Auburn hopes back-to-basics attitude brings second-half success

By Lee Roberts  |   Thursday, October 30, 2008  |  Comments( 0 )

Auburn Tigers
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If college football games were only 30 minutes, the Auburn Tigers would be undefeated. Unfortunately, having the lead at halftime doesn’t guarantee success. Auburn has limped its way to a 4-4 record despite leading at the intermission in every game it has played this season. For a program that has traditionally thrived on wearing opponents down with its physical style of play, this is a jarring statistic.

In order to fix Auburn’s finishing problem, the coaches have added in more conditioning and are making the players be more physical in practice. Coach Tommy Tuberville now has the first-team offense and defense practicing against each other, special teams practicing at full speed and everyone practicing longer and harder than they have all season. Despite its 4-4 record, Auburn can still have a successful finish to the season. Here’s five reasons how the 2008 campaign on The Plains can be a positive one . . .

1) Go bowling – Sure, they won’t be playing in the Sugar Bowl, but with a strong finish to the season, the Tigers can get to a bowl and use that extra practice time to improve as a football team.

2) Build for 2009 – I know this isn’t exactly high on the fans' priority list, but the next four games and any potential bowl game give the team a chance to build on the fundamentals. Auburn essentially started over in the middle of its season, so the hope now is that next year can be a memorable one.

3) Lock up Tuberville – Sure, he botched the entire Tony Franklin situation, but Tuberville is an excellent coach who has brought Auburn into the SEC title discussion every year. Surely, at least a couple schools will make a run at him this offseason, but Auburn would be wise to do everything it can to keep him. Victories will follow.

4) Play the spoiler – Auburn has Ole Miss, Georgia and Alabama on its remaining schedule. Realistically, Ole Miss needs a win over Auburn this Saturday to eventually become bowl-eligible. Georgia and Alabama should both be in the thick of the SEC and BCS championship race when they face Auburn. Wouldn’t it be nice for Auburn to ruin some other schools’ seasons?

5) Beat Alabama – Winning the Iron Bowl is probably Nos. 1-5 on every Auburn fan’s list right now. With Alabama undefeated and ranked second in the country, nothing would be sweeter for Auburn than knocking its rival out of the ranks of the unbeatens. A win in Tuscaloosa would be Auburn’s seventh straight Iron Bowl victory.
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About Lee Roberts

Born in Richmond, Va, I moved south to UNC-Chapel Hill for college and received a degree in Journalism and Mass Communication. I currently live in Charlotte, NC and cover Auburn, LSU and the ...
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