Well, time to fire up the ol’ RV, unfurl the flags, and get ready for a barbecue this week as the Porcine Pests of Fayetteville come squealing into Tigertown for a good ol’ fashioned game of football!
The 2nd or 3rd ranked Tigers of Auburn (5-0 overall, 3-0 SEC) have had a few more days off than usual due to their Thursday outing against the University of Spurrier Carolina last week, giving them some much needed time to recover. Still feeling the pounding administered by LSU has hampered both the offense and defense in the SC and in the Buffalo game, but Tuberville’s tune is that most everyone is back up to full strength. (And, of course, they do have the added security of being able to rely upon the World's Most Expensive Laptop Computer.)
Before we get started, though, I would also like to take this opportunity to politely ask our fellow Tigers down in the Bayou to wallop Florida with as much vigor as you expended on us, seeing as how they’re up next on our schedule. To do any less would not be gentlemanly.
Arkansas (3-1, 2-0 SEC) will be a challenge but one that can be overcome. After Coach Superior picked apart Auburn’s defense last week, I cannot imagine that changes were not made and holes closed up to prevent a repetition of such porousness. The good thing is that even had no changes been made, the Arkie O-team would not been nearly so effective at picking apart the pass coverage as SC was. This week, they should be even less able. Look for few points from the Razorbacks.
ON the other side of the ball, though, the Hog defense is quite strong, and as with everyone else the Plainsmen have met this year, they will probably go whole-hog (so to speak) in trying to exploit two things--weak pass protection, and shutting off Kenny Irons’ escape routes. The fact that Auburn has been able to win against teams who have done this is a combination of luck and good fortune, with a healthy dollop of providence, and some more luck thrown in for good measure. One hopes that the coaching staff has worked with the offensive line over the past week to ensure everyone knows his assignments and can fulfill them, or else you’re going to see another game with only a few Blue’n’Orange points.
Auburn’s (not so) secret weapon in each of their games so far has been exemplary special teams play--the onside kick last week against the Gamecocks is just the type of thing that keeps things exciting and opposing teams off-balance. Add to this solid performance on fundamentals such as punting, field goals, and kickoff returns, and you’ve got a group who make a good team great.
Arkansas’seses’ secret weapon(s)? A Red and a White cheerleading squad, and a Red and a White pompon squad! Although I must reiterate I have an aversion to any set of girls who need to drag a razor down their backs, all of the young ladies on these squads do seem to be much less hirsute than would be suggested by their nickname, and none have razor sharp tusks, nor curly tails. That are evident. Now, if they could only get rid of all those hairybacked guys, it might make up for the lack of individual team member photos. Nice sets of gameday photos, though, which AGAIN is something our own Tigers seem not to have mastered yet. For some reason.
As is too often the case, I think I have to give a slight edge in this category to the Slopeaters, with the hope that being outclassed in this aspect of the game will make the Tigers fight even harder to defend their honor. Or not. Never can tell.
ALTHOUGH THAT DOES NOT STOP ME FROM FEARLESSLY PREDICTING THE FINAL OUTCOME!
Following my deadly-accurate prognostication from last week, I will boldly spout off my prediction for this contest with full confidence that it will be just as prescient as last week’s. If not, I intend to blame global warming.
Without further ado, I predict the score will be…
AUBURN 31 -- ARKANSAS 12
Game time tomorrow begins at 11 o’ the clock Central Time from lovely Jordan-Hare Stadium on the Auburn campus, with live television coverage provided by CBS and their highly paid play-by-play ignoramus team of Bolerjack and Buerlein. Thank heavens for the mute button.
BUT WAIT, THAT’S NOT ALL!
As you know, we would be remiss in not taking time out from football in order to honor the hardy scholars who not only compete well on the field, but also in the classroom. We do this by naming one lucky person as the Possumblog Student Athlete of the Week!
This high honor, eagerly sought by perhaps every athlete at Auburn, serves to show that the joy of both sport and education are equally beneficial to a person. Or something.
IN ANY EVENT, this week’s PSAotW is none other than the petite Montgomery-born redhead Becca Bell. Miss Bell and her red hair compete as part of the NCAA National Championship track team (at a height of 5’-2”) and on the cross country squad (at a height of 5’-3”).
A junior pre-pharmacy major, she is a member of the Phi Eta Sigma Honor Society, Phi Sigma Pi Honor Society, Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society, and the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, was named to the SEC Spring 2006 Honor Roll and was honored at the Tiger Torch banquet in April for her high GPA.
Congratulations Becca Bell, and keep up the smartness!
Posted by Terry Oglesby at October 6, 2006 02:10 PM