Bears had to rely on Finley last week at North Texas after Jackson was deemed unavailable. Finley would go on to pass for 289 yards and a touchdown in Cal’s 58-21 win. This week, head coach Justin Wilcox said that there is a possibility both Finley and Jackson will play against Auburn. Will chemistry continue to flow despite who is behind center? Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports California rushed for 347 yards last Saturday at North Texas, with running back Jadyn Ott accounting for 178 of those yards. However, looking at California’s grades on Pro Football Focus, the run-blocking aspect of their offense received a low grade of 54.2. The highest-graded offensive lineman was left guard Matthew Wykoff, who graded out at 65.6. Auburn allowed UMass to gain several big runs last week, so that is an area of improvement as well for the Tigers. However, if Auburn finds a way to break down a vulnerable position for California, their chances to win rise. © Mickey Welsh / Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK Both California and Auburn produced excellent offensive numbers last week, but the most glaring stat between the two was Cal’s offensive output. Last week, the Golden Bears ran 95 plays opposed to Auburn’s 69. Auburn will need to find a way to slow down California’s offense, and the best way to do that is to win the time of possession battle while making the most of the time they have. John Reed-USA TODAY Sports Instead of leaving the day before the game, Auburn left Thursday in an effort to better prepare themselves for the time change. The playing field becomes more level if Auburn adjusts in adequate time. Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports California running back Jadyn Ott provided Auburn with bulletin board material earlier this week. He said “There’s a lot of focus on the name Auburn. But what I see on film is not really in comparison to what their name is. I just want to get that into my guys’ heads that a name doesn’t mean anything.” Auburn hired Hugh Freeze to change the reputation of its “name”, and the perfect time to show signs of improvement would be Saturday night against California. Follow all your favorite Alabama teams at Auburn Wire and Roll Tide Wire!

auburntigers.com California Dreamin': Inside Auburn's cross-country road trip Auburn University Athletics 7–9 minutes AUBURN, Ala. – Months of planning, days of travel and hours of preparation have gone into providing Auburn with the opportunity to earn its first win in The Golden State when the Tigers play California Saturday at 9:30 p.m. CT in Berkeley. “It creates some challenges, but this will be a good test for all of us: coaches, training staff, nutritionists, strength staff, support staff and players,” said head coach Hugh Freeze, whose first Auburn road trip is a 2,600-mile doozy. “How do we handle if things are a little uncomfortable or it’s not exactly the way we want it? I’m speaking to myself as much as anyone, and you’ve got to play a really good football team at their place. “When our body times are 9:30 or 10 at night and we’re kicking off. All of that is going to be a challenge, but that’s what life is. How we approach it and the attitude we have for the opportunity we have ought to be one of gratitude and thankfulness. We get another opportunity to represent this school, our conference, and each other. Let’s go make the most of it.” CALIFORNIA, HERE THEY COME Fewer than 24 hours after Auburn kicked off the 2023 season with a 59-14 victory vs. Massachusetts at Jordan-Hare Stadium, the Tigers’ equipment truck departed the Woltosz Football Performance Center Sunday afternoon for the four-day cross-country journey. Drivers Mark Sheppard and Greg Trapp made it to Little Rock, Arkansas by Sunday night. Come Monday, they headed west across Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle before stopping for the night in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Desert Tuesday featured a 700-mile trek across Arizona to Barstow, California, before arriving in Berkeley Wednesday afternoon. Soon after the Tigers dispatched the Minutemen on Saturday, Auburn’s equipment team began washing, packing and loading trunks of items that the team did not need for practice on the Plains during the week. “We’ll fly the helmets, shoulder pads and jerseys with us,” said assistant equipment manager Hunter Smithwick. The distance from Auburn to Berkeley is more than three times farther than Auburn’s longest SEC road trip, 775 miles to Texas A&M. U.S. Department of Transportation regulations require drivers to take a 34-hour break after long hauls such as the one from Alabama to Northern California, a factor that influenced the truck’s early departure. “Timing that out so they can move the truck when we’re there, get out there and have enough hours to get it back has been the challenging part,” Smithwick said. After the game, Auburn will load two trucks: the 18-wheeler for the long drive home, and a smaller truck bound for the Oakland airport containing uniforms and equipment that will fly back with the team. Fifteen Auburn University students assist the full-time equipment staff. “We couldn’t do it without them,” Smithwick said. BAY AREA LOGISTICS Senior associate AD for operations Jeremy Roberts reached out to Stanford to see where its football team stays when it visits the Cal Bears. “They gave us the recommendation that was our ultimate choice,” Roberts said. With seven hours of bus and plane travel required to get from Auburn’s campus to the team hotel in San Mateo, California, the Tigers decided to depart Thursday, one day earlier than a normal road trip. That gives Auburn head football dietitian Danielle Gillen an opportunity to prepare three additional menus with the hotel’s kitchen staff. Auburn looks for hotels that have experience hosting college football teams, says Roberts. “We can be in a hotel right across the street from the stadium but if they don’t know how to deal with a team, don’t have the banquet space or the meeting room space it doesn’t do us any good,” he said. “That’s our primary objective when we’re looking for somewhere to stay, especially when we’re going places we haven’t been before.” Director of football technology & digital innovation Matt Hard makes sure coaches can show video to their units in hotel meeting rooms during the long build-up to Saturday’s late kickoff. Auburn will practice briefly Friday at the College of San Mateo rather than drive 30 miles each way to California Memorial Stadium in Berkeley for a walk-through. Roberts informed Cal about Tiger Walk and the possibility of approximately 10,000 Auburn fans greeting the team when the buses arrive at the stadium Saturday evening. “We want Auburn people to have a good experience while they’re there and you also don’t want the people hosting you to feel like you didn’t give them a chance to prepare and feel confident about their plan,” he said. For the team behind the team, when the game ends, the work continues. It figures to be close to 1 a.m. CT at the game’s conclusion. Add another hour before the trucks and buses leave the stadium, and another hour to travel to the airport in Oakland, conduct a security screening and board the plane for the four-hour flight back to Montgomery. “That’s 7 a.m. and you’ve got to unload the plane and load the truck again so you’re looking at 8:30 or 9 a.m. before we roll back in to campus,” Roberts said. “We have another game the next week so preparations will begin immediately for that.” Planning for Auburn’s California road trip began with a site visit 18 months ago. “It’s an important game for us,” Roberts said. “Our job is to make sure that regardless of the distance of the trip that we give our team the best chance to win through our preparation, making sure we’re organized, we communicate with the hotel and when we walk in the door, they 100 percent understand what our expectations are. “You’re working with a lot of people you don’t really know. You have to have confidence that the relationship you’ve created with them is going to make it great.” Santa Clara in 1936, Southern California in 2002 and the 2014 BCS championship game vs. Florida State in Pasadena. Three times before the Tigers have made this long westward journey, only to come home empty-handed, a trend the 2023 Tigers are determined to end. “[Head strength & conditioning] Coach Dom [Studzinksi] will have us prepared with hydration and in the weightroom, Ms. Danielle will with nutrition and Coach Freeze and every single coach will have us prepared,” said jack linebacker and team captain Elijah McAllister. “I’m not worried about the trip because all of our coaches are in tune, they’re going to have us prepared and ready to go on Saturday night.” Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer

