Auburn Will Tame the Tide

 

Who: Alabama

Where: Bryant Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa

When: November 29^th, 2014

 

There is not another college football rivalry this big. There is not another NFL rivalry this big. The only thing in sports that comes close is the baseball rivalry between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees. Close I said, but no cigar.

 

More than anytime ever in the history of the Iron Bowl, last year’s game had everything on the line. Alabama was on the verge of being anointed the God of college football by the media, and at the precipice of a third consecutive trip to the BCS Championship game. Every time you turned on any sports show, you could hear all you ever wanted about Nick Saban the coach of the Crimson Tide, and his team.

 

In reality, that is what the media is supposed to do. Alabama had earned the exposure, and nothing any Auburn fan could have said or done would have changed that. The only way to change the script was to take down the script, tear it up, and set it on fire. Auburn didn’t read or hear that they were “supposed” to succumb to the Tide. Consequently, the Tigers threw some great punches in this fight. They withstood the blows that the Tide threw, and in the end, had this for a haymaker:

 

 

This season Alabama has to replace their QB with an unproven entity. As of the start of fall camp, the Tide hasn’t named a starter. The first time in 6 seasons that the starting QB is an unknown going into the fall for Nick Saban. Add to the mix a new offensive coordinator in Lane Kiffin, and there are too many questions. Or, so you would think.

 

The media once again has Alabama as the odds on favorite to win the SEC Championship. I guess we should all just stay home. However, something tells me that the media once again has things all wrong. I was extremely happy to learn that the media had not picked Auburn to win it all.

 

I look for a very inspired Alabama, with possibly two losses, to entertain the Tigers with lots of ferocity. Kiffin and company are going to throw everything they have at the Auburn defense, and they will score. Alabama’s defense will be very good again, and have proven they can slow down this Gus Malzahn attack at times. I believe that Auburn has more returning talent, and will still be focused, with an eye on the prize.

Look for Auburn 27 Alabama 24 and the 4^th undefeated season for the Tigers since 1990.

WAR EAGLE!

Auburn University: End Child Hunger Initiative

AU vs AU by the Lake

Home Sweet Home

It has just been announced that Auburn and Clemson have agreed to a home and home series beginning in 2016.  from Charles Goldberg at the official Auburn website: 

Auburn and Clemson have agreed on a home-and-home football series that will reunite the old non-conference rivals during the 2016 and 2017 seasons.  
Clemson will visit Auburn on Sept. 3, 2016. Auburn will return the favor Sept. 9, 2017.  
Clemson, from the Atlantic Coast Conference, allows Auburn to fulfill the SEC mandate of playing at least one opponent each year from a power conference. 

While Clemson really needs to be spanked, and put back in their place after the comments made by Dabo Swinney their head coach, the fans of the Auburn Tigers are less than enthusiastic about the choice. 

Count me in as one of the dissenting voices.

It is my opinion that Auburn should reach out further than the Southeast to establish a better name for itself, and for recruiting purposes as well. We have all heard of the tremendous comments that our fan base receives when out of state teams come to visit JHS. We are just as well respected on the road. Why not offer the increased exposure on the newly deployed SEC Network? 

My top choices for opponents include Notre Dame, Oregon State, and UCLA.  These would be great choices for home and home series, plus draw national attention to our great Tigers. Scheduling these games away during the years that Bama and UGA come to JHS would insure their coming to JHS on the years we have to travel to Athens and Tuscaloosa.

War Eagle!

Something About Samford

photo courtesy of Samford Athletics

There is a legend walking the sidelines at Samford University. His name is Patrick Joseph Sullivan, a fighter, a cancer survivor, and an Auburn Man. 

Pat played on the fields of Cliff Hare stadium as a young man, and brought something special to the Auburn family, our first Heisman Trophy. He brought so much more than just accolades, and victories. Pat Sullivan has shown us all how Auburn Men aught to carry themselves. Class and dignity have been the pillars of his existence, and we would do much worse than to teach our children to model themselves after him.

