10/5/22 Auburn Articles

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Still Good Reasons to be at Auburn’s Next Home Game | Lindy's Sports

 

7-8 minutes

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 It happened five decades ago.

Auburn trailed, 16-0, already playing in the fourth quarter. The offense hadn’t even gained 100 yards total offense. It had finally shown a little life, driving within field goal range, facing a fourth-down decision.

The math was simple. If the Tigers were going to win this game, they had to score three times and not allow another point. So on fourth down, even though they needed a touchdown, the coaching staff decided to try the field goal.

I had come down from the press box by then and was sitting with family under the upper deck in the east stands. When Gardner Jett and Dave Beck came out on the field, the chorus of “boos” from Auburn fans could probably be heard at Elmwood Cemetery.

“What a stupid decision!” “They need touchdowns, not field goals!” “That’s just the same as giving up!” And other things that I can’t include here!

But the kick was good; the score was 16-3; and what happened in the last few minutes of that game is legendary, one of the most incredible, unbelievable, crazy endings to any football game ever, made possible by that field goal.

After the kickoff, Auburn’s defense held, blocked the punt and ran it into the end zone, so the scoreboard now showed 16-10, but there wasn’t much time remaining. Something big had to happen for the Tigers to win … and it did.

The defense held again. So on fourth down when the same punter lined up to kick the ball, the same player blocked it, the same player caught it and ran it in for another touchdown, and when the same holder and placekicker converted the extra point, Auburn had the win, 17-16, over Alabama.

Over the years, the magnitude of that game has grown. Legion Field held 68,000-plus back then, but I’m sure I’ve talked to 75,000 or more over the years who relived with me their experience in the stadium that day.

“Punt, Bama, Punt” became the name by which the game is known.

And that team, finishing with a 10-1 record, defeating five teams ranked in the Top 20 and demolishing Colorado in the Gator Bowl, was ranked No. 5 nationally after the season.

That team, and that season, became simply known as “The Amazin’s.”

What’s amazing to me, and probably to many reading this, is that it’s been 50 years since the “Amazin’s” took the field. Fifty years since “Punt, Bama, Punt.”

On October 29 when Arkansas comes to Jordan-Hare Stadium to face Auburn, that team, “The Amazin’s,” will be honored. Before the game, the coaches and players that are still with us will be recognized on Pat Dye Field where they made history that’s still vivid in the minds of Auburn fans.

That alone is reason to be there.

Of course, there will be some, maybe many, who choose not to be in Lee County that day.

That happens when your team hasn’t had a banner season and when expectations are for things to get worse before they get better, if in fact they do get better before this season ends.

That happens when you’re playing poorly, leading early then losing a game that you probably should have won (LSU) and leading early and winning a game that you probably should have lost (Missouri).

It happens when your schedule is deemed the nation’s most difficult and includes playing on the home field of the two teams that played for last year’s national championship, beginning this weekend against Georgia in Athens.

And, it happens when rumors and criticisms and constant negative social media posts, most fueled by members of your own fan base, make it even more difficult for recruits to be impressed and coaches to do their jobs.

There’s no desire here to become involved in the Auburn football coaching discussion. There are already too many non-Auburn former SEC football players, as well as commentators and analysts, who have “inside information” and “impeccable sources” that are inserting themselves into the process.

This also isn’t to defend the Tigers’ coaching staff for the results since Bryan Harsin took over as head coach.

Some 2021 play-calling was indefensible in critical situations and likely was a major factor in losing several games. At least one game was lost in large part due to a late-game missed penalty call that would have changed the outcome. Another saw a large lead squandered in a game where the starting quarterback and veteran placekicker were lost due to season-ending injuries.

Then this season, Auburn has blown sizable early leads, committed costly penalties, had critical turnovers and lost several key players to injury. And, don’t even try to explain the pattern that Tiger coaches have established for calling all of their timeouts in the waning minutes of the first half so that opponents can have enough time to score.

There have been reasons/excuses that some will use to justify not showing up when Arkansas comes to town. Many of the criticisms are warranted. It’s likely that before Auburn plays another game on its home field, there will be two more losses, possibly by significant margins. If so, are there any other “sure” wins on the schedule?