247sports.com Cal DC believes Bears have their hands full against Auburn offense Jason Caldwell 12–15 minutes VIDEO: Late Kick: Is the ACC or PAC-12 the more likely conference to win the CFP? Keionte Scott wants his teammates to take a deep breath. Metaphorically, of course, they need to do so ahead of Auburn’s tricky road test at Cal this Saturday night. Scott, in his second year with the program after transferring in as one of the top JUCO players in the country last year, has emerged into a big-time leader for Auburn and its new staff under Hugh Freeze and is one of several veteran players in the Tigers’ secondary, helping drive the defense’s success from the back end. But also, literally, he wants them to take a deep breath getting off the plane. “I just tell them we're gonna breathe a lot better,” Scott said this week of advice he’s given his teammates about traveling from the aggressively humid Alabama to the West Coast. “Just be ready for that.” One of only two players on this Auburn roster from California — alongside defensive end Mosiah Nasili-Kite — Scott returns to the Golden State this Saturday when Auburn takes on Cal in Berkeley (9:30 p.m. CDT, ESPN). This time last season, Scott was still getting his feet wet with his new program before settling in as a starter in the secondary. Now he’s one of the Tigers’ most crucial pieces on either side of the ball — and on special teams, where he’s hoped to be an electric playmaker on punt returns. Beyond that, though, Scott has earned the respect of his new coaches for his role in helping Auburn transition from the failed Bryan Harsin regime into Year 1 under Freeze and company. Of course, Freeze and his coaching staff are far from the first to be impressed by Scott’s blend of talent and maturity. “In coaching, sometimes you come across guys who are just different,” said Tanner Jacobson, Scott’s head coach for his two seasons at Snow College in Utah. “Guys who have some innate features that maybe start out as God-given, then they develop those talents,” Jacobson said. “For Keionte, it’s a little bit of both. He’s obviously extremely gifted physically, but what really sets him apart is his mentality. He’s the perfect balance of fun and seriousness. He’s going to come to work and be focused, but he’s going to do it with a smile on his face.” *** Scott played 18 games over the course of a single calendar year in 2021 because of COVID-19. Snow College’s spring season spanned all the way into June because Scott’s team made the NJCAA national championship game, then things got cranked up again in early September for the fall season. Jacobson saw glimpses of Scott’s abilities in practice ahead of the spring season, but as he put it, “coaches never really know what they have until they see it on the field.” That didn’t take long. In Snow College’s first game, Scott blasted an Iowa Western running back in the backfield for a tackle for loss. The hit was so hard that when Scott pulled off his helmet, he was bleeding from his forehead. Scott grabbed a bandaid, slapped it on and kept chugging. Scott is about as dynamic an athlete as they come, which has become clear in his role on special teams now at Auburn. Scott was No. 4 in the SEC in yards per return last season, and had a 56-yard return that nearly went to the house in the season-opening win over UMass. He was ready for an even bigger role in Year 2 at Snow. He approached Jacobson in practice, telling him he wanted to start returning kicks. “Every good skill player swears they can return punts and kicks,” Jacobson joked, noting that Snow had a pair of quality return men, both of whom were named All-NJCAA in the spring season. Finally, Jacobson budged. “He begged me, so I finally was like fine, I’ll let you take back this kickoff during the bye week,” Jacobson said. “And it was just, boom, touchdown against our starting kickoff team. Nobody touched him or even got close. So I was like man, we may be missing an opportunity here.” Scott was the No. 4 JUCO player in the country when he joined Auburn's 2021 class (Photo: Snow College) The following game, Scott had two kickoff returns for touchdowns — though one was called back for a penalty. “Both times, just completely untouched,” Jacobson said. Scott had received Power Five interest after Snow’s spring season, but things really ramped up once he started showing his potential in the fall. Auburn was one of the first major programs to give Scott and Jacobson a call — and they certainly weren’t the last. “I had to put into my schedule every day, ‘Recruiting calls for Keionte,’ because everyone was blowing up my phone and his phone,” Jacobson said. “Every time I saw an area code I didn’t recognize, I knew what it was going to be.” *** Lekisha Hayes knows her stuff now. Her son plays in a storied program in the SEC, and she’s plenty aware of the level of competition Scott faces every week — and what it means to be one of the most important players at Auburn. When Scott’s recruit took off at a blinding pace, though, she sometimes felt like her sons were speaking a foreign language when they’d show her the offers Scott had been posting on Instagram. “Google and Siri are my best friends,” laughed Hayes, who remembers when Scott would post offer after offer in 2021, and Scott’s siblings would excitedly keep her updated and show her their phones — if Scott hadn’t called her first. Hayes remembers one of Scott’s earliest offers during the 2021 spring season quite vividly. Scott called her, and all she could hear at first was just “yelling and screaming.” “Mom!” Scott blurted, “Deion Sanders just called my phone!” “Oh,” Hayes remembers responding. “Well, what did he want?” She said her kids still tease her to this day for asking that question. Of course, Jackson State had offered, and Sanders had told the young defensive back that his tape reminded Sanders of his own playing days. But Hayes is a mom first and foremost. She proceeded to ask Scott, “Aren’t you supposed to be in class right now?” Eventually, Scott knew he needed to get mom more involved in the whole process. “You’ve got to talk to mom now,” he would tell coaches after receiving an offer. Scott knew her and their family would be the ones traveling, so their opinions factored into his decision, too. That aspect of his recruitment didn’t surprise Jacobson at all. “That young man is everything to his family, and his family is everything to him,” Jacobson said. So Hayes’ phone joined Jacobson’s and Scott’s on the call list for all of Scott’s suitors. “My first thought was, ‘Son, how are you going to tell all these nice people no?’” Hayes said. “So I just became the prayer person. I just took that journey with him. And I knew what he was looking for in terms of a school and a home. We were all there to help him achieve that. Now, as soon as he started talking about Pac-12, Pac-10, SEC, Big 12, I was out.” Scott is one of a few NFL-caliber players in Auburn's 2023 secondary (Photo: Kyle Okita, 247Sports) Scott visited Auburn, Oregon, Miami, BYU and hometown San Diego State. The trip down to the Plains was for the 2021 Iron Bowl, where the Tigers took No. 2 Alabama and Heisman winner Bryce Young to four overtimes in a thriller of a loss. Scott was recruited by then-Auburn defensive coordinator Derek Mason, who left for Oklahoma State just over a month after Scott committed. It was obviously a hike for Scott’s family from the West Coast to the heart of the south. But they immediately latched onto life in the orange and blue. “Our family, when we have a team, we have a team,” Hayes said. “All those babies out there are important. If they’re important to Keionte, they’re important to us.” *** Scott’s family is “diverse,” as Hayes described it. Scott’s grandmother is the youngest of 10, so there’s “plenty of aunts and uncles to go around.” Scott’s father is in prison, so Hayes is a single mom, and she said she instilled in her children from a young age the importance of leadership and integrity. She said Scott, who was named to Auburn’s “culture council” this season, has always been more mature than others his age. “It’s an incredible blessing to have this kind of support as a single mom,” Hayes said of Scott’s family, along with those he’s grown to know at Auburn. “It’s kind of indescribable.” As a mom and a supporter, Hayes strives to be the very best for Scott. Jacobson said she made a massive impression on his program in Scott’s time at Snow College, and that people around the building still talk about her and Scott’s impact as people. When Jacobson talks to her, he hears so much of what he learned to appreciate about Scott and his character. “Her as a support system for him, and vice versa, it’s just special, and honestly it’s inspiring,” Jacobson said. “It’s not every day as a coach you get a parent like that. If I called her and needed something, she’d drop everything to come help me. So it’s no surprise Keionte is the same way.” Although Scott’s transfer to Auburn was a massive trek, it just so happened to open even more doors for his family — in addition to the relationships Hayes has made with those at Auburn. Scott’s great great grandmother was born in Arkansas, and being more centralized with that side of the family helped them to reconnect. “It’s allowed us to meet family members we just wouldn’t have had the opportunity to meet before,” Hayes said. “There’s been a lot of opportunities we just wouldn’t have encountered before we came to Auburn.” That first Auburn home game last fall, Hayes wondered, “How can he even hear anything?” Through the tension of the unsightly exit for Harsin and the majority of his coaching staff, Hayes said Scott made a large effort to keep the team focused and together. But the waiting game for a new head coach was difficult. Then Freeze arrived, and Hayes couldn’t have been much more impressed. Scott's name is always one of the first mentioned by Freeze in terms of leaders on his 2023 team (Photo: Auburn Athletics) “They just take the time, you know?” Hayes said. “I remember Coach Freeze, stopping what he was doing to take the time to shake my hand, meet me and make sure, hey, if I have any questions or concerns at any time, here are the people in place to help you. But I haven’t had many (questions) because they’re so on top of it. It’s such a special thing as a parent to watch your child walk away from you and be with other people, and to know they’re in good hands and cared for and loved.” Scott was recruited by Mason and is now on his second Auburn defensive coordinator, but the thought of leaving the program amid all the changes last fall. “He’s loyal to this team, regardless of who the coach is,” Hayes said. “And a lot of his best friends on the team felt the same way.” *** Scott is an old hand at this by now. He goes home to California “any chance I get.” He’s experienced enough to sleep on the plane, which he knows many of his teammates won’t be able to do. But they have tools at their disposal, and Scott will encourage them to utilize the support they have on Auburn’s staff during what will inevitably be a tricky weekend of travel and acclimation. “The main thing is just getting used to the time change and the flight over,” Scott said. “A lot of guys really don't like flying, and that four-hour flight could affect us. But our trainers and our nutritionists are already on top of it with the things that we need to do — posture for sitting on the plane, hydrating, stuff like that.” How many family and friends will Scott have on hand Saturday night in Berkeley? “Oh, boy,” Hayes laughed. Most notably, Saturday is Scott’s grandfather’s birthday, and they’re surprising him by taking him to see Scott play. So nobody send this story to “Papa” just yet. “He just thinks we’re going to a game,” Hayes said. “He has no idea Keionte’s playing. It will be a special night." Hayes then paused briefly, and spoke passionately: “Auburn has just put our family together in so many ways. It’s kind of hard to explain. Does that make sense?” For so many who have walked a similar path — from outsider to Auburn Tiger — there’s no doubt it does. *** 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 ***

