Auburn report, 10/23

Hey everyone. Boring game against Tulane. Auburn's offense was way too good for what the Green Wave had on defense. It's that simple. Without a silly drop by Tre Smith and Courtney Taylor's fumble near midfield, Auburn would have scored in the 50s.

Tulane could have finished with 20+, though, if not for two lost fumbles and an interception. Which leads me to a few interesting numbers:

• (Among SEC teams)
  Auburn ranks FIRST in turnovers: 7.
  Auburn ranks NINTH in takeaways: 12.
  Only Tennessee (10), Ole Miss (9) and Arkansas (4) have fewer takeaways.
  A +5 to margin puts Auburn FIFTH. That's not a bad number, though it's skewed because the offense is so stingy. Cox is a patient and accurate passer. Kenny Irons was somewhat fumble-prone last year but hasn't been this time around. Oh, and he doesn't play as much because of all the injuries.
  

*I wrote a story this morning about the team's injury situation. It's a little misleading in that I don't think all these kids are seriously injured. Bosley probably is going to miss time with the knee thing. All the other guys, especially S Aairon Savage, are going to play. Tuberville tends to make some injuries sound worse than they are. It's difficult for the writers to distinguish between the legit injuries and the non-serious stuff.
*Tulane was 10-for-18 on third downs. That's not good from an Auburn perspective. The Tigers rank SIXTH in opponent third-down percentage at 36.8. I'll be writing a story on Thurs. or Fri. about Will Muschamp's plans to improve on third down.
*Auburn currently has three tailbacks on the roster with at least one 100-yard game during their career. It's probably not the three you think.
Here's the list:
KENNY IRONS: 10 in 18 career games.
9/17/05 vs. Ball State -- 11-147, 2 TDs
9/24/05 vs. W. Kentucky -- 18-111, 1 TD
10/15/05 at Arkansas -- 33-182, 0 TD
10/22/05 at LSU -- 27-218, 1 TD
10/29/05 vs. Ole Miss -- 32-101, 1 TD
11/5/05 at Kentucky -- 23-103, 3 TDs
11/12/05 at Georgia -- 37-179, 2 TDs
11/19/05 vs. Alabama -- 28-103, 1 TD
9/2/06 vs. Wash. State -- 20-183, 1 TD
9/28/06 at South Carolina -- 27-117, 2 TDs

BEN TATE: 2 in 4 career games.
9/23/06 vs. Buffalo -- 7-114, 2 TDs
10/21/06 vs. Tulane -- 26-156, 1 TD

TRE SMITH: 1 in 49 career games.
11/23/02 at Alabama -- 25-126, 0 TD
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BRAD LESTER 0 in 19 career games.
Best game: 17-94, 0 TD vs. Florida (10/14/06)

CARL STEWART 0 in 29 career games.
Best game: 10-91, 1 TD vs. The Citadel (9/25/04)