In case you haven't heard, UT has "canceled" the Tiger Walk for Saturday. Apparently, it's a safety issue for the fans. I say NO! I'll bet Coach Chizik and the team see this for what it really is: IMPOSTOR!Kiffykins has played his mind games before, as I'm sure you all remember, against Florida ("...singing Rocky Top all night long..." blablabla, LOSS). Of course, Hello Kiffin explained it all away after the game saying it was to take the pressure off the team. Maybe it did. But the bottom line is that the Auburn football team is not susceptible to such ploys. Chris Todd will simply fire a few mind bullets in the direction of Kiffin and all will be well, so I'm not worried about any effect on the team.
But for me, the fan, it gets me mad. Scenario: School A invents tradition. School B rips off tradition. School B doesn't allow School A to continue tradition, but proceeds with it themselves.
" "In 2004 when the Tigers played here, we had approximately 5,000 fans show up with the band and the cheerleaders, which was a great atmosphere, but a huge safety issue for the student-athletes, band and cheerleaders and fans because of the tight space," said a Tennessee spokesperson."
Sounds to me like someones a little jealous that even though it's an away game, 5,000 showed up to show Tennessee how to walk the Walk.
So I'm going to be there on Saturday to support the team. Word on the skreet--that's how the hip kids say it, skreet--is that the Tiger Walk is ON for around 5:00 on Saturday! (I'll post any updates I hear on that here.) So be there to show the team that we're behind them, whether Tennessee likes it, or not!
Somewhere in the world, a lesser fan, sitting on his couch waiting for the last games of the day to get started said to himself, "well that rainstorm down in Auburn will just kill the atmosphere of that game. I'll bet this will really play into West Virginia's hands and take the crowd out of the game." But somewhere in section 25--and 26, and 27, and all the way back to section 18--15,000 Auburn students showed how much they really do believe in Auburn. It started with just a few drops, but our spirits never dampened. And when the bottom really dropped out, that only fueled the party. It seemed like it would never stop, but no one left. And the harder it rained, the louder that student section got.
Meanwhile, 72,000 older, and more sane Auburn fans, rode the storm out in the jammed but dry concourses under the stadium. Some had four or even six hour drives to make after the game ended, but they toughed it out.
And when the team finally took the field, imagine how they felt when they looked up and saw all 87,451, still there, still loud, still pulling for their Tigers. Coach Chizik knows what that meant to the team and said he wished there were 87,000 game balls to hand out.
That was absolutely the most fun I've had as a student since the 2006 Florida game. When the game finally got underway, it was every bit as dramatic as the pregame. When the Auburn D came out flat in the first quarter, we were stunned and worried. Is this what we waited an hour in a hurricane for? Surely this team wasn't going to lay down and give up like last years team. Of course they won't! So we stuck around a little longer, and Chizik, Malzahn, and the boys in navy blue and burnt orange gave us a better reason to believe than they'd given us the two weeks before--or all offseason--that this was a different Auburn team from last year. They showed toughness. They did not say, "here we go again" and accept defeat. And for three and a half quarters, they fought back.
It wasn't always pretty. Noel Devine, Jarrett Brown and an excellent Mountaineer gameplan picked out our weaknesses, exploited them, and hit us in the mouth early. And they continued to land blows until the third quarter. But the team didn't back down. Eventually, the pressure on Brown forced him into mistakes. And Auburn capitalized.
The West F Virginia defense also played a great game, taking away Malzahn's/Auburn's beloved running game. How did the Tigers respond? Instead of doing what last year's staff called "sticking to the gameplan", Auburn took what the defense gave us, and put it in the air. WFVU dared us to beat them through the air, and in several pressure filled drives where everyone was saying "this drive is critical" Todd and the Tigers delivered.
In the end, we got beat in the X's and O's department. We were out-gained by 100 yards. But when it counted, Auburn made their own luck, and showed guts, toughness, and resolve. And that's a bigger reason to believe in this Auburn team than any other.
So bring on the rain! It may not turn out as a win every time, but I know that Auburn is going to stick it out and leave it all in the stadium on gameday; in the stands AND on the field, and that makes me damn proud to be an Auburn Tiger.
Ladies and gentlemen, the class of the college football world:
Ok, maybe that's not fair. One guy in a WFV t-shirt with a mullett doesn't represent the fanbase. He probably had that specially made for him one night when he was drunk.
Oh, well you know, perhaps that wasn't fair either. Every fanbase has a few crazies, right? I'm sure these guys are just the exception to the rule.
Hmm, I suppose everyone gets a little crazy on game weekend, when they get a little Milwaukee's Best in them, don't they? Sure they do! I'm sure West Virginian's aren't like that all the time.
