The first game of the season was against mighty Arkansas State. We were lucky to see this game on TV. The game was carried on ESPN Gameplan, a package we order well in advance. Unfortunately, our local cable carrier was having issues getting their distribution software working properly. Fortunately, I managed to work things out, but not without spending about half hour on the phone arguing. Not a good omen to start the season. It wasn't a close game, and the team won, 52-26. We were off and running.
The second game of the season was in Starkville against the Bulldawgs of Mississippi State. We were there, and the game started off great. Auburn scored on their opening drive, and looked impressive. Then, things stalled, and the game became a battle. MSU pulled an onsides kick to start the second half, and we were worried. Late in the fourth quarter, Auburn was up 17-14. The Bulldawgs were driving. They had what appeared to be a nice completion down to Auburn's 10-yard line. Ashley and I were disheartened--we were hoping for overtime. However, this easy catch was inexplicably dropped by the Bulldawg receiver. It must have hit his hands too hard or something. After that, the Bulldawg drive stalled on Auburn's 40, and the game was won. We certainly didn't feel like a potential BCS title contender, since Mississippi State wasn't considered to be a strong opponent at this point in the season. They did finish 8-4 and are in a New Year's Day bowl game, but back in September, we thought they were the same crappy team from last year. Needless to say, we were happy to be 2-0, but worried.
Week 3 started horribly against Clemson. ESPN Gameday was at the campus, and the game was on national TV in prime time. Before we could blink, Auburn was down 17-0, and their defense was showing more faults than California. They couldn't stop the pass, and we thought we were in for a blowout. But they kicked a field goal to end the first half, and in the third quarter, scored three times. Cam Newton was starting to work a little magic. Clemson tied things up in the fourth quarter to force overtime. Auburn got the ball first, but couldn't score a TD and settled for a field goal. Clemson quickly drove the ball inside Auburn's 10-yard line and looked like they would easily score. Auburn's defense was then given a gift. Clemson's QB rolled to the right and had a receiver wide open in the end zone. Fortunately, he threw a bad ball and the pass was incomplete. Clemson kicked a field goal...or so they thought. Their kicker was called for a false start and they had to rekick. He missed. Game over, Auburn wins 27-24. We're 3-0, but not happy. Our offense looks decent at times, but the defense is awful.
Week 4 brought the old ball coach to Auburn. Like week 3, South Carolina jumped on Auburn 14-0. Auburn fought back, was down 20-14 at halftime, blocking an extra point attempt after an SC touchdown. They were down 27-21 in the fourth quarter, and then their defense came alive, forcing four Gamecock turnovers. Auburn scored two TDs and was up 35-27. SC drove the length of the field, but had an interception in the Auburn endzone with about 30 seconds to play. Auburn is 4-0, and Cam Newton is getting some national attention, while the defense needs an extreme makeover a la Ty Pennington.
Week 5 was against Louisiana Monroe. Auburn won 52-3. Not much of a game, but not much of an opponent.
Week 6 brought a second road test against Kentucky. Auburn surprised us all and jumped out to a big lead, up 31-14. We were thinking it was going to be a route. Unfortunately, their defense faltered in the second half, and with 7:31 seconds to go in the fourth quarter, Kentucky kicked a field goal to tie the score 34-34. Then, Cam Newton took over, and led them on a 19-play drive down to Kentucky's two yard line that resulted in a field goal on the last play of the game. He converted a bunch of third downs and kept the clock moving. Another close game, another Auburn win, and another heart attack for Jeff and Ashley.
Week 7 brought a major test against the Arkansas Razorbacks. The Hogs boasted a great QB named Ryan Mallet. Auburn knocked him out of the game in the first quarter, so we thought we were in the clear. No such luck. We could not stop their freshman backup, who torched the secondary for 330+ yards and four TDs. Fortunately, the Auburn offense was on fire and kept pace with Arkansas. Early in the fourth quarter, Arkansas scored to go up 43-37. Auburn then scored 28 unanswered points. The defense forced turnovers on three straight Arkansas possessions, sealing the victory with the lopsided score of 65-43, but it was closer than the score shows. 7-0, ranked #4 in the nation and Cam Newton is a Heisman front-runner.
