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1.01.2010

Auburn vs. Northwestern, 2nd half

Hi. It's time for the second half.

AUBURN -- 38
NORTHWESTERN -- 35
Final/Overtime

Auburn first possession: INTERCEPTION. Kodi Burns was picked on an outstanding play from a NU defensive back.
Northwesterm first possession: PUNT. Not much going on.
Auburn second possession: PUNT. Not much going on.
Northwestern second possession: INTERCEPTION. Neiko Thorpe got this one. That's four now.
Auburn third possession: PUNT. Not much going on.
Northwestern third possession: Brewer 36 pass from Kafka. Demos PAT kick good. Drive covered 80 yards in 7 plays.
Auburn fourth possession: PUNT. Three and out. Yuck.
Northwestern fourth possession: TOUCHDOWN. Drake Dunnsmore 67 pass from Kafka. Demos PAT kick good. Drive covers 67 yards in 1 play. Dunnsmore broke tackles against Demond Washington and Walt McFadden. It was bad.
Auburn fifth possession: PUNT. Not much going on.
Northwestern fifth possession: INTERCEPTION. T'Sharvan Bell did it again. That's five picks for Auburn.
Auburn sixth possession: TOUCHDOWN. Ben Tate 5 run. Byrum PAT kick was good. Drive covers 60 yards in 7 plays. Darvin Adams caught five passes on that drive.
Northwestern sixth possession:

**I have to go downstairs for interviews.** I can't update this.

1184 Comments:

WarEagleRK said...: I'm just shocked we blew a 14-0, 21-7 and 35-21 lead during the game.

Three 14 point leads.

Plus at least 3 times the D walked off the field thinking it had won, only to have to line back up and keep playing...and to their credit they did keep playing hard.; 2:46 PM
Jet said...: RK ... I'm with you ... we don't have enough talent and depth on either side of the ball right now.; 2:47 PM
Unknown said...: The celebration penalties irritate me too. Taunting penalties are fine. Length celebrations should be penalties. But they should allow some celebration as long as it isn't directed at the other team.

Northwestern actually ran into our punter once, but he hardly touched him and there was no harm and I am glad the ref didn't call a penalty.

Bell did roll into the Northwestern kickers leg and it looked to me like the kicker was really hurt. That wasn't just a bump. Looking at it in slow motion was misleading and gave you the impression the kicker hoped forward to draw the penalty. It was a good call.

The Fairley facemask was kind of ridiculous, but technically it was the correct call.

I didn't really have much problems with the calls, even that fumble that wasn't. It did look like the guy was down.

We were just making too many stupid mistakes.; 2:49 PM
BinOBA said...: Great that the seniors got that win. Excellent win for guys coming back next year.

Good first season for CGC. Great to hear that CGM says he's committed to Auburn for a while and hopefully we'll keep this staff together for 3-4 years. Recruiting is going swell and i really look forward to next season.....and national signing day.; 2:50 PM
Unknown said...: Those that think we don't have enough talent on offense, which offensive players do you have a problem with? I like our starting lineup a lot. Even depth wise, we are okay offensively.; 2:50 PM
Fearless Freep said...: Wow.; 2:51 PM
Unknown said...: Speaking of recruiting, Rivals now has our class ranked #3 in nation(tied with Oklahoma).; 2:53 PM
Fearless Freep said...: Had to leave the house at the end of regulation to go to work, listened to Rod & Stan on the way.

On two separate occasions I honked the horn in celebration of a victory that was later overturned. Third time I waited, then called my wife to make sure that they had switched over to the WVU-Purdue basketball game, signaling that the game was officially over.

Then spent the last 20 minutes reading all the gametime posts from the HOTTIEs. You should all try it sometime later, when you've caught your breath. . .talk about mood swings. . .

WAR EAGLE!!!!!!!!!!!!; 2:54 PM
BinOBA said...: Northwestern came to play once the first half was over. Great Auburn win. I figured it would be a bit of a track meet.; 2:54 PM
Andrew said...: You guys are beyond smart enough to know this...but do NOT look at any of the AU blog comments on al.com...The insufferable d-bags that comment over there (both AU and mullet head fans) have the most misguided takes on this game that you could possibly have!! I'm so glad that I have the habotn to read for mostly reasonable analysis...WDE!!; 2:54 PM
Jet said...: The kicker bunny hopped an extra step. Plus, Bell was sliding on the ground two yards in front of the point of the kick.

The kid was hopping on one foot as to try to hold the line of the kick.

To me, it was akin to the Terrance Cody ripping the helmet off play. It had nothing to do with the play, and the game was done. Sooner or later, you tell the kid: Get off the ground. And make a kick.; 2:54 PM
WarEagleRK said...: I never go to al.com anymore...it's the lowest of the low.; 2:55 PM
WarEagleRK said...: Truth be told, while I love college football, I'm so glad this season is over.; 2:56 PM
Jet said...: Steve:

We are no better than average at:

QB, RG, RT, TE, WR (other than Adams), RB (other than Tate). Behind that it's a disaster. It doesn't mean some of them won't improve over time. We schemed our way through the year.; 2:58 PM
BinOBA said...: I'm glad to go out on a high note and very excited for next year. The D closed this one out for us which was great. The offense will look a little different next year. I think we have a little more wiggle next year.; 2:58 PM
BinOBA said...: Jet, i think we'll be better next year at almost all those positions.; 2:59 PM
Jet said...: Bin, I agree. We smoked and mirrored our way through this year. The problem is that when you do it through scheme it can't explode on you, and it did from time to time this year.; 3:01 PM
dan dan the AU fan said...: That was insane! What the heck is illegal batting? Met some hotties today. Great game,awful weather and officiating.; 3:02 PM
Kathy said...: dan, since you were at the game, can you tell us if there were any other receivers open during the game besides Adams?; 3:03 PM
Anonymous said...: Got permission to come back.

