Auburn Tigers vs. Vanderbilt Commodores Pre-Game Notes

AUBURNFOOTBALL.COM’S TIGER INSIDER NEWSLETTER

Auburn Football Fans:

War Eagle!  This is the Auburn Tigers vs. the Vanderbilt Commodores issue of the AuburnFootball.com Tiger Insider Newsletter.  The game will be played Saturday, October 4th, 2008 in Nashville on the Vanderbilt campus.  The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN at 5pm CST.  Excitement is in the air in Nashville, as ESPN College GameDay will be broadcasting live from campus for the first time ever.   

Auburn has won the last 13 games in the series, but Saturday's game will mark the first time the Tigers have ever faced a nationally-ranked Vanderbilt squad. Auburn, which has a nine-game winning streak against schools from the state of Tennessee, will be playing its fourth straight nationally-televised game.  Auburn is currently ranked #13 in the AP polls, and Vandy is ranked #19.

Tracking the Tigers
Auburn Headline Links From Around The Nation.

There would be plenty of excitement about the game in Nashville even without GameDay, but it won't hurt . . .
Clanton Advertiser

"I think we're in a lot better mental shape this week than we were this time last week . . .
Birmingham News

If Vanderbilt can win against Auburn this Saturday, going 5-0 for the first time since 1943, this year will be "the Year" that Commodore fans have been waiting for since 1982 . . .
Bleacher Report

The Commodores will need a healthy Nickson this Saturday, and his ability to both run and pass will be critical if they're going to move the ball on Auburn's defense . . .
ESPN

The Commodores haven't had a winning season in 25 years. Win or lose against Auburn Saturday, Vandy is still well on its way to ending that drought . . .
CBS Sportsline

There is no question that Vanderbilt has what it takes to snap its long losing streak against Auburn . . .
The Sports Network

Caldwell's offensive line has been a big part of the Commodores' success . . .
ESPN

A line that returned four starters has struggled to adjust to Auburn's new spread formations and shotgun snaps that require lining up in a different stance . . .
The Sporting News

"We've got a mindset now that we're going to be aggressive no matter what the other team does . . .
Auburn Undercover

Franklin indicated Sunday that Auburn's current offense is increasingly dissimilar to the sys­tem he was hired to install dur­ing the winter . . .
Montgomery Advertiser

Franklin wanted to design an entire package - dubbed the War Eagle formation - for Fannin . . .
Florence Times-Daily

In his weekly press conference and in a private conversation in his office, the head coach refused to throw his offensive coordinator under the bus . . .
Birmingham News

Is Tuberville meddling in offensive affairs? . . .
Montgomery Advertiser

You would have to think the Tigers' SEC athletes match up with the guys they are playing against (and if they don't, it's not Franklin's fault) . . .
Birmingham News

Tuberville says he's going to stick with the system in place, because he believes in it and the guy who's running it, cautioning that you've got to do what works . . .
Opelika-Auburn News

Auburn is currently ranked 90th out of a possible 119 teams in total offense and 97th in passing . . .
RealFootball365

The Commodores give up a ton of passing yards, but they make up for it by coming up with the big plays when needed and forcing plenty of mistakes . . .
College Football News

Quoting Coach Tuberville about the Vanderbilt game:

"We're now headed to a very tough game, in terms of an opponent who is playing with a lot of emotion in Vanderbilt. They've got a good football team. Bobby Johnson is doing a great job. He works a lot of difficult situations in terms of recruits who he can get into school and I think that he's done as good a job as anybody over the years. They've done a very good job, they've stuck to what they're doing, and they've got a lot of good athletes. Going back and looking at last year's film, even though they lost a lot of players, they're playing at a higher level and playing with a lot of confidence. They've won on the road and at home, so we've got to prepare for a very tough battle. But, as we always do, we've got to worry about ourselves.

"We've got a lot of work to do, but that's good, knowing that where we're at this point, we've still got room for improvement. The potential is still there for us to get much better and the potential will still be there as the year goes on. Sometimes it might not look like it, like last week, but we did get better. We made some progress and we'll get better this

