Auburn vs. Louisiana-Monroe Game Notes

Auburn Football Fans:

War Eagle!  This is the Auburn vs. ULM (La.-Monroe) issue of the AuburnFootball.com Tiger Insider Newsletter.  The game will be played Saturday, August 30, 2008 at Auburn’s  Jordan-Hare Stadium.  The game, which is the season opener for both schools, will be played at 6pm CST.  Future schedule information and game times can be found at: http://www.auburnfootball.com/2008-auburn-football-schedule.htm .  It must me noted that ULM snapped a 25-game losing streak to SEC schools with a decisive 21-14 win at Alabama last season.

2008 Auburn Depth Chart

In preparation for the start of the season, Auburn has released the first depth chart of the season.  There are a few surprises; the most interesting was that senior receiver Robert Dunn is listed as a fourth-string inside receiver behind sophomore Terrell Zachery, true freshman Darvin Adams and sophomore running back-turned-wideout Mario Fannin.  I am also surprised that Fannin isn’t higher on the depth charts, although I expect that to change as the season progresses.  Robert Dunn may very well be a starter again very soon, although as Coach Tuberville noted, “He’s in the doghouse”.  Dunn is still the starting punt returner.  Another note:  the starting quarterback is still to be determined.  Tony Franklin has reiterated that both Kodi Burns and Chris Todd will receive equal chances to play, and that a starter may not be named.  Also worth noting:  defensive end Raven Gray will redshirt due to injury this season, and offensive lineman Chaz Ramsey is still injured and may end up with a redshirt as well.  Here is the depth chart as released this morning:

Offense
RB
1 Brad Lester (5-11, 197, Sr.) --OR--
44 Ben Tate (5-11, 216, Jr.)
9 Tristan Davis (5-10, 212, Sr.) --OR--
32 Eric Smith (5-10, 232, Fr.)
QB
18 Kodi Burns (6-2, 205, So.) --OR--
12 Chris Todd (6-4, 217, Jr.)
19 Neil Caudle (6-3, 199, So.)
X receiver
16 James Swinton (6-0, 180, Sr.)
23 Chris Slaughter (6-4, 179, So.)
82 Philip Pierre-Louis (5-8, 155, Fr.)
H receiver
81 Terrell Zachery (6-1, 205, So.)
89 Darvin Adams (6-3, 178, Fr.)
27 Mario Fannin (5-11, 225, So.)
3 Robert Dunn (6-0, 174, Sr.)
LT
73 Lee Ziemba (6-8, 285, So.)
75 Andrew McCain (6-6, 295, Jr.)
LG
71 Tyronne Green (6-2, 307, Sr.)
79 Jared Cooper (6-4, 291, RFr.)
C
68 Jason Bosley (6-4, 273, Sr.)
50 Ryan Pugh (6-4, 284, So.)
RG
57 Byron Isom (6-3, 291, So.)
53 Bart Eddins (6-4, 289, So.)
78 Darrell Roseman (6-4, 275, So.)
RT
50 Ryan Pugh (6-4, 280, So.)
66 Mike Berry (6-3, 312, So.)
Y receiver
5 Tommy Trott (6-5, 242, Jr.)
13 Tim Hawthorne (6-3, 209, So.)
87 Derek Winter (6-0, 199, Fr.)
89 Vance Smith (6-2, 245, Fr.)
Z receiver
80 Rodgeriqus Smith (6-1, 195, Sr.)
82 Philip Pierre-Louis (5-8, 155, Fr.)
85 Quindarius Carr (6-1, 176, RFr.)

Defense
DE
52 Antonio Coleman (6-3, 250, Jr.)
45 Antoine Carter (6-4, 252, So.)
NG
93 Mike Blanc (6-4, 290, So.)
99 Tez Doolittle (6-3, 283, Sr.)
DT
94 Sen'Derrick Marks (6-2, 296, Jr.)
91 Jake Ricks (6-4, 300, Jr.)
98 Zach Clayton (6-3, 290, So.)
DE 49 Michael Goggans (6-3, 259, So.)
83 Gabe McKenzie (6-5, 253, Jr.)
LB
46 Craig Stevens (6-3, 221, So.)
56 Courtney Harden (6-1, 230, Sr.)
LB
10 Tray Blackmon (6-0, 216, Jr.)
17 Josh Bynes (6-2, 230, So.)
31 Adam Herring (6-1, 213, RFr.)
LB
59 Chris Evans (6-0, 218, Sr.) --OR--
55 Merrill Johnson (6-0, 210, Sr.)
FS
4 Zac Etheridge (6-0, 206, So.)
11 Mike Slade (6-3, 192, RFr.)
SS
26 Mike McNeil (6-2, 204, So.)
24 Jonathan Vickers (6-3, 204, Sr.)
33 Christian Thompson (6-1, 186, Fr.)
LC
8 Jerraud Powers (5-10, 192, Jr.)
25 D'Antoine Hood (5-10, 184, Fr.)
RC
6 Walter McFadden (6-0, 177, Jr.)
15 Neiko Thorpe (6-2, 171, Fr.)

