A Big Day Tomorrow for Auburn Baseball

By Posted on: May 20th, 2013 in Baseball 14 Comments »
513ab60cc8fef.image- Jordan Ebert

Give Auburn baseball coach John Pawlowski credit. In March, he was deader than a gathering of the Jay Jacobs Fan Club.

After starting out 1-8 in SEC play, most believed Pawlowski was destined to bring home Auburn’s third consecutive last place SEC finish in the Big Three sports. It was only a matter of time before former would be inserted into his title.

Now I know college baseball has never caught the imaginations of most Auburn people. Anytime we write a story about it, you can hear the crickets coming from the comments section. But by damned, this team and coaching staff has earned a little ink today.

If you’ve been too busy following football recruiting or cutting the grass, or just taking the trash out, then you’ve missed quite the comeback on the Plains.

Don’t look now, but Auburn is one of the hottest teams in college baseball. Winners of their last three series, two of which were against ranked teams, Auburn has gone 12-9 to close out the regular season.

Auburn dispatched of No. 11 Arkansas 11-6 Saturday afternoon, winning yet another series and finally giving Auburn fans something to cheer for the first time in more than a year.

Talk of a new baseball coach has turned to NCAA Regional play. How fitting that Auburn’s road starts with Alabama on Tuesday in Hoover.

In a win or go home matchup, tenth-seeded Auburn (33-22, 13-17) faces seven-seed Alabama (32-24, 14-14) in a mid-afternoon contest. The Tide lost two of three over the weekend to top-ranked Vanderbilt in Nashville.

The big question is whether Auburn has done enough to punch its ticket for post-season play. Pawlowski is cautious in his assessment.

“We didn’t start off good, but we certainly finished the conference pretty well,” he said. “I think we put ourselves in a very good position, but we have a lot more work to do.”

Both Baseball America and SEBaseball.com have the Tigers bracketed to go. However, a Tuesday loss could make the selection committee forget about Auburn as the week progresses and more conference tournaments are played.

A win over Alabama likely gets the job done.

Auburn catcher Blake Austin says there’s no doubt Auburn’s earned a trip.

“Oh, yeah,” Austin said. “We played three regional teams in a row, top-15 teams. We’re swinging the bats like a regional team, I think. Offensively, it’s like another gear hit since Ole Miss. Pitching has been there all year.”

The bigger question is, has Pawlowski done enough to save his job?

Again, it likely comes down to Tuesday against arch-rival Alabama. It seems unlikely Pawlowski survives if his team fails to earn a regional birth. So yeah, the stakes are pretty high tomorrow.

Count me among those pulling for him. 

Posted in Baseball | 14 Comments »

Friday from the Eagle’s Nest

By Posted on: May 17th, 2013 in Featured Article, News 7 Comments »
From the Eagle's Nest

Hawaii returning to its rainbow roots. According to legend, the team adopted the nickname after a rainbow appeared over the field in which Hawaii rallied to upset Oregon St. It’s a good thing more teams don’t use this logic. There’s no telling how many Goodyear Blimps, Suns, Stars, Moons, Dome Ceilings, and Cirrus Cloud mascots we’d have in college football.

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Posted in Featured Article, News | 7 Comments »

Bulldogs Open Auburn’s Real Season!

By Posted on: May 16th, 2013 in Football 8 Comments »
Tyler Russell

The Tigers must put more pressure on Tyler Russell this year.

     War Eagle, everybody! It’s time now for another Auburn opponent preview. In week three, on September 14th, the Mississippi State Bulldogs visit Auburn at Jordan Hare Stadium. SEC action begins for the Tigers, and it’s an important game for both teams. The winner will be off and running in the league, and the loser will face questions of whether they can compete in a very tough SEC Western Division this season.

     Last season was a tale of two different teams for the Bulldogs. They started the season with seven straight wins, and headed to Tuscaloosa to try and stake a claim to being in the upper echelon of the league. Mississippi State then lost five of their last six games, most of them by blowout scores. This year’s team returns 12 starters on the offense and defense, but there are some holes to fill where stars departed.

     If last year’s team was covered up early by a soft schedule, this year’s edition will have no such worries. The Bulldogs open in Houston against Oklahoma State, and will find out quickly if their reloading efforts have been enough. The Bulldogs then tune up the next week with Alcorn State, before heading to Auburn. This year’s squad could be better than last year’s, and still leave Auburn with a 1-2 record. And it doesn’t get much easier from there. The Bulldogs do follow the Tigers with four straight home games, against Troy, LSU, Bowling Green, and Kentucky. Then come road trips to South Carolina and Texas A&M. The Bulldogs finish up with Alabama at home, Arkansas in Little Rock, and Ole Miss at home. The Bulldogs will likely be favored only against Kentucky in the SEC, and possibly Arkansas and Ole Miss. Oklahoma State will be very tough, and Troy has had good success against MSU in the past. While head coach Dan Mullen talks of taking the next step and becoming an elite SEC team, reality is that the Bulldogs will need a few upsets to return to a bowl game this season.

