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auburnwire.usatoday.com Five ways Auburn can lose to Cal JD McCarthy 4–5 minutes The Auburn Tigers (1-0) are looking to keep the momentum going from their season-opening win last week when they take on the Cal Golden Bears (1-0). The game will be a much tougher test for Hugh Freeze’s team as they will be making the cross-country trek to Berkley, California for the game. The Golden Bears also have several talented players and are coming off a big win of their own after blowing out North Texas to open their season. Buy Tigers Tickets While Auburn is the more talented team, the Golden Bears match up well with Auburn and are certainly capable of pulling off the upset. Here are five ways they can hand Auburn its first loss of the season. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) Ott is Cal’s top player and Auburn will need to have a plan to stop the talented running back. There were questions about Auburn’s ability to stop the run all offseason and those questions have not been answered. They were gashed at times by a UMass offense and will now have to deal with Ott who is capable of ripping off big runs at any time. He is coming in hot after rushing for 178 yards and two touchdowns last week, and if the Tigers can’t slow him down then it will be a long night for Auburn. Photo by Zach Bland/Auburn Tigers Auburn’s trip to Cal is about as long a road trip as any college football team can make, it is 2,460 miles from Auburn to Berkley, California. The game is also scheduled to start at 9:30 p.m. CT, much later than Auburn normally starts its games. Freeze made it very clear that he was not a fan of the travel needed for this game and it could easily have an impact on Auburn’s players. Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports Cal named Sam Jackson V the team’s starting quarterback ahead of their season opener but he played just 18 snaps in their game against North Texas before leaving with a shoulder injury. He was replaced by Ben Finley who answered the call, completing 24-of-34 passes for 289 yards, a touchdown and an interception. The two have very different skill sets, Jackson has elite speed and is a threat with his legs but is still developing as a passer. Finley is a pocket passer who has more experience but is not a threat to run the ball. Auburn’s defense will have to prepare for two different offenses and that could be a difference in the game. Mickey Welsh / Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK Auburn’s running back room is clearly the strength of the offense with Jarquez Hunter, Damari Alston and Brian Battie. While Hunter’s status for the game is still uncertain, the other running backs still give Auburn a potent rushing attack that can carry the offense. The Cal defense will pose a tough challenge for Auburn’s offense as they excel at stopping the run and are led by veteran linebacker Jackson Sirmon, who made 104 tackles last season. It’s a small sample size and against a less talented team, but they held North Texas to 41 yards rushing on 27 carries last week. More importantly, they held opponents to 149.58 yards rushing and 4.21 yards per carry last season. If they can make prevent Auburn from running the ball efficiently it will put more pressure on the unproven passing attack and it could spell disaster for the Tigers. Mickey Welsh / Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK Auburn’s offense played with some tempo during the UMass game but they dialed it back during the second half. Cal did not make that decision and kept pushing the pace, they ended up running 95 offensive plays as they racked up 669 yards of offense and scored 58 points. That many plays will test Auburn’s defensive depth as they will be forced to rotate the reserves in to try and keep the starters fresh for the second half. If Auburn’s offense is unable to control the ball it will only get worse and could cause the defense to get worn down as the game goes on. Follow all your favorite Alabama teams at Auburn Wire and Roll Tide Wire!