auburnwire.usatoday.com Auburn-California listed among top SEC games this week by College Sports Wire Taylor Jones ~2 minutes After an entertaining first week of college football season, several teams across the SEC will turn their attention to a fellow Power Five opponent in week two. This week, five SEC teams will face a Power Five opponent. The day’s action begins with Vanderbilt traveling to Wake Forest for a 10 a.m. CT kickoff and concludes with Auburn facing California in Berkeley 11 and 1/2 hours later. Buy Tigers Tickets Looking ahead to this weekend’s action, College Sports Wire broke down the top five games of the weekend in the SEC. Dylan Callaghan-Croley of College Sports Wire lists Auburn-California as the fourth-most interesting game of the weekend, citing that the winning team can kickstart their goal of bowl eligibility on Saturday. Hugh Freeze will face a Power Five team for the first time as the head coach of the Auburn Tigers on Saturday evening as the Tigers travel to Berkeley, California, to take on the California Golden Bears. Auburn defeated UMass at home 59-14 in week one, while California went on the road and defeated North Texas 58-21. This intriguing matchup features two programs looking to right the ship after a few difficult seasons; a win on Saturday for either would put both on track to be bowl-eligible this season. Auburn-California is ahead of Mississippi State-Arizona and trails Ole Miss-Tulane, Texas A&M-Miami, and Alabama–Texas for the weekend’s top spot. Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Taylor on Twitter @TaylorJones__

