The name "River Boat Gambler" was given to Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville while at Ole Miss because of the chances he took with trick plays. He may have finally met his match. While Auburn's defense will still line up with a four man front and three linebackers, look for the Tiger defense to be much more aggressive than one year ago.
Washington State coaches have been getting ready for Auburn on the field all summer. But for Cougar athletic department officials it has been all about getting them to Auburn. That odyssey starts Friday morning when Washington State embarks on a five hour flight from Pullman, Washington to Montgomery.
To get you prepared for Saturday night's kickoff with Washington State, here are some interesting facts to get you ready... 
What a difference a year makes. Last year at this time all the talk at Auburn was about whether quarterback Brandon Cox could fill the shoes of departed SEC Player of the Year, Jason Campbell. On opening night, Cox showed his potential along with his inexperience as he threw for 342 yards, two touchdowns and four interceptions in a loss to Georgia Tech.
After taking Monday off, Auburn practiced for just under two hours Tuesday, as they begin putting finishing touches on their game plan for Saturday night's contest with Washington State . Auburn kicks off at 6:45 CST from Pat Dye Field and the game will be televised by ESPN 2 and ESPN 2HD.
Auburn's schedule has been scrutinized by every college football prognosticator in the land. They all point to LSU, Florida and Georgia as the key games in the Tigers run toward a national championship. A game that continues to be overlooked is the one Saturday night at Pat Dye Field.
There will be no preseason warm-ups for Auburn cornerbacks David Irons and Jonathan Wilhite. The two will be tested early Saturday night when Washington State visits Jordan-Hare Stadium. While only winning four games a year ago, the Cougars are no push-overs when it comes to throwing the football.
College football on a Saturday night in Auburn, Alabama, is a special experience. I've had the good fortune to attend games at many of the great venues in the SEC and have witnessed the pageantry of many other games outside the conference. But Auburn University has a tradition unique to any other.
If Auburn ends up playing in the desert on January 8th it will probably have Will Herring to thank. New defensive coordinator Will Muschamp is rolling the dice in hopes that Herring will be as effective as a linebacker as he was in the role of safety for the past three seasons.There are risks in moving a known commodity to a new position.
Expectations. If you've been following Auburn in the papers or online during the summer you know that's something that has concerned coaches and fans alike. Tiger coach Tommy Tuberville has gone out of his way to well, poor mouth.
Auburn quietly moved most of its freshman class to the scout team this past week. As expected, highly regarded signees Neil Caudle, Lee Tilley, Michael Goggans, Terrell Zachery and Steven Ensminger all make the move over to the dark side. More than likely, they'll stay there this year barring any injuries to the Tiger starters. Coach Tommy Tuberville would love to give redshirts to each of these players.Email us at footballsaturday@yahoo.com
Auburn radio play-by-play man, Rod Bramlet still screams Touchdown Auburn! after every Tiger score. But it's not the same. Legendary announcer Jim Fyffe has been gone from us three years now and it still hurts.
A lot of the reason
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These are exciting times here at Football Saturday In the South. Today, we officially become part of the AOL Sports Network. We have been contracted by the mammoth web site to provide content on Auburn football throughout the season.
In recent days, Kenny and David Irons have gotten media exposure that few brothers from Dacula, Georgia ever see. Heck, let's face it, they've gotten coverage that hardly anyone sees. Yesterday, USA Today did a feature length spread on the two. Today it's ESPN.com. The Tigers feature tailback and defensive back are living large these days...
Courtney Walker will forever be etched into Auburn football lore. No one will ever forget that winning catch in the end-zone against LSU in 2004. Walker? That's right. In the link below from Lindy Sports, Courtney Taylor tells the story of how his last name really should be Walker.
Here's a great story on former Auburn quarterback Patrick Nix. It's good to see him getting a bigger role in the Georgia Tech offense this year. While he's had the title of offensive coordinator, this is the first season where he's actually calling the plays. Head Coach Chan Gailey has kept that responsibility in the past.
Here's one of the most uplifting stories I've ever read or watched. Perhaps you read this column by Sports Illustrated's Rick Reilly back in May. It's the story of a father and son and it will forever change your outlook on life. Someone forwarded it to me today and I haven't stopped thinking about it. I thought I would share it with you.
In case you missed it in yesterday's USA Today, there was a nice profile on Kenny and David Irons. Both of them have already made preseason All-American teams and are in line to make college football history.
