By Jay Coulter
jccoulter@gmail.com
 |
No one knows that better than senior quarterback Brandon Cox. He’s been through those battles plenty of times and has had his taste of success. Entering Saturday’s showdown with the Dawgs, Cox brings a 3-1 record as a starter against Georgia and Alabama.
Despite the success, Cox knows he has something left to prove.
Perhaps his worst day as a Tiger came last year when fifth-ranked Auburn was blown out at home by Georgia 37-15. His four interception performance took the Tigers out of the game quickly and dashed any hopes of an SEC championship.
While much of the hype over Cox still centers on his early season swoon and benching in favor of freshman Kodi Burns, he has quietly put together an All-SEC kind of season since getting his job back.
You’d be hard pressed to find anyone in the conference who has meant more to their team down the stretch than Cox. Since the Mississippi State meltdown, he has been simply amazing.
In the last seven weeks, Cox has completed 100 of 150 passes for 1,183 yards with six touchdowns and only one interception. In fact, he has thrown 89 consecutive passes without an interception. That’s good stuff.
Entering Saturday’s contest, Cox leads all active SEC quarterbacks in wins with 25 and is now third on Auburn’s all-time passing yardage list with 6,498 career passing yards.
All of us can learn a lot about adversity and perseverance from the 24 year-old from Trussville. Something tells me his finest moment is still left to be played.
Rumors have been floating around all week that Georgia will be wearing black uniforms for Saturday’s game. The school is encouraging fans to wear black to the stadium. I find that very fitting considering they will be attending a funeral – their own.
As usual, here’s this week’s lineup of games on television. All times are Central...
Michigan at Wisconsin – 11:00 a.m. – ESPN
Wake Forest at Clemson – 11:00 a.m. – ESPN 2
Texas A&M at Missouri – 11:30 a.m. – Fox Sports Network
Alabama at Miss State – 11:30 a.m. – Lincoln Financial*
Arkansas at Tennessee – 11:30 a.m. – Lincoln Financial*
Air Force at Notre Dame – 1:30 p.m. – NBC
Auburn at Georgia – 2:30 p.m. – CBS
Virginia at Miami – 6:15 p.m. – ESPN 2
Central Florida at UAB – 6:30 p.m. – CSTV
Florida at South Carolina – 6:45 p.m. – ESPN
Note: Lincoln Financial is running a split feed for the Alabama/Miss State and Arkansas/Tennessee games. What game you'll receive will depend on where you live.
If you are making the trip to Jordan-Hare North this weekend, please drive carefully. If you’re sticking around the house, please check in with us on Saturday. We’ll have the open thread up all day and invite you to stop in and share your thoughts. Have a great weekend and War Eagle!