247sports.com Deal and Auburn offense look to take the next step at Cal Jason Caldwell 3–4 minutes AUBURN, Alabama—Coming off a 59-14 victory over UMass in last Saturday’s season opener for the Auburn Tigers in the first game of the Hugh Freeze era, this week has been one of the most important of the year for the team. There is an old football saying that a team improves more from week one to week two than at any other time in the season. Auburn hopes that’s the case as the Tigers get ready to cross the country on Thursday ahead of Saturday night’s game against what looks to be an improved Cal Bear team. After rushing for 297 yards and throwing for another 203 with no turnovers against the Minutemen, senior tight end Luke Deal said the offense feels like they’re ready to take the next step. “We learned that we’re everything we talked about,” Deal said. “We have a chance to be really versatile, explosive, very dynamic. We saw flashes of that in this first game and hopefully we can carry that on. Everything we have been preaching about in the offseason of what this team has the potential to do, we were able to see it. We know each week is not going to be easy. We’ve got to keep putting one foot in front of the other and preparing and doing what we think we can do.” The competition level steps up dramatically this week for Deal and the Tigers versus a Cal defense that was strong in its opening win over North Texas. After allowing a pair of 75-yard touchdown drives as part of a 21-point first half, the Bears were dominant in the final 30 minutes against the Mean Green. North Texas had the ball six times in the second half, managing just 19 total yards and no first downs. “I see a really well-coached defense,” Deal said. “I see a very sound defense. I see guys who are in the right gaps and doing the right things, which is something you always look for in a defense because if one guy messes up it can be a touchdown. We’re going to definitely have to calculate each move. We’re going to have to out-physical them, play with speed, and play with great toughness each and every play.” Looking for win number two in the non-conference, Auburn’s schedule will only get tougher as the Tigers move into SEC play in two weeks. Because of that, Deal said this weekend’s trip to California is a big opportunity for this team as they look to put the program back on the college football map. “There’s milestones in each season,” Deal said. “Your first game, how do you start? Your first road game, how do you react when you don’t have 90,000 people cheering you on? Whenever you get into conference play, that’s another milestone. Momentum is going to be huge. I just want to see us win the turnover battle, execute and run the football. That’s something you have to do on the road. I have learned that in big road games, if you want to go in and upset somebody you have to be able to run the football.” Kickoff for Saturday night’s game vs. the Cal Bears is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. central time and can be seen on ESPN.

auburnwire.usatoday.com Tale of the Tape: Auburn vs. California Brian Hauch 4–5 minutes A pair of 1-0 teams will face off in week two, when the Auburn Tigers travel across the country to take on the California Golden Bears in Berkley California. Auburn is coming off a 59-14 thumping of UMass in their home opener, while Cal’s week one game went eerily similar, as they coasted on the road against North Texas, 58-21. Buy Tigers Tickets Despite these similar results and Auburn having to travel all the way to the west coach and play in California Memorial Stadium, BetMGM currently has the Tigers as a 6.5 point favorite, giving the Tigers an implied odds of 71.43 to win the matchup outright. ESPN’s FPI calculator sees this game going differently, as the Index is giving Cal a 54.9% chance to win their home opener. With the differing opinions on how this game is going to play out, we’ll take it to the tale of the tape to provide some more clarity. This game features two transfer quarterbacks who have yet to play a full game for their new teams. On the home side, quarterback Sam Jackson V played sparingly in his first two seasons for TCU, completing 6 passes in 6 attempts for 125 yards. Jackson was named the starter in week one, but an early injury forced him to miss the remainder of the game after he completed 3/4 passes for 33 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for 18 yards on three carries. NC State transfer Ben Finley came in to replace him and played well, collecting 279 yards and a touchdown in the win. Still, Cal head coach Justin Wilcox told Jackson he wants him back, as he’s been named the starter for week two. On the Auburn side of the ball, Payton Thorne played well in his 3+ quarters of action in week one, collecting 141 passing yards and a touchdown while completing 59% of his passes. Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze also used a second quarterback frequently in week one, giving Robby Ashford a handful of packages in the red zone that led to 51 rushing yards and three touchdowns. The edge in the quarterback department goes to Auburn, based on the fact Thorne and Ashford boast much more experience than Jackson and Finley. As for the battle of the skill positions, that is much closer. Auburn played week one without their number one running back in Jarquez Hunter. That didn’t stop the Tigers from rushing for 289 yards thanks to great games from their o-line, the aforementioned Robby Ashford, Sean Jackson, and Jeremiah Cobb. Cal on the other hand rushed for 312 yards on the back of sophomore running back Jaydn Ott’s 188. Ott’s 188 yards and two-touchdown performance comes off the back of a very impressive freshmen season in which he racked up 1,218 total yards (897 rushing) and 11 touchdowns for a team that won a single game. Ott is probably the best skill position player in this game, and the fact he is paired with a true number-one receiving threat in Jeremiah Hunter (965 receiving yards in 2022) gives Cal the edge over Auburn’s committee backfield and unproven receiver room. The defenses in this game also stack up fairly evenly. Last year, Cal’s defense was in the middle of the pack in Division 1, giving up an average of 433.2 YPG. Auburn was slightly better, conceding 406.5 YPG to its opponents in 2022. It was Cal who had the edge in week one of 2023 however, as they were able to hold a solid North Texas team to just 225 total yards. Auburn on the other hand gave up 301 to a UMass team that isn’t very good. It’s too early in the season to give one team the edge on defense. If these comparisons have taught us anything, it’s that this game will be as close as many experts expect it to be. These teams very similarly had bad seasons in 2022 and good starts to 2023, but only one of them will continue the positive vibes into week three. This game should be a doozy, and it all kicks off at 9:30 p.m. CST on Saturday. Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Brian on Twitter @TheRealBHauch

