AU @ Tennessee: AUBURN WINS, 26-22
 We're watching and discussing the Tigers game at Tennessee. - Auburn's first possession: PUNT.
- Tennessee's first possession: PUNT.
- Auburn's second possession: FIELD GOAL. Byrum 19 FG. Drive covered 54 yards in 6 plays.
- Tennessee's second possession: PUNT.
- Auburn's third possession: PUNT.
- Tennessee's third possession: PUNT.
- Auburn's fourth possession: TOUCHDOWN. Terrell Zachery 10 pass from Chris Todd. PAT good. Drive covered 70 yards in 8 plays.
- Tennessee's fourth possession: TOUCHDOWN. Montario Hardesty 31 pass from Jonathan Crompton. PAT good. Drive covered 62 yards in 7 plays.
- Tennessee's fifth possession: FIELD GOAL. 26 FG. Drive covers 72 yards in 18 plays.
- Auburn's sixth possession: FIELD GOAL. Wes Byrum 22 FG.
- Tennessee's sixth possession: TOUCHDOWN. Pass from some guy to some guy as time expired.
AU @ Tennessee: 1st Half
 We are watching and discussing Auburn's game at Tennessee. - Tennessee's first possession: MISSED FIELD GOAL.
- Auburn's first possession: PUNT.
- Tennessee's second possession: PUNT.
- Auburn's second possession: FIELD GOAL. Wes Byrum 29 FG. Drive covered 44 yards in 10 plays.
- Tennessee's third possession:FUMBLE. Lost.
- Auburn's third possession: FIELD GOAL. Wes Byrum 43 FG. Drive covered 6 yards in 3 plays.
- Tennessee's fourth possession: PUNT.
- Auburn's fourth possession: PUNT.
- Tennessee's fifth possession: PUNT.
- Auburn's fifth possession: PUNT.
- Tennessee's sixth possession: PUNT.
- Auburn's sixth possession: TOUCHDOWN. Ben Tate 11 run. PAT is good. Drive covered 87 yards in 9 plays.
- Tennessee's seventh possession: PUNT.
- Auburn's seventh possession: MISSED FIELD GOAL.
- Tennessee's eighth possession: TOUCHDOWN. Montario Hardesty 1 run. PAT blocked. Drive covered 71 yards in 7 plays.
- Auburn's eighth possession:
Welcome to Neyland Stadium
 Hey everyone. I have arrived at Neyland Stadium, where your Auburn Tigers soon will face off against the Tennessee Volunteers. We watched Tiger Walk from nearby. The lack of a band and cheerleaders didn't dilute the ferocity I expected. There was plenty of Auburn support in the area ... for those who were concerned about that. I'm headed down to the field now in an attempt to see Eddie Gran. Talk to you in a bit.
GAMEDAY: The Tennessee Game
 Hey everyone. I'll soon be on my way to Knoxville for the epic battle between Tennessee and your Auburn Tigers. Toe meets leather at 6:45 p.m. CDT on ESPNHD. I'm heading up through Bammerham, Fort Payne, that weird area in Georgia where the mortuary dumped cadavers in a pit, Chattanooga, Ooltewah and, finally, Knoxville. I'll wave as I pass by your home. I'll check back once I arrive at HABOTN's Tennessee Headquarters in west Knoxville.
First Post: Friday of Week Five
 Hey everyone. Swell campfire last night. I love that we can get such great participate without a lot of notice. Thursday nights are alright for Campfiring®! I'm pretty bummed about not being able to get to Knoxville until tomorrow. I wish the UT-bound HOTTIES could have convened for some casual dining on the river. So it goes. Calhoun's will be missed. Or Ye Olde Steakhouse. Or wherever Scottie was going to suggest. Here's the Auburn situation at this moment: TODAY'S STORIESPREVIOUS STORIESTHE VIDEO VAULTTODAY'S SCHEDULENot much going on today. I'll be taking call-ins tonight, chilling with Wifey this afternoon. May go to the Catholic-ACA game to see Fr. Troncale, college football fan. He's always fun. Not much else to report. I'll be headin' up to Knoxville tomorrow morning. Here's what the next few days look like. All times are CDT: Fri., Oct. 2, OFF Sat., Oct. 3, at Tennessee, 6:45 p.m. (ESPN)Sun., Oct. 4, 5 p.m. Mon., Oct. 5, OFF Tue., Oct. 6, 4:30 p.m. (Chizik presser at 11:30 a.m.; some players available at 11:50 a.m.) Wed., Oct. 7, 4:30 p.m. Thu., Oct. 8, 4:30 (Tiger Talk at 7 p.m.) Fri., Oct. 9, OFF Sat., Oct. 10, at Arkansas, time TBA (network TBA)Also, please pick up the Advertiser's print edition if you live around here! Our fine Auburn coverage is only one element of our award-winning product.
