INSIDE SLANT
Auburn players and coaches are vowing that Saturday's Homecoming game against Furman will be taken with as much seriousness as any of their previous nine games.
"I go back to us preparing like we do every week and really putting our blinders on and focusing on the opponent," coach Gene Chizik said.
"It doesn't matter who it is. It doesn't matter where we are playing. We have got to prepare the way we always have and if we do that, we have a chance to win."
The chances are significantly increased anytime you play against an FCS school, but Auburn players still have a bitter taste in their mouths after last year's way-too-close, 37-21 victory over UT-Martin.
"We're going to keep our same focus," linebacker Josh Bynes. "Last year, it all started in practice. We practiced lazy and went into the game lazy. We'll make sure that doesn't happen starting today."
Auburn (6-3, 3-3 SEC) is coming off one of its more inspirational performances of the season, playing balanced football and rebounding from a scary injury sustained by one of its biggest leaders, safety Zac Etheridge, to upset Ole Miss. After every tackle, Auburn players put four fingers in the air for Etheridge, who wears No. 4, and have vowed to keep doing it in their final three games.
Etheridge was without feeling throughout his body in the moments after his head collided with Antonio Coleman's shoulder pad in an attempt to make a tackle. He quickly regained feeling and was able to walk when he reached the hospital.
Etheridge, who is out for the season with torn ligaments in his neck and a cracked C5 vertebra, was back with the team Tuesday, letting his teammates know they'll have his full support for the rest of the season.
"He's just one of those guys who preaches you always have to stick together," senior cornerback Walt McFadden said. "When you see one of our head guys go down it's hurtful. He's doing well now. We feel like we can play in his honor."
NOTES, QUOTES
--LB Eltoro Freeman didn't have the best start to Saturday's game, but it was how the sophomore responded to adversity that impressed defensive coordinator Ted Roof.
Ole Miss' Brandon Bolden took a short screen pass 43 yards on the game's first drive, running directly through Freeman's area of responsibility. After a brief benching, Freeman returned and collected a team-high nine tackles in the Tigers' win.
"I think that's a big deal and I think that was a major, major step for him (Saturday)," Roof said of Freeman, who briefly left the team because of frustration that came as a result of his lack of production.
"In the past when he would make a mistake he'd really get down on himself. Part of it is growing up and understanding that we're all going to make mistakes, but it's not if you make them, it's how you handle them."
-QB Chris Todd often sarcastically boasts about all his "athletic ability," but he's actually been forced to display it recently. Offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn has drawn up a number of designed runs for Todd over the past few games, forcing the admittedly slow-footed quarterback to flash the jets.
"I think that anytime you can add a little wrinkle and be able to keep defenses honest in some certain areas, I think that's important," Todd said. "We've been able to add different wrinkles throughout the season and I think that's just another thing that we can add to help out."
-Coach Gene Chizik apparently got the memo from SEC commissioner Mike Slive about airing complaints in regards to the league's officiating crews, who has been under fire recently.
Chizik "no commented" a number of questions about a questionable delay-of-game call in Saturday's game against Ole Miss. The week prior, Chizik, while not complaining about calls, discussed a handful of penalties in the LSU game.
SEC Bylaw 10.5.4 requires that coaches, assistant coaches, players, support personnel and others associated with the institution's athletics program refrain from public criticism of officials. It was announced Friday that the league would make violations of the bylaw enforceable by suspensions and fines, effective immediately.
SERIES HISTORY: Auburn leads Furman, 3-0 (last meeting, 1956, 41-0 Auburn)
SCOUTING THE OFFENSE: Even in Auburn's 5-0 start to the season, Chris Todd wasn't airing it out down the field much, often hitting his receivers on short passes and letting them do the rest of the work. In Saturday's win against Ole Miss, Todd went downfield on numerous occasions, connecting on a few and opening up the Auburn offense once again as a dual-threat attack. The holes got bigger for Ben Tate, and Ole Miss' defense was rendered guessing on a number of occasions. That's the Gus Malzahn offense Auburn fans came to expect after a hot start to the season and that's what will have to show up if Auburn expects to win its final two games against Georgia and Alabama.
SCOUTING THE DEFENSE: Auburn's pass rush went through a renaissance against Ole Miss, getting to Jevan Snead on numerous occasions and providing enough pressure to disrupt a number of his decisions. That suddenly strong facet of the Auburn defense will have to maintain itself, considering that the Tigers have not stopped the run once this entire season. The Tigers' secondary will go over a makeover Saturday, as starting safety Zac Etheridge is out for the season -- and potentially his career -- after suffering a scary neck injury against the Rebels. Converted cornerback Demond Washington will slide over into Etheridge's place, giving the Tigers' just three scholarship cornerbacks to work with.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "It's a football game we've got to win. To say that because it's outside the league it's less important ... it's a football game we've got to win. So that's how we're going to prepare." -- Defensive coordinator Ted Roof, on playing Furman.
STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
THIS WEEK'S GAME: Auburn vs. Furman, Nov. 7 -- The schedule is treating the Tigers nicely this week, giving them an FCS opponent just in time to work out a few kinks on both sides of the ball. Auburn is vowing that it's treating the Paladins like any other opponent, but the goals are obviously a little different. The Tigers won't consider this a step in the right direction unless they put the game out of reach by the third quarter.
KEYS TO THE GAME: Don't get lulled to sleep, don't get hurt and allow the regulars to get some much-needed rest. A number of players on both sides of the ball have played every snap of every game and are due for a breather. The Tigers' defense, especially, is in need of some R&R. As an offense, Auburn is looking to build off the renewed momentum it established against Ole Miss and carry it forward against Georgia.
PLAYERS TO WATCH:
HB Eric Smith -- Considering the circumstances surrounding this matchup, backups at all positions are going to see a lot of snaps. Smith, who is by no means a bench player, will likely be a factor at a number of areas simply because he plays positions that don't have much of a depth chart. The sophomore has proved valuable both as a between-the-tackles runner and a mid-range pass-catcher. He'll likely be doing both on a regular basis against the Paladins.
S Demond Washington -- Saturday will be Washington's debut as both a starter and a safety, as the junior college transfer will be taking Zac Etheridge's place in the secondary. Washington came to Auburn as an "athlete," able to play both offense and defense. So far, he's played a whole lot of cornerback and a bunch on special teams, but not a single snap at safety. Coach Gene Chizik said the Tigers are simply putting the four best players in the secondary, which is forcing Washington's position switch.
DE Antonio Coleman -- Auburn's preseason first-team All-SEC defensive lineman is back to his old self again, playing with two hands and making left tackles throw fits at his ability to get to the quarterback. Coleman tied a career-high with four tackles for loss against Ole Miss last week and is playing like a completely different player than the one who didn't get tackles in back-to-back games while wearing a brace on his left wrist.
ROSTER REPORT:
--S Zac Etheridge is out for the season, but isn't ruling out a return to the field. Etheridge tore ligaments in his neck and cracked his fifth vertebra against Ole Miss and will wear a harness on his neck for the next 3-4 months. For now, he said he's just "blessed" to be walking again.
--TB Onterio McCalebb, who did not play against Ole Miss, will be a game-time decision against Furman. After weeks of playing with a sore ankle, Auburn's coaches decided a week of rest would benefit the freshman most. Another week probably wouldn't hurt either.
--S Mike McNeil's season hasn't gotten started and it doesn't look like it ever will. McNeil broke his leg during the spring and has yet to see the field. When asked about the possibility of McNeil replacing injured Etheridge, defensive coordinator Ted Roof all but ruled it out.
Previous Report: 11/01/2009
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