Auburn quarterback Chris Todd (12) is sacked by Arkansas safety Jerico Nelson during the fourth quarter of their game on Oct. 10. (AP Photo/April L Brown)A funny thing has happened to the Auburn Tigers on their way to a dream season in Gene Chizik’s first year as head coach.
It’s starting to resemble the nightmare of 2008 that led to Coach Tommy Tuberville’s departure.
Following a lopsided 44-23 loss at Arkansas, Auburn was upset at home by Kentucky 21-14 last week, their first loss to the Wildcats since 1966.
Suddenly, the Tigers (5-2, 2-2 Southeastern Conference) are at a crossroads. Will they fade down the stretch as they did in 2008 when they lost six of their final seven games to finish 5-7 after a 4-1 start or will they regroup from their first two losses this season and finish strong?
The schedule says Auburn will struggle to find victories in their final five games, beginning Saturday night at LSU. Auburn is an eight-point underdog and LSU is coming off a bye week following its loss to Florida two weeks ago.
LSU (5-1, 3-1) also is looking to kick-start its season for the homestretch as it tries to overtake Alabama for first place in the SEC West. With that in mind, I don’t see Auburn pulling off an upset at LSU, which would be the Tigers’ third consecutive loss.
Then comes the final four-game stretch against Ole Miss, Furman, Georgia and Alabama. The only road game in that span is at Georgia on Nov. 14 and there’s an open date before the Crimson Tide arrives on the Plains on Nov. 27, but if Kentucky can win at Auburn, then certainly Ole Miss and Alabama can.
Chizik understands what the Tigers are up against. In his weekly media conference, he discussed the LSU game and Auburn’s upcoming schedule.
It’s starting to resemble the nightmare of 2008 that led to Coach Tommy Tuberville’s departure.
Following a lopsided 44-23 loss at Arkansas, Auburn was upset at home by Kentucky 21-14 last week, their first loss to the Wildcats since 1966.
Suddenly, the Tigers (5-2, 2-2 Southeastern Conference) are at a crossroads. Will they fade down the stretch as they did in 2008 when they lost six of their final seven games to finish 5-7 after a 4-1 start or will they regroup from their first two losses this season and finish strong?
The schedule says Auburn will struggle to find victories in their final five games, beginning Saturday night at LSU. Auburn is an eight-point underdog and LSU is coming off a bye week following its loss to Florida two weeks ago.
LSU (5-1, 3-1) also is looking to kick-start its season for the homestretch as it tries to overtake Alabama for first place in the SEC West. With that in mind, I don’t see Auburn pulling off an upset at LSU, which would be the Tigers’ third consecutive loss.
Then comes the final four-game stretch against Ole Miss, Furman, Georgia and Alabama. The only road game in that span is at Georgia on Nov. 14 and there’s an open date before the Crimson Tide arrives on the Plains on Nov. 27, but if Kentucky can win at Auburn, then certainly Ole Miss and Alabama can.
Chizik understands what the Tigers are up against. In his weekly media conference, he discussed the LSU game and Auburn’s upcoming schedule.
"(The LSU game) will be huge, but every game is huge,” Chizik said. “October is a stretch for us where the schedule gets difficult, not only because of who we are playing, but when you look at games seven, eight and nine is when you see a lot of upsets occur. At this time of the year there are no more surprises, everyone knows what you are doing. There is no newness to anything. There is no first conference game or away game. At this point it becomes who can execute better, especially on the road. In my opinion this is the time when you see a lot of crazy things happen, because a team doesn't execute right. It is really hard to be good every week. So for us in particular, this game and the whole month itself is huge. If we want to be good throughout this month we will have to execute better."
If Auburn is going to right the ship, they have to regain their offensive magic. The Tigers scored only one offensive touchdown against Kentucky and was flagged for eight penalties in the fourth quarter, killing any kind of momentum they might have generated.
Quarterback Chris Todd also has to get back on track. He completed only 10-of-24 passes for 80 yards and threw an interception against Kentucky.
Chizik has not lost faith in Todd. "We think he's made really good decisions overall,” Chizik said on his weekly Tiger Talk call-in show Thursday night. “Everybody is looking at him, and they're going to see the ones he didn't hit. I can show a lot he has hit. He'll continue to get better.''
Perhaps, Todd will get better. Just don’t look for it to happen Saturday night in Death Valley at LSU, which has the best defense Auburn has faced this season.
The Tigers’ losing streak will reach three games … LSU 24, Auburn 10.
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