aubiefifty

delta 8 is not all that impressive to me. you have to do too much to get a buzz. but i know a lot of folks use it for pain to stay away from pills.

theplainsman.com Two freshmen with two fresh opportunities Last Updated 19 hours ago 6-7 minutes Auburn’s loss to Georgia wasn’t all negative for the Tigers, as two new faces made it to Saturday’s field on their own accord. Landen King saw his first action in an Auburn uniform on Saturday, getting involved in the passing game with his first two career catches coming against a greedy Georgia defense. A new face was plugging up Auburn’s defensive line as well, as Marquis Robinson got a significant amount of snaps for the first time in his early career even though it was a high intensity game. That’s the kind of program head coach Bryan Harsin says he wants to create, one where the best man and the best prepared player gets the game reps, regardless of the matchup on Saturday. “You gotta have competition,” Harsin said. “…I see some of the young players, there’s a reason why [Robinson] is in there. He kept showing up in practice, so he’d earned an opportunity to play. Obviously playing against a very good team and having a chance to come out there as a young player, but that’s part of the mentality that we want to have in this program, we want guys competing." Robinson, a four-star rated player coming out of high school just six months ago, is already making waves on the Plains and seeing live action against a serious opponent in his first year in a Tiger uniform. Auburn’s depth at the defensive line is something Harsin mentioned as a concern, and a possible reason for Robinson’s involvement. “As far as depth goes, we need to be better," Harsin said. "We’ve got guys, we just need to better on the defensive line and be more competitive within that group. O-line, D-line is where you really have to have really solid play every day.” Tight end involvement in the offensive scheme has seen the rejuvenation of some players’ passion for the sport while also creating chances to play for others. Auburn dipped into the lone star state to pull out three-star tight end Landen King in its last recruiting class. While he’s still a freshman, the 6-foot-5 prospect is already carving out a role in Auburns’ offense behind the Tiger’s leading receiver John Samuel Shenker.

al.com Tiger Buzz: Auburn vs. Arkansas TV info, key matchups and what to watch for By Nubyjas Wilborn | nwilborn@al.com 4 minutes What: Auburn (4-2, 1-1 SEC) vs No. 17 Arkansas ( 4-2, 1-2) When: 11:00 a.m. CT, Saturday Where: Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium, Fayetteville, Arkansas TV: CBS This game will determine... Suppose Auburn can stay in the race for the West division title. The Tigers’ two losses came against a top-10 Penn State and now-No. 1 Georgia. Even the harshest fan can understand coming up short. A loss against Arkansas takes away a lot of the goodwill earned with wins against Alabama State, Akron, Georgia State, and division foe LSU. An Auburn win gives them two division wins headed into a bye week before hosting Ole Miss. Both teams should be motivated after Alabama’s defeat against Texas A&M last week. Three things to look for 1. How do both teams bounce back from losses?: Arkansas is back at home for the first time since September 18′s win against Georgia Southern but is doing so on a two-game losing streak. Auburn is coming off a 34-10 loss against Georgia. The Razorbacks responded to a throttling by Georgia the prior week with 51 points against Ole Miss but losing on a failed two-point conversion. Will the Razorbacks use the narrow defeat as motivation? How will Auburn handle a road trip and an early start? Essentially, this matchup is a win-or-go-home game for the Razorbacks or Tigers. The victor lives to fight another week for a division title, and the other will be fortunate to go to any bowl game that’ll take them. 2. Can Auburn’s defense limit Arkansas?: The Razorbacks score 32.3 points per game. Auburn’s defense allows 19.2 points per game. 3. How will Bo Nix handle the road?: Maybe the comeback performance in Baton Rouge started to break the curse Nix seemed to suffer in big road games. He languished in a loss in Happy Valley against Penn State. The Tigers need Nix to look more like the guy leading them down the field at LSU than some of his other stumbles. Matchup to watch... Auburn’s defensive line and linebackers against Arkansas’ offensive line, running backs, and quarterback: The Tigers are third in the SEC in run defense. Auburn’s stingy run defense gives up a scant 104.7 yards per game. The combination of Tigers’ defense and Razorbacks’ potent run game will make for an exciting clash. Arkansas ranks fourth in the SEC with 244.8 rushing yards per game. By the numbers 43 Tackles for Chandler Wooten, Auburn’s team leader. He’s stepped up mightly in the absence of Owen Pappoe. Defensive coordinator Derek Mason could lean on Wooten again if Pappoe is still out. Pappoe hasn’t played since suffering an injury against Penn State. Head coach Bryan Harsin seemed optimistic that Pappoe might return against Arkansas. Either way, expect to see lots of Wooten, who’s averaging over seven tackles a game. Arkansas player to watch Jefferson. He’s probably the best player in the game as he emerges as a top quarterback. Jefferson had 326 yards passing and three touchdowns last week. He also rushed for three scores. Jefferson had 1,235 yards through the air with a 79-of-126 completion rate. He’s thrown nine touchdowns and three interceptions. If that isn’t enough, he’s also run for 320 yards and five trips to the end zone. Nubyjas Wilborn covers Auburn sports for Alabama Media Group Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission.