When the Samford University Bulldogs come to JHS the outcome will never be in question. This game is one thing, and one thing only. Auburn University will give back to it's faithful son, and it's in-state cousin. Many of the Samford players would never have been allowed to play in such a setting as JHS without the connection between their coach and his Alma Mater. 

When these Bulldogs take the field, let's give them a resounding, warm welcome. Give them that special moment that they never have experienced before, 80,000 people cheering them as they enter the field of battle. 

Just consider it a little "thank you" from us, to Pat Sullivan. 

War Eagle!

Taking The Bite Out of The 'Dawgs

Auburn looks to take the bite away from Georgia

Who: Georgia Bulldogs
Where: Athens, GA
When: November 15th, 2014

In the world according to Klell, we have arrived at this point as an undefeated team. Having defeated six conference foes (Ole Miss, Mississippi State, LSU, Arkansas, Texas A&M, and South Carolina), and a Big12 power in Kansas State on national TV on a Thursday night at that. 

Our Tigers have conquered them all. Winning by an average score of 41 to 25. In our predictions we have shown LSU it's due respect by guessing they will hold us to our lowest points total thus far, and the narrowest margin of victory over a conference foe. We also give Kansas State it's due respect by showing the overall lowest points margin of victory at 8.

All that remains are two road trips to our two biggest rivals with a visit from Samford University sandwiched in between. That's all that separates Auburn from another undefeated season. the fourth for our Tigers since the SEC split into divisions. Let's look at UGA.

I turned to Saturday Down South to get these numbers.

Georgia Bulldogs

Total: 17 Offense: 5 Defense: 10 Special Teams: 2
Key returnees: RB Todd Gurley, RB Keith Marshall, WR Michael Bennett, WR Chris Conley, C David Andrews, DE Ray Drew, LB Ramik Wilson, OLB Jordan Jenkins, OLB Leonard Floyd, CB Damian Swann, DB Josh Harvey-Clemons
Key losses: QB Aaron Murray, OL Chris Burnette, LT Kenarious Gates, TE Arthur Lynch, DE Garrison Smith

 As you can see UGA returns a very strong running game, and linebacking corps. The losses along the offensive front, and at QB will be the most difficult challenge for the Bulldogs this season. QB's like Aaron Murray don't just grow on trees.

Georgia has recruited very well, so let's not think that they have very little chance of being a good ball club this season. They will be a little more motivated against our Tigers because of the way they lost the game last season. 

I look for this to be another hard fought game, in the "Deep South's Oldest Rivalry". The last time Auburn went to Bulldog campus, things got ugly quickly for Auburn. A score in the first quarter is all Auburn could muster, and the 'Dawgs ran amok. The final of 45-7 could have have easily been 65-7. Mark Richt's play calling was conservative in the 2nd half.

I see a much different outcome this time around. Call it Auburn 38 UGA 29

War Eagle!

Auburn Football 2014 - The Driven

College Football Pump Up 2014-15 ᴴᴰ "Relentless"

There is a steady stream of these Pump Up videos surfacing on the web. We will post as many as we can for you here on ATB. 
War Eagle!

Frank Thomas; Hall of Fame

We have two really good videos of Frank Thomas and his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

This is Frank's acceptance speech given on July 27th, 2014

Top Moments of 2013-14: Number 7

Top Moments of 2013-14: Number 5

Top Moments of 2013-14: Number 4

Auburn Hosts the Aggies

Auburn will soar against the Aggies

Who: Texas A & M Aggies
Where: Jordan-Hare Stadium
When: November 8th, 2014

The last time Texas A & M came to Jordan-Hare Stadium, there was a monumental beat down. The host Tigers were handed their hats in an unceremonious fashion. The worst home defeat by an Auburn team ever.

Johnny Manziel  and his high powered offense scored three TD's in each quarter of the opening half, and crushed our boys in Blue by a score of 63 - 21. I sat thru the entire game, watching the stands empty out at halftime. My heart was broken. I knew, without any doubt after this performance that Gene Chizik was going to be fired at season's end. This loss was so epic, many thought Jay Jacobs, the Auburn Athletic Director, would fire Chizik that week.