Radio Appearance Forthcoming
All we have are the embers
 Hey everyone. Thanks for a wildly successful Campfire® on Thursday night. We had a total of 377 particpants during the 90-minute session. That's great!
Topics included: Iowa, corn, maize, Junior Rosegreen, peyote, The Strutting Duck, Bill Stewart vs. Monte Kiffin cage match, Dontae Aycock, Tyrik Rollison and much more. Big up to those who went the distance: JD, Jhag, Eddie, E-Bro, RK, WilsonsTailgate, Freep, THT, Emmett and FSJ.
Thursday Night LIVE
 Hey everyone. We're listening to Tiger Talk, coach Gene Chizik's weekly radio show, and watching Colorado @ West Virgina on ESPN. Please stand and sing. 
COLORADO -- 24 WEST VIRGINIA -- 35FinalTIGER TALK TIDBITS- Kevin from Panama City wants to know how Onterio McCalebb is doing: ``He's fine. He's practicing and the whole deal. We didn't want to chance anything with him. We just played him in the first half. He's good to go."
- Mark from Alex City wants to know why the Wildcat offense isn't named after Auburn: ``Gus has been calling it the Wildcat ever since high school."
- On Gus vs. Monte Kiffin: ``Monte is one of the best at his trade in America. He's proved that year in and year out. He hasn't changed -- he's as good as it gets. Gus has done a great job wherever he's been. It should be fun."
- Roy from Atmore wants to know if Auburn is going to throw a hail mary: ``We'll run it and throw it. We'll do a little of both."
- Tommy on the road wants to know about the defense and why Auburn defenders don't seem to handle their job each play. Oh, and they don't tackle well: We didn't play (the zone read) very well. We worked it in practice this week and we feel much better defending it. There have been some glaring open-field misses. We'll be a better tackling team over time. We've got a lot of young guys out there. We've got to be better at tackling. You see them get better as the weeks go on."
- Michael from Muscle Shoals, who is at work, wants to thank CGC for hiring Trooper Taylor .. and if he has a Trooper Towel: ``That's a great question. You're 100 percent right, man. His enthusiasm is very infectious. We're so happy he's here. He has done a phenomenal job of coaching our receivers. He's been great for Auburn. He's been good for our players. I have a whole closet full of his towels."
- Mike from Montgomery wants to know about PPL and ... he actually thinks Chizik will discuss recruits: ``Phillip has worked hard to get back into the mix. He's worked hard at it. He's made progress. This week, I think, he picked his game up. If he keeps working, he'll have a chance to work his way into the lineup."
- Benjamin in Chelsea wants to know what administrators can do to keep good coaches employed at Auburn: ``My first objective what you said -- I want to keep these coaches around. Jay Jacobs, he understands that fully. There are opportunities out there that are going to show up. They want to be head coaches. They want to be coordinators. They want to follow the same path I took. To the best of my ability, though, I'm going to keep this staff in tact."
- Christy from Haleyville ... had no question. She wants Auburn to whup Tennessee.
- Clyde wants CGC to know how much he loves CGC ... and Auburn. ``Thanks for a lot of great comments."
- Jonathan in Tuscaloosa wants to know about Jay Wisner and Tommy Trott and how important their blocking has been to the Tigers' early-season success: ``I am so glad you said that. It's awesome that you've noticed that. (Wisner) threw a huge block on one of those screen passes. These guys have done a good job of blocking downfield each game. They show up. Tommy is a really good football player. He's been through a lot of ups and down with injuries."
- Donald from Birmingham, who thinks Chizik is a class act, wants to know how CGC gets the team mentally prepared to play on the road ... and he wants to know if CGC scabs ideas from Tommy Tuberville: ``Playing on the road, to be honest with you, it's really unique. These are uncharted waters. We're trying to prepare as usual. We don't change what we do. You can overcome all the things that aren't good. There are going to be some bad times and there won't be 87,000 of your fans behind you. I believe it's about how you prepare during the week. I don't know that there's techniques. It's preparation and the mental aspects. I need to know where we are coming out of this road game ... and so do all of our coaches."