It's got to be in the back of Tommy Tuberville's mind. Having lost three of the last four home openers, It's obvious that he wants the team to be more physical at the beginning of the season. Besides the 2004 opening season win over Louisiana-Monroe, Auburn has struggled in their openers against named opponents.
Bill Oliver has resurfaced again, this time in a Sunday Birmingham News feature story. The thought of Oliver still sends cold chills down my spine. For me, the 1998 season still stands as the worst in my 37 years of life.
One of the biggest concerns facing Auburn this season is at the wide receiver position. Courtney Taylor is expected to lead a group that is thin on experience but huge on potential. That can be dangerous.
This past week a number of publications and other media outlets released their preseason polls. It seems that the closer we get to kickoff, the higher Auburn is ranked. What does this all mean? As coach Tuberville says, "It doesn't amount to a hill of beans."
Juco transfer Greg Smith participated in his first practice Thursday. Coach Tuberville says the defensive tackle will work out in shorts for the first three days. Judging by the pictures posted today on ITAT, Smith is very overweight. No, he's just plain fat. He says he's been running a mile each day. I find that highly unlikely. Still, Tuberville expects big things from him. Many compare him to T.J. Jackson. Let's hope he can work himself into shape by the LSU game...
We are working on a much needed face lift to Football Saturday In The South. I hope you like the new look. We plan to have everything moved over from the old site in the next few days.
As I was watching SportsCenter tonight and following the antics of Terrell Owens I wondered to myself how anyone could love the NFL over college football. I do take an interest in following the Auburn alumni (Carnell, Ronnie, Jason, Carlos, etc.) but beyond that who really cares.
As we move closer to the September 2nd kickoff with Washington State, it's time to take a closer look at the Cougars. I think everyone realizes now that this game is not a lay down. Everyone remembers last year's home opener against Georgia Tech.
In the link below Randy Kennedy of the Mobile Register makes a solid argument that Auburn is in the midst of its glory days now. This picks up from our post yesterday and takes the argument one step forward. He makes some good points...
By Jay Coulter
Lost in the Sociology circus taking place at Auburn is a great story. Preseason All-American David Irons graduated on Monday - in Sociology. Before you snicker, listen to the whole story. Irons has a pretty severe learning disability. Because of this, he's struggled his whole life in school. He's had to work harder than most to graduate.
Nobody looks more forward to the preseason publications than me. The feeling I have when I see that first Athlon's or Lindy's at Barnes and Nobles is similar to opening that first present at Christmas. It means that football is almost here or at least within three months anyway.
Phillip Marshall writes a nice piece in the Huntsville Times about how Fall practice has evolved over the years (And by the way, why do we refer to practice in August as Fall practice?). Anyway, Marshall writes about Pat Dye's early years on the Plains and how brutal preseason practice was at the time.
What do the words Jefferson-Pilot mean to you? Do they conjure up thoughts of taking your first drink at 6:30 in the morning so you'll be drunk by noon? Or do they remind you of getting up at 4:30 in the morning to make kickoff in Auburn at 11:30? Or maybe it reminds you of Dave Rowe, the worst color analysis in the history of college football.
New Mexico State joined South Florida on Tuesday as another quality opponent on Auburn's 2007 schedule. The Aggies (are you impressed I knew their mascot?) are being paid close to $800,000 to take the ceremonial ass whipping in Jordan-Hare Stadium.
I always wince when I read a pre-season publication that has Auburn ranked in the top 5. Let's face it, we don't handle these lofty expectations very well. I still have nightmares over what happened 20 years ago in Knoxville when Auburn went into the game with Tennessee ranked number one in the land. After going through three quarterbacks in four quarters, our season was essentially over.
By Jay Coulter
Auburn held their fourth practice yesterday and Tiger coach Tommy Tuberville gave the session mixed reviews. “We had a good team practice today,” he said. “We had a lot of mistakes, but that is going to happen. We are looking forward to tomorrow (Sunday) to get a little more contact and physical stature to the practice.”
As expected, Auburn is the highest rated SEC team in the pre-season USA Today Coaches Poll released today. The Tigers come in ranked number 6. What does this mean? Absolutely nothing. I think we all learned that lesson in 2003.
We've been saying here at all along. Alabama can no longer legitimately claim to be in the same league with Auburn. Whether it be athletics, academics or overall student enrollment, Auburn has become the dominant university in the state of Alabama.