The lone bright spot was watching Jonathan Wallace, C. J. Uzomah and the rest of the offense keep working to get scores. A by product of their former offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, I'm sure. The current O.C. wasn't getting the job done. The next few weeks were to be the proof of this.

This time however,  things will be much different. Auburn turned things around like no other team in college football history in 2013, and Johnny Manziel is a problem for the NFL, now. In 2014, the Aggies are  looking to come into JHS and upset the Tigers. Spoiler Alert: It ain't gonna happen!

Let not your mind deceive you, Kevin Sumlin has not had any problems starting new QB's in his system. Sumlin is very good at what he does, and I expect no less than a meaningful, hard fought contest from the Aggies. Their problems stem from off the field issues during the off season.

 As noted by blogger @SECblog in this post "Two words: Fulmer Cup. Up to the time of writing, Texas A&M had TEN players arrested. TEN. Everything from fights to weed to shoplifting. Anyway, Coach Sumlin isn’t screwing about, because he booted starting LB Darian Claiborne, starting DT Isaiah Golden, redshirt freshman S Kameron Miles, and DL Gavin Stansbury‘s has ‘left the team to attend personal issues’ too, after he was arrested earlier in the year for pouring beer on a Rice University student and punching him in the face. Oh, and one of his top offensive weapons for 2014, WE Ricky Seals-Jones, was arrested on charges of disorderly contact, and would-be starting QB Kenny Hill was found passed out in a flower bed, and arrested for public intoxication."

There may be some discipline problems at the home of the 12th man. Every school has issues, and I certainly am not giddy about these developments. Come November however, all of these suspensions that did not lead to dismissal from the team, will be long over with, and Auburn will face the full force of this Aggies squad.

Auburn's offense matches up very well vs. the Aggies defense. Of course so did everybody else last season, to include Rice. I don't see the Aggies defense stopping the Auburn offense very much. The A & M secondary was porous last season, and they return all 4  starters there. Auburn will be much improved in the passing game, and that spells a fun day at home for the Tigers.

With Manziel, and highly drafted WR Mike Evans both gone, A & M will be much more dependent on their run game. The offensive line is good, but the Aggies won't be able to score enough points to keep up with Auburn  by running the ball.

Look for Auburn 42 - A & M 27

WAR EAGLE!

Faster: It's Gonna Happen!

 Auburn has something special going right now. I can't put into words accurately how this feels, and all of the emotions that are flowing because of the way this team is being led. All I can say without a single ounce of doubt, is that Auburn University football is among the elite in the college football world, and it will stay there as long as Gus stays.


War Eagle!

Vibrations

Can you feel it? That slight vibration in the ground, it's shaking. Can't you feel it? Really? You don't feel that? I can, and let me tell you now, I can't wait until it's roaring in my ears. 

What's that? You don't know what I'm talking about? Let me explain it to you, if I can. 

There is a place where music is played, and the crowd is going berserk. No, it's not a concert. It is a college football game. Not just any college football game, an Auburn University football game. Where the best marching band in the nation plays on the best turf in the nation.

Just so happens, the very best football in the nation is played there too. Come see, and hear, for yourself.

 It sounds like this:

Catching Up

I took some time off recently, without letting you know it was happening. I apologize for that. Hopefully, these next few days will make up for that mistake. Let's get to this, shall we?
 
 Sad news as we hear that Tyler Nero has had to call an end to his football career. Nero suffered a fainting episode, during a spring practice session. 

 "He is going to get his degree and could possibly help us with football," Malzahn said. "He's a great kid and we wish him nothing but the best." Tyler's scholarship will not count against the NCAA limit for the team. 

 Two Tigers received good news recently when WR Jaylon Denson and LB Justin Garrett were granted an extra season of eligibility after suffering major injuries during the 2013 season.

Workout much? You will appreciate this video of our Tigers working to get better.



Zach Mettenberger, who was the starting QB for LSU last season, was sucker-punched by an Alabama Crimson Tide fan. 