- Steve in Birmingham wants to know why the defense is "awful". Steve's elderly mother thought Auburn was playing with tear-away jerseys. Steve also reports that Ted Roof "does nothing for me": ``There are a lot of places where we're not as good as we want to be. Ted has done a great job. He's done a good job eveywhere he's been as a coordinator."
- Lisa from Montgomery wants to know where fans can meet the team in Knoxville: ``We're probably going to get in tomorrow. We'll keep it on central time. We'll get in around 5:30ish. That's the plan."
- William from Birmingham wants to know about Gabe McKenzie's defensive career: ``He'll play a little bit of defense. He's doing a good job of learning both (offense and defense). We felt like last week would be a good week to get him some defensive snaps. He did a good job."
- Randy from Clanton wants to know: ... nothing. No question.
- Shawn from Arab wants to know about how Malzahn's offense will work against Kiffin: ``That's a great defense we're playing against. They're really, really well-coached. To move the ball against this defense, we'll have to play our best game of the year -- by far."
- Jeremy from somewhere wants to know about Neil Caudle, who he believed was awesome against Ball State: ``I was really proud of Neil. he has gotten better every week. He has a comfort level with this offense. He's comfortable with the offense. He needs to keep coming on."
- On keys to this game: ``Turnovers and penalties. There's going to be a lot of noise when our offense is out there. We can't turn it over. We need to get some turnovers. And we need the kicking game."
- "War Eagle."
- That's a wrap.
First Post: Thursday of Week Five
Hey everyone. Are you aware that Iowa fans believe their team should be ranked higher than No. 22? Oh, you aren't? Well, I guess you need to read the HIBOTN more often. First day of October is upon us. I like warm weather. This is the time of year I dream of living in Belize and covering Auburn via closed-circuit television and satellite phone. Daytime highs below 80 are considered cold in my world. So it goes. I thought the Craig Sanders switch was intriguing. I'm sure you felt the same way. Auburn now challenges Alabama for in-state kids. I'm sure you're intrigued by that as well. Here's the Auburn situation at this moment: TODAY'S STORIESPREVIOUS STORIESTHE VIDEO VAULTTODAY'S SCHEDULEMy goal is to do a Tiger Talk/ESPN doubleheader here. We have a soccer game tonight and, since I missed dinner with the girls last night, I really should hang out with them a bit. That may or may not happen. We'll definitely have a Campfire®, I just can't say for certain when it will begin. Here's what the next few days look like. All times are CDT: Thu., Oct. 1, 4:30 p.m. (Tiger Talk at 7 p.m.) Fri., Oct. 2, OFF Sat., Oct. 3, at Tennessee, 6:45 p.m. (ESPN)Sun., Oct. 4, 5 p.m. Mon., Oct. 5, OFF Tue., Oct. 6, 4:30 p.m. (Chizik presser at 11:30 a.m.; some players available at 11:50 a.m.) Wed., Oct. 7, 4:30 p.m. Thu., Oct. 8, 4:30 (Tiger Talk at 7 p.m.) Fri., Oct. 9, OFF Sat., Oct. 10, at Arkansas, time TBA (network TBA)Also, please pick up the Advertiser's print edition if you live around here! Our fine Auburn coverage is only one element of our award-winning product.
Quick late notes, 9/30
Gotta write. Gotta be quick. - The DE from Ariton High, Craig Sanders, has committed to Auburn. He previously had been committed to Alabama.
- Jeff Grimes said Andre Harris has not played this season, which goes against what Gene Chizik said earlier in the week. Apparently, the head coach confused two players.
- Trooper Taylor said he expects Kodi Burns to play against Tennessee.
- Chizik said QB Tyrik Rollison is making the trip to Knoxville. I don't interpret that as the kid has any chance of playing, but he will see Neyland Stadium from the sideline.
Tiger Walk update
Just received word from Auburn about Tiger Walk at Tennessee this weekend: Officials at the University of Tennessee have informed Auburn Athletics that Tiger fans will be allowed to greet the team as they get off the bus, but that the band and cheerleaders may not participate because of safety and crowding concerns in the visiting team dropoff area, which is on a hill in a very tight space."