     Mississippi State’s offense is what has given them a chance to win most games since Dan Mullen arrived in Starkville 5 years ago. This year’s edition will have a veteran offensive line, and an experienced senior quarterback in Tyler Russell. However, the Bulldogs must break in a new receiver corps, as they lost veterans Chad Bumphis, Arceto Clark and Chris Smith. Running back LaDarius Perkins is a speedy home-run-hitting back, and he’ll be joined by bulked-up sophomore Josh Robinson.

     There are more questions on the defensive side of the ball, where the Bulldogs lost both starting tackles, most of the secondary, and top tackling linebacker Cameron Lawrence. That defense gave up over 30 points against Tennessee, Alabama, Texas A&M, LSU, Ole Miss and Northwestern last season. This produced some assistant coach shuffling, and Mullen brought in Geoff Collins to run the defense. While most folks point towards shoring up the secondary as the top priority, I think producing a stout front seven rotation is more important. The Bulldogs have talent up front, but it is young, and the Bulldog line tended to wear down late in games down the stretch last season.

     The Bulldogs were decent on special teams last season, and expect to be again this season. Punter Baker Swedenburg is one of the better punters in the league, and his high kicks resulted in only 6 TOTAL punt return yards against the Bulldogs last season. Sophomore Jameon Lewis gives the Bulldogs a breakaway threat in the return game. The Bulldogs return sophomore kicker Devon Bell, and they hope he improves on his 14 out of 21 freshman field goal kicking performance.

Unit Matchups, after the jump!

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Posted in Football | 8 Comments »

At the Game, in the Car, or at Home, Jim Fyffe was Auburn Football

By Posted on: May 15th, 2013 in Baseball, Basketball, Football, News 9 Comments »
861399b83072f26080ba76e4fa3fe7e5- Fyffe

I still remember the sadness that swept over me when Auburn’s legendary announcer Jim Fyffe passed away on May 15, 2003. I felt like I had been kicked in the stomach. Though I never met the man he was to me and thousands of other Auburn fans, a good friend. Today is the 10th anniversary of his death. He was taken from us way too early.

With no disrespect to Rod Bramlet and other Auburn announcers, there simply will never be another one like Jim Fyffe.

Jim was and still is the most revered radio announcer in the history of Auburn Football. His distinctive voice called the play-by-play for Auburn’s football teams from 1981-2003.

He provided hundreds of memorable calls in his 22 years of calling Auburn Football and Basketball games. But it was more than his voice that endured him to the Auburn Family. Jim had a unique ability to make the listener feel like he was right there beside him, in the booth, jumping up and down as he’s yelling his famous “Touch d o w n … Aub b u r n n n n !”

There was never any doubt in his voice, that Jim was a homer and a man who loved Auburn –  both traits that made his voice synonymous with Auburn Football.

He was gifted in such away that made fans lean in toward the radio and feel like they were actually in the stands viewing the game with him. I will never forget where I was on many of his memorable calls.

Like many reading this article, I could recall dozens of great calls made by Jim over the years; the kind that still brings chill bumps and memories of where I was when I heard him make the call.

One of my many favorites happened on November 4th, 1989. There were 26 seconds to go in the game and Auburn trailed Florida 7-3, facing a 4th down and 11 on the 30 yard line. Quarterback Reggie Slack drops back to pass and hits 5′ 7″ Shayne Wasden in the corner of the end zone to defeat Florida 10-7.

Pandemonium broke out as Jim yelled over the airwaves. “Touchdown Auburn! Touchdown Auburn! Touchdown Auburn! Unbelievable!  I’ve seen the impossible happen! I have seen a miracle!”

That moment and dozens of others like it, are forever frozen in the corners of my mind. Yet, even though I was at the game I could not hear Jim’s call completely because it was the loudest, most exhilarating ending to any game I have ever witnessed at Jordan-Hare. I thought the end zone was going to collapse under the weight of the fans jumping up and down.

It was only after I listened to the tape later that I heard all of what Jim had said. And to this day, I remember everything about that moment when I hear a replay of his words.

At the game, in the car, or at home, Jim was Auburn football. It just doesn’t seem like 10 years since he left us.

—————-

Feel free to share your memory of a great Jim Fyffe moment in the comments.

Posted in Baseball, Basketball, Football, News | 9 Comments »

Time is Running Out for Tigers

By Posted on: May 15th, 2013 in Baseball 1 Comment »
513ab60cc8fef.image- Jordan Ebert

Last week the Auburn Baseball team had a great week going 4-1 including consecutive SEC series wins over No.18 Ole Miss and No.19 Florida.