This illustrates the mentality of a larger portion of the fan base than many care to admit. The author starts out with the right intention, and even words his/her comments to steer your thoughts that there may be, at least some, that actually have disdain for these actions. Ultimately, to let us all down. Here is the link. http://bamahammer.com/2014/07/21/updyke-championship-someone/#!bkp97F


Auburn is blessed with some players that are as much a blessing to Auburn. C.J. Uzomah is one of those players. Watch:

Prayer Group

Auburn players in prayer

*** If you emailed me and did not get a response OR your email is something other than gmail, please email me at my other account which is tatershell@aol.com  - You can also send me a message on twitter which is @tatershell


Back in 2012, as many of you know, things turned quite sour for our beloved football players. There were so many things that just kept coming at them- Jay's mom died, Coach Chizik's mom died, the fella who was one of the managers died, they had already lost friends earlier that summer- it just seemed the boys had a lot of things going on. I felt led to pray for the players individually, but there was no way I could do it by myself. There were several others who joined in with me including Klell, Jonathan, Mike, Christian, and I think there might have been one or two others. I was curious if anyone was interested in doing it for this year.  If you don't know anything about me, I am a high school special education teacher. I work with tutoring for a lot of our athletes. I get quite protective of my fellas (high school)  and I can't think of a better way than to have a prayer group for them. I have personally witnessed how the loss of a teammate (for the high school where I teach) shredded a team and kids to little bits. I know that not all of these players knew Lutz well, but they are all going to need support with prayers. I think that he had an influence on so many that his loss will be felt throughout the team. I got a chance to meet Jay Prosch and a few others this year at the Senior Bowl. I told him that there was a group of us that prayed for them on an individual basis- and he got up and hugged me.

Each week, we would assign a pray- er to jersey #s, such as 1-20 or 21-40, or coaches, etc. We rotated so that we got a chance to pray for different players. If something great happened, we tried to share about it. For instance, Sammie Coates had posted on his twitter that he was baptized, so we shared that with the prayer group. If we knew about anything specifically that was going on with a player, we tried to let that player's pray-we know. Let me tell you, its much harder to be upset with a player if you have been praying for him that week! It is a personal challenge, but I think its something that is worth it. If anyone has a better idea on how to rotate the players, I am open to doing it differently.

This isn't so much about praying for a win or a great game, although I am sure most of us have done that at some time. These guys go through a lot on a daily basis. They need prayers for safety, for schoolwork, or any other issues that might be going on with them. Many of us follow them on twitter and some of them share things on there. It's not like we have inside information on any player, but you don't have to have that to pray for them.  We can rotate players again or keep the same ones. Last time we sort of did it through twitter or on another blog. If you are interested, let me know. You can send me a twitter message @tatershell or you can send an email to christyg1119@gmail.com

It can get a bit tedious but it is worth it.  We only had a small group, so it was a lot to pray for 25 players each week. I hope we can so it so that every player is getting an individual prayer each week. If something especially difficult is going on with a player or coach, that can be shared and more of us can pray for that guy.  If you are interested, let me know and we will figure it out how we are going to set it up.

Gus Malzahn visits ESPN

Chillin4Charity Rick Nold

Auburn Tigers Chillin4Charity

Are You a Champion?

2013 BCS Auburn Pep Rally. photo by John Pyle

Last year at the Iron Bowl, I had the pleasure of meeting Debi Robbe while tailgating before the game. Debi is a member of Fan of the Fans, an organization that has a unique way of looking at college football. 

Fan of the Fans hold a contest every year before the football season searching for the very best tailgating experience. Upon their trip to Auburn last season, they saw many that they thought could win their contest. I thought I would pass along some of the information to you so that, if you wanted, you could enter and win another National Championship for Auburn.

  When- 8/9/14

  Where - Georgia Dome Parking Lots

  Time - 10:00 am - 4:00 pm

  Why - To Celebrate the Spirit and  Power of the Passionate College Tailgating Fans

  You win as the best for your University, then your Conference, then National Championship

In my discussions with Ms. Robbe I asked her why they would do something like this, and what led them to do this? Here is her response: 

"When we visit college campuses we have found that tailgating comes in many forms but the key is always the entire lifestyle of a tailgate.  From food, drink, clothing, decor, transportation, pets, signs, sound and music, cheers, dances, flags and more.  But everyone feels like they belong to that Tailgating Family and their University. 

