Auburn Tigers: Positives Emerge To Finish: Furman and Georgia Next

In a great game on the plains with a little of everything, Auburn upset Ole Miss. While this was a great victory, and every fan will be talking about it this week, it is not all that significant. Houston Nutt teams have been known for losing games after a big win for years. Ole Miss losing today was not a shock to any one. 

The significant thing that happened in this game early Saturday was, Auburn proved beyond any shadow of a doubt, that this team is not falling apart. Every major pundit as well as many fair weather fans had claimed this group of young men had fallen apart and wrote them off for the year. Seeing no way for the tired, beat up Tigers to solve their problems before the bye week. 

The Auburn Coaching Staff picked up on the problem and changed routine this week. They passed on some of the physically intensive practice this week in favor of more precision work. This allowed them to concentrate on some prevailing problems as well as let the team rest a little and heal. While this was certainly a risk, it turned out to be exactly what was needed for the Tigers this week.

The Auburn team came out and battled the Ole Miss Rebels from play 1 to the lately dreaded 00:00. There was no single overwhelming performance this week. There were several above average performances that carried the day. It was a team effort in every sense of the word. It certainly put aside all of the divisive rumors that were circulating about the Tigers over the last three weeks.

Now that all questions have been answered about whom should be the quarterback of the Auburn Tigers this year. Chris Todd can take Ben Tate and company and prepare for Furman and then Georgia. Coleman, Smith, Freeman and McFadden can get ready to stop Furman cold and allow for some younger players to get some playing time. 

What a difference a week makes. The positives finally caught up to, and passed the negatives. This fine group of young men battled through the three game slide, the ridicule and second guessing from the public and even fans. Now the team as well as the faithful fans can hold their heads high and continue on with a successful season.

There is not much to write as a preview to the Furman game. It should go exactly as planned and should be a great Home Coming for the Auburn Nation! It is a well deserved and repeatedly earned feel good day for the Auburn Tigers.

Auburn gets the advantage of playing Georgia in Athens this year. I write this not as a joke, but bringing attention to the fact that Auburn has fared better in Athens than on the plains against Georgia lately. Georgia was pounded by Florida this week and will pound Tennessee Tech to build up confidence next week to prepare for the annual Rivalry with Auburn. Auburn will likely be a underdog in this game as well. Auburn will likely be 7-3 and Georgia 5-4 coming into this match up.

Ontario McCalebb was held out this week to allow his nagging ankle to heal. He should rejoin the game plan with fresh legs for the Georgia game. Chris Todd put aside rumors of him being injured this week and performed well against Ole Miss. He should only get better for Georgia. Ben Tate has been wonderful all year and the next two games will be no exception. He should stay loose against Furman and be ready for some down hill running against Georgia. He is adding more and more value to his stock in the next level at this point. He is the best Pro Prospect at his position this year. 

Auburn has improved at the receiving position this year. A lot of that has to do with getting the ball to them as well as better ball catching skills. Much of this improvement can be attributed directly to the work of the Coaching Staff. This group will have a lot to do with the success of the next three games. Auburn is better at this position than Furman, Georgia or Alabama. While Georgia has Green and he is a wonderful receiver Auburn has an entire group of excellent receivers. They are faster than the Defensive Backs at Furman , Georgia or Alabama. It is a match up that must be exploited to win in Athens. Use of this advantage will allow the running game to work much as it did against Ole Miss. Ole Miss is actually faster and better at the D Back position than any of Auburn's remaining opponents. 

What happened to Auburn's defense? First, they are learning how to tackle through without squaring up. Coach Roof has been teaching this professional type of tackling since day one and the players are becoming more  proficient at it. This, in turn, is reducing missed tackles. This is the single largest improvement in the defense. The second largest factor is the offense keeping the defense off the field and fresh. The third and most important improvement is the improved pass rush due to the return of Defensive End Smith to off set Defensive End Coleman as well as the newly inspired play of Line Backer Freeman.

Tall athletic receivers have been a problem for Auburn all year and Georgia's Green will likely be no exception to this rule. This must be offset by a good pass rush and this is something Auburn should be able to deliver without blitzing on every play. Georgia has no rushing offense so this should be to Auburn's advantage. Georgia will score and score often with Green if Auburn does not feed the quarterback turf regularly.

The Georgia defense has been a bend don't break the last few years. This year it is just broken. They have done an excellent job of stopping ineffective offenses, but been scored on early and often by teams that executed well like Tennessee, Florida, Arkansas, Oklahoma State and South Carolina did well on offense against them as well.They have no played a team that scores as fast as Auburn and in their games against Big Play offenses they have given up over thirty points each time.

This season has been full of positives for the Auburn Tigers. If Auburn wins against Georgia this year it will break a three game winning streak this rival has accumulated over Auburn. This will certainly add to the long list of positives.