RK ....I agree. different/better skill sets would help our offensive execution.

I suspect that our DC/defense will have better results as we get depth and the offense executes better.

NW had 35 min. of offense, we had 25 min.

This incoming recruiting class fills needs better than any I can remember. The future is looking good.; 3:03 PM
WarEagleRK said...: I like what it looks like we can become under Chizik, but we have to get the players in place.

I'm no fan of recruiting, but we need to get some top players in place.

Also, Kodi Burns needs to never throw a pass in an Auburn uniform again.; 3:04 PM
Fearless Freep said...: Interesting stat comparison of the game:

Kafka outthrew Todd by almost 300 yards, had more than twice as many completions and attempts. . .but Todd had a better completion percentage (64.5 vs 60.2) and beat him by almost a full yard in yards per attempt (7.6 to 6.8).

Plus, we won. So there.; 3:04 PM
WarEagleRK said...: Seriously, have we ever came close to giving up 115 plays in a game before?; 3:04 PM
Jet said...: The only call I didn't like was the roughing the kicker call.; 3:05 PM
WarEagleRK said...: Short passes eat us alive and have for the longest time.; 3:05 PM
Fearless Freep said...: The best thing I saw in today's game was both Roof and Chizik getting in players' faces for not keeping their heads in the game.

You could tell Chiz was p!ssed at Ben for that celebration penalty. He was absolutely right, and I hope he holds that up to the rest of the team as an example of what can happen when you let your emotions get the better of you.; 3:06 PM
AUTIGER78 said...: This was what bowl games should be, exciting, entertaining and in the end an Auburn victory.

Turnover were the story theirs then ours.

Since AU eventually won the game, Ben Tate will not have to bear the burden of the fumble, after he had already given up 15yards on a non typical hot dog celebration penalty (did you see CGC chew on him after that, wow face to face beat down on a graduating Senior) I loved it.

Chris Todd was very solid in his swan song as AU QB

Darvin Adam should get MVP, IMO

The announcers were as biased as any I've seen. I lost some respect foe Bob Griese today. The officials were so bad that I would have sworn it was an SEC crew but I'm told it was Big Ten.

One question, how do you pass the ball 75 or 76 times witout a single holding peanalty? Just saying.

War Eagle!; 3:07 PM
WarEagleRK said...: The last two years have been tough to watch, but better days are on the horizon.

I bet we've blow double digit leads 10 or more times in the past two years. Once we learn to finish and have the depth to not be dead tired by the end of the game, we'll be much better in the W/L column.; 3:08 PM
Jet said...: It was a Big 12 crew.; 3:08 PM
Unknown said...: Jet, I do think we have different definitions of talent. In my opinion, where we lack talent is Todd, McCane, and Isom; although all three are playing close to their talent level. At tight end and wide receiver, we may have the most talent on the team, although they don't always live up to it.; 3:08 PM
WarEagleRK said...: I think we had 130 yards in penalties to their 25...that's just amazing.; 3:08 PM
Fearless Freep said...: In other news, it looks like earlier predictions of a WVU blowout were somewhat premature.

Looks like the hypocritical old 'tard is going out with a "W".; 3:09 PM
dan dan the AU fan said...: No, there were not other receivers open. Wish T. Zach would return punts.; 3:09 PM
Anonymous said...: Jet ...agree on schemng our way through the season with average offensive talent at best. The challenge for CGC is to get talent up to speed and in place while CGM is still at AU and before the SEC defenses catch up with his tendancies. We got a couple of years to do that.; 3:10 PM
Unknown said...: Man, I can't believe FSU is beating WV. I didn't see that at all.; 3:11 PM
Andrew said...: I was at the game, but my dad, usually an announcer sympathizer, said that Bob Griese was as biased as one has been in his 60+ years of watching football...That's weak...Between that and Craig James and his ****y son that are both going to have egg on their faces when the whole TT thing shakes out; they've really got to work on the quality of these announcers...; 3:11 PM
Jet said...: 2 celebration penalties
Fairley's late hit
Fairley's face mask
Eddins' trip

There were all legit calls.

I saw two specific holds on each team that weren't called.

Perhaps, we weren't the most disciplined team on the field.; 3:11 PM
Unknown said...: We do have some NFL talent on offense. Pugh, Ziemba, and Tate will all likely play on Sundays.; 3:13 PM
Andrew said...: FWIW, he said Speilman was solid (and I've never enjoyed him)...so who knows!!!; 3:13 PM
Unknown said...: Jet, we definitely weren't the most disciplined out there, which was disappointing.; 3:14 PM
Jet said...: Announcers talk about what they know about -- they're former Big Ten players. They've got a lifetime of memories about the Big Ten ... they've got 20 index cards about Auburn ... Basically, just ignore the announcers.; 3:15 PM
Fearless Freep said...: Agreed, Jet.