Seems to us that the fans create the passion and life of the athletics of the school.  We found that the focus of the celebrating is always directed at the athletes and little thanks or celebration is directed to the Fans!"

So, if you are interested in something like this, or just love great food, and want to check it out , we have the information for you below. 

 

  1) Enter! 

  2) Look at all the different categories - Figure out the categories that your entire tailgate   includes in their tailgate.

  3) What do you and your tailgate group do best? Food, Clothes - Men and Women, Kids, Pets, Decor, Flags, Jewelry, Retro Fit or Remodel, Games.

  4) See if your tailgating friends and family can help in anyway to fit in any category.

  5) So you don't have a big tailgate family and need equipment - Enter the Tailgating Relay Race and win Tailgating Equipment.

  6) Make new friends

  7) WIN OMAHA Steaks and School, Conference and National Bragging Rights!

Seems like a really fun time to me. You can contact Fan of the Fans many different ways. Please direct all of your questions to them. 

National Collegiate Tailgating Championship

We are Fans of the Fans!

http://www.nationalcollegiatetailgatingchampionship.com  

Facebook 

Twitter 

 http://pinterest.com/tailgatechamps/

Philip's Legacy

Photo courtesy of Christy G.  (tatershell)

We've been a hurting family for the last few days. We have wanted to help, with no physical way to do so. I've prayed for his family and friends, but wished I could do more. Now, we can.

Yesterday, Philip's family started the process of setting up a foundation in his honor. It takes a significant amount of money to begin a foundation. His family has called it 'Lutzie 43- I know God's Working so I Smile.' Philip's family wants to continue the loving spirit Philip showed everyone while he was here with us. Here is a link to the website.

Lutzie 43- I know God's working so I smile

Please give if you can. Even if it is only a small amount, give anyway. When we put it all together, it will add up. If you are uncomfortable donating online, the Lutzenkirchens have an address in Marietta where a donation can be mailed. Also, any Bank of America will take a donation if you let them know the name 'Lutzie 43- I know God's working so I smile.'

 We know Philip loved other people. Now our Lutzie had a unique way about him, but he showed love everyday to all sorts of people. He had a reach that was almost unbelievable. This would be a way that we can help to continue and keep his love around. We loved him, now let's do something so that others can love him too! We know there were several things Philip was passionate about. One was children with cancer. Another was Youth for Christ.

http://www.youcaring.com/nonprofits/lutzie-43-i-know-god-s-working-so-i-smile/200196

If you have questions, you can probably contact one of his sisters over twitter. They have all put this information in their twitter timelines. 

Top 15 College Football Plays of 2013-14 (HD)

Top Moments of 2013-14: Number 8

Tuesday Musings: Auburn Athletics

photo courtesy of Auburn University Athletics

Hello once again everybody, and War Eagle! 

The young lady in the picture above is Breanna Barksdale.  She is a Sophomore on the Auburn Volleyball team. This team will be doing some damage in conference play this season, and should compete for the conference title.

The Auburn Volleyball team, coached by Rick Nold, will start it's season August 29th,  in Washington, D.C. in tournament play against George Washington. Coach Nold signed the 14th ranked class this past cycle, adding to an already impressive roster.

It's a beautiful July day as I write this post, and I want to share some things before we get back to our preseason look at the upcoming Auburn football schedule.

There are numerous "hype" videos surfacing. Here is one of the better ones. The audio is a little fuzzy, but the action is top notch.



This is late, and my apologies to Caroline McCombs who was named as the new head coach at Stony Brook Seawolves. Sincerest congratulations to Caroline, and much success in the future. 

War Eagle!

The Uncoverables -- Auburn Wide Receiver Hype Video

Philip Lutzenkirchen: A Legacy Forever Remembered