In 2001, Auburn was in the midst of a four-game losing streak to Mississippi State. Damon Duval ended the skid with a field goal as time expired to give us a 16-14 victory. This was the last time State had a prayer in a game beyond halftime, until last year. As the Brandon Cox-led offense was mired in mediocrity and plagued with turnovers of all fashions, the Bullies found a way to somehow escape Jordan-Hare Stadium with the rare triumph. It is with this knowledge that most State fans have overlooked the loss two weeks ago to Louisiana Tech and actually believe they have a hope for Saturday night's contest.
This game, as I have previously stated, will be over by halftime. Wesley Carroll hasn't been able to move the State offense against either opponent in the first two games. Anthony Dixon hasn't been all that inspiring from all accounts, either. I'm sure the game plan will center on establishing the run, which plays perfectly into the strength of our defense, make that our top-notch defense. The secondary isn't that bad, either, and Carroll doesn't have the arm-strength to test our corners if they're isolated on islands down the field. Zac Etheridge laid some serious hits on the Southern Miss receivers brave enough to come across the middle, and I know he has a couple waiting for some of the State ball-catchers.
Will we finally see Tray Blackmon unleashed for more than 40 percent of the defensive snaps? Josh Bynes has been tremendous in the backup role and has played more minutes than the Lil' Ball of Hate, but the coaches have been hinting that Blackmon's been resting up for the five-straight conference games that await. Not to mention, Antonio Coleman should have many chances to rack up some monies as I'm sure Carroll will be in the backfield alone on most of MSU's drives.
"Your defense is awesome, I just think you're overestimating your offense." Yea, I have heard this several times today in the office as folks have called me everything from conceited to arrogant for proposing that their Dawgs will get run out of their own stadium (thus properly answering the question, "Who let the dogs out?"). Chris Todd is getting more comfortable, and we haven't even begun to open up the playbook beyond basic schemes and formations. Call it a healthy dose of Tubershell, but we're 2-0 for a reason despite the hiccups and growing pains. Can State fans say the same?
The key to Auburn blowing this game out will come down to turnovers. Since 2004, 30 of State's 33 total points against the Tigers have come courtesy of AU turnovers. That's right, in four games, they have racked up a whopping 33 points. In this span, Auburn has won more conference games (26, 27 if you count the SEC title game) than Sylvester Croom has racked up overall (18) in his tenure. So forgive me for not shaking in my boots thinking about the matchup this weekend in a mostly-empty Davis Wade Stadium.
I'm thinking 35-3 by halftime, 42-10 final Saturday night. State got to upset us last year in front of 10 or 11 people in 1970-esque televised quality courtesy of Lincon-Financial. Payback will be unleashed in front of a national audience in hi-def on ESPN2.
We will set up our tailgate with some of the folks I work with (Hunter Aycock and Chris Hussey) in the Junction in the morning after a friendly game of golf. The plan is to arrive on campus around 1 p.m. and start the tailgating festivities. I'll know more of an exact location on Saturday. If you are planning to stop by, please let us know so that we can direct you where you need to go.
In review of the Southern Miss tailgate, I feel as though the early kickoff had a huge affect on our execution. We were dragging a bit thanks to little sleep for the second week in-a-row, and I'm pretty sure the wee morning traveling for Robert, Jennifer, Joseph and Brent had something to do with Robert mis-remembering the directions. Then again, maybe I need to re-write them if they're not clear to the observers.
We had a good group, though, with the Roberts (Boully and Miller), Jennifer (with LeRobert in tow), Brent and Joseph Hipp; Brad and Amber Gregg; Jared and (your tailgater of the week) Paw Paw. Paw Paw put the rest of our respective attire to shame, and he was one of the most genuine folks I've ever encountered. The picture we were able to take outside Momma Goldberg's on our trek back to the bus is one that I will cherish the rest of my days.
It was great having the Arab crew in town, as it has been way too long between visits. Jennifer looked fantastic, and you can tell Robert is already a proud papa when you just mention LeRobert around him. The grin he unleashes used to only be seen when a chocolate molten from Chilis made its way in front of him.
We are surrounded on all sides by great neighbors at the campground, and Jim (not sure on a last name yet) saved the day by allowing us to plug into his satellite dish when all our efforts failed to boost a signal from our dish throughout the afternoon and morning hours. As Andy Shores so aptly put it, "the TV gets worst tailgater of the week." If you were at the camper, I don't think you'd argue.
I also wanted to give a shoutout to Andrew Monroe for keeping us updated with scores via text messages and for his procuring the necessary Auburn-West Virginia tickets (in the Auburn student section, no less). Brent and Boully's efforts were huge in our attempt to get the satellite rocking and rolling, and I'm pretty sure we showed Miller a great time for his first Auburn football experience.
That's all for now, folks. See everyone in Starkville. As always, thanks for reading. War Eagle!
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