Well come on! There's not even any evidence that any of these people are even West Virginia fans. I've never even been to West Virginia. I must just be a little bitter about last year's unfortunate football game where West Virginia team beat a divided, demoralized, hopeless Auburn football team with a stagnant offense and a fading defense last year.
And so, tonight I once again find myself amongst the sunshine pumpers. Perhaps its just because of what we've gotten used to seeing over the past couple of years that has me spewing hope and happiness and rainbows and unicorns, but dangit I feel better about this year. 556 yards of offense can do that to a fan of a team that hasn't seen a really competent offense since 2005. On Saturday, Auburn showed that competency with a balanced offensive attack and a dominating defense.
Offense: A renewed Chris Todd captained an Auburn offense that was fun to watch. The buzz has been about Todd connecting with Terrell Zachary for the longest play in Auburn history. That's a testament to great play-calling by Arthur Gustav Malzahn III more than it is about Todd's improvement from last year to this. If you want to see the proof that Todd is becoming the same quarterback that he was always supposed to be, look no further than his 17 yard touchdown pass to Darvin Adams at the back pylon. Old Chris Todd would've floated that up for a pick. New Chris Todd dropped that pass in where no one in the stadium but Darvin could have caught it. A young receiving corp showed why Trooper has been raving for the past month. I'm excited about our passing game. As for the running game:
What can you say about Onterio McCalebb? A huge game for him that could be a testament of great things to come. I doubt he will have the same numbers against SEC caliber defensive speed, but I'm excited nonetheless to see what he can do. I think it will be a lot. Combine his "lightning" with Ben Tate's "thunder" and Auburn can have a very effective running game this season.*
There is certainly room for improvement for the offense, especially in the way of turnovers, but I expect those things to work out (or for the coaches to work it out of them) in the next week or so.
Defense: La. Tech never really was able to move the ball on the Auburn defense all night. The only touchdown drive was due to two long penalties that CGC attributed to effort. If these penalties aren't called, and the offense doesn't turn the ball over, the final could easily have been 51-6. But if ifs and buts were candy and nuts, I'd have one heck of a stomachache at the moment.
As it was, the defense played very well, especially considering the depth issues on that side of the ball. Eltoro Freeman and Nosa Eguae were both held out due to injury. Freshman Daren Bates and Sophomore Nick Fairley had huge games and showed why they earned starting jobs. And although the inexperience was exposed once or twice, the overall performance of the defense was great. Expect big things from them this year.
Wildcat: "Kodi Burns is an Auburn man." You heard it, and now you've seen the proof. Kodi stepped up and showed great maturity when he was moved to WR this summer. He made sure that his number one priority was the unity of the team, and doing everything he could to help Auburn win games. How did the coaching staff reward him? With nothing less than a significant role in the offense and the first touchdown of the season. Recruits, take note: if Gene Chizik says you will help the Tigers win, you will help the Tigers win. 10 points to Chizik and 10 points to Kodi. I got the feeling that the Wildtiger/eagle/plainsman was relatively vanilla on Saturday, so look out whenever it goes into overdrive.
La. Tech: The only thing I have to say about La. Tech is a quick comment on their fanbase. On the way to the game I was accosted by several La. Tech fans. I was a little stunned by this, so I just ignored them really. I've seen Auburn play many a game against La. Tech and have always found them to be a classy bunch of people. They enjoy the game, cheer hard, and will shake your hand after the game. This is not an indictment on La. Tech as a whole, but really just this one group of douche bags. So -10 points to douche bags, and 10 points to La. Tech fanbase that it's taken me this long to find any. Usually you find one on your first meeting with a team.
Overall: Look out. This Auburn team was NOT clicking on all cylinders on Saturday (see busted routes/turnovers/ penalties). It was NOT healthy (see Freeman/Eguae). Yet it still took care of business in a convincing fashion. Sure, not every team we play is a WAC team, but when things start clicking at 100%, this team is going to be pretty darn good. I can't wait till Saturday!
WAR DAMN EAGLE!!
*On a recruiting note, and as far as the McCalebbs are concerned, word on the skreet was that Onterio's younger brother attended Saturday's game, and that he is even faster than Onterio. Awesome.
I just heard today that Trooper Taylor will be speaking at the pep rally on Friday night at Toomer's Corner. This calls for a CELEBRATORY CHEST BUMP!!!
PEP-RALLY!!
(Just imagine a less vomity colored orange)
I usually don't attend the pep-rallies, but I think this week I'm going to have to make an exception. I'd like to get a little taste of what the players get on a weekly basis. I would advise everyone in town to check it out. It starts around 6:00.
Hmm, I suppose everyone gets a little crazy on game weekend, when they get a little Milwaukee's Best in them, don't they? Sure they do! I'm sure West Virginian's aren't like that all the time.