Five questions with an Arkansas beat writer. By Nubyjas Wilborn | nwilborn@al.com 4-5 minutes 1. Is last week’s 52-51 Arkansas loss against Ole Miss the wildest game you’ve written on a deadline? How did you handle it? Believe it or not, it wasn’t even the wildest Arkansas-Ole Miss game I’ve covered. I’d have to put Arkansas’ 58-56 victory at Ole Miss in 7 overtimes in 2001 at No. 1 on the list. I remember going down to the field with about 5 minutes left in regulation (having no idea the game would go another hour-plus or whatever it was) and Arkansas leading 17-10. Still, Ole Miss is driving with Eli Manning at quarterback. I couldn’t believe how many fans were leaving the game with the Rebels looking like they could tie it up, but I guess they wanted to get back to the Grove or go home. That was the night Arkansas QB Matt Jones became a star. Then there was the 2015 Arkansas-Ole Miss game when the Razorbacks won 53-52 in overtime aided by the Hunter Henry Heave. (If you don’t know the play, Google it). We had our main beat writer Tom Murphy and columnist Wally Hall in Oxford last week, but I covered the game remotely from home because the postgame interviews were on Zoom only. The game kicked off at 11 a.m., so no deadline pressure for my sidebar and notes. But those other two games were tough deadlines with all the craziness. Arkansas’ 7-overtime 71-63 win at Kentucky in 2003— another Matt Jones classic — also was a night game. But glad to say I’ve covered a pair of 7 overtime games. Not too many writers have done that. 2. What makes KJ Jefferson so unique as a quarterback? Jefferson is 6-3 and 245 pounds and a physical runner to go along with having a strong arm. You don’t see many quarterbacks his size willingly seek out contact, and no doubt strike fear in some defensive backs when they see him running at them with a full head of steam. The leaping touchdown Jefferson scored at Ole Miss last week was one of the better plays I’ve seen a quarterback make. Jefferson has a really strong arm and is developing into a more accurate passer; it seems week by week. His combination of size, speed, and power (both as a runner and passer) is unique. 3. What’s going on with the defense? The Razorbacks’ run defense got shredded the last two weeks at Georgia and Ole Miss after they defended the run well in beating Texas and Texas A&M. Georgia has a really good offensive line and backs, as does Ole Miss (and QB Matt Corral is an impressive runner), but it still was shocking to see the defense look so, well, defenseless. Georgia’s and Ole Miss’ coaches figured out some good ways to attack Arkansas, and the Razorbacks struggled with their gap control and setting the edge. It will be interesting to see if the Razorbacks switch from a three-man front to a four-man front against Auburn. 4. How is new head coach Sam Pittman adapting to Arkansas, and how is everyone adapting to him? Given that Arkansas was a combined 1-23 in SEC games from 2017-19, Pittman and his staff have done a remarkable job in having the Razorbacks ranked in their second season. Pittman may not have been a big name nationally when he was hired, but he was known to Arkansas fans as the Hogs’ offensive line coach from 2013-15. Things started going south for the Razorbacks when Pittman left to be the O-line coach at Georgia. Fans knew that, and they knew about Pittman’s background as a superb recruiter, so I think they were glad to have him back leading the program. Plus, Pittman wanted the job when a lot of coaches didn’t. 5. Who’s a player on offense and one defense Tiger fans should pay attention to from Arkansas? Junior wide receiver Treylon Burks is one to watch on offense. He got off to a slow start after missing a lot of preseason camp practices because of a leg injury, but then broke out with a 91-yard touchdown catch — off a short pass — against Georgia Southern and had an 85-yard TD against Texas A&M. Last week; he had 37-yard gains with leaping catches on back to back plays. Senior middle linebacker Grant Morgan is the Razorbacks’ emotional leader and heart and soul on defense. A former walk-on, Morgan will be all over the field making tackles. Nubyjas Wilborn covers Auburn sports for Alabama Media Group. Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission.

