A Much Anticipated Offense!
Dangerous times are ahead for SEC defenses!
(Photo by Acid Reign.)
War Eagle, everybody! The end of winter is near folks, and on this rainy night I am dreaming of Auburn football once again. The dreaded “Snowmaggedon” here in the Tragic City has resulted in… well, an inch and a half of rain. It won’t be long before the yellow pollen is all over everything, and spring drills will begin. The more I look at Auburn’s roster and returning offensive players, the better I feel about next season. Much like a time almost 20 years ago, I think Auburn is poised to break offensive records this season.
In 1996, junior Dameyune Craig was stepping into a starting quarterback role at Auburn, and he had compiled some very impressive stats as a backup the two previous seasons. Craig had a dynamite, accurate arm, and a knack for getting the ball to the right receiver. With added mobility and a host of talented young receivers, the sky was the limit for the Auburn offense going into the 1996 season.
Unfortunately for Craig and his cohorts Goodson, Bailey, Baker, Gosha, Poor, Lowe, and McCovery, the Tigers had a rebuilt offensive line with two former walk-ons starting. Coupled with a lack of big-time SEC running backs, the 1996 offense struggled at times against the better defenses in the league. However, the team averaged 33 points per game on offense. That was the 4th year in a row that the Tigers averaged 32 or more points per game, a stretch that still stands. No Auburn teams before or since have maintained a 4-year scoring stretch like that. Previously, the Tigers had managed 3 such years with Sullivan and Beasley. Tuberville/Borges managed 2 straight years in 2004 – 2005, and the Tigers have twice managed back-to-back 30+ years with Gus Malzhan on the Auburn sideline.
At the height of productivity, Auburn offensive coordinator Tommy Bowden left for the head coaching job at Tulane, where he put together an undefeated season. That mark catapulted Bowden to a ten-year stint at Clemson. Rodney Allison took over the Auburn offense, and production plummeted to 26 points per game in 1997, and to 15 as the Terry Bowden regime imploded in 1998.
Read Full Story →
Auburn Spring Sports in Full Swing Despite Cold Weather
Next to football season, spring in Auburn is the favorite time of the year for many of the Auburn Family. But with two to six inches of snow predicted across parts of central Alabama today, it just doesn't seem like spring is almost here. Yet Spring Sports at Auburn are already in full swing.No spring sport has been as successfu... Read Full Story
Football’s Big at Auburn, but Fans Prove They Love Tiger Basketball Too!
Auburn is having the biggest crowds in over a dozen years. So far this season the Auburn Arena has been filled to 85.7 percent capacity - the third-highest among SEC teams, trailing only Florida (91.9 percent of capacity) and Kentucky (102.1 percent of capacity).
Jury Is Still Out on Auburn Hires
It’s hard to argue with athletic director Jay Jacobs’s success in the hiring department, especially when it comes to the money sports. However, when you look at the lesser sports, his recent hires have been a mixed bag.
I’m sure it’s not something that keeps the veteran AD up at night. When was the last time an athletic... Read Full Story
Discussing Nonconference Possibilities
Auburn's home-and-home series against California in 2019/2020 has been pushed back a year in order to accommodate the Bears' series with Ole Miss in 2017/2019. So now with Auburn and Cal's series pushed back to 2020/2021 that leaves Jay Jacobs with an opportunity to schedule another Power-5 opponent in the 2018/2019 seasons. Aft... Read Full Story
Living Large
The Auburn Athletic Department ran a 13.7 million dollar deficit last year.(Photo by Acid Reign.) War Eagle, everybody! A sobering bit of news came out this week from the Plains, amid great stories about new oaks, amazing basketball victories, gymnastics moving up to #8 in the country, and fine Auburn men at the NFL comb... Read Full Story
Quarterback or Cornerback?
Nick Marshall is on the horns of a dilemma. The odds of making the cut on an NFL team as a rookie quarterback are incredibly steep, even for a dual-threat wizard of the zone read. The prototypical NFL prospect is usually three inches taller, with a 5 - 10% better completion percentage, has extensive experience receiving snap... Read Full Story
“I-I-I’ll Never Watch Football Again-n-n-n” (with apologies to Bacharach/David)
Those of you who knew who the above lady was before there ever was such a thing as a Psychic Friends Network will get this a little better--and the irony at the end. What do you get when you watch football? You see evil teams become ...