si.com Auburn Briefing: Three players that need a big day against Cal Zac Blackerby ~3 minutes Here are three Auburn Tigers that need a big day against the Cal Golden Bears. Auburn's first true test of the Hugh Freeze era is a road trip to Cal. While Auburn is close to a touchdown favorite, they've become a trendy upset pick this week as we inch closer to the action. Cal's running game has become a story. That paired with concerns about Auburn's rush defense has several pundits, fans, and experts concerned about Auburn's chances during their trip out west. Here are three Auburn Tigers that need a big game on Saturday. Eugene Asante Eugene Asante was the bright spot in Auburn's linebacker room against UMass. He already deserved more snaps but after the news that Austin Keys will miss time due to an injury, it makes it a no-brainer that he will need to be a huge part of what Auburn does on defense against Cal's rushing attack. Keldric Faulk We didn't see enough of Feldric Faulk in his collegiate debut last weekend. He will be asked to set the edge at times this weekend as we assume he will get more than the 13 snaps he played a week ago. Jayson Jones and Justin Rogers Yes. I cheated and put an extra name. Both Jayson Jones and Justin Rogers should be able to win at the point of attack against Cal's interior offensive line and help the linebackers secure tackles by keeping blockers from moving to the next level. We wrote it We spoke with Cal expert Jeff Faraudo of the Cal Sports Report. We asked him how Cal would prepare for an SEC team as opposed to other games. He said: Cal will view this game as it does any other. With all due respect to the SEC, clearly the best conference in the country, the Bears have actually won their past three meetings against SEC opponents. They beat Ole Miss at home in 2017 and on the road in 2019 and knocked off No. 15 Tennessee in 2007. Cal certainly won’t be overconfident after routing North Texas 58-21 but the Bears won’t be intimidated, either. They said it It became a pretty big headline earlier in the week when Cal running back Jadyn Ott talked about Auburn. “There’s a lot of focus on the name Auburn," Ott said. "But what I see on film is not really in comparison to what their name is. I just want to get that into my guys’ heads that a name doesn’t mean anything.” Engage with Auburn Daily on Socials!

