College Football Preview: Auburn As Gator Bait?
by Paul Rockne
For the second weekend in a row, the SEC spotlight will be shining on the undefeated Florida Gators (6-0, 4-0 in SEC), ranked No. 2 in the land after their win over LSU last Saturday. The “gator bait” this Saturday (6:45 p.m. on ESPN) will be provided courtesy of the Auburn Tigers (5-1, 3-1).
It should be interesting with both team ranked in the Top 25 – Florida taking over the No. 2 spot vacated by Auburn when it was upset by Arkansas last week. The Tigers fell to No. 11. The Gators will be wanting to prove they deserve their new lofty ranking and to stay in the hunt for the national championship. Auburn will be desperate to keep from dropping even lower on the college football ladder and knowing an upset win would increase its stock several fold.
Auburn’s run defense was decimated by Arkansas last week and the Gators had to have been paying attention. This could mean those watching will see more of freshman quarterback Tim Tebow. Senior QB Chris Leak is the starter and acknowledged leader on the Florida squad, but Tebow has proven to be a potent weapon running the ball. When it is a third – or fourth – and short situation, the Gators bring in Tebow to run for the first down. And he always comes through. For the season, Tebow is just 10-for-14 passing for a meger 152 yards – Leak is 101-for-156 for 1,395 yards and 14 touchdowns. On the ground however, Tebow has run 41 times for 228 yards and three touchdowns.
Auburn’s home record against the Gators is 24-8-1 and the Tigers have won eight of the past nine meetings. But Florida will be out for revenge for the last defeat on the Plains. In 2001, homestanding Auburn upset then ranked No. 1 Florida 23-20.
Another trend seemingly in Auburn’s favor – the last time Florida was No. 2, also in 2001, in the AP poll, it lost its next game to Tennessee.
The Alabama-Ole Miss matchup in Tuscaloosa is another game that will be watched closely. The Tide will be wanting to up its overall mark to 5-2 and improve its league record to 2-2.
With Ken Darby having his first 100-yard game of the season last week in the win over Duke, Bama is hoping the running game will get back on track. If not, things are not lost however. The Tide receiving duo of DJ Hall and Keith Brown are ringing up big number and the passing attack has been what has moved the ball for the Tide so far this year. Bama averages 231 yards per game through the air and just 136 on the ground so far this year.
Ole Miss (4-2, 1-2) Coach Ed Orgeron, whose background is on the defensive side, believes his defense has the measure of the Tide offense and expects to stop the Bama running game cold. He has predicted a game like last year’s 13-10 defensive battle. If so, look for Bama QB John Parker Wilson to make the difference.
Other league games on tap this week include Vanderbilt (2-4, 0-3) at No. 16 Georgia, Arkansas (4-1) hosting SE Missouri State, Mississippi State (1-5) hosting Jacksonville (Alabama) State, and Kentucky (3-3, 1-2) at LSU (4-2, 1-2).
This week’s college football TV schedule kicks off tonight, Friday, with Pittsburga at Central Florida at 7 p.m. on ESPN2). Saturday’s weekend TV lineup, other than pay-for-view is as follows:
Purdue at Northwestern, 11 a.m. (CSS)
Minnesota at Wisconsen, 11 a.m. (ESPN)
Iowa at Indiana, 11 a.m. (ESPN2)
South Florida at North Carolina, 11:00 a.m. (ESPNU)
Vanderbilt at Georgia, 11:30 a.m. (UPN)
Iowa State at Oklahoma, 11:30 p.m. (FSS)
Missouri at Texas A&M, 2:30 p.m. (ABC)
Ole Miss at Alabama, 2:30 p.m. (CBS)
Cincinnati at Louisville, 2:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
Baylor at Auburn, 6 p.m. (ESPN)
Ohio State at Penn State, 7p.m. (ABC)
