October 11, 2003
It was a defensive showdown at Razorback Stadium today, and Auburn was masterful. Arkansas, who had averaged 44 points per game before today, was held to a single field goal. Their star rusher, Cedric Cobb, was held to less than 100 yards for the first time this season, while Auburn's Cadillac Williams gained over 120 years in the first half alone and scored the only touchdown of the game. Twice Arkansas drove past the 10 yard line, only to have Auburn's stellar defense prevent them from getting a touchdown.
Auburn has knocked off the 7th ranked team in the country two weeks in a row. Looks like we're headed back into the Top 25, and our chances of winning the SEC West are improving. War Eagle!
Update:
The polls are in, and Auburn moved to #19 in the AP Poll and #25 in the ESPN Coaches Poll. A tough schedule lies ahead, but we're great in the underdog role. We still have to play LSU, ranked #10, and Georgia ranked #4.
You guys shoulda been in the top 25 last week. Looks like Auburn is finally playin' to their potential.
Posted by: JosiahQ at October 11, 2003 05:02 PMI agree. We should have been ranked after taking down Tennessee, but there's no way they can call that game a fluke after today!
Posted by: John at October 11, 2003 05:13 PMYeah, what was the deal with not putting them in the top 25? I knew they were good, and I had a feeling they would beat UT (my alma mater that biffed it again today). I know they're good, and it's looking more and more like the forst 2 games were a fluke, not the last 2. I think they have a shot at beating Goergia in the SEC championship. They made UT look like Auburn did back in, what was it, 1999, when Auburn absolutely could not run the football. Hats off to them too--they're good, and I felt bad for the letdown they had early on. Coming into last week, I though it was obvious, even before the game, that they were seriously underrated, and UT was at least a little overrated. The game confirmed my susipicion, which is why I was baffled by them not cracking the top 25. I think it's time for them to have a good year--i jsut hope the SEC can live up to its name in the BCS.
Posted by: Matthew Pearson at October 11, 2003 11:50 PMI think people are really hesitant to give Auburn respect after the first two games of the year. What I'm afraid will happen is that poll voters discount our win over UT because of how poorly UT played against Georgia. By the way, I just do not believe that UT is as bad as they played last night. They're much better than that, and the wide spread in the score really was a fluke in my opinion.
As for the SEC in the BCS, I don't think anyone from the SEC will win the national title. The SEC is like cannibalism. There are so many good teams, and they all play (and beat) each other. Every team in the SEC already has at least one loss, and only two don't have conference losses. (Auburn and Ole Miss; it's probable that both will end up with conference losses by season's end.)
Posted by: John at October 12, 2003 08:21 AMI Like coach tubervilles comments in saying that he prefers we not be rated and continue to be the underdog. Next week we are the obvious favorite against Miss State. Ranked we should be, Tennessee looks very vunerable. Georgia prooved that well. I think the Georgia Auburn game is going to be the big one. We beat them and it's on. LsU is vunerable. Look at what a mediocre Florida team did to deflate there pride. looking forward to next one. War Explitive Eagle! Woooo!!
Posted by: James at October 13, 2003 04:44 PMPride comes before Auburn's falls, and we do much better in the underdog role. During the Arkansas game, one announcer said that Auburn has won their last five games against ranked teams when they were unranked. We'll be the underdog against LSU because they are still ranked higher than we are, and we'll definitely be the underdog against Georgia because they are in the top five now. I'm looking forward to both games. What I'm not looking forward to is the Bama game. Despite their record, they have a good team this year -- they almost upset Arkansas and kept it reasonably close against Oklahoma. Fortunately Auburn knows better than to ever underestimate Alabama.
Posted by: John at October 13, 2003 05:22 PMAbout time an Auburn blogger showed up. Nice work, John....
Posted by: Will Collier at October 14, 2003 09:08 AMThanks Will. Is your site down? I get a .mac error message when I click on your link.
Posted by: John at October 15, 2003 01:17 PMSite should be working again, I had to re-host it after I dropped my .mac account ($100 a year? Bite me, Jobs).
FWIW, the site hasn't been updated in nearly a year, but if you're *really* interested, it's working...
Posted by: Will Collier at October 21, 2003 07:38 AMI do enjoy checking out the websites of people who comment on my blog. I liked reading some of your Auburn football commentary -- it would be fun to see what you have to say about this year's Iron Bowl when the time comes around.
Posted by: John at October 23, 2003 12:05 AM