i wonder who the first person to bitch about harsins buyout will be?

Where Bryan Harsin’s 2021 salary, buyout rank nationally, in the SEC By Tom Green | tgreen@al.com 3 minutes Auburn head coach Bryan Harsin watches as Auburn trails Georgia State during the second half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021, in Auburn, Ala. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)AP Bryan Harsin is in the first season of a six-year contract at Auburn, where he took over as head coach late last December. The Tigers’ new coach will earn $5 million this year, with annual increases of $100,000 each January. That makes Harsin, for the 2021 season, the 19th-highest paid head coach in college football and the seventh-highest paid coach in the SEC, according to USA Today’s annual head coach salaries database, which was updated Thursday. Harsin’s $5 million salary this year puts him squarely in the middles of the pack in the SEC and ranks behind Alabama’s Nick Saban ($9.7 million), LSU’s Ed Orgeron ($9 million), Florida’s Dan Mullen ($7.57 million), Texas A&M’s Jimbo Fished ($7.5 million) Georgia’s Kirby Smart ($7.13 million) and Kentucky’s Mark Stoops ($5.26 million) among SEC coaches. Those six coaches rank first, second, sixth, seventh, eighth and 15th nationally, respectively, in salary for 2021. Harsin’s $5 million salary is equal to that of Mississippi State coach Mike Leach this year. The man Harsin replaced on the Plains, Gus Malzahn, is earning $2.32 million in his first season as head coach at UCF. That salary ranks 63rd among FBS coaches, though Malzahn is still collecting a substantial buyout from Auburn. Harsin’s replacement at Boise State, Andy Avalos, is earning $1.5 million this season, which ranks 77th nationally among head coaches. RELATED: How much does Auburn owe Gus Malzahn and former coaching staff in buyouts? Harsin’s six-year deal with Auburn also includes a $17.79 million buyout, equal to 70 percent of the remaining money on his deal as of the end of the season. That buyout sum also ranks 19th among all FBS head coaches this year and fifth among SEC coaches. Only Fisher ($95.57 million), Saban ($38.4 million), Tennessee’s Josh Heupel ($20.66 million) and Stoops ($19.92 million) have larger buyout totals among SEC coaches. Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.

so. when you see me on the fam do you think "there goes a thoroughbred"? grins

what position did you play? give us some war stories. you can remain anonymous.https://twitteanonymousr.com/SmokeMonday/status/1448354238917136393?ref_src=twsrc^tfw|twcamp^tweetembed|twterm^1448354238917136393|twgr^|twcon^s1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.redditmedia.com%2Fmediaembed%2Fq7mdhv%3Fresponsive%3Dtrueis_nightmode%3Dfalse

thats funny as the last band i was in was called the irregulars.............grins.

i am pretty sure dye did not want to get bo hurt over something that could be avoided. he knew and told bo that bo gives the auburn people hope. i was just using that as an example and maybe it was not the best one.

i know some players were not happy and dye still did it his way.

god bless whoever helped out i really appreciate it. as an aside why can't smoke be pusing legal smoke? hell willie has some of the best i ever had. the pairing up would be perfect.

with direct tv pushing their sports programming stuff. it is on twitter so i cannot get the image on here. any help is much appreciated if anyone can post it. _c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.redditmedia.com%2Fmediaembed%2Fq7mdhv%3Fresponsive%3Dtrueis_nightmode%3Dfalse

i am certainly not trying to make bo look bad. he is one of my favorites. maybe the word lazy was the wrong word but i have heard that all my life. i believe dye said something about it in his first book "in the arena". the best i remember some team members thought he was getting special treatment and resented it. dye said something like you do not overwork your stud player or something to that effect. and from the story of bud casey grabbing bo's face mask and bo told him he better not ever do that again. and the point was bud never did. and you guys know damn well casey talked to dye about it. and it still never happened again.