Heck, I remember in the first half seeing a blatant late hit by Pugh on a NW defender that went uncalled.

That stuff will have to end. Sure, the officiating was pretty awful, but most of the wounds were self-inflicted.; 3:15 PM
Anonymous said...: Steve, our WRs certainly have better fundamentals than in previous years and accordingly it is less painful to watch. We still don't have physical receivers with great body control that can adjust to the ball flight well, out-muscle or out-manuever defenders.

I'll take the progress, but we need more improvement in order to execute CGMs offense ...Baby steps....; 3:15 PM
Jet said...: If I were the special teams coach, I'd say to the return men, you have two jobs -- get past the 20 and don't fumble. If you are running free, keep running. As soon as you get in a crowd, get your @$$ on the ground. If you can't do that, I'll find someone else who will.; 3:17 PM
Andrew said...: Jet..Word..

I try not to let the announcers get to me a whole lot. I just found it odd that my pops got so bent out of shape by B.G. today.

Stan/Rod usually get me a lot more fired up than the biased? national guys..

Happy New Years to all of you BTW..I am the weird guy that has 90% of his posts during hoops season..I'll have to improve on that next fall...; 3:18 PM
Unknown said...: Hoopie, our receivers are not coming close to performing at their talent level. I think they are still recovering from Knox. We have a crap load of talent at receiver, but other than Adams, they aren't playing like it.

As for Adams, I am glad he is a sophmore. If he was a junior I would see him headed to the NFL. He has had that kind of year.

The most troubling thing with our receivers is that when you have a player like Adams, it should free up other receivers. So far, it doesn't seem to have done so.; 3:18 PM
Kathy said...: Great improvement from last year. I'm so glad we were in a bowl on New Year's Day! 8 win season to top it off and a great recruiting class coming in with several that will contribute right away. And we'll get our injured players back. Savage might get a 6th year. Good things to come.; 3:19 PM
Unknown said...: Both Tate and Washington made the same type of mistakes with their fumbles. You don't need to fight for those extra couple of yards at that point in the game and when you know they defense has to be going for the strip, you wrap both arms around the ball. Those plays drive me nuts.; 3:20 PM
Unknown said...: As for the announcers, I usually ignore them unless I am wondering how Brittney is doing.

By the way, have you heard that Mike "WTF" Leach was fired? I didn't believe it for the first couple of days of hearing it every 5 minutes, but give it another day or two and I might.; 3:23 PM
Anonymous said...: RK ..I'm actually OK using player's names when discussing actions that can be clearly seen on film. For example: Kodi Burns' poor passing fundamentals that be seen on film vs. questioning commitment or intelligence that requires one to be on the team in order to have a valid opinion.

I'll never be a fan of defaming or slamming our players out of anger, speculation or for sport.; 3:24 PM
Fearless Freep said...: SFC, somewhat agree on Tate, disagree on Washington.The replay showed that Tate had the ball in the right hand, away from the defenders, the NW guy just got a lucky fist in and punched it out. He wasn't carrying it like the proverbial loaf of bread.

Demond was fighting for yardage at a time we needed it, tied at 35 with a minute left in regulation. He was only at midfield, so we still were about 15-20 yards away from a good shot at a gamewinner from Byrum.; 3:25 PM
Unknown said...: I appreciate Kodi Burns, but you are right that he has poor fundamentals that make him a poor choice as a QB.

Burns is a wonderful example when it comes to talent. I think he has loads of more talent than Todd, but Todd is the smarter player with better fundamentals.

I will take smart players over talent any day, especially at QB.; 3:26 PM
WarEagleRK said...: Tate's fumble wasn't fighting for extra yards, he just wasn't holding onto the ball tightly and had it knocked out. He lost the ball on first contact.; 3:27 PM
WarEagleRK said...: Hoopie,

I agree with anger and sport, however speculation is allowable in my book.; 3:28 PM
Anonymous said...: The announcer's definitely got caught up wanting NW to rally so they could create excitement.

BG , like the refs seemed to only be able to notice the AU penalties ...and then to be sute and comment on them.; 3:29 PM
Jay G. Tate said...: Most incredible game I ever saw.

Northwestern ran 115 plays.

Bynes, Stevens, Thorpe and Bates played all 115. All 115. And special teams.; 3:29 PM
Jet said...: Demond had done his job when the ball was out to the 40 ... he had one thing left to do ... GET ON THE FRIGGIN' GROUND.

As for Ben, that was just karma biting him in the 244 (@$$), before Kafka bit us in the 244.

Having said all that, what an amazing game. We had every opportunity to win and every opportunity to lose.

Our kids played 200 or so plays and made the last one to win it.

WAR DAMN EAGLE.; 3:29 PM
Unknown said...: By the way, I don't think Northwestern was even close to us in terms of talent, but I do believe they deserved to win because they played smarter football.; 3:29 PM
Jay G. Tate said...: I've got a lot of work ahead.