First post: Wednesday of Week Five
Hey everyone. Thanks for tolerating yesterdat our new BFF ikarl67. He apparently is a bitter Iowa fan who is disgusted with me ranking the Hawkeyes at 22 in the most recent AP poll. I kept telling him to email me and not subject himself to HOTTIE beat-downs. He eventually listened. Thanks to all for keeping it civil, though I had no idea you could be so creative with corn allusions. Here's the Auburn situation at this moment: TODAY'S STORIESPREVIOUS STORIESTHE VIDEO VAULTTODAY'S SCHEDULEI generally don't go to Auburn on Wednesday, but this one is different. I'm interested to hear what Trooper Taylor has to say about returning to Knoxville. You know he's good for a tale or two. So I'll be summarizing what assistant coaches have to say after practice. That should be a gas. Here's what the next few days look like. All times are CDT: Wed., Sept. 30, 4:30 p.m. (Assistant coaches available afterward) Thu., Oct. 1, 4:30 p.m. (Tiger Talk at 7 p.m.) Fri., Oct. 2, OFF Sat., Oct. 3, at Tennessee, 6:45 p.m. (ESPN)Sun., Oct. 4, 5 p.m. Mon., Oct. 5, OFF Tue., Oct. 6, 4:30 p.m. (Chizik presser at 11:30 a.m.; some players available at 11:50 a.m.) Wed., Oct. 7, 4:30 p.m. Thu., Oct. 8, 4:30 (Tiger Talk at 7 p.m.) Fri., Oct. 9, OFF Sat., Oct. 10, at Arkansas, time TBA (network TBA)Also, please pick up the Advertiser's print edition if you live around here! Our fine Auburn coverage is only one element of our award-winning product.
Late updates, 9/29
Hey everyone. Here's the deal: The tape in my camera basically gave me the finger tonight. Repeated use left it compromised and tonight was the night it let me know. I'll bring a new tape next time and all will be good. Still, no video tonight. I know you're heartbroken. As a gesture of atonement, however, here is a detailed account what players discussed today. - Onterio McCalebb officially is in the punt return mix. ``I’ve been snagging a few of them. It’s been going pretty well. I’ve been doing it for a little while."
- A while? Why haven't you been fielding punts in games? ``They wouldn’t put me back there because I was doing a whole bunch of other stuff."
- McCalebb confirmed that PPL (aka Philip Pierre-Louis) also has been fielding punts this week.
- DE Hot Carter revealed tonight that he had surgery on his right knee April 7. It was to re-attach (or "anchor") the meniscus back to the bone. ``The recovery is longer than a regular meniscus tear, with mine being anchored back down instead of getting cleaned out. You got to give the anchors time to heal. They're deep down in there now."
 - DE Antonio Coleman still is wearing a brace on his right wrist. He doesn't like wearing it in games. ``I'm down on the line. I've got to have my hands. I've got to shoot my hands. I've got to get off blocks. I'm still adjusting to it. I'm messing with the trainers every day, but it's for my own safety and I respect that."
- Coleman on surrendering so many points to Ball State: ``It doesn't sit with me... at all. We're a much better defense than that. To give up 30 points to Ball State? That's just bad."
- Craig Stevens on Auburn's defense being ranked 69th in points allowed: ``I think we're a lot better than that. Rankings don't mean anything, it's just going out there and stopping the other team whenever you get out there. I don't really buy into that stuff."
- Due to "safety concerns," Tennessee officials apparently will not allow Auburn to hold its traditional Tiger Walk prior to Saturday's game.
Photo credit: Todd Van Emst/Auburn University
BLOGGIN FOR YOUR NOGGIN: Gene Chizik speaks
 Hey everyone. Auburn head coach Gene Chizik is discussing the Tigers at his weekly press conference. - ``It's going to be a fun week for us, an exciting week for us."
- ``This is a vert good Tennessee football team and we all know how tough it is to play at Tennessee."
- On this being new: ``I don't think there's anyone on the football team who has played at Tennessee. We're not going to change anything. We're not going to change how we prepare. There's really not much that you do to change what you've done the previous four games. We feel like communication will be the issue -- whether its hand signals. Our guys are used to that. It'll be fun for them."
- On Eric Berry: ``You're always cognizant of where he is. He can take a guy out of the game. You've got to make provisions for that. We'll always know where he is. He's that good of a player. He can dominate a game."
- On Trooper Taylor (former UT assistant): ``He coaches them really, really well. I've known Trooper for a long time. I knew what kind of a person he was. He's been great for our football team. He's been great for our receivers. He's done a great job and he's a great person."