But there are some things to consider before encouraging a hasty mid-season firing of coach Harsin:

• Wisconsin fired head coach Paul Chryst, but he had coached 88 games in Madison. Nebraska parted ways with Scott Frost, but he had coached 47 games in Lincoln. Georgia Tech released Geoff Collins, but he had coached 38 games in Atlanta.

• It took Dabo Swinney four seasons to win 10 games at Clemson. Mike Gundy didn’t have a 10-game winning season until his sixth year at Oklahoma State. It took Jim Harbaugh at MIchigan seven seasons to win a Big Ten championship. And Kirby Smart didn’t win the team’s first national title in 42 years until his sixth year as Georgia’s head coach.

• Harsin has only coached 18 games at Auburn, winning nine of those. Is that long enough to accurately predict what is going to happen? Maybe so, but is that reason for a midseason firing? Who would be the logical replacement as interim head coach for the rest of the 2022 campaign? Would it make the Auburn job less attractive if the coaching position is changed again after just 18 games?

Here’s an unsolicited suggestion for Auburn people, the folks that are usually in their Jordan-Hare seats – Look for positive reasons to be there and dwell on those. Don’t look for negative reasons not to be there, and then make things worse by spouting them publicly.

The 1972 team – The Amazin’s – will be on the field again on October 29, a field where they won so many games and made so many memories. Enjoy that time with family and friends and relive those days of Terry Henley and Harry Unger, Benny Sivley and Danny Sanspree, James Owens “The Big O” and “The Ugly Duckling” Randy Walls.

Realistically, not many good things are likely for the rest of the 2022 season.

But, be there anyway.

Amazin’ things have happened before.

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UGA football vs. Auburn: Kickoff time, TV channel, betting line & more

 

2 minutes

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The Georgia Bulldogs play the Auburn Tigers on Saturday in Athens, Ga. Here's how to watch or listen to the game.

What time do the Georgia Bulldogs play the Auburn Tigers?

Kickoff: 3:30 p.m., Saturday, Oct.8 , 2022

Location: Sanford Stadium, Athens, Ga. (Capacity 92,746)

Where can I watch the Georgia Bulldogs play Auburn on TV?

Tom McCarthy (play-by-play), Rick Neuheisel (analyst) and Sherree Burruss (sideline) will have the call on CBS. That’s 46 on Direct TV in Atlanta and 46 and 6366 on Dish. It is 4/704 on Spectrum Cable in Athens and Atlanta.

Streaming options for Georgia-Auburn

The game can be seen via live stream on the CBS Sports app and CBSSports.com and with a Paramount+ subscription.

Radio for Georgia vs. Auburn

Scott Howard (play-by-play), Eric Zeier (analyst) and D.J. Shockley (sideline) will have the Georgia Bulldog Sports network call on 106.1 FM and 960 AM in Athens, 750 AM and 95.5 FM in Atlanta, 580 AM and 95.1 FM in Augusta, 1400 AM and 104.3 FM in Savannah or online at georgiadogs.com. It can be heard on SiriusXM channel 81.

Betting: Over/under & point spread

As of Tuesday, Georgia is a 29 1/2-point favorite, according to Tipico Sportsbook.

The over/under is 49.5

The money line is Georgia -10,000 and Missouri +1500

Series history

Georgia leads 62--56-8. Georgia won 34-10 last season in Auburn. The Bulldogs have won five straight against the Tigers.

Twitter follows

Follow Banner-Herald UGA beat writer @marcweiszer for UGA updates and @Jacob_Shames for Auburn updates. You can follow the team’s official accounts at @GeorgiaFootball and @AuburnFootball.

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Nothing like being scolded by the media for not acting the way they think you should.

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Auburn Morning Rush: Tigers choose uniforms for Georgia, name honorary captain

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The Montgomery Advertiser—USA Today

River Wells

 

October 5, 2022 6:30 am CT

 

It’s Wednesday, which means the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry is quickly approaching.

With that in mind, we have two things relating to the Tigers’ frequent matchup against Georgia, with the uniform selection and the team’s honorary captain for the game this Saturday. Outside of that, we highlight a former Auburn kicker who is shining in the NFL with the Las Vegas Raiders and take a look at the baseball team’s SEC slate for 2023 the team has just announced on Twitter.