I'll catch up with you when I can.; 3:29 PM
Kathy said...: What happened to Lutzenkirchen. I expected to see him play more in this game. I think we missed Eric Smith.; 3:29 PM
WarEagleRK said...: 8-5 is a solid season, and there were plenty of opportunities to get more than just 8 (KY, UGA, Bama), we were just a team that didn't know how to win yet and didn't have the dept to pull it off late in games.

Hopefully that's something we have learned.; 3:29 PM
WarEagleRK said...: "Bynes, Stevens, Thorpe and Bates played all 115. All 115. And special teams."

Wow!; 3:30 PM
WarEagleRK said...: Great game...a lot like the 1984 Florida State game in that you never knew what would happen next.

By the way the refs ripping LSU, who aren't known for their great clock management anyway.; 3:31 PM
astatguy said...: Watching LSU vs PSU - If you're playing the Big 10 you are also playing the refs.; 3:32 PM
Unknown said...: Jay, 115 plays is incredible. That is like playing two games in one day. My love goes out to our defense.; 3:32 PM
Andrew said...: Jay G. Tate said...

Most incredible game I ever saw.

Dude's seen an #$$load of games in person..That says a lot!

I'm glad we won all 4 times!!

War Damn Eagle guys...It's clearing up in St. Pete!; 3:32 PM
WarEagleRK said...: Wow, Tolliver gave up on the play there for LSU when their player was looking for a lateral.; 3:33 PM
Anonymous said...: RK ...Is speculating that AC doesn't care about grades ...a fair way for a "fan" to act?

I don't have a problem with criticism, but keep it real.

Negative Speculation about Bama would always be in order in my book.

The Hat loses; 3:33 PM
Jet said...: Congrats to Bobby Bowden.; 3:34 PM
Unknown said...: Interesting LSU going down. Presently I see Miles and Richt as the coaches on the hot seat in the SEC next season.; 3:34 PM
Jet said...: Sez here ...

Hat doesn't win the West in 2010?

De-HAT-i-tation.; 3:35 PM
Andrew said...: Les Miles and his huge respect for Jo-Pa just now sure is a contrast to kiffilkin and how he treated Beamer last night...hate that guy!

The hat is such a goofball, and he sure pissed me off in the game against us this year but he has way more class than some of his brethren in the SEC (kiffy, satan, etc..); 3:36 PM
WarEagleRK said...: Hoopie, that was a joke at a players expense...if you go back and look at the way I worded it months ago, I said something like "I guess he's not worried about the student part of student-athlete".

I figured we were beyond that now.; 3:36 PM
JgobravesHAG said...: bye bye Bobby; 3:36 PM
Unknown said...: My early prediction is that the Iron Bowl decides the west champ next season, but a lot can happen between now and then and I am assuming we develop a solid QB. I do think we have given Malzahn enough options to find one.; 3:36 PM
WarEagleRK said...: Jet,

I think you are right about Miles.

He was the luckiest coach in the NCAA for about 4 years, but now it seems he's run out of luck.; 3:37 PM
Jet said...: I will say this ... if you were trying to get Florida State a final win for Bobby Bowden, what other coach in America would you want on the other sideline than Bill Stewart?; 3:37 PM
WarEagleRK said...: I hate that we blew a 17-0 lead to Stewart last year.; 3:38 PM
LGGByron said...: THT and 2.0 say hi and they're picking up Thai. Byron here and just trying to recover from that wild game.; 3:39 PM
WarEagleRK said...: Can you imagine how tired Bynes, Stevens, Bates and Thorpe are going to be tomorrow. They played the eqivalent of two games today.; 3:40 PM
Kathy said...: Great placards LLGByron!; 3:40 PM
Unknown said...: I can't believe the Washington Bullets players drawing guns on each other in the locker room. That is simply bizarre. I would think a player having a gun in the locker room would be enough to have him kicked off the team.; 3:40 PM
Andrew said...: I rarely say things like this; but I hope all the hardcore anti Bowden guys in Tallahassee have the most rotten New Years ever after this upset...; 3:40 PM
Anonymous said...: RK ...I only used that example b/c I knew you would remember it.

Didn't mean to dredge up.

I normally could car less about the Rose Bowl, but I've watched Masoli all season and love to watch him. Go Ducks; 3:41 PM
Unknown said...: Let's go Ducks!!! I love the Ducks. These aren't your normal Ducks, these are rabid Ducks, rabid killer Ducks from Hell.; 3:42 PM
Andrew said...: I agree hoopie..to hell with the big ten/bucks...GO ducks!!; 3:43 PM
Andrew said...: SteveFC said...

"rabid killer Ducks from Hell."

YES.; 3:44 PM
Kathy said...: Who was the MVP?; 3:44 PM
LGGByron said...: What a game, we stood during he entire 4th quarter and OT what a game; 3:44 PM
WarEagleRK said...: Hoopie,

I do goof off on here and will make joking comments at times, I know it irritated you and Aero, but 99% of what I type is meant in fun.

I hate that it seemed to be part of what drove Aero off.

In that situation I was just making fun of something Coleman had said that didn't seem to reflect well on him.