When Bryan Harsin stepped in as the head coach of Auburn football last December, he knew what he was getting into. Harsin was stepping into a place where fans expected consistency and competitiveness. Tiger fans crave excellence in all phases of the game, but at the end of the year, there’s one thing Auburn fans want most: to beat Alabama. Unfortunately, that’s hard to do. Auburn has one of the most difficult jobs in college football because of the level of its rivals, and it’s hard for the Tigers to meet expectations that demand play on the same level of Georgia and Alabama when Auburn neither recruits nor coaches better than either of those schools at this point in time. Lindsay Crosby of the ‘Locked on Auburn podcast‘ shared an interesting article with me written by ‘The Athletic.’ They just recently put out a list of their hardest Power Five jobs in college football, and Auburn was listed at seventh. The teams sitting in front of them included Vanderbilt, Kansas, Nebraska, Texas, Washington State, and Miami. Here is what The Athletic had to say about Auburn. Auburn is already a difficult job most years, as a less consistentl ysuccessful program in its own state and with a fan base that wants to compete for SEC titles. But in the current state of college football, where Georgia and Alabama rule the annual recruiting rankings, Auburn and Tennessee are the only schools that have to play both each year because of annual cross-division rivalry games. “That’s like an 8-4 job where everyone there thinks they should be national champ contenders,” one Group of 5 administrator said. Added one Group of 5 assistants: “The Tennessee and Auburn people are friggin’ vicious.” It’s a tough gig, for sure. Auburn fans may not realize how good they have it as opposed to some of the other mid-tier teams in the SEC, but unfortunately “mid-tier” is not what fans are looking for. Harsin preached patience when he was hired, and he’s going to continue to need to preach it for the next couple of seasons. Contact/Follow us @theauburnwire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinion.

do you tailgate at the games salty? i was shocked at how much some of those guys pay to bbq and drink beer and all that.

turd fans have already been saying he is over the hill and to replace him. good lord if tennessee beats them turd fans will lose their minds................

first off let me say i like harsin quite a bit and i do believe he will do well down the road. what bothers me is i hear guys on here talking about sometimes it appears the better receivers are on the sidelines and i am sure there is method to his madness so to speak. it seems to play on saturdays players have to earn their playing time. how realistic and how hard nose is coach? here is my worry. it is pretty well known Bo Jackson was one of the laziest players during practice on a pat dye team. now we know how great bo was right? if bo jackson played for harsin would he get his shot or get looked over for being lazy? would this be what we call pulling the weeds so to speak to make auburn a better team or does it hurt us? i am just curious. i played on year of Amercan Youth Association football in germany as an army brat. anyone got any thoughts they might bring to the table?

i have not paid a lot of attention to it but i believe you are right. i wish they could give him some proper adjustment. now what that is i have no idea but a legacy surely does not want to end up like JJ.and i was a big fan of his. shame because i was reading how much money bo has raised for charity with some of his NIL stuff. this is not a joke but i think Auburn should have a good shrink available for mental issues and head problems. his problems are in his head because he should be getting better instead of back sliding. i love my tigers and i want them to do well and for some odd reason i believe playing tj more makes bo a better player.