come on man. this is a sports board where we talk and share differing opinions. people are just optimistic after some shaky years. and the reason people are saying it or agreeing it is most of your pods have been throwing that out for a while and they have no problem talking about it. shrugs.

most of the podcast folks seems to think we win with few problems. cal has an iffy line and one guy said they do not have talent to match auburn. it is believed if we stop ott we should have a win. at two or three touchdown win.

bird was one of the best sh*t talkers in the game. i miss those days. hell i miss the detroit bad boys. i loved to watch lambiers dirty behind get into the other teams mind.

i think so. also gunner is special.

i was hoping this would be the bus..............lol

no sir. i am an old hippy and wanted to bad but we all know hippies have mostly never had any money. thanx for posting!

i hope you guys found something to read or watch or both. there is quite a selection today.as always.........WAR DAMN EAGLE!

Five reasons why Auburn beats California on Saturday Taylor Jones 3–4 minutes After watching week one’s action, it is clear to see that Auburn is evenly matched with California ahead of their Saturday meeting. Both teams have valuable quarterback options, a solid running game, and a defense that can disrupt a passing game. How can Auburn come away with the victory on Saturday night? Buy Tigers Tickets Thursday, we broke down the five reasons why Auburn may lose to the Golden Bears on Saturday, but now it is time to examine the reasons why Auburn could have an advantage. There are several aspects that make Auburn and California similar, but if Auburn can take advantage of Cal’s vulnerable characteristics, the Tigers may earn a valuable win. Here are five ways that Auburn can defeat California on Saturday. Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports California has two solid transfer quarterbacks in Ben Finley and Sam Jackson V. The Bears had to rely on Finley last week at North Texas after Jackson was deemed unavailable. Finley would go on to pass for 289 yards and a touchdown in Cal’s 58-21 win. This week, head coach Justin Wilcox said that there is a possibility both Finley and Jackson will play against Auburn. Will chemistry continue to flow despite who is behind center? Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports California rushed for 347 yards last Saturday at North Texas, with running back Jadyn Ott accounting for 178 of those yards. However, looking at California’s grades on Pro Football Focus, the run-blocking aspect of their offense received a low grade of 54.2. The highest-graded offensive lineman was left guard Matthew Wykoff, who graded out at 65.6. Auburn allowed UMass to gain several big runs last week, so that is an area of improvement as well for the Tigers. However, if Auburn finds a way to break down a vulnerable position for California, their chances to win rise. © Mickey Welsh / Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK Both California and Auburn produced excellent offensive numbers last week, but the most glaring stat between the two was Cal’s offensive output. Last week, the Golden Bears ran 95 plays opposed to Auburn’s 69. Auburn will need to find a way to slow down California’s offense, and the best way to do that is to win the time of possession battle while making the most of the time they have. John Reed-USA TODAY Sports Instead of leaving the day before the game, Auburn left Thursday in an effort to better prepare themselves for the time change. The playing field becomes more level if Auburn adjusts in adequate time. Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports California running back Jadyn Ott provided Auburn with bulletin board material earlier this week. He said “There’s a lot of focus on the name Auburn. But what I see on film is not really in comparison to what their name is. I just want to get that into my guys’ heads that a name doesn’t mean anything.” Auburn hired Hugh Freeze to change the reputation of its “name”, and the perfect time to show signs of improvement would be Saturday night against California. Follow all your favorite Alabama teams at Auburn Wire and Roll Tide Wire!