Special Teams
PK
18 Wes Byrum (6-2, 214, So.)
37 Morgan Hull (6-3, 189, So.)
P
97 Clinton Durst (6-1, 190, RFr.) --OR--
21 Ryan Shoemaker (6-0, 186, So.)
22 Patrick Tatum (6-2, 216, So.)
DS
60 Robert Shiver (6-3, 225, Sr.)
61 Josh Harris (6-1, 220, RFr.)
Holder
96 Clayton Crofoot (6-6, 186, Jr.)
19 Neil Caudle (6-3, 199, So.)
PR
3 Robert Dunn (6-0, 174, Sr.)
82 Philip Pierre-Louis (5-8, 155, Fr.) --OR--
23 Chris Slaughter (6-4, 179, So.)
KOR
44 Ben Tate (5-11, 216, Jr.) &
9 Tristan Davis (5-10, 212, Sr.) --OR--
82 Philip Pierre-Louis (5-8, 155, Fr.)
16 James Swinton (6-0, 180, Sr.)

ULM Game Notes
From the Auburn University Press Release

THE GAME
Auburn begins its 116th year of football as it hosts Louisiana-Monroe in the seventh all-time meeting between the two schools. The game, which is the season opener for both schools, begins at 6 p.m. CT.

AUBURN HEADLINES
* Auburn has an 88-25-2 record in season-opening games. Auburn has won 17 of its last 22 openers, and has a 6-3 mark under head coach Tommy Tuberville with two straight wins.
* Auburn's 88 season-opening victories is just one win behind Alabama for the most among the 12 Southeastern Conference schools.
* Auburn enters the season ranked 10th in the Associated Press preseason top 25 poll and 11th in the USA Today coaches preseason poll. It marks the sixth straight season that Auburn has been nationally-ranked in the preseason polls, and the third time with a top-10 AP ranking.
* Auburn has never lost to any of the current members of the Sun Belt Conference with a 13-0 record. * Auburn returns more than 80 percent of its rushing, receiving and all-purpose yards from last season, as well as more than 90 percent of its scoring.
* Entering its 68th year as home to the Auburn football team, Jordan-Hare Stadium is the nation's ninth-largest on-campus stadium with a capacity of 87,451 fans. The Tigers are 261-64-7 (.797) at Jordan-Hare Stadium, including a 47-10 (.825) mark in the last seven years.
* Auburn is 14-2 in home night games since the 2000 season, including victories over four nationally-ranked teams.
* Auburn will surpass the 20 million mark in all-time total attendance at Jordan-Hare Stadium during the game against Louisiana-Monroe. The Tigers have drawn 19,986,213 fans in 68 seasons at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
* Under Tommy Tuberville, Auburn is 44-0 when scoring 30 or more points in a game. Auburn has won 49 consecutive games when scoring 30 or more points in a game.
* Auburn is 3-2 all-time in the month of August, and has not played a game in August since the 2003 season opener against Southern Cal.
* Auburn has scored in 63 consecutive games since being shut out in the 2003 season opener.
* Tommy Tuberville enters his 10th season at Auburn in 2008 and his 14th as a head coach in the Southeastern Conference. Tuberville has the third-longest tenure in the SEC behind Phillip Fulmer of Tennessee and Steve Spurrier of South Carolina, both of whom are in their 16th season in the SEC.

AUBURN IN OPENERS
Auburn has an 88-25-2 record in season-opening games. The Tigers have won two straight season openers after dropping three of their previous four. Auburn beat Kansas State last year, 23-13, and earned a 40-14 victory over Washington State in 2006. The Tigers' last loss in a season opener was a 23-14 decision against Georgia Tech in 2005. Auburn earned a 31-0 win over Louisiana-Monroe in 2004.

Auburn has won 17 of its last 22 season openers, and owns a 6-3 mark under head coach Tommy Tuberville.

NON-CONFERENCE OPENERS
Since 1977, Auburn is 21-5 in season openers against non-conference opponents. In 113 years of football at Auburn, the Tigers are 51-15 when opening the season versus non-conference foes.

OPENING W's TIED FOR SECOND IN SEC
Auburn's total of 88 season-opening victories is just one behind Alabama for the best among the 12 Southeastern Conference Schools.

The Tigers are tied with Arkansas for second, followed by Georgia with 87 wins in season openers. Ole Miss is next with 84, followed by Tennessee (82), LSU (81), Kentucky (78), Mississippi State, South Carolina and Florida (74) and Vanderbilt (65).

LOUISIANA-MONROE QUICK HITTERS
Head coach Charlie Weatherbie is in his sixth season as head coach at ULM ... Last season's 6-6 finish marked ULM's first bowl-eligible season since the school became a I-A school in 1994 ... ULM returns 15 starters, including seven on offense, six on defense and two specialists ... The Warhawks were picked to finish sixth in the Sun Belt preseason coaches poll ... Tight end Zeek Zacharie was named to the Mackey Award preseason watch list ... Zacharie, defensive back Greg James and punter Scott Love were all named to the Preseason All-Sun Belt Team ... Senior quarterback Kinsmon Lancaster is in his third season as a starter for ULM, and passed for 1,866 yards last year while adding 398 yards on the ground ... The Warhawks return three players who started at linebacker last year while helping the team lead the Sun Belt in rushing defense ... ULM snapped a 25-game losing streak to SEC schools with a 21-14 win at Alabama last season.