- On him getting up for Tennessee: "You get to the level where you can't crank it up anymore. I don't know if he can get more excited."
- He has a lot of respect for UT defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin. "He brings a lot to the table."
- On the possibility of changing things with the punt-return unit: ``We're open-minded with some thoughts of different guys. But we have to keep working the guys we've invested so much time in. We can't kick those guys to the curb and make wholesale changes."
- On getting national relevance: ``We've got to win. The other stuff, it'll take care of itself."
- On if he's getting more terse in special teams meetings: "We're coaching like we always coach. We're very demanding and precise. We've got to play better and coach better."
- On similarities of how Auburn and Tennessee are built from a staff standpoint: ``Guys make a lot of money to be good coaches, to be good recruiters and treat these kids right. That's our deal. The guys I've got here, I want them to coach my 9-year-old son. They've got to contribute with the xs and os. When you make the whole cake and you leave out one ingredient, it doesn't taste very good."
- On Monte Kiffin: (Chizik spoke with Kiffin during his days at UCF ... prior to being Auburn DC in 2002) ``Monte was very good to me. He was very kind, very good with me."
- ``We've had kind of a whole different bunch of scenarios we've been through and we're 4-0. That's against some good teams. We're still feeling each other out, still learning them. There's still a lot of things we'll have to get through together. I'm proud of the way they've continued to play -- even when it wasn't good."
- On Chris Todd: ``We felt like, with what we saw and knowing he didn't go through spring practce, Chris could be a very good player in this offense. He's done some things that we expected him to do. When you look at the touchdown passes and all that -- there was a lot of work done by a lot of guys. Some of them were two-yard passes. You still have to make the throw. The thing I like about Chris is that he hasn't made a lot of bad decisions."
- On Burns and McCalebb: ``We don't know where they're at right now. It's day by day."
- On what a win at UT would mean: ``Going to Tennessee, to play there, will be a huge indicator of what we are. That's not just for this week -- that's for the whole year. It's going to be an adventure. If you do well and win the game, it gets you over a hurdle. If you can go to a place like Tennessee and you can get a win there, it reveals more about your team. It would catapult us into October in a good way."
- He said Byron Isom is practicing.
- THAT'S A WRAP.
Photo credit: Todd Van Emst/Auburn University
First post: Tuesday of Week Five
Hey everyone. Thanks for being patient yesterday as I worked through my Internet issues. We had a great traffic day -- three of the Advertiser's top 5 web elements were Auburn-related. Thanks for reading! How did you like the "look ahead" to Tennessee? Learn anything from that? Tell me about it in the comments section below. Here's the Auburn situation at this moment: TODAY'S STORIESPREVIOUS STORIESTHE VIDEO VAULTTODAY'S SCHEDULESmall change in schedule at Auburn. They have aborted the idea of getting players right after Chizik's presser, so we may have a better chance of getting a larger group of players around 1 p.m. What does that mean to you? Not much. I'll be BLOGGIN FOR YOUR NOGGIN as expected at 11:30. Then I'm eating lunch. Then I'm doing player interviews. Then I'm posting information gleaned from player interviews. Then I'm going to write for the newspaper. I plan to have a video up at some point. That'll be TBA until I see how these early-afternoon interviews go. Here's what the next few days look like. All times are CDT: Tue., Sept. 29, 4:30 p.m. (Chizik presser at 11:30 a.m.; some players available at 1 p.m.) Wed., Sept. 30, 4:30 p.m. Thu., Oct. 1, 4:30 p.m. (Tiger Talk at 7 p.m.) Fri., Oct. 2, OFF Sat., Oct. 3, at Tennessee, 6:45 p.m. (ESPN)Sun., Oct. 4, 5 p.m. Mon., Oct. 5, OFF Tue., Oct. 6, 4:30 p.m. (Chizik presser at 11:30 a.m.; some players available at 11:50 a.m.) Also, please pick up the Advertiser's print edition if you live around here! Our fine Auburn coverage is only one element of our award-winning product.
Tennessee overview
Hey everyone. See if you find this useful in preparing for this weekend's game. TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS (2-2)- GAMES:
- W vs. Western Kentucky, 63-7
- L vs. UCLA, 19-15
- L at Florida, 23-13
- W vs. Ohio, 34-23
- PLAYERS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT:
OFFENSE
- QB Jonathan Crompton, No. 8: At least 1 INT in each game this season, 8 INT in all.