Auburn looking to add offensive dimension for Arkansas game By Lexus 6-8 minutes FAYETTEVILLE — Auburn Coach Bryan Harsin said he hopes to have a more balanced offense when the Tigers play the University of Arkansas on Saturday at Reynolds Razorback Stadium. In the Tigers’ first two SEC games, they had 91 passes and 58 rushing attempts. Quarterbacks Bo Nix and T.J. Finley combined to complete 24 of 48 passes for 290 yards in Auburn’s 24-19 victory at LSU on Oct. 2. Nix was 24 of 43 for 272 yards against Georgia last week when the Bulldogs — ranked No. 1 in the latest Associated Press poll — beat the Tigers at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Auburn (4-2, 1-1 SEC) had rushing totals of 29 carries for 163 yards at LSU and 29 for 46 against Georgia. “Well, yeah, every single week we’ve been trying to do that,” Harsin said at his Monday news conference when asked about trying to establish a run game. “You know, we haven’t waited for the Arkansas week. “That wasn’t a preseason plan. We’ve been trying to do that every single week, and that’s something I think most teams want to do. They want to establish the run. We’d like to do that.” LSU jumped to a 13-0 lead over Auburn in the second quarter and was ahead 19-10 with 5:42 left in the third quarter, forcing Auburn to rely more on its passing offense. Georgia led the Tigers 17-3 at halftime and 24-3 in the third quarter to also limit Auburn’s ability to call run plays. “One way to do that is stop losing early,” Harsin said of increasing run plays. “We’ve got to keep the ballgame closer so that you can run the ball more effectively.” Harsin, in his first year at Auburn after being 7-5 in his only season at Arkansas State University in 2013 and going 69-19 seven seasons at Boise State, said facing Georgia skewed the Tigers’ rushing numbers. The Bulldogs are fourth nationally in run defense, holding opponents to an average of 66.8 yards per game. “We felt like we had to throw it a little bit more to get back into it,” Harsin said. “They’re good up front.” Harsin said the Tigers want to have the identity of being a physical running team. “We’re just going to have to keep working on it and keep getting better at it,” he said. “It doesn’t change who we want to be. It doesn’t change the fact that that’s a goal of ours in the identity of what this offense should look like. “At the end of the day, we’ve got to do it. … Now, that being said, it’s not all run. There’s got to be some balance, and that balance in the pass game has got to show up.” Nix, a junior in his third season as a starter, has completed 107 of 185 passes (57.8%) for 1,196 yards and 6 touchdowns with 1 interception. Finley, a sophomore transfer from LSU who came off the bench to rally the Tigers to a 34-24 victory over Georgia State when Nix struggled, is 17 of 32 for 275 yards and 2 touchdowns without an interception. “You don’t want to just throw it to throw it for statistics,” Harsin said. “You want to throw it so you can complete passes and move the ball and get yourself in position to where you can get some rhythm on the offensive side. “I think that’s what throws do — they give you rhythm. They give you an opportunity to move the ball and gets other playmakers on the team involved as well, so you’re trying to spread that ball around and give guys opportunities.” The Tigers showed at Penn State they could have balance against a quality opponent when they lost to the Nittany Lions 28-20 on Sept. 18. Auburn rushed 40 times for 195 yards and Nix completed 21 of 39 passes for 185 yards. Freshman Jarquez Hunter leads the Tigers with 465 rushing yards, but 94 of those came on a touchdown run against Alabama State. He has 47 carries. Tank Bigsby remains Auburn’s workhorse running back. He has 84 carries for 458 yards — including 23 for 102 against Penn State — and 5 touchdowns. The sophomore, who has seven catches for 53 yards, rushed for 146 yards against Arkansas last season. Nix is the team’s third-leading rusher with 35 carries for 117 yards and 1 touchdown. “I think he’s incredible,” Arkansas Coach Sam Pittman said of Nix’s dual threat ability. “I mean, he extends plays as good as anybody in the country.” Demetrius Robertson, a senior graduate transfer from Georgia, leads Auburn with 21 receptions for 239 yards and 2 touchdowns. Sophomore Kobe Hudson has 19 catches for 267 yards. Senior tight end John Samuel Shenker had five catches for 102 yards at LSU. It was the first 100-yard game by an Auburn tight end since 1994 when Andy Fuller had 115 against Florida. Shenker has 19 catches for 256 yards. Senior outside linebackers Chandler Wooten and Zakoby McClain lead the Tigers with 43 and 38 tackles, respectively. Eighteen players have combined for 49 tackles for losses totaling 159 yards, led by senior end T.D. Moultry (6 for 22) and junior end Eku Leota (6 for 31). Senior cornerback Roger McCreary has two interceptions for 35 yards in returns. The Tigers are holding opponents to 104.7 rushing yards to rank 23rd nationally. “Defensively, to me, they’re back to where Auburn’s been dominating on the D-line with [Derick] Hall and [Tony] Fair and [Marcus] Harris and [Colby] Wooden,” said Pittman, who has faced Auburn the previous eight seasons at Arkansas and Georgia. “They’re really good players.” Sophomore J.J. Pegues, 6-3 and 308 pounds, has played on both sides of the ball for the Tigers this season. He’s primarily been a backup defensive tackle, but he got some snaps at tight end — his position last season — against LSU and Georgia and played on special teams. He has six tackles and hasn’t caught a pass this season after having seven receptions for 57 yards as a freshman. Pegues started at tight end against Arkansas last season and got some direct snaps in a Wildcat package and had two carries for 12 yards. “His football intelligence is very high,” Harsin said. “He understands the game, and that’s what allows us to be able to do multiple things with him. “We will see what that looks like this week and what opportunities he gets on the offensive side. But his focus is on D-line. “His focus is on the things he does on special teams, and then how we may utilize him on the offensive side depends on what our game plan is going into this week.”