si.com Behind Enemy Lines: Cal expert conveys his thoughts on Auburn’s week two matchup Joshua Collins 4–5 minutes We take a look at Auburn’s week two contest by reaching out to a Cal expert. In this story: Auburn Tigers California Golden Bears The Auburn Tigers will travel to California for a highly anticipated SEC v PAC-12 matchup this week. Cal was counted out by ESPN College GameDay analyst this weekend who predicted North Texas to secure the win. After pulling off a routing of the Mean Green on the road in extreme Texas heat the Golden Bears fan base are confident in their team coming into this contest against the Auburn Tigers. We reached out to Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report to answer a few questions from behind enemy lines. How do you think Cal will prepare for this upcoming game against an SEC team? Faraudo: 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. Do you think the late kickoff will play a factor in game performance for the Auburn Tigers? Faraudo: I don’t think so. I’m sure Hugh Freeze will figure out how to minimize what amounts to a 9:30 p.m. kickoff for the Tigers. Players like to play night games, and this is a chance for Auburn to beat a Pac-12 team on the road and send its own season in the right direction. How do you feel that Cal’s defense will perform against the run game? Faraudo: This will be a big test for Cal, which held North Texas to 41 net rushing yards and 1.5 yards per attempt. Auburn ran for 289 yards on 6.6 per rush and freshman running back Jeremiah Cobb looks like a handful. The Bears have benefitted from the return of defensive lineman Brett Johnson, who was considered an NFL prospect before missing the past two seasons with separate injures. He had no stats vs. North Texas but the coaching staff said he impacted the game. Do you believe this will be a close game or a blowout, and in whose favor? Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports Faraudo: I expect it to be close. This Cal team looks like it will score some points and its defense will be solid if it can limit big plays. SI Sportsbook favors Auburn by 6.5 points, even on the road, but I don’t think a Cal victory over a team that was 17-19 the past three seasons would be regarded as a huge upset. Both teams are works in progress. What will this game tell you about Cal’s team for the 2023 season? Al Sermeno/KLC Fotos Faraudo: Facing Auburn will be a good measuring stick for Cal. The Bears had their way at North Texas, but this is an entirely different level opponent. If Cal were to get the victory, it would greatly enhance their chances of becoming bowl eligible this season, something that has eluded the program the past three seasons.