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With that in mind, grab your coffee and take a gander at this edition of Auburn Wire’s Auburn Morning Rush:

Auburn to run with "Stormtrooper" look for Georgia game

Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports

It’ll be all white for the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry.

The Auburn Tigers’ Twitter account revealed that the team will wear all-white uniforms against the Georgia Bulldogs, including an all-white facemask. The last time Auburn wore its all-white color scheme was in Week 3 of 2021 during Penn State’s own “White Out” game. Auburn lost that game, but the Tigers are hoping for a reversal of fortune when the two teams face off in Athens, Georgia this weekend.

 

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Tigers name honorary captain for Deep South's Oldest Rivalry

 

Todd Van Emst/AU Athletics

Offensive linemen deserve love, too.

The Tigers announced that lineman Brandon Council will serve as the honorary captain for Auburn when the team plays Georgia on Saturday. Council will be moving to center with the massive reshaping of the Tigers line after the LSU game, so it’s only fitting that the offensive line’s main man will serve as an honorary captain.

 

Former Auburn kicker excelling in NFL

(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Former Auburn kicker Daniel Carlson has been proving his worth in Las Vegas.

Carlson has so far been a perfect 4/4 on field goals this year for the Raiders, with his longest kick being 55 yards. He’s also currently holding the longest field goal consecutive streak record, with 35 field goals made in a row. That doesn’t account for extra points, unfortunately — he’s missed an extra point this year.

Auburn baseball sets SEC schedule

(AP Photo/John Peterson)

The Auburn baseball team has announced its SEC slate for 2023.

The team will play series’ with Georgia, Texas A&M, Mississippi State, LSU and Missouri at home. The team will also play five series’ on the road, taking on Arkansas, Florida, Alabama, South Carolina and Ole Miss. SEC play will begin at the end of march with the Arkansas series first on the slate.

 

 

Auburn Morning Rush: Tigers choose uniforms for Georgia, name honorary captain

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The Montgomery Advertiser—USA Today

River Wells

October 5, 2022 6:30 am CT

It’s Wednesday, which means the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry is quickly approaching.

With that in mind, we have two things relating to the Tigers’ frequent matchup against Georgia, with the uniform selection and the team’s honorary captain for the game this Saturday. Outside of that, we highlight a former Auburn kicker who is shining in the NFL with the Las Vegas Raiders and take a look at the baseball team’s SEC slate for 2023 the team has just announced on Twitter.

Buy Tigers Tickets

With that in mind, grab your coffee and take a gander at this edition of Auburn Wire’s Auburn Morning Rush:

Auburn to run with "Stormtrooper" look for Georgia game

Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports

It’ll be all white for the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry.

The Auburn Tigers’ Twitter account revealed that the team will wear all-white uniforms against the Georgia Bulldogs, including an all-white facemask. The last time Auburn wore its all-white color scheme was in Week 3 of 2021 during Penn State’s own “White Out” game. Auburn lost that game, but the Tigers are hoping for a reversal of fortune when the two teams face off in Athens, Georgia this weekend.

Featured

 

Ranking all 32 NHL teams for the 2022-23 season from least to most watchable

 

Sponsored by

ESPN+

Read More

Tigers name honorary captain for Deep South's Oldest Rivalry

Todd Van Emst/AU Athletics

Offensive linemen deserve love, too.

The Tigers announced that lineman Brandon Council will serve as the honorary captain for Auburn when the team plays Georgia on Saturday. Council will be moving to center with the massive reshaping of the Tigers line after the LSU game, so it’s only fitting that the offensive line’s main man will serve as an honorary captain.

Former Auburn kicker excelling in NFL

(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

Former Auburn kicker Daniel Carlson has been proving his worth in Las Vegas.

Carlson has so far been a perfect 4/4 on field goals this year for the Raiders, with his longest kick being 55 yards. He’s also currently holding the longest field goal consecutive streak record, with 35 field goals made in a row. That doesn’t account for extra points, unfortunately — he’s missed an extra point this year.

Auburn baseball sets SEC schedule

(AP Photo/John Peterson)

The Auburn baseball team has announced its SEC slate for 2023.

