FULLTIME
— Yay! Homecoming!
— Probably the biggest story of the second half: the Help Wanted sign is in the window of the Auburn punt return office again. No way Frenchy survives two bad muffs in three weeks. Or at least, I wouldn’t expect him to. Next. (Who “next” might be, I have no idea.)
— Well, we wanted to see Caudle look sharp and the Auburn receivers of the future look explosive and safe with the ball … check aaaaaaand check. 10-of-12 for Caudle, Benton and Blake and Lutzenkirchen all with big catches, Gulley with the big run. Can’t say the same for the second-string defense, but as we’ve already seen against LSU, Ball St., etc., there’s not much to gripe about with the second-string offense.
— Yeah, the D could have been better–28 points given up to Furman in a half isn’t pretty, even after the turnovers–but, you know, whatever, we already knew there were issues there. It’s not a big deal.
— It must be pretty cool to be named Furman and play for Furman.
— Auburn’s combined passing stats: 27-30, 373 yards, 4 TDs, 0 picks. Don’t care that it’s Furman: that’s impressive.
— That’s 7 wins, folks. A win next week would be sweet, a win in three weeks even sweeter, but it really is pretty much all gravy from this point out. 2009 is a success. War Eagle. War Eagle, Gene Chizik.
— See you tomorrow.
HALFTIME
— Yay Homecoming! Mission–i.e. no starter sees the field in the second half unless the coaches just want them to get the work–very much Accomplished.
— You can see how the biggest mismatches in these games comes up front. Furman just has no hope of containing an offensive line like Auburn’s, and the result is all day for Todd in the pocket, massive holes for Fannin and Tate, easy blocking downfield on the swings, etc. The Paladins don’t have a prayer against guys like Ziemba, Isom, etc.
— Chris Todd … dude. I know it’s a I-AA team and you’re getting a ton of help from your line and receivers, but damn son.17-18, 256 yards, 4 TDs? And a 12-yard keeper on the option? And the world’s first holding penalty on a quarterback? That’s a solid day’s work you’ve put in.
— No real complaints given how they finished the half (and that Coleman got a sack to pad those stats), but why do Auburn’s starters–and specially, the two DTs–struggle so much on opening drives?
— I’d like to see Emory Blake get one or two of these swings vs. a real team. He and Stallworth run with a lot of purpose. And hey, Benton made his first career catch. Good for him.
— 415 yards in a half. Holy crap. I don’t care who you’re playing, that’s pretty sweet.
— And so begins the Festival of Backups! Let’s see what 2010 (and beyond) is gonna be like. Of, if you’d rather change the channel to ‘Bama-LSU … well, I’ll blame you a little. But not too much.
PREGAME
— Update: T-minus about 30 minutes ’til kickoff, and Andy Bitter has some notes from J-Hare: McCalebb is dressed, Zach Clayton and Vance Smith are not. Also, Zac Etheridge was at the men’s hoops’ team’s exhibition W over Miles last night. And there’s a picture of Furman’s “Two-a-Days” kid.
— My preview yesterday didn’t delve into the specifics of today’s opponent, but Andy Bitter’s does, so have a look if you’re interested. There’s a “Two-a-Days” reference.
— Here at TWER, most of our pre-Furman focus has been on 1980s Saturday Night Live actress Victoria Jackson. I mean, duh. As Kevin explains (along with several other interesting facts about Furman), Jackson started her college education at Furman before transferring to Auburn before high-tailing it to California. According to Jeremy, though, she enjoyed her time on the Plains a lot more than she enjoyed her time in purple. File this also under duh.
Elsewhere at TWER, Thor has your weekend viewing guide and Auburn Elvis’s fAUllow Friday honors Zac Etheridge.
— If anything else noteworthy pops up between now and kickoff I’ll keep you informed, otherwise I’ll be back to update ta halftime.
War Eagle!
Photo via.
Jerry, in your preview yesterday, you said you wanted to see touchdowns on three of Auburn’s first four drives. How about four of Auburn’s four first drives? Sold ’em short, you did.
Five-for-five. You have obviously insulted our offense and they respond by putting up a 2008 Auburn game’s worth of offense in the first quarter and a half. I suggest you ask the offense to just gain positive yardage against Georgia.
How ’bout 5 for 5? Yeah, I guess I should have aimed a little higher.
If the first five minutes of the 2nd half is what 2010 and beyond is going to look like, I’m suddenly not excited. Another muffed punt, and an inexcusable fumble by Eric Smith. 14 quick ones for FU.
Honestly, a 12-man punt rush may be the best strategy for the next two games.
make that 11-man punt rush. but you get the point.
deflating TD at the end, but oh well. That’s why they aren’t the starters.
Not too happy with the score but the 27 for 30 makes up for it any day…
Remember: not all of them, but lots of those guys on the 2nd/3rd-string defense are walk-ons because they couldn’t get a scholarship offer to a place like Furman. Yeah, I wish the score was a bit more lopsided, but I can’t get mad at those guys.
Jerry, yeah I know they’re the team’s non-starters and these are the type of games they need to get better but at the same time it’s kinda hard not to say, “yeeesh, come on guys.”