Auburn must show its mettle after tough loss to LSU

By John McMullen  |   Thursday, September 25, 2008  |  Comments( 2 )

Auburn Tigers
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There are worse things in the world than losing to LSU.

In case you haven't noticed, the Bayou Bengals have built quite a program in Baton Rouge. Two recent national championships are all you need to prove that thesis.

Nevertheless, last Saturday, when Brandon LaFell caught what proved to be the game-winning score with 1:03 left in the fourth quarter to give LSU a 26-21 win over Auburn in a crucial SEC Western Division contest, it had to be deflating.

"We are not satisfied obviously with losing the game. That's hard fought. We had the lead, lost it, had the lead again, lost it and we have a disappointed bunch of guys in that locker room because we thought with the way we played at times, we should have won," Auburn head coach Tommy Tuberville said afterward. "Again, when you play good football teams you have to play every play. They made a few more plays than we did."

Auburn had many chances to win. The Tigers led 14-3 at halftime and after LaFell's TD, they took the ball at their own 36 armed with all three timeouts. Chris Todd completed a short pass to Ben Tate, and a roughing-the-passer penalty on LSU defensive end Rahim Alem brought the ball to the Bayou Bengal 47.

However, the gain was negated when Alem sacked Todd back at the Auburn 38 to create a second-and-25 and effectively end the game.

"LSU has a heck of a defense. They are all fast and they are big and physical on their defensive line," Todd said. "They can all run. Our guys did a good job. We did some good things, it just wasn't enough."

Things are never easy in the SEC and Todd must prove he has a short memory and get the Tigers right back on track against Tennessee. The Volunteers are also looking to rebound from a loss to a top 10 team, as Tennessee fell to 1-2 overall and 0-1 in the SEC with a 30-6 thrashing at the hands of No. 4 Florida last weekend.

It's unlikely anyone -- even the Gators or LSU -- will sport the consistency to navigate the minefield that is the SEC without stumbling somewhere along the way.

And that's the tact Tuberville will take in an attempt to keep his team from letting one loss derail a promising season.

"After last week's game, we're all disappointed in the outcome," Tuberville said after practice earlier in the week. "I was very encouraged by a lot of the things we did, both on offense and on defense and how hard the players played, how hard the coaches coached, and how hard the fans cheered.

"That was some night, but we just didn't get it done. But the good thing is that our players have moved on. You have to do that each week, win or lose, it doesn't make a difference. You have to realize that the next Saturday comes up very quickly."
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About John McMullen

John is the managing editor of The Phanatic Magazine, the assistant managing editor of The Sports Network and the co-host of the highly rated 'Johns on Sports' radio show on WTBQ in New York. Every Saturday from 6:30-9 p.m. (et) you can hear John along with his co-host, John Gottlieb, talk to the ...
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