Week 8 brought the undefeated LSU Tigers to the Jordan Hare stadium. This was a battle because LSU's defense was very good and matched up well with Auburn's offense. Additionally, LSU's offense was just as bad as Auburn's defense. The scored was tied 10-10 at halftime, 17-17 with five minutes to go in the fourth quarter. That's when Onterrio McCalebb broke a 70-yard touchdown run. Auburn's defense sealed the deal with a final stop. Final score 24-17, Auburn is 8-0, and has the inside track to the SEC West Division Title.
Weeks 9 and 10 were relatively calm. First up was Ole Miss. I was worried Auburn would have a let down after the big game the previous week. No problems. Auburn was up 34-17 at halftime, scored another ten points in the third quarter, and won 51-31. The defense was still a sore spot, giving up too many points to a sub-par team. Week 10 was against Tennessee Chattanooga. Auburn won 62-24.
Week 11 was the south's oldest rivalry. Auburn vs Georgia has been played 114 times. Georgia came into the game with a red-hot freshman QB and an NFL caliber receiver. This proved to be troublesome for Auburn, who quickly went down 14-0 and but fought back and tied the game 21-21 at halftime. Auburn then grabbed some momentum by recovering an onsides kick to start the second half, a trick they undoubtedly learned from the Mississippi State game. The teams swapped touchdowns, but then Auburn showed why they'll ranked number two, running off 14 unanswered points, winning 49-31. Eleven games, eleven wins, with the Iron Bowl up next.
Week 12 was a trip to Bryant-Denny stadium. Alabama came into the season as the defending national champs and were the preseason favorite to win it all again. However, they didn't live up to expectations, losing two SEC conference games. Their season could be salvaged by spoiling Auburn's national title hopes. The Crimson Tide were a 4-point favorite, and most national radio talk shows were picking them to win. The game started poorly for Auburn, who was quickly down 21-0 at the end of the first quarter. In the second quarter, Mark Ingram broke away on a long run, getting the ball down to Auburn's 10-yard line. Bama surely would have scored to go up 28-0. However, as Ingram was being tackled, an Auburn defender punched the ball out. Ingram fumbled and the ball went out the back of the endzone. No points for the Tide. Auburn scored a TD, but found themselves down 24-7 with a minute to go in the second quarter. Alabama was inside Auburn's 10 again and would surely score. I was so disheartened that I went outside and started working in the yard. Imagine my surprise when Ashley comes running out and says Nick Fairly sacked the QB, and forced and recovered a fumble. Amazing. Not only that, on the proceeding play, Bama had a sure touchdown pass dropped by their receiver. Going into halftime, Auburn was only down 24-7, but it could easily have been 38-7. A different team came out of the locker room to open the third quarter. On the second play of the half, Cam Newton completed a 70-yard TD pass. 24-14. The defense then stopped Bama on successive possessions, and Auburn scored again to make it 24-21. Then came the moment I thought all was lost. Auburn's defense stopped Bama again, forcing a punt. Auburn would get the ball back with a chance to take the lead, but they fumbled the punt! Bama ball, deep in Auburn territory. Fortunately, this team never says die. They held Bama to a field goal. With about five minutes to go in the fourth quarter, Auburn is down 27-21. It's fourth and two around the fifty. Auburn goes for it, and gets it on a beautiful pass by Newton. Steadily, Auburn marches downfield and scores the go-ahead TD. The defense holds, and Auburn wins 28-27 in the most remarkable comeback in Auburn history. 12-0 and on to the SEC Championship.
Week 13 was in Atlanta. Much like week 2, Ashley and I were at the game. We drove down on Friday. Listening to the radio, you would have thought South Carolina was the undefeated number 1 team in the nation because most pundits thought South Carolina would win, saying Spurrier was such a great big-game coach, and pointing out that turnovers killed SC in the first meeting. Auburn was having none of this talk. They jumped to a 21-7 lead in the first quarter. They then stalled a bit, and seemed to give the Gamecocks some life. SC scored with 0:16 left in the first half to pull within 21-14. We were a bit worried because SC would get the kickoff to start the second half--could those pundits have been right? Of course not. Teams of destiny cannot be denied. Auburn completed a quick pass to the 50 yard line. They then threw a Hail-Mary to the end-zone, which was tipped and then caught by Darvin Adams. An amazing play, an eruption from the Auburn fans in the Georgia Dome, and a big sigh of disappointment from South Carolina. At that point, we knew we were going to win. SC couldn't score on their first possession of the second half, and the route was on. Auburn wins the SEC Title game 56-17. They are #1 in the BCS, Cam will likely win the Heisman, and all that stands in the way between Auburn and a BCS Title are a couple of ducks :-)
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