Auburn's pass-catching problems 'just a lack of focus' ByNathan King 4-5 minutes Arkansas' Recent Defensive Struggles AUBURN, Alabama — According to one of Auburn's senior leaders, the team's pass-catching issues are rather simple. “I’ll just say it’s a lack of focus — that’s it,” said running back Shaun Shivers on Wednesday. But that doesn't mean Auburn's figured out how to fix it. After a season-high six drops against Georgia, Auburn leads the SEC with 22, according to Pro Football Focus. The league’s second-worst team in that department, Mississippi State, has 15, and the Bulldogs have 67 more pass attempts on the season than Auburn. Auburn has already surpassed its drop total from all of last season (19), and is on pace to more than double it. “At the end of the day, we have too many (drops),” Auburn coach Bryan Harsin said after last Saturday's 34-10 loss to Georgia. “That comes back to a lot of just fundamentals of catching the football. We made some tough catches today. There were some good plays made that we did catch. Now it’s got to be the consistency of it.” Missed chances are not a positive for an offense, but Auburn’s drops against Georgia seemed to be at more inopportune times than they’ve been all season. Shivers dropped a pass that would have converted a third-and-short — instead, the ball fell into the arms of Nakobe Dean for an interception. Tight end John Samuel Shenker misplayed a ball in the end zone on Auburn’s first drive and was credited with a drop. Senior receivers Shedrick Jackson and Demetris Robertson each dropped passes that would have moved the chains on third- and fourth-and-long in the second half, respectively. Quarterback Bo Nix finished 21-of-38 for 217 yards and an interception — a stat line that likely would have been significantly improved without the acute drop issues. “There’s little, small, subtle areas that have to improve that’ll make those big improvements that people kind of see on the outside,” Nix said Saturday. Shivers said it’s not as if the Tigers are dropping balls all week in practice, either. Something’s just off on game days. “We do it in practice and we get out there in games and, like I said, it’s just a lack of focus,” Shivers said. So what’s the plan for Auburn’s staff? Harsin already made waves when he fired receivers coach Cornelius Williams four games into the season, replacing him with analyst and former Boise State offensive coordinator Eric Kiesau. But the lineups at receiver haven’t been altered much, save for a handful of added or subtracted snaps here or there. Harsin is, however, looking for difference-makers to emerge in practice and possibly be given bigger opportunities in the second half of the season. That’s his philosophy at every position group on the roster — prove yourself during the week and you’ll get a shot on game day — but the competition at receiver has been under the microscope even further, and it will continue to be heading into the Arkansas game this weekend (11 a.m. CST, CBS). “We’re going to put guys on the field that earn the opportunity to play because of how they practice,” Harsin said after the Georgia game. “That opportunity is there. We need to continue to find guys that will make plays for us. The drop issue, it’s frustrating.”