Masoli was a guy that Tony Franklin was trying hard to get to Auburn...I think Blount also was a guy we were high on, somehow both end up in Oregon.; 3:45 PM
Kathy said...: Did you stay for the awarding of the trophies?; 3:45 PM
WarEagleRK said...: Darvin Adams was the games MVP.; 3:46 PM
LGGByron said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 3:46 PM
WarEagleRK said...: Adams 12 catches for 142 yards; 3:46 PM
Unknown said...: 15 yard penalty of RK for mentioning TF.; 3:46 PM
WarEagleRK said...: Adams finished the season with 997 yards receiving...can't we find the guy 3 more yards somewhere?; 3:47 PM
WarEagleRK said...: I was hoping you'd miss that Steve, I guess you are a Big 10 ref.; 3:48 PM
Unknown said...: I am constantly amazed by Darvin Adams. If you are a DC, is it very had to figure out which of our receivers you should double team?; 3:48 PM
WarEagleRK said...: Our offense never seemed to get things in order today...we had a couple of drives, but we really left a ton of points on the board, I'm very thankful we got enough to win the game.; 3:49 PM
LGGByron said...: rk or a sec review offical; 3:49 PM
Unknown said...: Congrats to the coaches for having us ranked 3rd in recruiting, one spot behind the evil empire. Should we pass them, be prepared for the evil empire to have a fit.; 3:50 PM
LGGByron said...: steve where'd you see that?; 3:52 PM
Eddie McCoy said...: Adams is a heck of a reciever, but Todd really only looked at him this season. That will change next year with the new QB. Thus offense set records using available parts. Imagine what it will do when they get the right parts. Future is bright Guys/gals. Rollison Express or not, QB play will be better IMO.; 3:54 PM
Unknown said...: Byron, we are 3rd on rivals. We are in the top 10 of both scouts and espn.; 3:54 PM
Kathy said...: WarEagleRK said...
Adams finished the season with 997 yards receiving...can't we find the guy 3 more yards somewhere?

How about the complete pass to Adams that they called incomplete?; 3:55 PM
Unknown said...: Eddie, what is your opinion of the QB battle? Is Rollison good enough to push Newton for the starting spot or is Newton's combination of talent and experience likely too much to overcome.; 3:56 PM
WarEagleRK said...: Kathy, that would get him about 5 yards, so that would do it.; 3:58 PM
Unknown said...: By the way, when is the last time you could say we were pretty well set at QB for the next four years?; 4:00 PM
LGGByron said...: Aren't we going to have a total of about 5 different QBs? ouch; 4:00 PM
Unknown said...: Byron, I am guessing that Newton, Rollison, and Moseley will be the only true contenders at QB. I would break it down like this.

Newton - 60%
Rollison - 20%
Moseley - 20%

Somebody else? I seriously doubt it. There is just too much potential for one of those three not to get it.; 4:03 PM
Anonymous said...: Eddie ..I'm hoping that we do indeed have a chance to get on the TR express. The limited film I've seen indicates that TR has much better passing fundamentals/accuracy than CN.; 4:03 PM
Eddie McCoy said...: Steve- if Rollison is here, he will push Newton for the job. I think Newton was signed because they don't feel confident that he will be there IMO. I think the QB play will be much better next year. I don't think the coaches are truely as high on Mosely as some may have been led to believe. I also don't think this staff would have given scholarships to any of the Tuberville QB's and thus don't see any of them really threatening for the starting job.; 4:03 PM
Anonymous said...: Rivals has us #3 and Scout has us #9 in recruiting.

More importantly than rankings is the fact that these coaches are getting what we need.

The JUCO haul to fill in the 2009 void was very impressive.; 4:05 PM
Anonymous said...: Has anyone done the math to see if we got all 25 2010 recruits on campus next July would we get to 85?

Quick analysis w/o research: We had +/- 74 on scholly this year. Subtract 13 seniors, add 5 more 2009 signees in Jan = a net of 66. Unless I'm missing something, that means we can only add 19 in July.

Of course, there's always the chance that a few guys may xfer out.; 4:11 PM
Unknown said...: Eddie, your concern over Rollison being around seems consistent with other comments I have seen on here.

As for Moseley and Trotter for that matter, I have liked a lot of what the coaches have had to say.

As for Caudle and Kodi, I give them next to zero chance. I don't really even see Kodi being the Wildcat QB next season.; 4:13 PM
Unknown said...: It looks pretty certain that we won't have the numbers issues next season, although experience will be the concern.; 4:14 PM
Andrew said...: Steve I'm pretty much with you...

Newton 65%
Tyrik 20%
Moseley10%
Kodi 4.5%
Caudle .5% (Maybe) I have followed that kid since he was at Spain Park with the highly overrated coach vincent...He will never get it done...; 4:19 PM
Andrew said...: Also, on the Caudle thing...He's a great guy...I've met him several times...

So in case any of the "don't hate on the kids guys" are going to get me..it's nothing personal...he's a smart kid and has a heck of a future in store in his chosen field....Just m.o.; 4:21 PM
Jet said...: It's hard to take teams like Oregon seriously when their uniforms have things on their shoulders that looks like the hand-traced turkeys we drew in kindergarten.; 4:25 PM
LGGByron said...: So true Jet; 4:26 PM
WarEagleRK said...: By the way, Clinton Durst had a heck of a game today. He pinned them deep several times.; 4:30 PM
WarEagleRK said...: 3 punts inside the 20.; 4:30 PM
coosa said...: Best thing about today is that I didn't hear one word spoken by the espn morons; listened to the AU Network guys like I always do. I don't understand why so many Hotties subject themselves to the espn abuse.