247sports.com PMARSHONAU Auburn has more talent but will that be enough Phillip Marshall 4–5 minutes Is Auburn’s football team talented enough to beat California on Saturday night in Berkley? It almost certainly is. But that does not mean it will happen. So much in this game seems to be in Cal’s favor. It will be Auburn’s second game with a new head coach, mostly new assistants and dozens of newcomers on the roster. Traveling across the country and playing at 9:30 p.m. CDT is a challenge like no Auburn team has faced. The 2002 team played USC at the Los Angeles Coliseum, but it was the first game of the season on Monday night. The 2013 team played in the BCS Championship Game at the Rose Bowl, but it was there for a week before the game. This feels different and is different. Auburn’s football team arrived Thursday night, some 48 hours before Saturday night’s game. Head coach Hugh Freeze said he would have preferred to go Friday and not have all that time to wait. But, as anyone who traveled to the West Coast knows, it takes time for body clocks to adjust. And, while Auburn’s team might be bigger and faster and more athletic, Cal is good enough to win if the Tigers are not the best they can be at this point in the building process. That means, among other things, not turning the ball over, not getting needless penalties and resolving the alignment problems that surfaced on defense in a 59-14 victory over UMass. Auburn played last week without cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett, Jack defender Jalen McLeod and running back Jarquez Hunter. Pritchett and McLeod are expected to play. Their return should be helpful. Hunter, who was suspended for the first game, made the trip, but his status is uncertain. Middle linebacker Austin Keys is out indefinitely. That will not help. Most of the Auburn newcomers were enthralled by the atmosphere in their first game at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Now, they have to deal with playing on the road before a sellout crowd. Auburn fans will be there and be heard, but it will be a hostile environment. That will be another first for those newcomers. A win would allow the Tigers to almost certainly go to Texas A&M in two weeks with a 3-0 record and lots of momentum. A loss would be disappointing but certainly not season-destroying. So it is going to be in more games than not as this team pursues its destiny. SOME RANDOM THOUGHTS Pregame yapping Pregame talk is just that. It’s talk. I have never seen a game decided by what someone said before the game. The biggest potential impact is on the talker. I have been quoting the late Pat Dye a good bit recently, but here is another Dyeism: “The less you say, the less you have to take back.” SEC teams still have points to prove How many SEC teams have proved themselves going into the second full weekend of the season? None, to be exact. The ones who were tested in Week 1 – LSU, South Carolina and Florida – failed miserably, all losing by double digits. Everybody else feasted on cupcakes. There will be some legitimate tests this weekend, but also more cupcakes. We are just getting started. Is it time to waive the waivers? The NCAA’s final ruling is that wide receiver Tez Walker is ineligible for the 2023 season, and North Carolina coach Mack Brown is going off on the NCAA. Would Brown be as incensed if Walker was a walk-on instead of a player who could help him win? Of course he wouldn’t. It seems the NCAA is now strictly enforcing the rule that athletes get one-time penalty free transfers. After that, they have to sit out a year. I have no problem with that. In fact, I believe it should be automatic. You get one bite at the apple. After that, you must sit out – no hardship waivers or any other kinds of waivers. The attempts to frame the NCAA as some evil organization out to do harm really is just wrong. The NCAA is the membership. The membership can change rules. The presidents have final say. The NCAA has made plenty of bad decisions in recent years, more because of inaction than action. But if there are no rules, what then? Maybe the power programs will eventually pull out of the NCAA, though I doubt it. Even if that were to happen, there would be rules that had to be enforced.