The team will play series’ with Georgia, Texas A&M, Mississippi State, LSU and Missouri at home. The team will also play five series’ on the road, taking on Arkansas, Florida, Alabama, South Carolina and Ole Miss. SEC play will begin at the end of march with the Arkansas series first on the slate.

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Bryan Harsin compares Stetson Bennett to another great college football quarterback

Taylor Jones

3 minutes

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In recent memory, Georgia football has had a run of talented quarterbacks come through their program. Matthew Stafford, Jacob Eason, Jake Fromm, Brock Vandagriff, and Gunner Stockton have all signed with Georgia as either four or five-star quarterbacks.

However, the quarterback that led the Bulldogs to their first National Championship since 1980 was a three-star prospect that enrolled at Georgia as a walk-on.

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Stetson Bennett took over the starting quarterback job for Georgia in 2020 after USC transfer J.T. Daniels strained his lat muscle. Georgia kept winning under Bennett, which allowed him to keep the starting position over the five-star prospect with plenty of NFL potential.  Daniels elected to transfer to West Virginia for the 2022 season, which cleared the way for Bennett to remain the starter.

Bennett is under six feet tall, is not considered an athletic presence, nor does he have a bright NFL outlook. So, what makes him so special? Auburn head coach Bryan Harsin says that Bennett reminds him of a quarterback that he once coached at Boise State, Kellen Moore.

“I’m not sure Stetson will say that (he’s not athletic). He’s a good player. I’m impressed with him,” Harsin said Monday. “There are more guys that are bigger and more athletic. I was fortunate to coach a guy that wasn’t very athletic but won more games than any college quarterback ever, and they would say the same thing about him.”

Harsin was the offensive coordinator for Boise State from 2006-10, which was at the same timeframe that Moore was the quarterback for the Broncos. During that span, Moore earned a 50-3 record as a starter. Like Moore, Bennett can hurt a defense in many ways.

“I don’t see a whole lot of weaknesses in his game, I think he’s got a really good command of what they’re doing. He’s plenty good enough to hurt you in all different ways. So you have to know where he’s at,” Harsin said. “You have to play the entire play with him, too, because that’s what he does. So if you’re going to let off, he’s going to take advantage of that. You have to play the whole entire play with a quarterback like him.”

Bennett is off to a hot start in 2022. He has thrown for 1,536 yards over five games, with five touchdowns and just one interception.

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Auburn WR Landen King plans to redshirt, sit out remainder of year

Published: Oct. 04, 2022, 8:09 p.m.

2 minutes

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Auburn tight end Luke Deal (86) hugs Auburn tight end Landen King (40) as King celebrates a one-handed touchdown reception against Alabama during the first overtime of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 27, 2021, in Auburn, Ala. The touchdown sent the game to a second overtime, a game won in four overtimes by Alabama, 24-22. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)AP

By

• Nubyjas Wilborn | nwilborn@al.com

Promising second-year wide receiver Landen King will sit out for the remainder of the season; a source confirmed to AL.Com after reports surfaced from WarEagleTV.com on Tuesday evening.

King converted to tight end after catching five passes for 59 yards as a freshman tight end. A highlight play for King was his touchdown catch in overtime of last year’s Iron Bowl. He came to Auburn as a 3-star tight-end recruit from Texas in the 2021 class.

King played in three of Auburn’s first five games. His one catch was a 24-yarder against Penn State. The 6-5 220-pound wide receiver didn’t play in last week’s LSU loss or the season-opening win against Mercer at Jordan-Hare.

Nubyjas Wilborn covers Auburn for Alabama Media Group.

 

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Auburn football: His firing seemingly imminent, Bryan Harsin was never given a chance

Glenn Sattell

5-7 minutes

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Auburn didn’t lose a football game on Saturday for lack of effort. The effort was there. The Tigers fought to the end. And that can be attributed to coaching.

It can also be attributed to coaching that Koy Moore threw a pass on what could and should have been a game-winning drive late in the game. It was a narcissistic coaching decision to basically allow Moore to give one final middle finger to the school he transferred from. But that’s another story for another time.