Bryan Harsin discusses Chandler Wooten’s big year, Arkansas freshman Rocket Sanders Keith Farner | 18 hours ago 1 minute Bryan Harsin and Auburn have turned to Chandler Wooten to help fill in for the injured Owen Pappoe, who has missed time since he suffered an ankle injury against Penn State. Wooten has done that and then some. In the Penn State game, Wooten had 10 tackles, but since then in 3 other games, he’s made a combined 23 tackles. “He’s stepped up,” Harsin said on the SEC coaches media teleconference. “He’s filled that role, which is what good players do. Chandler’s a captain for us. He acts like a captain … He’s one of those guys who just really gets it each and every day.” Auburn will face Arkansas this week, and RB Rocket Sanders. Sanders last week against Ole Miss had 17 carries for 139 yards. “One thing just overall, the offense, they’re explosive,” Harsin said. “They play fast. He and what they do at that position is just another weapon that they have.”

auburnwire.usatoday.com Will Auburn's deteriorating run game wake up against Arkansas? Lance Dawe 2 minutes Auburn’s offense has been slowly regressing as the season has gone on. The Tigers started out the season hot with two 60+ point performances. In the four games since, Auburn is averaging 22 points per game. Not good. While Auburn may not be able to throw the ball efficiently (due in part to the 23 drops the receivers have had this season), their dependent run game has slowly been shutting down. Auburn ran for 364 yards against Alabama State. The following week, they ran for 182 against Penn State. Then 166 against Georga State, then 163 against LSU… and finally 39 yards against Georgia this past weekend. Without good receiver play or even average receiver play, Auburn can’t sustain offense. Their run game is slowly dying because of it. Opponents have keyed into what Auburn wants to do with Tank Bigsby and Jarquez Hunter, and it has hurt them. This weekend, the offense is tasked with scoring enough points to beat a top 20 team on the road. Can they do it? No. 17 Arkansas (Auburn’s opponent this weekend) is 11th in the SEC in rushing yards allowed per game (181.5) and 10th in yards allowed per run (5.44). Even if Auburn’s passing game falters (which there’s a chance that it does), the Tigers should still be able to run the ball barring catastrophe. They’re going to have to get something going to build momentum heading into the back half of the season. The SEC West title is still on the line. Contact/Follow us @theauburnwire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinion.

As Bo Nix continues to grow, Cole Cubelic says, body language must improve By Mark Heim | mheim@al.com 3-4 minutes Auburn quarterback Bo Nix (10) tries to elude the pressure from Georgia linebacker Robert Beal Jr. (33) during the second half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021, in Auburn, Ala. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)AP To say Bo Nix’s quarterbacking career at Auburn has been a rollercoaster ride might be an understatement. Consistently inconsistent might be a better way to describe it. Now, in his third year, he’s playing for his third offensive coordinator. He either gets praised for leaving the pocket and making magic happen, which, I might add, has resulted in a T-shirt (tip of the cap to NIL), or he is being criticized for not hanging in there long enough. Either way, he knows it comes with the territory of being a quarterback in the SEC. Cole Cubelic understands it, too. The SEC Network analyst and former Auburn player joined me on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5 on Wednesday and was asked if the Auburn quarterback is leaving the pocket out of necessity or out of habit. His answer, quite honestly, was a little bit of both. However, he elaborated on another issue he couldn’t help but notice with Nix. It is one he hopes clears up as the quarterback develops and matures: Body language. “That to me has not really improved,” Cubelic said on Thursday. “You go back to TJ Finley when he came in against Georgia State and removing yourself from your teammates, going to the other side of the sidelines. To me, that’s unacceptable. “Some of the reactions to when teammates have letdowns are very disappointing when I watch him. As the guy that played there and a guy that I feel like put in a lot of effort there and tried to be a leader at that place and in that uniform, I snapped the ball to quarterbacks who threw an interception. I snapped the ball to quarterbacks who handed it to running backs who fumbled the ball. I played next to two guards. Hell, I missed plenty of them. I had bad snaps.” His point is stuff happens. How someone reacts in those moments ultimately defines what kind of leader - or quarterback - he will be. “Ben Leard didn’t rip his chinstrap off and rip his mouthpiece out and slam his arms to his side like my 4-year-old does when he doesn’t catch a ground ball in t-ball when I had a bad snap,” he explained. Cubelic, it should be noted, isn’t attacking the Auburn quarterback. He is simply pointing out an area of needed improvement, much like a parent does to a child, as indicated by his reference to his 4-year-old. “To compound it all,” he added, “if you’re going to act that way, act that way when you screw up because that’s the part I don’t understand. If you’re going to act like a petulant child when your teammates let you down, act that way when you let your teammates down. It’s only fair.” Check out the full interview here. Mark Heim is a sports reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim.

