 |
By Jay Coulter
jccoulter@gmail.com
Enough with the appetizers, it’s time for the main meal. Georgia week is here. You can have Thanksgiving, New Year’s or any other holiday; the next three weeks are the best days of the year.
It’s Amen Corner time. That means Georgia and Alabama.
Auburn disposed of lowly Tennessee Tech yesterday 35-3 and can now squarely focus on the Georgia Bulldogs. Saturday’s win was what one would expect. The Tigers could have scored 100 points if they chose.
Instead, Tommy Tuberville called off the dogs (no pun intended) after scoring touchdowns on its first three possessions. Senior day was a good chance to see some of the Auburn stars of tomorrow.
Most impressive was the performance by third-string quarterback Blake Field, who was 6-11 for 92 yards and a touchdown. Field looked every bit the starter in managing the offense. The fact he’s gotten very few reps at quarterback this year makes the performance even more impressive.
Kodi Burns was a different story. Admitting that he was nervous and pressing too much, Burns was downright ineffective. He was 0-4 passing and seemed confused most of the time.
We’re a long way to next year, but if Saturday was a test, Field got the better score.
Defensively, you needed an extra deep depth chart to keep up with all the players seeing action. The highlight of the game was Walter McFadden’s 93 yard interception return for a touchdown, afterwards which he did his best impression of Deion Sanders in the end zone.
The players seemed to love it and the coaches didn’t appear to care considering the score. It resulted in Auburn having to kickoff from high in section 43. I suppose it was all in good fun, but it looked pretty stupid to me.
Meanwhile over in Athens, Georgia disposed of Troy 44-34 in a game closer than most Dawg fans expected. The Trojans rolled up 488 yards of total offense and kept the game close deep into the second half.
Auburn fans shouldn’t read much into the game. Troy is a pretty good team with a solid offense. Georgia was coming off an emotional win over Florida. You can bet Auburn will get their best shot on Saturday.
Let the talking begin. We’ll hear plenty of it this week. It should be fun. Auburn has a lot to prove after last year’s embarrassing lost. Playing in Athens should help. I’m not sure why, but we like the place.
As usual, we’ll have plenty of coverage this week.