As far as complaining about officials, Rod and Stan don't complain nearly as much as the Hotties.

It did seem like every close call went against us, but I think most of them were right.; 4:32 PM
Fearless Freep said...: In a way, this game was a microcosm of our entire season.

Started out strong, looked unbeatable for awhile, faltered badly in the middle, came back strong out of nowhere, then fell apart at critical times towards the very end, appearing to end on a losing note - until our ragtag bunch reached deep down for one last key play, and ended up getting it done.

But like most of you have said - I'm glad its over for another seven months or so.

Except for recruiting, spring practice, and summer workouts that is. . .; 4:32 PM
Unknown said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 4:34 PM
Jet said...: This place is turning into the ... WAABOTTN .. the Whiniest @$$ Auburn Blog on the Net.

We committed the penalties. We made the mistakes. Northwestern made the game exciting.

We won. Be happy.; 4:36 PM
stupup74 said...: Tyler Smith was among 4 ut vol basketball players arrested on felony drug and weapons charges in Knoxville today.

go vols.com has the story

My wife is a big UT fan. Stuff like this makes it even better to be an Auburn Tiger; 4:36 PM
wartiger said...: I'm still exhausted..sheesh..what a game!!; 4:36 PM
stupup74 said...: Newton was signed because you can never have enough good QBs. When one like him comes along and looks at your school, you try and sign him.

There will be a good and fair competion. I am sure the Auburn coaches will pick the best QB. Hopefully one will stick out and win the job like Todd did this spring.

Newton may never play a down, or he may win the Heisman. More than likely it will be something in the middle of that range.; 4:40 PM
Fearless Freep said...: My only complaints about the officiating were the Darvin Adams no-catch call (I thought the replay showed he cradled it) and the roughing the kicker call (should have been running into the kicker at most). And I do question how a team can throw the ball 74 times without a single holding penalty. That just seems highly improbable. But overall the officials called 'em as they saw them. The most damaging penalties were pretty obvious.

As always, we were our own worst enemies, not the striped shirts.; 4:45 PM
Unknown said...: stupup, we are loaded with quarterbacks, but we aren't loaded with good QBs. Newton, Rollison, and Mosley are the ones I think that have a shot.

As for UT athletes getting in trouble, it isn't a big deal. As I understand it, they have a wing of the Knoxville police department dedicated to handling UT athletes.; 4:48 PM
Fearless Freep said...: The most encouraging thing about our QB situation: the guy who ended up winning the job - and setting a season record for TD passes in the process - didn't take a single snap in a game or in practice, from the middle of October 2008 til last August.

Whomever ends up with the job next fall will have had plenty of reps in the Malzahn offense. I think we'll be in good shape.; 4:49 PM
WarEagleRK said...: Jet, I don't think there isn't one of us not happy about winning. It was a crazy game.; 4:50 PM
Unknown said...: As for Todd as the QB, he was a solid QB, but nothing great. The way he won the job indicated how poor his competition was, not how outstanding he was. He needed only to make smart decisions and have good ball placement to get the job. The only other thing left for him to do was to let Caudle and Kodi shoot themselves in the foot, which was pretty much inevitable.; 4:51 PM
Jet said...: RK ... I understand ... it just gets old with the perpetual complaining about announcers and officiating.; 4:52 PM
Unknown said...: It always tickles me when people think I am a Chris Todd fan. I look at it like this. I had the choice of getting hit in the head with an aluminum, wood, or wiffle ball bat. I chose the wiffle ball bat.; 4:56 PM
Kathy said...: Good article:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/317700-auburn-football-new-recruits-show-team-spirit; 4:57 PM
Unknown said...: Thanks for the link Kathy, it is a good article. I usually don't believe anything until I read it on the bleacher report first:); 5:01 PM
Fearless Freep said...: That's what I find so encouraging, SFC. Todd isn't really that talented a QB.

And yet he completed 60% of his passes, threw for over 2600 yards and 22 TDs and finished in the top 20 in the nation in QB efficiency.

For all the criticisms I've seen of Malzahn from here and elsewhere, that says quite a lot about his ability to coach up a QB and give him a chance to be successful.; 5:01 PM
Jet said...: I'm happy for Neiko, who had a tough year, making the play to save our bacon.; 5:04 PM
Unknown said...: The most impressive thing to me about this recruiting class is how well the coaches did in fitting our needs. We needed lots of linebackers and they got lots of quality linebackers. We needed offensive linemen and they got them too. They didn't just take any player, they went after players that could contribute. Also, signing 5 against last year's class was outstanding.; 5:04 PM
Kathy said...: "This time, Aairon Savage was penalized for roughing the kicker,"

This is on ESPN. Savage hasn't played all year!; 5:05 PM
Unknown said...: Agreed FF. Todd may hold the record for touchdown passes in a season, but he isn't even close to being one of the top QBs in Auburn history. That is why Malzahn's offense is so impressive.; 5:06 PM
Unknown said...: Kathy, it was Bell that roughed the kicker. They must have their numbers confused or something.; 5:07 PM
E-Bro said...: Darvin was obviously the best player over the whole of the game, but Neiko does get my vote for MVP.

