Breaking down the Auburn Tigers
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BY CURT McKEEVER / Lincoln Journal Star
Husker Extra's Curt McKeever looks at Nebraska's Cotton Bowl opponent.
The Offense
Base formation: Multiple two-back
2006 per-game averages
Points: 25.4
Total yards: 332.8
Rushing yards: 155.0
Passing yards: 177.8
Turnovers lost: 1.5
Time of possession: 30:24
THE DEFENSE
Base formation: 3-4
2006 per-game averages
Points: 13.9
Total yards: 297.5
Rushing yards: 125.8
Passing yards: 171.7
Turnovers gained: 1.9
THE COACH
Tommy Tuberville
Year at Auburn: Eighth
Record: 70-29
Worth noting: Tuberville has directed Auburn to a Southeastern Conference-best record of 42-14 in league games over the past seven seasons. But more importantly for Tiger fans, he’s the first Auburn coach to win five straight against Alabama since Ralph Jordan did it from 1954-58.
THE GAMERS
Kenny Irons
Position: RB Year: Sr.
Height: 5-11
Weight: 203
Worth noting: After an undistinguished two seasons at South Carolina, Irons transferred and has become a two-time All-SEC player who’s produced 11 100-yard efforts for the Tigers in 22 games. Injuries have kept him from duplicating his junior season (when he rushed for 1,293 yards and had a 218-yard game at LSU), but his 2,114 career yards still rank 10th at Auburn.
Tim Duckworth
Position: G Year: Sr.
Height: 6-4
Weight: 318
Worth noting: Here’s an example of coaches working to get a talent on the field. Duckworth began his career as a defensive tackle and played in 11 games as a freshman, but after his first spring practice moved to offensive tackle. As a sophomore, he played mostly on special teams, but in the spring of 2005 was moved to right guard and ended up being named the team’s most improved offensive lineman. Twenty-one starts later, he’s a second-team All-American, as chosen by Rivals.com.
Courtney Taylor
Position: WR Year: Sr.
Height: 6-2
Weight: 206
Worth noting: Taylor was a high school quarterback and Alabama state high jump champion who took to playing receiver naturally. He had 12 catches in his first two games as a freshman, and has responded from a subpar junior year (22 receptions, 278 yards) to grab a career-best 48 passes this season. He needs four more catches to surpass the Auburn career mark of 150. He and Kenny Irons are the first 2,000-yard career rusher/receiver to play on the same Auburn team.
QUARTERBACKS
Brandon Cox has been less than 100 percent most of the season, but has still started every game (and the last 23), and is 18-5 as a starter. He might not display a rocket arm, but no one has a problem with his efficiency. He’s completed 61.2 percent of his passes this season, averaging 8.3 yards per attempt.
RUNNING BACKS
Kenny Irons missed two games with an injury and has just one carry in another game. But when healthy, he’s the Tigers’ plow horse. When he gets a break, Auburn goes to sophomore Brad Lester (510 yards, 9 rushing TDs) and freshman Ben Tate (369 yards, with 100-yard efforts against Tulane and Buffalo).
RECEIVERS
Courtney Taylor has become one of the nation’s best slot receivers, but he’s caught just three of his nine career TD passes in the past two seasons. Taylor’s 2,028 career receiving yards rank No. 4 at Auburn. Leftside wideout Rodgeriqus Smith is No. 2 on the team with 26 catches, but leads the team with four TD grabs. His backup, Prechae Rodriguez, is next with 13 receptions.
O-LINE
Senior guards Ben Grubbs (37 straight starts) and Tim Duckworth (21) are the anchors. Senior center Joe Cope has 19 starts in his 22 games. Both tackles, Jonathan Palmer and King Dunlap, are first-year starters.
D-LINE
Auburn went from a 4-3 front to a 3-4 in a year when it was replacing three starters. Right end Quentin Groves, who also will drop and play outside linebacker, is No. 2 in the SEC with 9½ sacks, and he has 23 in his career to rank No. 2 at Auburn. Redshirt freshman tackle Sen’Derrick Marks is second on the team with 8½ tackles for loss and 3½ sacks. Josh Thompson leads all interior linemen with 38 tackles.
LINEBACKERS
The Tigers’ size won’t overwhelm you, but their speed might. Converted free safety Will Herring leads the team with 65 tackles, including 7½ for losses, and shares the lead with two interceptions and two forced fumbles. Tray Blackmon (who has three fumble recoveries) will be missed, as he’s been suspended. Senior Karibi Dede, the only returning starting linebacker, is second on the team with 56 tackles and two fumble recoveries.
SECONDARY
Left corner David Irons, whose younger brother, Kenny, is the star running back, has made the most of being granted a sixth year of eligibility. He’s fourth in the SEC with 13 passes defended (2 interceptions, 11 breakups). Strong safety Eric Brock is the team’s fourth-leading tackler despite missing games against Alabama and Georgia with an injury. Redshirt freshman free safety Aairon Savage ranks third.
SPECIALISTS
John Vaughn was a Lou Groza Award finalist after making 19 of 23 field goals (including four against both Washington State and Florida). He’s Auburn’s career scoring leader with 307 points. As good as he’s been, the Tigers’ kickoff coverage has been better. They’ve surrendered a nation-low 197 yards, and much of that credit goes to Matt Clark, who has 49 touchbacks on 62 kicks. Former running back Tristan Davis (now a backup strong safety) ranks 15th in the nation with a 26.4-yard kickoff return average. Punter Kody Bliss’ 46.1-yard average would rank No. 3 nationally if he had enough attempts.
SCOUTING REPORT
From South Carolina’s Steve Spurrier, who watched Auburn control the ball for the entire third quarter — thanks to a 17-play, 85-yard drive for a field goal followed by a successful onside kick — en route to beating the Gamecocks 24-17 in Columbia, S.C., on Sept. 28. The game came down to a fourth-down play from the Auburn 5-yard line, and Patrick Lee broke up a Syvelle Newton pass intended for Sidney Rice in the corner of the end zone.
“(We had an) interesting game. Our mighty offense only had to punt once and we were only out there for three quarters. That’s a first in my career.
“Auburn is a big, strong team. Defensively, they chose to play a soft zone, so we changed out our game plan completely.
“... We didn’t exactly go up and down the field. We hit some third downs. ... We got into the shotgun and we did run the ball pretty well. Auburn played a three-man line half the game and just dared us to run.
“They play a very aggressive style. This year, they have been a very aggressive bump-and-run team that is not going to concede anything to you. You have to earn your way to get open against these guys. ... They are all well coached in position and are a very fast team — very similar to Georgia, Florida, Tennessee.
“... I would say the main thing (Tommy Tuberville) has done is recruited very well. He has excellent coaches (and) continuity — although I think this is his third defensive coordinator over the last three years, but he was a defensive guy himself before he became a head coach. He sort of overlooks the defense, from what I understand, and leaves the offense to the offensive coordinator.”
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