Tale of the Tape: Auburn vs. California Brian Hauch Thu, September 7, 2023 at 3:00 PM CDT·4 min read 1 A pair of 1-0 teams will face off in week two, when the Auburn Tigers travel across the country to take on the California Golden Bears in Berkley California. Auburn is coming off a 59-14 thumping of UMass in their home opener, while Cal’s week one game went eerily similar, as they coasted on the road against North Texas, 58-21. Sign up for Yahoo Sports AM: All the sports, all in one place Email address By signing up, you agree to Yahoo's Terms and Privacy Policy Despite these similar results and Auburn having to travel all the way to the west coach and play in California Memorial Stadium, BetMGM currently has the Tigers as a 6.5 point favorite, giving the Tigers an implied odds of 71.43 to win the matchup outright. ESPN’s FPI calculator sees this game going differently, as the Index is giving Cal a 54.9% chance to win their home opener. With the differing opinions on how this game is going to play out, we’ll take it to the tale of the tape to provide some more clarity. This game features two transfer quarterbacks who have yet to play a full game for their new teams. On the home side, quarterback Sam Jackson V played sparingly in his first two seasons for TCU, completing 6 passes in 6 attempts for 125 yards. Jackson was named the starter in week one, but an early injury forced him to miss the remainder of the game after he completed 3/4 passes for 33 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for 18 yards on three carries. NC State transfer Ben Finley came in to replace him and played well, collecting 279 yards and a touchdown in the win. Still, Cal head coach Justin Wilcox told Jackson he wants him back, as he’s been named the starter for week two. On the Auburn side of the ball, Payton Thorne played well in his 3+ quarters of action in week one, collecting 141 passing yards and a touchdown while completing 59% of his passes. Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze also used a second quarterback frequently in week one, giving Robby Ashford a handful of packages in the red zone that led to 51 rushing yards and three touchdowns. The edge in the quarterback department goes to Auburn, based on the fact Thorne and Ashford boast much more experience than Jackson and Finley. As for the battle of the skill positions, that is much closer. Auburn played week one without their number one running back in Jarquez Hunter. That didn’t stop the Tigers from rushing for 289 yards thanks to great games from their o-line, the aforementioned Robby Ashford, Sean Jackson, and Jeremiah Cobb. Cal on the other hand rushed for 312 yards on the back of sophomore running back Jaydn Ott’s 188. Ott’s 188 yards and two-touchdown performance comes off the back of a very impressive freshmen season in which he racked up 1,218 total yards (897 rushing) and 11 touchdowns for a team that won a single game. Ott is probably the best skill position player in this game, and the fact he is paired with a true number-one receiving threat in Jeremiah Hunter (965 receiving yards in 2022) gives Cal the edge over Auburn’s committee backfield and unproven receiver room. The defenses in this game also stack up fairly evenly. Last year, Cal’s defense was in the middle of the pack in Division 1, giving up an average of 433.2 YPG. Auburn was slightly better, conceding 406.5 YPG to its opponents in 2022. It was Cal who had the edge in week one of 2023 however, as they were able to hold a solid North Texas team to just 225 total yards. Auburn on the other hand gave up 301 to a UMass team that isn’t very good. It’s too early in the season to give one team the edge on defense. If these comparisons have taught us anything, it’s that this game will be as close as many experts expect it to be. These teams very similarly had bad seasons in 2022 and good starts to 2023, but only one of them will continue the positive vibes into week three. This game should be a doozy, and it all kicks off at 9:30 p.m. CST on Saturday. Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Brian on Twitter @TheRealBHauch Story originally appeared on Auburn Wire

this deserves it's own thread. just found it on youtube and then found out it was buried in another thread. so i am not trying to step on any toes..............we just all want to see it.

if we lose to cal i will not be mad but i will be disappointed. we need to make sure we get things going the right wayand beating cal is another step.

i collect a lot of auto rookie cards and other auburn memorabilia so this is wonderful! i will check it out i just wanted to say thanx first in case i forgot.

i want to see what aTm has adding bobby. and i have not seen them but i saw somewhere some folks think miami is really good.

be careful.legend has it there are homeless tents and some fans confuse them for tailgaters and some just disappeared never to be seen or heard from again.

well do not leave us hanging. do we beat Cal? the cal running back says they can sleep walk through auburns d and we are not much more than a name. something to that effect. talk to us. oh and thanx for posting.....................

i agree. i hope someone lays the wood to him a couple of times. no permanent damage just enough he tells himself to shut the hell up from now on.............lol