The point is, Auburn head coach Bryan Harsin still has the eyes, ears and focus of this football team. That should account for something. It should be a sign that Harsin is doing what coaches do when their intention is to build a foundation.

The Tigers didn’t lose on Saturday because Harsin has lost this team, or because the program is in shambles. They lost it because they don’t have the overall talent that LSU has. And that won’t change overnight, unless those big-money donors at Auburn who wanted Harsin gone from the start pony up the NIL money necessary to bring the next Cam Newton to the Plains. It’s legal now.

That’s just where we are in college football today. Or maybe it has always been that way, I don’t know. I’ll have to ask Nick Saban at that other school down the road. He builds programs. He did it at LSU, and he rebuilt the program at his current location.

But given today’s climate, given the rules in which Harsin is forced to toil under at Auburn, it’s a real possibility that Saban’s coaching career may not have made it out of LSU alive. His 1st team at LSU lost to UAB, at home, in his 4th game in Baton Rouge. LSU was 3-3 in his first 6 games on the bayou.

By today’s standards, he would have already been on the hot seat. He finished that season 8-4, but he started the following year 2-2. He was 4-3 by the end of October. Given today’s climate, he may not have made it beyond that point.

Too bad, isn’t it Auburn big-money donors, that LSU got behind its coach instead of setting up road blocks? Too bad, isn’t it, that LSU gave him 4 years to build a program into championship caliber?

Too bad, isn’t it, that Alabama didn’t panic when Saban failed to win a championship in his 1st year there? To bad, isn’t it, that they didn’t fire Saban after going 6-6 his 1st year, including an unthinkable home loss to Louisiana-Monroe?

Too bad, isn’t it, that they gave him 3 years in which to build the foundation for a championship program there, too? Too bad he was given the time and the backing to change the view of how Auburn and other football programs chase success.

Of course, I’m not saying that Auburn is guaranteed a championship program if Harsin remains, and that ship has already sailed, it would appear. There are no such guarantees, but when Shug Jordan himself finishes 6th and 12th in the SEC in his first 2 years at Auburn but is given time to build a program — a program so successful over a 25-year career that it names the stadium after him — well, maybe those hyperactive big-money donors might want to hold their water just a little bit longer.

I know that’s the environment we find ourselves in right now in college football, trying to catch lightning in a bottle rather than having the patience to build a lasting program. One false step and your coach is out the door. No room for error.

Well, if that’s the case, my question has to be: Why are you paying tens of millions of dollars on long-term contracts to these coaches? I’ll tell you why: Because no self-respecting coach would take the job otherwise.

And if that’s the case, what difference does it make who the coach is? Why not go cheap, get some GA and use the money instead to bring the best talent to campus?

You’re laughing at that? So is Ed Orgeron as he sits on the beach with Candy, I think her name is, while lighting cigars with $100 bills. He caught lightning in a bottle. So did Gene Chizik.

If that’s the aim, at least until Saban retires, then there are going to be many, many disappointing seasons. I mean, how many times can you win the lottery?

Auburn won’t win a lot of games this season. It will be lucky to become bowl eligible. But you have to start somewhere. Until Auburn gets on the same page, from coaches to players to administration to big-money donors, there won’t be many successful seasons on the Plains.

I’m certainly not saying that Harsin is the answer. What I am saying is that he has his football team playing as hard as it can. Some might even say it’s overachieving, given the talent level. And that’s a start.

The next step in building a program is, of course, to bring in top talent. Harsin has yet to do that, and he won’t without unfractured support. Just ask Saban.

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In SEC football, a coach who can be fired next September should be fired today | Opinion

5-7 minutes

Wisconsin and Colorado fired their football coaches on Sunday. That makes five FBS coaches fired this season.

In each of the past two seasons, three coaches were fired in September. That includes UConn — a basketball school — firing its football coach two games into last season.

None of those September firings came from inside the SEC.

Auburn’s Bryan Harsin entered the season on the hot seat, and the temperature hasn’t cooled after a 3-2 start.

He’s 9-9 in his tenure, with no relief in sight. Harsin’s record likely will drop below .500 after the Tigers’ rivalry game at No. 2 Georgia on Saturday (2:30 p.m. CT, CBS).