Read Full StoryAuburn Basketball vs. Bama … Time for a Little Payback
One of the things that makes college sports so special, so different from the pro's, is its rivalries. Many people in America recognize the Iron Bowl as possibly the nation's fiercest college football rivalry. However, the Auburn - Alabama Rivalry transcends football and extends to every area of competition between the two schoo... Read Full Story
All is Right on the Corner
Auburn feels whole again. It’s funny what two trees can do for a family. Several thousand braved the cold on Saturday morning to watch a little history. The Auburn Oaks, as they are now known, were finally put in the ground and with it a new chapter begins.In person they are much taller than I expected. While nowhere near the ... Read Full Story
Morning Musings – February 13th
On Saturday, history will be made for Toomer’s Corner once again… as the new “Auburn Oaks” are being delivered and planted in their new home on the corner of College and Magnolia. Of course, nothing will ever be able to replace the magic and legacy of the old oaks, but it’s a necessary change in order to continue the f... Read Full Story
Ever a Changing Game
Football continues to evolve, often in response to rule changes.(Photo by Acid Reign.)
War Eagle, everybody! National Signing Day has come and gone, and now we're in the throes of Mardi Gras. There's little football news afoot, but the NCAA Football Rules committee is meeting this week, and there is the usual talk of c... Read Full Story
Take Me Out to Plainsman Park – I want to see some Auburn Baseball
With low temperatures hovering around the freezing mark and frost on the ground, it doesn't seem like it just yet, but spring is right around the corner. And that means America's pastime is almost here.
Baseball has always caught our imagination. It reminds us of the days of our youth, of playing the game in backyards, of the s... Read Full Story
Where Will Mr. Football (Kerryon Johnson) Fit in at Auburn?
Auburn just completed its sixth consecutive Top-10 recruiting class. It's full of some real gems, not the least of which is the addition of Kerryon Johnson, the 2014 Mr. Alabama Football.The 6'- 1", 205 pound running back scored 33 touchdowns his senior year, rushing for 1,659 yards and catching 22 passes for 598 yards. He was a... Read Full Story
Byron Cowart Looks to Back Up Expectations
It’s all smiles in the Auburn Athletic Department. There have been few weeks better than the past one. On Wednesday, Gus Malzahn arguably signed the best recruiting class in school history. Friday, the board of trustees approved the mother of all big screen televisions for Jordan-Hare Stadium.
But the biggest winner of the we... Read Full Story
Bright New Faces
The fax machines have been switched back to the off position, and the ink of the signatures from the nation’s most gifted athletes has dried (unless you’re CeCe Jefferson, of course), as we welcome 27 bright, new faces to the Auburn family.The day began with an absolute red-hot start for Malzahn and his coaching staff, as t... Read Full Story
Tigers Land Another Top Ten Recruiting Class!
Duke Williams had the most instant impact from last year's class.(Photo by Acid Reign.) War Eagle, everybody! National college football signing day has come and gone, and those of us with shaky hearts can now take a deep breath. I've worried in this space in the past two weeks, because it looked like Auburn did not have ... Read Full Story
“We Want to Win the State of Alabama, and We Feel Like we Did That This Year” – Gus Malzahn
It was a great National Signing Day for Gus Malzahn and his staff. After some drama over whether the nation's No.1 prospect Byron Cowart's letter of Intent would be faxed in by Cowart's high school coach - the Tigers finished with the No.2 class in the nation according to Scout's AuTigers.com.No one knows for sure why Cowart's c... Read Full Story
National Signing Day: Live Blog
Please note that comment totals displayed on the front page counter are not the actual amount. As this is an Open Thread, you must click on the "Read Full Story" button to view all the comments. The last comment will be posted at the top of the thread under "New Entry". - It was a great day to be an Auburn Tiger.
Read Full StoryNational Signing Day Primer
We are expecting guests for our special event tomorrow. New recruits will join the Auburn family, and we want to make them feel right at home.National Signing Day is a remarkable event in many ways. Lives are changed forever, relationships are formed, and old high school friends are left at home as the young student athlete star... Read Full Story
The Best College Football Media Personalities
As SEC football grows in popularity so do the media personalities who cover the games. The great ones take the sport to another level and become the soundtrack to our fall Saturdays. It’s around this time of the year when you start missing them. So who are the best when it comes to SEC football? Obviously, ESPN casts a large ... Read Full StoryTrack ‘Em Tigers Store
Featured In