On Tuesday of that week, Auburn was trailing Jacksonville State 8-0 in the top of the 8th. Then the Tigers mounted a furious rally (with their biggest scoring inning in 13 years) to come from behind and beat the Gamecocks 12-8 giving Coach John Pawlowski his 500th career victory.

The Florida wins  moved Auburn to a half a game out of ninth place in the SEC and secured the Tigers fourth straight SEC Tournament appearance. To be sure, it was a big week for Auburn Baseball. The Tigers finally looked like the team representative of the talent on the roster.

As big a week as it was … this, the final week may be even bigger. Although Auburn secured their spot in the conference tournament, the goal as it is every year, is to at a minimum – play in an NCAA Regional.

The Tigers are one of three SEC Teams that are most likely on the bubble for making a regional (the other two being Bama and Kentucky). They hurt those chances last night when they lost a home game to Jacksonville State.

Auburn has come from behind 20 times this season including last week’s barn burner at JSU. But this time it couldn’t find a way to make it happen, losing to the Gamecocks 6-1 and damaging their case for making the NCAA post season.

The previous week’s record improved the Tigers RPI (Ratings Percentage Index) from 56 to 28. Twenty eight is a strong RPI and that’s what’s needed for a bubble team to get serious consideration from the NCAA selection committee. The Jax State loss will certainly hurt that rating.

Auburn’s pitching staff  has performed well enough this year with a staff ERA of 3.37. While the offense had been in a slump, the bats really came alive last week, especially with clutch hitting. Of the 15 runs Auburn scored at Florida, 12 of them came with two outs. And the 31 wins for the season already equal what the team finished with in 2012. However,  what matters the most to the selection committee are wins and RPI.

Auburn plays their final series Thursday through Saturday against Arkansas. The Tigers have got to win at least two games to strengthen their position for the post season.

Last year Auburn missed the NCAA due to a low RPI. So this final series is critical both for seeding in the SEC Tournament and for keeping their hopes alive for their first Regional since 2010.

With three games left against the No.11 Razorbacks, time is running out for the Tigers, it’s now or never.

Go Tigers, Beat dem Hogs!

Posted in Baseball | 1 Comment »

“What Comes Next Sits Squarely on My Shoulders.”

By Posted on: May 14th, 2013 in Baseball, Basketball, Football, News, Other Sports 12 Comments »
jacobs-sideburns21

Auburn A.D. Jay Jacobs says he has a plan … a plan to improve the athletics department including how to turnaround the lack of winning in the big three major sports.

Speaking before the Auburn Chamber of Commerce today, Jacobs said that University President Jay Gogue has made it clear that he has high expectations for the athletic department. And he told the business  leaders, “I intend to meet them.”

After meeting with Dr. Gogue , Jacobs said, he is aware that, “What comes next sits squarely on my shoulders.” 

“We have much work to do, but I’m convinced that our best days are not behind us … I will continue to defend Auburn, and I will continue to push us to get better every day.” 

Without giving any details, he said he has a plan for improving the overall operations, enhancing the game day experience, improving facilities, and improving “how we interact and communicate with fans and alumni.”

Part of his plan is to act on future recommendations of the consulting firm ,JMI Sports, which was hired by the Universirty to complete a year long intensive evaluation of Auburn athletics.

He was vague about how he expects to turnaround the poor performance of Auburn’s major sports other than pointing out the enthusiasm surrounding the football program since the return of Gus Malzahn.

He said Tony Barbee must win in basketball but pointed out it took former coaches Sonny Smith and Cliff Ellis 5-7 years to make the NCAA Tournament.

To be fair, facilities have improved tremendously under his watch, more student athletes are achieving at a higher level, and there hasn’t been a major NCAA violation in over 20 years.

However, as important as all those things are, and they are very important, winning at a tradition rich place like Auburn has to improve and improve significantly.

Saying he knows that the football and basketball teams were a disappointment this year, he added, “I want to be clear that regardless of how well we are performing across our other goals, I know how important winning is to our fans.”

Sounds like this whole process has made Jacobs aware that it’s not just coaches who may be on the hot seat but the Athletic Director as well. I believe all Auburn people want to see things improve on the Plains but if that doesn’t happen … then it’s like Jay said today, “What comes next sits squarely on (his) shoulders.”

Posted in Baseball, Basketball, Football, News, Other Sports | 12 Comments »

To See Where You are Going, You Have to Know Where You Have Been

By Posted on: May 14th, 2013 in Featured Article, Football 8 Comments »
Heisman

This is the first installment of a regular Tuesday post for me. I want to thank the editors of TET for giving me the chance to hopefully take everyone back into the history of AU. Since I am pretty sure I am the oldest on the staff I have seen some of the things I will write about happen first hand, I just have to remember them. That gets harder with each passing year.