Made the game winning play despite being held a little bit on the play.

Big time from him.; 5:09 PM
chip chip said...: straight up on the recruiting analysis sfc. i don't know that previous AU regiemes would have had the wits to pull off this december haul.

which was the more humiliating win?
AU 3 MSU 2 or today?; 5:09 PM
Jet said...: Let's see how the replay works here for Oregon-Ohio State.; 5:10 PM
E-Bro said...: Also credit to Wes Byrum for hitting his first game winner of the year.

And apparently making a 23 yard reception in the 4th quarter. Will ESPN ever realize that Byrum isn't Kodi Burns.; 5:11 PM
chip chip said...: there was a lot of holding going on today. northwestern's offensive line on AU players and the ref's holding onto their flags. i saw them tackle our dline over and over.; 5:11 PM
Kathy said...: I knew it was Bell. I think Bell played a good game with the exception of the long TD broken coverage. Did Hood play in the 4th quarter? He was having a tough time. I'm really proud of the defense. They played almost 2 games today!; 5:11 PM
cincytiger said...: ESPN also has that NW had 5 interceptions and Auburn had 4 fumbles.; 5:12 PM
Jet said...: Humiliating?; 5:12 PM
cincytiger said...: I didn't think it was humiliating at all. Bizarre, yes.; 5:12 PM
Kathy said...: Humiliating? Don't understand why you would think today's win was humiliating.; 5:14 PM
Unknown said...: Hehehe, humiliating win!!! That is hilarious, but way to true. This one wasn't as bad as the MSU joke. Remember, we scored all the points in that 3-2 ....umm.. not really sure what to call it. Any word seems to flattering.

I must put a vote in for McFadden for MVP. He was working his but off. I know he missed a tackle on that one touchdown, but he was coming from the other side of the field.

Bates, Coleman, and Bell also deserve kudos.

Bell was my surprise player of the game.

Hood was the one player that really disappointed. I can still see the look on Roof's face.; 5:14 PM
Kathy said...: This game is no comparison to the AU-MSU debacle. Some folks are just never satisfied!; 5:16 PM
Unknown said...: Also, Kudos to Desmond Washington. Yes, he screwed up on the fumble, but our level of suction with regard to kick returns wasn't nearly as bad as it has been.; 5:16 PM
Unknown said...: (stuff)mydadsays: "Universe is 14 billion years old. Seems silly to celebrate one year. Be like having a parade every time i take a piss."; 5:18 PM
Jet said...: I apologize.

I've been reading the Scout boards. Either there are dozens of Bammers over there in disguise or our Friggin' Idiot Ratio much is much higher than I imagined.

Charles Barkley was right. People are stupid.; 5:21 PM
chip chip said...: when you throw away three 14 point leads, let a team that was down for the count three times get up and whip your butt the last 5 minutes of the game and win in overtime only because you injured their kicker on a RUNNING INTO penalty and they had to run a fake fg on the last play, that is humiliating. luckily thorpe and goggans were the only ones not faked out of their jocks. a win is a win and i'm happy for it, but AU looked like a team of fools, dummies, clowns and morons the last 5 and ot. i saw nu lose a game and AU win in spite of itself.; 5:23 PM
cincytiger said...: Funny, my b-i-l who is a HUGE bama fan called me to tell me we won a hell of a game. He didn't seem to think we looked like buffoons at all.; 5:25 PM
Unknown said...: Jet, it seems that you experienced some of why I am here. Here you get reasonable arguments. At some other places, the arguments are so ridiculous that you can't even participate. I mean, how do you argue with someone that thinks 1+1 is 3? Can't do it.; 5:25 PM
Jet said...: Chip, I hope your 2010 gets better for you.; 5:27 PM
Unknown said...: I am very proud of the way we played, particularly the players on defense. Remember, this was a Northwestern team that beat Wisconsin and Iowa, but pretty decent teams.

Yes, I was disappointed with our offense, but if we had played Northwestern at the end of last season, we would have likely lost by at least 4 or 5 touchdowns. We are much improved.; 5:27 PM
cincytiger said...: NW had every reason to win - the underdog who hasn't won a bowl game in 1000 years (how many times did we hear that?) nobody thought they could do it. They have "students who play football" not athletes, And with the record of bowl games this season, there have been many "unexpected" wins.; 5:27 PM
cincytiger said...: To have 4 players play 115 plays on defense and also play on special teams is amazing. I am VERY pleased. (Now that I have somewhat recovered.); 5:29 PM
Kathy said...: Same with my Bammer husband Cincy. He thought Auburn won a good one too. Nothing to be embarrassed by. If the NU players really did run off the field without shaking hands with the AU players, they should be humiliated. It's a college game, where we played A LOT of freshmen kids, and they played their hearts out. It was a great win for them, and I am not now, nor will I ever be, humiliated by this win.; 5:30 PM
Unknown said...: And I saw very few examples of lack of effort, Hood being the exception. Even with Tate and Washington's turnovers, they were playing hard. Those are the type of mistakes I can forgive. I can't forgive players that just seem to quit, which I saw some of in the 2008 Iron Bowl.; 5:30 PM
Unknown said...: I am torn between watching the Rose Bowl and watching paint dry. Neither seems too exciting.; 5:32 PM
chip chip said...: my point is, AU should have blown them out when we got out 35-21 and the game is over. tate knows better than to not protect the ball when nu's only chance is a turnover. washington's return was fabulous and would have set up AU for a game winning fg try with a few good offensive plays, until fannin's fumblitis rubbed off on him when he ran into him.

