Tuberville takes over

By John McMullen  |   Friday, October 03, 2008  |  Comments( 1 )

Auburn Tigers
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After losing a heartbreaker to national powerhouse LSU, Auburn managed to bounce back and edge Tennessee last week.

In previous seasons, Tommy Tuberville and company could have looked at the schedule and breathed a sigh of relief when they saw perennial Southeastern Conference doormat Vanderbilt. After all, Auburn has won its last 13 matchups against the Commodores.

Not anymore.

The Tigers expect to have their hands full with an undefeated Commodores club that is nationally ranked for the first time since 1984 and is 2-0 in the SEC for just the third time since 1956. This Vanderbilt team also leads the nation in turnover margin and is tied for the national lead in fewest penalties.

"We're now headed to a very tough game, in terms of an opponent who is playing with a lot of emotion in Vanderbilt," Tuberville said. "They've got a good football team. (Coach) Bobby Johnson is doing a great job. They've got a lot of good athletes."

Mistakes, however, have been a staple of Auburn's offense this season and have held the Tigers back from something every coach looks for -- consistency.

The offensive line play of the Tigers has been particularly frustrating and now it seems Tuberville is prepared to pull the plug, at least for now, on the much-ballyhooed spread offense that first-year coordinator Tony Franklin installed.

Convinced that the Tigers just don't have the personnel to flourish in the spread, the coach reminded us all he is in charge earlier this week when he said that "We don't run Tony Franklin’s spread offense. This is Auburn’s offense."

So, expect a more traditional Auburn attack in Vanderbilt and for the rest of the year. That means a power running game with a fullback and a tight end.

"We look at film and I get my two cents' worth," Tuberville said. "One thing I like about Tony (Franklin) is that of course with the media he is pretty blunt. He'll give the coaches perspective. I'm more political. Sometimes you can handle the truth and sometimes you can't handle the truth. I make sure we give our players the opportunity with the talent we have. One day we will have the talent where we can run 100 percent of what Tony (Franklin) likes to run. Right now we don't have that talent in some areas. We have to take advantage of our offensive talent versus the defenses we play.

"We are going to run what works and what we are going to match up better with the other teams. Everybody has to do that. You can't put a square peg in a round hole."

A stunning admission considering Auburn is just five games into the season and is ranked 13th in the country.

Tuberville was careful to not throw his offensive coordinator under the bus, however.

"I'm here to win games," Tuberville added. "I'm not here to win friends and run for public office. The spread offense is a heck of an offense. We are going to run more of it as we go. The upside is tremendous."

Still, it's clear the coach is not happy with the status quo.

Whether that's Franklin's fault or the fact that quarterbacks Chris Todd or Kodi Burns haven't provided consistent play is up for debate.

What's not is that Tommy Tuberville has taken over.
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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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