l.com Bo Nix can be himself at Oregon, felt Auburn legacy pressure: ‘This school has changed my life’ Updated: Sep. 08, 2023, 6:04 a.m.|Published: Sep. 08, 2023, 5:57 a.m. ~3 minutes How has Oregon impacted Bo Nix Bo Nix said this week playing at Oregon has allowed him to be himself. By doing so, he escaped what he described as Auburn legacy pressure. The 2023 Heisman Trophy contender was explaining what being a Duck meant to him, and the former Auburn quarterback revealed the pressure of playing on The Plains. “This school has changed my life,” Nix said of Oregon. “This school just gave me an opportunity to be myself again and get out of the spotlight of, ‘You’re playing because your dad played here,’ or ‘You are only doing it because you are an Auburn fan’ or this and that. But now I can just go do it because I love playing quarterback. “I love being around a group of guys, and love leading a group out there with a common mission to win. We were fortunate enough to do a lot of that last season but we came up short in some other times, so now, another reason you came back to have another try at it, and learn from what you did right, learn from what you did wrong and go out and fix it.” Nix threw for 287 yards and three touchdowns before heading for the bench early in the third quarter and No. 15 Oregon built a 43-point halftime lead en route to an 81-7 victory over Portland State on Saturday. Nix left Auburn after an up-and-down three seasons. Still, the Auburn legacy and former five-star prospect finished his career on the Plains as the No. 3 passer in program history, finishing with 7,251 career passing yards. That’s just 48 yards shy of Jason Campbell’s record at No. 2 on the list. Nix completed 59.4 percent of his passes over the last three seasons, threw for 39 touchdowns and accounted for 57 total scores during his time with the Tigers. He’s also second in program history in career pass attempts with 1,057 and second in career pass completions with 628. Both of those records would have been in reach had Nix either returned for his senior season or finished his junior campaign healthy. Mark Heim is a reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim. He can be heard on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5 FM in Mobile or on the free Sound of Mobile App from 6 to 9 a.m. daily. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of

al.com Brian Battie’s addition, Keionte Scott’s improvement boosting Auburn’s special teams Published: Sep. 08, 2023, 5:00 a.m. 5–6 minutes Cornerbacks don’t have the ball in their hands all the time, so it’s hard to blame Keionte Scott for being so anxious to make a play. As Auburn’s punt returner, he stands back on his own all the way down the field, waiting for the ball to come to him and thinking about how he can impact the game with the ball in his hands. One problem. Scott was so giddy to start his return that he well, didn’t exactly make sure he had control of the ball. Fumbles were a key issue for Scott as a returner in 2022. He muffed two punts last season. Catching punts is something Scott said he had to work on over the offseason. “I had to learn a fair catch is not a bad play,” Scott said on Monday. “I felt like last year I was too antsy to make a play, like I was forcing it. This year it’ll be more of a -- hey, if I get the opportunity, I’ll make the play. If it hangs up there, make the fair catch and get the offense on the field.” It was a focus on confidence underneath the sailing ball, Scott said, that helped him improve this year, compared to plays like missed punt in last year’s Iron Bowl. Scott says he has that confidence now, and he showed it Saturday. Standing inside Auburn’s 30-yard-line, Scott fielded a UMass punt that bounced a few yards in front of him. His blockers immediately created a seam which Scott burst through before cutting left around the Auburn 45-yard-line. He swung all the way over to the left sideline and kept racing past the potential UMass tacklers all the way to inside the UMass redzone. The 56-yard return set up for a touchdown from quarterback Robby Ashford, and the beginning of Auburn pulling away UMass for good. “Oh, 100%,” Scott said when asked if he thought he could have scored on the return. “I watched it 60 times on Sunday to see if I could’ve cut it back. I don’t think I could have. But I’m definitely excited this year. I’m looking to get into the end zone, for sure. There too was Brian Battie, a transfer from USF who quickly slotted in as Auburn’s top kick returner. He had previously been an All-American at the position. He too, quickly gave Auburn a boost on special teams as he brought the game’s opening kickoff from deep in the endzone out to Auburn’s 38-yard-line. It set up Auburn with good field position to ultimately score a touchdown via a Damari Alston run on the game’s opening drive. Battie had 117 all-purpose yards in the win — 86 of which were kick return yards. He averaged 29 yards per return. Scott finished with 67 punt return yards over his two punts. “I thought our special teams, the positives were we started really fast,” Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze said in his Monday press conference. “I think we had 131 return yards in the first quarter, which is pretty awesome. Average first half starting field position was the plus-35, plus-48 for the whole game. So that’s really good.” But compare that to Auburn’s return stats from a year ago to see just how much of an impact Battie and Scott gave Auburn on special teams. As a team, Auburn averaged 8.5 yards per punt return last year. That was the 55th-best rate in the nation and eighth in the SEC. The 17.22 yards per kick return Auburn averaged last year was the second-worst in the SEC and ranked 114th nationally out of 130 teams. Sure, it’s just one game, but fast forward one season. Battie’s average kickoff returns put Auburn fifth in the SEC and 22nd nationally. Scott’s punt return average was third-best in the nation and second-best in the SEC. Their returns set up multiple Auburn touchdowns on a day where the team went on to score 59 points. The last time Auburn even scored more than 45 points was putting up 60 on Sept. 11, 2021, against Alabama A&M. Battie was never one of Auburn’s most talked about transfers. He’s listed as the third running back on Auburn’s depth chart. But as one of the nation’s better kick returns, something he’s proven throughout his career, he is setting up Auburn’s offense in strong positions. And Scott seems to be making sure he has the ball in his hands before making big plays, these days.