Follow every game: Live NCAA College Football Scores

Still, for the sixth consecutive year no September firings originated from the nation’s most rugged conference.

WE ARE OPEN:Nebraska, Wisconsin among most desirable head-coaching jobs available

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CALM DOWN:Ohio State, Georgia highlight overreactions for Week 5

An SEC school has not fired a coach in September since LSU fired Les Miles five games into the 2016 season.

Don’t confuse this with SEC schools being patient and giving coaches a long leash.

In fact, the reverse is true.

SEC schools aren’t kicking the can down the road, giving an embattled coach one last chance, and then firing him the following September after the course doesn’t reverse.

As former Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley once put it, “If something needs to be done eventually, it needs to be done immediately.”

And that’s why Arkansas fired Chad Morris in November of his second season. And Mississippi State fired Joe Moorhead after his second season. And when Jeremy Pruitt coupled rule-breaking with mounting losses, Tennessee threw him overboard after his third season.

Those three coaches, if retained into the next season, would have been ripe for September firings.

Florida could have opted to give Dan Mullen another go. After all, he led the Gators to three consecutive New Year’s Six bowl bids before last year’s tailspin. But rather than stick with a coach who had fallen out of favor and was losing ground in recruiting, Florida ousted Mullen last November.

In another conference, Mullen might have lasted another 10 months and become an early-season firing.

Nebraska gave Scott Frost every opportunity to succeed but fired him on Sept. 11 after a 1-2 start to the season on the heels of going 3-9 in 2021.

The September firing was proof that what needed to be done eventually was delayed, in Frost’s case. He should have been fired after last season.

The same is true of Geoff Collins, fired by Georgia Tech on Sept. 26. Collins totaled nine victories in his first three seasons. At an SEC school, he almost surely wouldn’t have seen Year 4. But Georgia Tech kicked the can down a road that led to an inevitable destination.

Southern Cal is the standard-bearer for early-season firings.

It fired three consecutive coaches — Lane Kiffin, Steve Sarkisian and Clay Helton — before the team’s sixth game of a season. Kiffin and Helton were fired in September. Sarkisian lasted longer, to Oct. 12.

A number of reasons are offered to explain the uptick in September firings.

Some point to the December signing period, instituted in 2017, combined with the surge in transfers, creating a hot winter market for talent acquisition that resembles free agency. One theory is, the earlier in the season a school fires its coach, the sooner it can work on hiring the next one and try to salvage a signing class.

That logic doesn’t add up, though.

Until coaches start leaving their jobs for new ones midseason, athletic directors face limitations in speeding up the hiring clock. USC fired Helton on Sept. 13 last year. It hired Lincoln Riley on Nov. 28. The same outcome probably could have been achieved if Helton had been fired a month later.

So, what else might explain the September firings?

Bowl games don’t mean what they used to, so hanging on to a coach until the regular-season finale in hopes that he can steer a mediocre team into a bowl game is not much of a carrot.

Plus, when Kiffin takes Ole Miss to the Sugar Bowl in his second season or Sam Pittman wins nine games at Arkansas in Year 2, other programs wonder: If those guys can succeed that quickly, why shouldn't our coach do the same?

Also — and I think this is a big one — coaches’ paychecks continue to balloon. A $5 million annual salary barely positions a coach in the middle of the pack in the SEC. With bigger salaries come bigger buyouts, but surging media rights revenue allows schools to pay severance like it's Monopoly money.

Coaches are paid too much to settle for mediocrity.

That brings us back to Harsin. Auburn is paying a coach $5.1 million to win half the time — and even less frequently in conference games.

Worse, no light awaits at the end of this tunnel.

Is firing a coach before the end of his second season fair? Maybe not, but what’s fair isn’t always synonymous with the best course of action.

Auburn is showing no momentum, on the field or in recruiting.

AU could delay the inevitable, see if Harsin’s Tigers can squeak into a lackluster bowl and award Harsin a third season.

And that likely would end with a September firing.

That’s not the SEC’s style.

While schools elsewhere drag their feet before issuing September pink slips, SEC schools act more swiftly and fire struggling coaches before they even reach the next season.

To recraft Foley's words: The coach who would be fired in September should be fired today.

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