- TB Montario Hardesty, No. 2: Rusher. Averages 5.8 yards per carry. 4 TDs.
- UB Bryce Brown, No. 11: Mario Fannin-type player. Averages 5.0 yards per carry, team's second-leading receiver with 7 catches for 102 yards.
- WR Quintin Hancock, No. 87: 11 catches for 128 yards, 1 TD. May or may not play against Auburn (broken jaw).
DEFENSE- CB Eric Berry, No. 14: Bad man. One of the top 3 DBs in the nation.
- LB Rico McCoy, No. 5: Hitter.
- DE Chris Walker, No. 84: Has a tackle-for-loss in three of the Vols' four games this season, 5.5 overall.
- UT PLAY DISTRIBUTION:
- Total plays: 270
- Runs: 159 (59%)
- Passes: 111 (41%)
- AU PLAY DISTRIBUTION:
- Total plays: 299
- Runs: 186 (62%)
- Passes: 113 (38%)
- OTHER UT TRENDS OF NOTE:
- Opponents are outscoring Tennessee 29-14 in the 3rd quarter.
- Tennessee is outscoring opponents 43-3 in the fourth quarter.
- Tennessee defense is allowing 2.7 yards per rush this season.
- Tennessee is a running team, but it struggled to run against both Florida (understandable) and UCLA (not as understandable.)
Against UF: 32 rushes for 117 yards. That's 3.7 yards per carry.
Against UCLA: 44 rushes for 115 yards. That's 2.6 yards per carry.
- Based on the trends outlined above, it's reasonable to assume Auburn will sell out against the run and require Crompton to make exploitative throws in man coverage. He hasn't demonstrated the ability to do that consistently. He makes a lot of mistakes.
Sorting out the Oct. 10 TV schedule
 Hey everyone. CBS, which has first pick in the SEC television hierarchy, has asked for more time to consider its programming options for Oct. 10. What does that mean for Auburn? It means the Tigers will not be playing late. Here's what we know for sure:
- That's a CBS double-header weekend -- 2:30 p.m. and 7 p.m.
- The 7 p.m. CBS game will be Florida @ LSU.
- Fox Sports has picked up South Carolina @ Kentucky for 11:30 a.m.
- CBS College Sports has picked up Vanderbilt @ Army for 11 a.m.
- So which games remain unassigned?
- Auburn @ Arkansas
- Alabama @ Ole Miss
- Houston @ Mississippi State
- Remaining slots include:
- CBS, 2:30
- ESPN, 11 a.m.
- ESPNU, 11:30 a.m.
- SEC Network, 11:21 a.m.
- CBS will make its decision Sunday afternoon.
(Late) First post: Monday of Week Five
Hey everyone. Looks like my wireless router pooped out on me this morning, which is aggravating because it's new. I'm back on the Interwebs (more or less) now, so we're back on schedule. Here's the Auburn situation at this moment: TODAY'S STORIESPREVIOUS STORIESTHE VIDEO VAULTTODAY'S SCHEDULEIt's Monday. It's slow. Not much going on. Whatcha got? Here's what the next few days look like. All times are CDT: Mon., Sept. 28, OFF Tue., Sept. 29, 4:30 p.m. (Chizik presser at 11:30 a.m.; some players available at 11:50 a.m.) Wed., Sept. 30, 4:30 p.m. Thu., Oct. 1, 4:30 p.m. (Tiger Talk at 7 p.m.) Fri., Oct. 2, OFF Sat., Oct. 3, at Tennessee, 6:45 p.m. (ESPN)Sun., Oct. 4, 5 p.m. Mon., Oct. 5, OFF Tue., Oct. 6, 4:30 p.m. (Chizik presser at 11:30 a.m.; some players available at 11:50 a.m.) Also, please pick up the Advertiser's print edition if you live around here! Our fine Auburn coverage is only one element of our award-winning product.