Bryan Harsin discusses Arkansas’ offense, Auburn defense, and early kickoffs on ‘Tiger Talk’ By Nubyjas Wilborn | nwilborn@al.com 5-6 minutes Auburn still can win the SEC West despite last week’s 34-10 loss against Georgia at Jordan-Hare. First-year head coach Bryan Harsin and the Tigers are reminding supporters any opportunity to get to the championship game starts with handling No. 17 Arkansas. The game is set for an 11 a.m. kickoff on the road. Harsin took time on Wednesday to speak with Andy Burcham and Brad Law for his weekly appearance on the “Tiger Talk” show. Here are some highlights from Harsin’s appearance. -- Harsin said the team’s practice had gone well so far. It’s been good. We did a good job of putting the Georgia game away. We were looking at the things that we did well and that we didn’t do well. Then going out there and just being able to work on some of those things and let some of the young guys get after the play a little bit, let the older guys run and do some conditioning, and then come back together and start focusing on Arkansas, and they’ve been doing that. Tuesday and Wednesday went well. The key is the things that we do in practice; we got to carry that over to the games, and that’s always been the message; I will continue to be it. We got to have a great practice tomorrow and one on Friday, finish out this week and be ready to go for the game on Saturday. -- Harsin on the tough tests in the SEC. It’s more of a game against yourself every week. How do you improve? How do you do things at a higher level? And as the season goes on, definitely your opponents’ matter, you’re going to see absolutely where you play, you know, some of that hype around the game and it all matters it all factors. But the reality is that you really have to focus on your standard and how you will pursue that throughout the season. Hopefully, before you get into it, if your drive is motivated by who you play, I don’t think that’s the best way to help yourself as a football player and certainly as a coach. It doesn’t matter who you play; you can play the number one team in the country and win. You can go play a team that’s not ranked, and you can lose, and that’s the reality of each and every week in college football and football in general. It goes back to what’s the level of the standard that you’re trying to compete at every single day so that you can play at that level when you go out there and get on that matchup. -- Harsin said Arkansas plays fast on offense. I think that they don’t just play fast I do believe they play physically, and that’s one of the things with the team; it’s a no-huddle team unless you’re going to be that physicality, and we have that, so have that mentality. What I think overall with Arkansas I think their entire team has a work ethic and blue-collar mindset, and toughness to see that when they play. They’re able to score points we saw that last game. They’ve struggled against Georgia, which most teams out there that are very good have as well, so you kind of see both sides of that. So, they’re all things could go, and we got to be in the correct position. When you are in your written play on the defensive side tempo, it’s a factor, but it can also be at your advantage where they can work three plays really fast and feel if you’re playing good defense and are lined up to be in the right position to make the play. -- Harsin on defensive line depth against Arkansas no-huddle offense Depth is important, conditioning is important, but it’s really about toughness; it’s mental toughness. You’re on the field, and you’re not going to be able to sub when they’re going that quickly. So those guys have to stay in their play. As a competitor, why would you want to come off the field? So, at some point, you got to be ready to go, you got to be mentally tough enough to play fast and next play, and here’s the reality of it is too they’re tired as well. If you’re feeling tired, they’re feeling tired as well. It’s not like, you know, they’re more conditioned than we are. It’s just a matter of mentality, they’re trying to attack on offense, and you’ve got to have the same mindset on defense. -- How to combat the early kickoff? Have yourself ready to play. Let’s go through our walkthroughs, but start fast. And, you know, be the team when we step on the field that’s got the most energy, the most excited to play, and is ready to go play four quarters of football. And when there are opportunities to make plays as making, you know, I believe that we can. I think those are the keys. Besides the turnovers and running the football and tackling, all the other things. You have yourself ready to go and be excited about playing and be excited about the early game, and be ready to play four quarters and be physical, the entire game. Nubyjas Wilborn is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nwilborn19