ALABAMA WARHAWKS
ULM has five players on its roster from the state of Alabama: LB Ken Dorsey (Homewood), WR Anthony McCall (Montgomery), DE Anthony Montgomery (Adamsville), DB Jonathan Price (Fairfield) and QB Cody Wells (Hoover).

AUBURN-ULM SERIES HISTORY
Auburn and Louisiana-Monroe will be meeting for the seventh time, with all seven games being played in Jordan-Hare Stadium since 1994. Auburn has won the six previous games by an average score of 44-12, which also happens to be the exact score of the first meeting in 1994. The closest game was a 28-24 decision in 1996, while Auburn's 73-7 victory in 2003 is tied for the largest margin of victory in Jordan-Hare Stadium history.

AGAINST THE SUN BELT
Auburn has played five of the nine teams currently in the Sun Belt Conference at least once, and has never lost, with a 13-0 record.

Nearly half of the 13 games have been played against Louisiana-Monroe, with Auburn holding a 6-0 record against the Warhawks. The Tigers are 4-0 against Louisiana-Lafayette, 2-0 against Western Kentucky and have one win each against Arkansas State and North Texas.

IN THE POLLS
For the sixth consecutive year, Auburn is nationally ranked to begin the season. The Tigers are 10th in the Associated Press preseason poll, and 11th in the preseason USA Today coaches poll.

It is the first time since the 1986-91 seasons that Auburn has been ranked at the start of six consecutive seasons. The Tigers are also ranked in the top 10 of the AP Preseason Poll for the third time since 2003. The Tigers were the preseason No. 6 team in 2003 and ranked No. 4 in the initial 2006 poll.

UNDER THE LIGHTS AT JORDAN-HARE
Auburn has been tough to beat in night games at Jordan-Hare Stadium in recent seasons, accumulating a record of 14-2 since the 2000 season in home games starting at 6 p.m. or later. That stretch includes a 4-0 record against ranked opponents, with wins over No. 1 Florida in 2001, No. 2 Florida in 2006, No. 7 Tennessee in 2003 and No. 14 Georgia in 2000. The Tigers currently own a two-game winning streak in home night games.

TWENTY MILLION MARK
Auburn will surpass the 20 million mark in all-time total attendance at Jordan-Hare Stadium during the game against Louisiana-Monroe. Entering the season opener, the Tigers have drawn 19,986,213 fans in 68 seasons at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Interestingly, it took 51 seasons for Auburn to draw its first 10 million fans, but will take just 18 more to draw the second 10 million. The Tigers surpassed 10 million fans during the fourth home game of the 1990 season - a 56-6 victory over Vanderbilt on Oct. 13.

ON THIS DATE
Auburn has only played once previously on Aug. 30, falling to Southern Cal in the 2003 opener at Jordan-Hare Stadium, 23-0. That game marked the last time the Tigers have played on any date during the month of August. IN AUGUST
Auburn is 3-2 all-time in games played in August, including the last August game against USC. The Tigers' first August opener was on Aug. 28, 1984, when Auburn lost to Miami (Fla.), 20-18, in the Kickoff Classic in East Rutherford, N.J. The Tigers have played on Aug. 31 three times, winning home games against Georgia Southern (32-17) in 1991, UAB (29-0) in 1996 and Wyoming (35-21) in 2000.

GAME TICKETS
Last minute tickets may be available through the Auburn Ticket office or by visiting www.auburnfootball.com, and clicking on the Tickets link.

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.  This list will be updated as soon as possible,  it is probable that several changes will be made by Saturday.

INTERNET:
Live audio & stats at www.auburntigers.com.  Also free radio coverage may be provided by Yahoo Sports at http://sports.yahoo.com.

REPLAY ON CSS
Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast (CSS) will broadcast encore presentations of Auburn football every Sunday at 6 p.m. ET/5 p.m. CT with Andy Burcham handling play-by-play duties and Cole Cubelic doing color commentary. CSS will also air the Auburn Football Review every Tuesday at 5 p.m. ET/4 p.m. CT and the Auburn Football Preview every Friday at 4:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. CT. CSS is a 24-hour regional sports network serving approximately 5.8 million households across 12 Southeastern states.

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! 

Thanks and War Eagle! 

Thomas "T." Price

AU Pharm '92

tprice@auburnfootball.com

AuburnFootball.com - The Unofficial Auburn Football Fan Center!

Site Info:  We are not affiliated with or sponsored by Auburn University or the Auburn athletic department. We are a non-commercial fan site only, and exist only as a hobby to this one Auburn alum. Any views, opinions, or commentary are strictly our own or the respective copyright holders.

 Digital Television is coming soon!  Don’t throw away your analog set!