AUBURN – VANDERBILT GAME NOTES
from the Auburn University Press Release

AUBURN HEADLINES
* Auburn has not lost to Vanderbilt since the 1955 Gator Bowl.
* Auburn is 12-5 against nationally-ranked teams since the 2004 season.
* Auburn has the nation's third-best record over the past five seasons in games away from home with an 18-4 mark (.818), including a 15-3 mark in SEC road games.
* Auburn has won 16 of its last 17 games when wearing all white uniforms.
* Auburn will be part of the ESPN GameDay location for the second time this season and 10th time overall. The Tigers are 5-4 when playing in GameDay's on-site game.
* Auburn leads the nation in opponents' third-down conversion percentage, surrendering just 11 first downs in 76 attempts (14.5 percent).
* Auburn ranks fifth nationally in scoring defense (10.6), 11th in total defense (246.0), 12th in pass defense (153.8) and 18th in rushing defense (92.2).
* Auburn has is one of just seven teams - and two teams that have played five games - that has allowed just one or no rushing touchdowns this season.
* Auburn has held two of its three SEC opponents to less than 100 yards passing, and ranks third nationally allowing just 4.63 yards per pass attempt.
* Auburn has outscored its opponents 62-9 in the first half this season.
* Sen'Derrick Marks leads the SEC and ranks tied for 15th nationally with eight tackles for loss.
* Antonio Coleman leads the SEC with four sacks and ranks second behind Marks in tackles for loss with seven.
* Robert Dunn ranks sixth nationally in punt returns (21.4).
* Rodgeriqus Smith needs one reception to become the seventh player in Auburn history with 100 career receptions.

 

AUBURN-VANDERBILT SERIES NOTES
Auburn has won 13 straight in the series since Vanderbilt's last victory in the 1955 Gator Bowl ... The Tigers have won the last six meetings in Nashville since Vanderbilt's last win in 1950 ... Vanderbilt won eight consecutive games in the series from 1929 to 1950 ... Auburn has averaged 36.4 points during its 13-game winning streak against Vanderbilt ... The Tigers have held Vanderbilt to 10 points or less in nine of the 13 victories ... Auburn has rushed for over 200 yards in nine of the last 13 meetings, and had at least four rushing touchdowns in six of those 13 games, including the last two ... Vanderbilt has averaged just 106.6 yards passing per game in the last 10 meetings.

VANDERBILT QUICK HITTERS
Vanderbilt is shooting for its first 5-0 start since 1943 ... The Commodores are nationally ranked for the first time since 1984 ... Vanderbilt is 2-0 in the SEC for just the third time since 1956 ... The Commodores have intercepted 10 passes and have not thrown a single one ... Vanderbilt ranks No. 1 in the nation in turnover margin (+2.25) ... The Commodores are tied for the national lead in fewest penalties with 11 ... Vanderbilt is 116th out of 119 teams in passing offense (80.8) ... The Commodores have outscored their opponents 51-10 in the second half this season ... D.J. Moore leads the nation in punt returns, averaging 29.0 yards per return ... Ryan Hamilton's three interceptions leads the SEC ... Patrick Benoist is averaging 9.3 tackles per game, which is No. 2 in the SEC.

TENNESSEE TIGERS
The 2008 Auburn roster includes two players who hail from the state of Tennessee. Sophomore OL Mike Berry is from Antioch, while redshirt freshman OL A.J. Greene is from Madison.

GAME TICKETS
Tickets are officially “sold out”.  As Vanderbilt’s stadium is small (39,773) tickets may be hard to come by and sell at a premium price from scalpers.  Check scalper and Stub Hub prices by visiting www.auburnfootball.com, and clicking on the Tickets Link, or searching our Ebay custom search located on our tickets page.    Our message boards usually have some tickets ‘for sale” or even “give away” listed as well.

See www.auburnfootball.com and click on the “Auburn Tiger Tickets link for more information and ticket news.

TV
The game will be televised nationally by ESPN at 5 p.m. CST. 

RADIO:
The game will be broadcast throughout the Southeast on Auburn Network affiliate stations.  For a full list of Auburn Network affiliates, please visit http://www.auburnfootball.com/auburn-radio.htm.   The game will also be heard on SATELITTE RADIO XM Radio 201.

INTERNET:
Live audio & stats at www.auburntigers.com.  Also free radio coverage may be provided by Yahoo Sports at http://sports.yahoo.com and various Auburn affiliate stations.  Internet TV broadcasts will be posted on game day on the message boards.

UPDATES AND LATE BREAKING NEWS
Injury updates and late-breaking Auburn news can always be found on our message boards.  Visit our main web page at www.auburnfootball.com, and click on the TIGER INSIDER MESSAGE BOARDS link to find one of the best online Auburn communities on the internet!   

People have been getting REALLY ROWDY on the message boards this week!  Go to www.auburnfootball.com and click on the “Message Boards” link to visit us.  Check it out!

Thanks and War Eagle! 

Thomas "T." Price

AU Pharm '92

tprice@auburnfootball.com

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