it's obvious to me after this year, that gus has much to learn about playcalling in the SEC. he was able to stop AU's offense with the wildcat when opposing defenses had no answer.

kodi has proven to me this year he is not a threat to run or pass from the wildcat. either put someone of a darren mcfadden talent level back there or don't run it. don't try to pound the square peg into the round hole. kodi is what he is. another tubby star bust.; 5:34 PM
chip chip said...: watching osu is always painful.; 5:34 PM
chip chip said...: it ain't gettin' any better watching the rose bowl...; 5:36 PM
Unknown said...: Chip chip, I am with you on Kodi and the wildcat. In my opinion there are numerous players that could do a better job. Fannin and FAH immediately come to mind.; 5:36 PM
Unknown said...: I am not sure about where Kodi could fit in. I guess he might become a possession type receiver, but we will have way to much receiving talent next season for him to compete.; 5:38 PM
Unknown said...: The Ohio State coach wears a tie. By the way, I am against hiring any coach who wears a sweater over a tie.; 5:41 PM
astatguy said...: I liked what the announcer said about Kodi. "He runs, he passes, and he scores touchdowns". He got a big one to start this thriller and he won our last bowl game in Atlanta with a TD. The guy's a winner and a playmaker. You gotta find a spot for him.; 5:41 PM
chip chip said...: i predict we all have a good day on national signing day. 2010 is going to see a lot of improvement for AU. the SEC west is coming through AU the next few years. bank on it.; 5:42 PM
Unknown said...: astatguy, Kodi gets way to much credit for that Peach Bowl win. Cox was responsible for much more of the yards. Kodi made some good plays, but it was largely the contrast between his style on that of Cox that made him effective. He hasn't looked that effective this season.; 5:44 PM
Unknown said...: Chip chip, I do think we have a shot at winning the west next season, although the evil empire, Arkansas, LSU, and possibly Ole Nutt will have a shot.; 5:45 PM
astatguy said...: Steve - I have to disagree. Kodi put the team on his back during the closing minutes against Clemson. That doesn't disparage Cox at all. I can't wait to watch a GM offense with a QB who can run the ball.; 5:46 PM
chip chip said...: but for every one of those flashes i see out of kodi, he throws two passes that prove why he is not a qb anymore. i agree, there should be somewhere he can contribute consistently, but qb (regular or wildcat) is not is.; 5:47 PM
chip chip said...: we'll all go 7-5; 5:48 PM
FSJ said...: I'm a bammer and don't think y'all looked like idiots..

Y'all won a helluva game....Was it a perfectly executed game? No..But they never are.; 5:49 PM
astatguy said...: I agree Kodi isn't a QB. But I think he can be a possession receiver or Gus Malzahn hybrid rb and contribute.; 5:49 PM
astatguy said...: Great win. Reminded me of the 4 (I think) overtime game against Georgia. Only this time we won.; 5:51 PM
chip chip said...: cameron newton just changed the whole dynamic of the 2010 offense. you no longer need a wildcat qb. kodi is no longer a factor at all (or shouldn't be) running that formation. newton presents a qb who is a threat for the read option, true option, qb draw, scramble or a pass. as we all saw today todd was going to die trying to throw to adams. he took some really stupid sacks today. newton at least presents new problems for defenses without changing personnel.; 5:52 PM
Unknown said...: On a lighter note, Les Miles still gets my vote as the SEC head coach most likely to become a Walmart greeter.; 5:54 PM
chip chip said...: just like a bammer! praise AU when we play sucky. you should have kept shula!!! $aban's winning with (some) of his players!!!; 5:54 PM
Unknown said...: Chip, I agree on the Todd sacks today, too. He had a good overall game, but some of those sacks were just stupid.; 5:55 PM
chip chip said...: only if he gets to keep wearing the lsu hat.; 5:56 PM
Unknown said...: And I nearly soiled myself when Emory actually caught a ball. That was cool.; 5:57 PM
cincytiger said...: SFC,
We're going to have to buy you some Depends if Auburn keeps doing good things :); 5:57 PM
cincytiger said...: We have Cincinnati friends coming through for lunch tomorrow after the Sugar Bowl. Does Cincy have any chance against Florida?; 5:59 PM
E-Bro said...: Somebody page Norm.; 5:59 PM
E-Bro said...: Stat!!; 5:59 PM
Unknown said...: So true, Cincy. My wish for next season is that we find some kind of balance in the passing game. If I were a DC playing us my strategy would center on getting coverage and hits on Adams. If he catches it, make him pay. It isn't hard for a team to zero in on one guy.; 6:00 PM
cincytiger said...: Think we can do it without him?; 6:00 PM
E-Bro said...: We got this.; 6:00 PM
cincytiger said...: C'mon; 6:00 PM
E-Bro said...: Boom!!; 6:00 PM