Now, let’s get on with it. Since we have three Heisman statues sitting at AU, I decided that I would start with one of Auburns former coaches, John Heisman. AU is the only school at which he coached that can say they have the trophy bearing his name.

Heisman coached at Auburn from 1895 to 1899 (I know what you are thinking, NO I was not around then), with a record of 12-4-2 and coached the Tigers to their first home win against Georgia Tech. He had a law degree from Pennsylvania and after leaving AU, coached at Clemson (where he took the AU colors and mascot) and Georgia Tech among others. His overall coaching record was 185-68-18…. pretty darn good.

Other later AU coaches were regarded as innovators and gamblers, ie. Gus and Tommy, but Heisman was the first of the forward thinking coaches. In his first AU game he called a “hidden ball trick” which was later banned. The AU quarterback, Reynolds Tichenor, hid the ball underneath his shirt and while the opponent, Vanderbilt, tried to bust up the play he bent over away from the action to tie his shoe. He was totally ignored and waltzed into the end zone for an easy touchdown.

In those days there was no such thing as a dedicated coaching job. They also taught classes and Heisman was an oratory professor. That talent served him well, because he was always getting into it with officials. Rules and officiating were pretty poor then and seemed to be a “make it up as you go along thing. “

During his last year at AU, officials called a game because of darkness, even though the sun had not set. AU was leading Georgia at the time 11-6 but the officials ruled the game a 0-0 tie. Heisman was infuriated and appealed the decision to the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association. The decision was overruled and the 11-6 win was reinstated.

Heisman was also the pioneer of the forward pass. When scouting a game he watched a desperate punter fling the ball over the line to a teammate who ran for a touchdown.  He wrote, “violent scrums based around bruising running plays were “killing the game as well as the players” He said the forward pass would, “Scatter the mob”

His gift of gab also gave birth to some quotes that were locker room jewels. On tackling…”Thrust your projections into their cavities, grasping them about the knees and depriving them of their means of propulsion. They must come to earth, locomotion being denied.” Seems that would work pretty well today. 

On maintaining possession…”A football is a prolate spheroid, an elongated sphere in which the outer leather casing is drawn up tightly over a somewhat smaller rubber tubing. Better to have died as a small boy than to have fumbled this football.” Pretty much sums it up, doesn’t it.

On the job of a head coach…”A coach should be masterful and commanding, even dictatorial. He has no time to say ‘please’ or ‘mister’. At times he must be severe, arbitrary, and a little short of a czar.” Can you think of a few coaches that description fits?

I intend to close each of my posts with, “Stop me if you’ve heard this one” Classic Auburn-Alabama jokes, some of which will be funny, some not, and I hope to elicit several chuckles, LOL’s, and a bunch of groans.

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The Report Is In – Gogue Expects Jay Jacobs to Make Necessary Improvements

By Posted on: May 13th, 2013 in Baseball, Basketball, Football, News, Other Sports 8 Comments »

gogue2- jay GogueThe much awaited report of the committee on Auburn Athletics has given their report to University President Jay Gogue.

Dr Gogue had charged the committee to take a look at five criteria for evaluating the athletic department: (1) academic and support services for student-athletes, (2) financial management, (3)customer service, (4) competition, including winning, sportsmanship and compliance, and (5) management structure.

In an open letter to the Auburn Family, Dr Gogue voiced support for Jacobs and the Athletic department while at the same time saying he expects “improvement in the overall operations,” and the upgrading of, “how we interact and communicate with fans and alumni, and enhance the game-day experience, on and off the field.”

There has been increased interest this year in the President’s evaluation of Jacobs and the Athletic Department due to the most dismal two years of Auburn sports in recent memory.

While new Auburn Women’s Basketball Coach Terri Williams-Flournoy took her team to the WNIT and the Equestrian team won another National Championship , the major sports have not had a good year. In addition, since Auburn won the BCS Championship two years ago, the big three major sports have struggled.

The basketball team has been terrible, football  had it’s worst season in 60 years and the baseball team has not made an NCAA Baseball Tournament since winning the West in 2010. Barring Pawlowski’s Tigers winning the SEC Tournament (an extreme longshot), Auburn will finish the year without winning a conference or division championship for the first time in 20 years.

The alumni and fans have been waiting to see if Dr Gogue takes any action. In his public response to the committee’s report he said:

“There’s much to celebrate about Auburn Athletics, but there’s also room for substantial improvement. I look forward to Jay providing the leadership needed to make the necessary improvements.”

Everyone agrees there is plenty of “room for substantial improvement” and Gogue says that, Jacobs will “talk more about what’s in store.”  He is scheduled to speak to the Auburn Chamber of Commerce Tuesday morning. Wonder if we will hear what he plans to do to make those “necessary improvements”

Readers can view Dr Gogue’s open letter after the jump:

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Posted in Baseball, Basketball, Football, News, Other Sports | 8 Comments »

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