al.com Auburn, Hugh Freeze preparing for every piece of Cal’s ‘very, very explosive offense’ Published: Sep. 06, 2023, 1:31 p.m. 4–5 minutes Auburn coach Hugh Freeze previews Cal week Auburn first-year head coach Hugh Freeze knows Saturday’s game against Cal will be a challenge. That challenge starts on Thursday as he and the Tigers pile onto a plane for a 4.5-hour ride over to Berkeley, arriving late Thursday night. Once Saturday’s late-night kickoff was scheduled, Freeze tried to change Auburn’s itinerary and leave The Plains on Friday. However, the plane had already been set to be used by an NFL team, Freeze said during the SEC teleconference Wednesday afternoon. “We’re going to go as late as they would allow on Thursday,” Freeze said. “And try to get there fairly late in hopes that we can sleep in a little bit on Friday with the body on Central Time. Don’t know if that’s right, but that’s our plan.” Adjusting to the time difference and shaking off a hefty day of traveling is just half the battle, however. Come Saturday night, Freeze knows his team will be lacing it up against a much stouter opponent than the Tigers did in Week 1 against UMass. “We will be certainly tested with this trip to Cal, who has a very, very explosive offense and very, very solid defense,” Freeze said. The Cal Golden Bears are set to return home to Memorial Stadium on Saturday after beating North Texas on the road 58-21. In their win last week, the Golden Bears’ offense totaled 669 yards of offense with a balanced approach that saw Cal rush for 357 yards and pass for 312. “Offensively, they’re really scary, Freeze said of the Golden Bears in his press conference Monday. “The tailback, he’s one of the best ones I’ve seen.” The tailback Freeze was referring to is Cal sophomore Jaydn Ott, who carried the ball 20 times against North Texas and tallied 188 rushing yards – good for an average of 9.4 yards per carry. Ott also finished with a pair of touchdowns, of which one he scored from 66 yards out. “Just hand it to him,” Freeze said of Ott. “I mean, it isn’t like they have created some special deal, just run inside zone or outside zone or counter with him, and if it’s semi-blocked well he’s a handful. He’s big, he’s strong, he’s fast, he’s got great vision. He is really, really talented.” And generally, after Cal head coach Justin Wilcox said Tuesday that starting quarterback Sam Jackson was “day-to-day” with an upper body injury, one might expect the Golden Bears to turn to the ground game should Jackson not be able to go. However, Freeze isn’t expecting that to be the case after watching the way the Cal offense operated in Jackson’s absence last week. After Jackson went down early in the second quarter after having just taken 18 snaps, Cal turned to redshirt sophomore Ben Finley to take over under center. “The first kid… gosh he’s an athlete and can obviously throw and run,” Freeze said of Jackson. “Then Finley came in and didn’t miss a beat throwing. He may not be quite the athlete that the other kid is and he’s probably not, but he sure was efficient.” Prior to exiting last Saturday’s game against North Texas, Jackson went 3-for-4 through the air for 33 yards and added 18 rushing yards on three carries. Meanwhile, Finley picked apart the North Texas defense as he threw for 279 yards on a 24-for-35 passing effort with a touchdown and an interception. “I don’t know their plan as to whether they’ll use both or one or the other,” Freeze said. “But we have to prepare for both of them.” 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.

al.com Cal’s Jaydn Ott not impressed with Auburn film: ‘A name doesn’t mean anything’ Updated: Sep. 06, 2023, 8:27 p.m.|Published: Sep. 06, 2023, 8:26 p.m. 2–3 minutes California running back Jaydn Ott (1) looks for room against North Texas safety Patrick Smith (11) during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 2, 2023, in Denton, Texas. (AP Photo/Brandon Wade)AP Jaydn Ott’s Week 1 achievements have given him confidence as his Cal Golden Bears prepare to host Auburn on Saturday. Will Cal take down Auburn? “Yeah, we are,” he said. Ott, who rushed for 188 yards and two touchdowns in California’s 58-21 win over North Texas last week, told reporters Wednesday he isn’t impressed by Hugh Freeze’s Auburn Tigers. “There’s a lot of focus on the name ‘Auburn,’” he said. “But what I’ve seen 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. At the end of the day, they’re still human, and we have just as much of a chance as they do to go in there and get the win.” RELATED: Get your Auburn-Cal tickets here Auburn took care of business in Freeze’s head coaching debut. Robby Ashford rushed for three first-half touchdowns as Auburn defeated UMass 59-14. Michigan State transfer Payton Thorne threw for 141 yards and a touchdown in his Auburn (1-0) debut. The Golden Bears aren’t complete strangers to the SEC. In 2019, Cal traveled to Oxford and came away with a 28-20 win over Ole Miss. “It would be very encouraging when we do get this win,” Ott said, per 247 Sports, “but I feel like our focus is going to be not letting it get to our head and getting too big-headed after we do get the dub.” 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.

as always i will check back later for more coverage as it becomes available.

as an aside for those that care?The Rolling Stones are releasing a new cd with new music in 18 years. there first single is killer. i am posting their first song. if yhis is too much leave me a neg. i am here to make your day better and not be a drag..............