Gene Chizik speaks, 9/27
Hey everyone. Let's boogie. Opening comment: It's great to be 4-0 at this point in the season. After looking at last night, obvious we were disappointed in a number of things. We've got to go back to work today and continue to improve in a lot of areas. On coaching against Lane Kiffin (former Southern Cal assistant) in the 2006 Rose Bowl: ``It was a little bit different because we had a few weeks to prepare for it. When we played them years ago, they were one of the best offenses in the history of college football. It's tough. It's tough to prepare for. They did a nice job with it. It seems like it was centuries ago."  Photo credit: Todd Van Emst/Auburn University
On Auburn's win at Tennessee in 2004: ``That was a huge momentum carrier for us. That was really a big away game, momenutum-boost league game. That was a great game all the way around. Special teams. Offense. Defense. It was one of those nights when we were firing on all cylinders." Is Tennessee's offense the same as Southern Cal?: ``They do some similar things. It's not 100 percent exactly that, but there is some carry-over." Disappointed with the Ball State game? ``We had sloppy penalties. We had nine. We were sleepwalking at the beginning there somewhat. We score 28, 30 points and then we went back to sloppy football. I didn't like the flow of the game. Those games are tough because you can only win those games one way and have everyone happy. A lot of things could have been much cleaner, executed much cleaner." On Gabe McKenzie: ``We're trying to see exactly where Gabe can help our football team the most. We'll take that step by step. I'm really proud of Gabe for being unselfish and doing the things we asked him to do." On being displeased with the Ball State win: ``I'm never displeased with a win. Let me clarify that. I just wish we could have played with more focus. You can't be happy with a game where you have nine penalties - no matter what they were. 4th and 1 at Auburn? You've got to make a first down. That's just what you have to do. I'm very glad to be 4-0? Am I satisfied with the way we played last night? No, I'm not."
On Byron Isom: ``It's something we've got to plan for. We'll continuously work to plan on aration with some guys. Bart is certainly a guy who has been around a long time, has played a lot of football, and he's in the equation." (Isom, a starter at guard, has been suspended indefinitely for a violation of team rules) On playing Jamar Travis last night: ``Things happen and we've got to make some tough decisions. Maybe that decision wasn't clear or to the point it is now a month ago. We've got to get through the year. Whoever we have to play to help us win, we're going to do that. Numbers-wise, we're not where we want to be." On playing Andre Harris last night: ``Andre did play. That was as a backup. Same situation Jamar is in." On making the decision to pull redshirts: ``It gets hard. There's nowhere else to go. They all know the lay of the land. This might not have been our intent in Game One, but that's where we're at." On Auburn's defense lagging last night once the first-team guys were pulled: ``I don't care about all that. I've got to get my guys to the next game. When it's a four-touchdown lead, we're not worried about stats. We're worried about next week." On the phrase Do What We Do: ``There's no real origin of it. Without getting philosophical, when you repeatedly do something, you become a product of … your habits. This is what we do on offense. This is what we do on defense. We're not trying to re-invent the wheel. We've got to do what we've planned to do. Nothing revolutionary. We need to do what we do and do it better when we're not playing well." On the idea of having a theme each season: ``I like having a theme. I like having something to hang your hat on and go back and refer to." On Hot Carter: ``He maybe played a little heavy-legged, but he needed to get in there. He needed to get those reps. Rusty, but played hard. He'll get better every game. It was a good test for him in the first game." On running the Wildcat sans Burns: ``We have other people who definitely can do the wildcat. Kodi is our guy because he brings some potential that other guys don't have." On the punt-return problems: ``Somebody's just got to step up to the plate. They've got to do it in a game. It's very, very disheartening that we've spent so much time and we can't find somebody to catch the ball."
Auburn Poll Rundown
Hey everyone. Auburn (4-0) didn't make the 25-team field in the AP or USA Today/ESPN poll, but the team is making steady progress. I guess you could say that. In the AP Poll:
- Auburn is essentially No. 27, receiving 171 points.
- Georgia Tech, which is ranked No. 25, has 185 points.
- Auburn had 100 points last week.
In the USA Today/ESPN poll:
- Auburn is essentially ranked No. 28, receiving 103 points.
- Oregon, which is ranked No. 25, has 198 points.
- Auburn had 62 points last week.
Check out the full polls here.
Here's how I ranked 'em on my AP ballot:
1. Florida
2. Texas
3. Alabama
4. Oklahoma
5. Boise State
6. LSU
7. Virginia Tech
8. Ohio State
9. TCU
10. Cincinnati
11. Penn State
12. Southern Cal
13. Oklahoma State
14. BYU
15. Miami Florida
16. Mississippi
17. Georgia
18. Houston
19. Kansas
20. Georgia Tech
21. Oregon
22. Iowa
23. California
24. Auburn
25. Michigan
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We're watching and discussing the Tigers game at Tennessee.