al.com Heading west for Auburn-Cal? Here are the NorCal Auburn Club’s plans and suggestions Updated: Sep. 07, 2023, 10:55 a.m.|Published: Sep. 07, 2023, 10:38 a.m. 5–6 minutes Shortly after moving to California in 2009, Josh Blissett learned the Auburn family is far-reaching. Growing up in Alabama, Blissett was often faced with the “Tide or Tigers?” question. But it wasn’t until a college friend of his brought him along for the LSU-Auburn game in 2000 that Blissett, who attended UAB, decided to place his loyalty with the Tigers. “I’ve been a huge Auburn fan ever since,” Blissett said. “Fell in love with the culture on campus, the Auburn Family and that whole deal.” Blissett went on to work for hall-of-fame chef Frank Stitt at Birmingham’s Bottega Café, and was eventually pulled out west by California’s wine industry. Fortunately, when Blissett arrived in the Bay Area in 2009, the NorCal Auburn Club — an official arm of the Auburn Alumni Association — was there to take him in. Ever since, the NorCal Auburn Club has been Blissett’s refuge on gamedays, which typically hold watch parties hosted at local bars and restaurants. But when Auburn and Cal announced their home-and-home matchups in 2016, Blissett and the rest of the NorCal Auburn Club knew they’d finally have an opportunity at a gameday experience that didn’t mean watching on television or flying east to see the Tigers in action. When Blissett began working in club leadership in 2019, he immediately wanted to look towards the Auburn-Cal game, which was initially scheduled for the 2021 and 2022 seasons. However, when Auburn added Penn State to their schedules, the games against Cal were moved back — which only gave Blissett and the NorCal Auburn club more time to prepare. “Frankly, everything that we’ve been doing since 2019 has been to drive interaction and engagement from a club level so that we had the infrastructure in place for this week and that we could be good hosts,” Blissett said. ”We know a lot of people are coming from the south.” The NorCal Auburn Club’s full week of Auburn-spirited activities started Thursday with the Tiger Trot 5K run and continues Friday with a Lands End Hike and a bike ride over the Golden Gate Bridge. Signing up for such events benefits the club’s scholarship, which is given to an incoming Auburn freshman from the Northern California area. The club is also having sponsored Happy Hours on Thursday and Friday night from 6-10 p.m. Thursday’s Happy Hour is being hosted at Mad Oak in Oakland, while Friday’s Happy Hour is being hosted at San Francisco’s Mad Dog in the Fog. Auburn-themed specialty cocktails that benefit the NorCal Auburn Club’s scholarship will be available at both bars and Aubie the Tiger is slated to make an appearance at Mad Dog in the Fog Friday night. But even if not with one of the club’s sponsored events, Blissett hopes visiting Auburn fans take this weekend to explore California’s Bay Area — especially considering how rare an Auburn football visit is. The last time Auburn came to Northern California for a football game was in 1936 when the Tigers came to play the University of Santa Clara Broncos, whose football program has since been nixed. “We want people to have a really memorable experience in the Bay Area,” Blissett said. “Most of us who live here love it here for a reason. This place is incredible. It’s gorgeous. Yes, it has its problems like any other major city does, but it’s definitely gorgeous.” The NorCal Auburn Club’s website encourages fans to try to arrive to the Bay Area early or at least stay a few days afterwards to experience all the Bay Area has to offer. That said, Blissett remembers from his time in Alabama that everyone will be eyeing the best tailgate opportunities. It’s been the No. 1 question he’s been asked as the game approaches, he says. Unfortunately, Auburn fans might be in, or a bit of a shock come gameday. “This is not a tailgating culture here,” Blissett said. “It’s not a tailgating campus. It’s built on a mountainside... there’s no 85-acre parking lot where everyone is pulled up with barbeques... It’s not a tailgating culture.” To cook with an open flame in Berkeley requires a permit, Blissett says. Instead, Blissett encourages Auburn fans to spend the morning at one of the area’s farmer’s markets. “But then again, I’m a huge food guy,” Blissett heeds. Then, as Auburn and Cal’s 7:30 p.m. PT kickoff approaches, Blissett advises that fans hop around some of the local bars. You can find the Club’s full list of suggestions towards the bottom of its gameday guide, though The Tap Haus, Jupiter and Henry’s are among the favorites. The NorCal Auburn Club’s full guide for this weekend — from club-sponsored events during the week to an Auburn party bus traveling to and from Memorial Stadium — visit here. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. By browsing this site, we may share your information with our social media partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.