Game Day: The Iron Bowl
Every game this season, the Tiger Hosts and Hostesses of Auburn University have put up semi-inspirational banners in Auburn’s locker room. I say inspirational because — since the number of Hostesses seem to outweigh the number of Hosts, they are more cutesy than serious.
And let’s just say I have a contact inside the Host/Hostesses group. This contact will ask my advice on banner ideas and every game thus far, my ideas have been shot down. (Instead of “They’re mad they didn’t get into Arkansas” for the Arkansas State game, the winning banner was “Beat the howl out of the Red Wolves.” Hit the rim shot and don’t forget to tip your waitresses.
But for this game — the Iron Bowl — I had an epiphany. Something simple, but powerful:
“Family rolls deeper than any Tide.”
And to me, that explains the difference between us and them.
With bama and Nick Saban, it’s a process. Bring talented athletes, regardless of their character into a program that produces … well, I’m not sure what it produces. A quick championship? Maybe. Good players at the professional level? Uh, has Saban produced any noteworthy pro players?
At Auburn, it isn’t a process. It’s Gene Chizik and a strong coaching staff taking athletes of character — including Cam Newton (I said it) — and turning into solid individuals with pro-level talent. It’s a group of players that act as one and do not wither in the face of adversity. Have you seen how the Tigers have come together during the turmoil surrounding Newton? You can bet that everyone in Tuscaloosa would be pointing fingers at each other during a time like this.
That’s why I feel they’re bitter and jealous and pissy. In all honesty, they shouldn’t be. I’m a reasonable Auburn fan and am willing to admit we’re the Red Sox to bama’s Yankees. They have the titles and heritage. They should act as if they didn’t care about us, but they do. Auburn has an element that they can’t emulate. It eats at them.
That’s why I’m quick to tell a bama fan that I don’t hate them. I also don’t like them. I nothing them. Try telling a bama fan the same and watch the reaction. Chances are, it never occurred to them that we really only worry about what Auburn does. Do What We Do? Not just a season-long motto. It’s a way of life for a reasonable Auburn fan.
Family rolls deeper. I’m not sure if the banner idea I helped create got picked or not, but we should carry it as a mental banner regardless. Especially against a program and a fan base that seems anything but reasonable.
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So how do we beat them?
We came close last year, but we didn’t have a consistent quarterback (we do now) and our front seven on defense lacked depth and big-game experience (take a look at them now).
Even though bama’s defense (save for their back four) is above average, they haven’t seen a quarterback quite like Newton. Even Tim Tebow wasn’t this elusive. Suffice to say, the bama defense will have its hands full.
Not just Newton, but the receiving corps of Darvin Adams, Terrell Zachery, and Emory Blake are capable of giving them fits. Young cornerbacks Dre Kirkpatrick and DeMarcus Milliner have the potential to be stars for bama one day, but today could end up being a nightmare for that duo. Keep an eye out for either a long gain on an end-around or reverse (likely from T-Zach) which has come to be an Iron Bowl staple since the days of Ben Obomanu.
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Defensively, Auburn will have work to do.
Andre Ellington and Clemson showed that a jet-fast running back can provide Auburn a world of hurt. bama has two standouts: Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram (held to 30 yards rushing in this game last year) and the possibly-even-more-dangerous Trent Richardson. Stopping these two requires a near-perfect game from the front seven and the Tigers will be without one key player for the first half of today’s game.
When Mike Blanc threw a punch at the end of the Auburn-Georgia game, it became known that we’d be without the Bundini Brown to Nick Fairley’s Muhammad Ali for a crucial 30 minutes (an SEC rule). Blanc might not be a starter, but one could argue he’s just as effective as starting senior defensive tackle Zach Clayton (both actually have 22 total tackles on the season heading into today’s game). Last year, linebacker Jonathan Evans, then a freshman, stepped up vs. bama. This year, freshman defensive tackle Jeffrey Whitaker has an opportunity to the same.
We also lose Michael Goggans (same reason: dawg fighting) for the first half, but he’s fallen down the defensive end depth chart since this season’s opener. Nosa Eguae, Antoine Carter, and Corey Lemonier will do just fine against the bama offensive line.
Auburn’s key to winning today: outscore bama. That’s it. Cam Newton and the offense can certainly do their part, but we need a 12th killer game in a row from the Fairley-Clayton/Blanc-Josh Bynes triangle. As often as we can get to quarterback Greg McElroy, the better. Receiver Julio Jones against our ragtag defensive back unit could get ugly; the best scenario for Auburn is to never let the ball leave McElroy’s hands. Remember Stanley McClover’s four-sack performance in 2005? Sure you do. So does Brodie Croyle.
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Anticipated Starters on Offense: Quarterback - Cam Newton; Tailback - Mike Dyer; H-Back - Philip Lutzenkirchen; Wide Receivers - Darvin Adams, Terrell Zachery, Kodi Burns; Offensive Line - Lee Ziemba, Mike Berry, Ryan Pugh, Byron Isom, Brandon Mosley. You’ll Also See: Emory Blake, Onterio McCalebb, Quindarius Carr. Notable Absences: A.J. Greene (out for game).
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Anticipated Starters on Defense: Defensive Line - Antoine Carter, Nick Fairley, Zach Clayton, Nosa Eguae; Linebackers - Craig Stevens, Josh Bynes, Daren Bates; Cornerbacks - Neiko Thorpe, Demond Washington. Safeties - Mike McNeil, Zac Etheridge. You’ll Also See: T’Sharvan Bell, Eltoro Freeman, Jeffrey Whitaker. Notable Absences: Mike Blanc and Michael Goggans (first half only) and Aairon Savage (out for game).
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Post-Game Player Ratings will be posted today. Log on to thejunglecat.com about an hour after the conclusion of the game to check out how Auburn’s key players graded out.
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I’ll be tweeting my thoughts during the game. As always: not everything I say will be ice cream, puppies, and unicorns (for this game, I might actually step over the line into borderline obscene). Follow along at @auburnjunglecat if you can handle it.
@davidsmith28 @auburnjunglecat
The Jungle Cat is an online magazine dedicated to Auburn Tigers Football, written by David Smith.
