Todd Bounces Back in Auburn Win

Chris Todd throws pass against Ole Miss (AP Photo/ Butch Dill)

I was wrong.

There, I said it, but don’t tell my wife.

Before Auburn played Ole Miss, I wrote that the Tigers should bench starting quarterback Chris Todd in favor of backup Neil Caudle if they stood any chance of upsetting the Rebels.

Well, Auburn head coach Gene Chizik and offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn stood by their man and he delivered. Todd wasn’t great, but effective, completing 12-of-22 passes for 212 yards and a touchdown in the Tigers’ stirring 33-20 Southeastern Conference victory that snapped their three-game losing streak.

Senior running back Ben Tate had another big day, rushing for 144 yards, including a 53-yard touchdown jaunt, as Auburn’s offense came back to life against the nation’s ninth-ranked defense.

Auburn’s defense, which had been a sieve during the losing streak, twice came up big in the fourth quarter to preserve the victory. Ole Miss started two drives inside Auburn territory in the period, but didn’t score either time. Defensive end Antonio Coleman had his best game of the season with five tackles, two sacks and four quarterback hurries. Defensive back Walter McFadden alertly picked off a tipped pass and returned it 29 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter during a 21-point outburst in the first seven minutes of the period that gave Auburn a commanding 31-7 lead.

All-in-all, it was a very satisfying win for the Tigers (6-3, 3-3 SEC) as they became bowl eligible.

Moving forward, the Tigers should have an easy time with Furman in their upcoming homecoming game and then comes games against their two biggest rivals, at Georgia on Nov. 14 and at home against Alabama on Nov. 27.

Auburn already has exceeded my expectations and an upset against either Georgia or Alabama would make Chizik’s first season an even more remarkable success.

*****

Magic City Classic

A&M's Thomas Harris runs in for a TD. (Photo by Linda Stelter/Birmingham News)

Perhaps, it was the economy or maybe the NASCAR race that was being held in nearby Talladega on the same weekend or it could have been the rain. Whatever it was, attendance at the Magic City Classic was down more than 13,000 from the record crowd of 69,113 at the 2008 game.

A crowd of only 55,322 watched the Alabama A&M Bulldogs win their fifth consecutive game in the 68th Classic, defeating the rival Alabama State Hornets 21-7 Saturday at Legion Field.

A&M freshman quarterback Deaunte Mason and wide receiver Thomas Harris connected on TD passes of 57 and 22 yards to spark the victory as the Bulldogs improved to 35-30-3 in the series.

Despite the falloff in attendance, the atmosphere at Legion Field was still electric as thousands of tailgaters gathered outside without going inside the stadium for the game. And celebrities such as Tom Joyner, Steve Harvey and Brian McKnight were in town to add to the festivities.

*****

Briefly …

Troy coach Larry Blakeney earned his 150^th career win Saturday as the Trojans (6-2, 5-0) routed Louisiana-Monroe 42-21 to solidify their hold on first place in the Sun Belt Conference. Senior quarterback Levi Brown had another big game for Troy, throwing for 378 yards and four touchdowns … Joshua Harris completed 14-of-21 passes for 191 yards and three touchdowns to lead Tuskegee to a 40-6 win over Lane College Saturday as the Golden Tigers (7-2, 7-1 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) moved within one win of earning their fourth consecutive SIAC title. Coach Willie Slater's four-year career record at Tuskegee is now 39-5. … Top-ranked Division II North Alabama (10-0, 7-0) defeated Arkansas-Monticello 27-13 Saturday to secure the Gulf South Conference championship in Terry Bowden's first season as head coach of the Lions … Finally, UAB quarterback Joseph Webb continues to astound. He had 304 yards total offense, while throwing for two touchdowns, rushing for a touchdown and catching a touchdown pass in the Blazers’ 38-33 win at UTEP.

Slater Turns Tuskegee into Powerhouse

Willie Slater makes only a fraction of what Nick Saban makes ($4 million a year) to coach college football, but he’s proving Saban isn’t the only coach in the state of Alabama to turn a program into a national contender.

While Saban’s exploits in three seasons at the University of Alabama have been well chronicled since the Crimson Tide lured him away from the Miami Dolphins at the end of the 2006 season, Slater’s accomplishments at Tuskegee University have flown under the radar.

In his first three seasons at the helm of the Golden Tigers, Slater, 53, compiled a 32-3 record, captured the 2007 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) national championship with a 12-0 record, won three consecutive SIAC championships and twice was named SIAC Coach of the Year.

This season, Slater has guided Tuskegee to a 6-2 record overall – with both losses coming to in-state rivals Miles and Alabama A&M. The Golden Tigers are ranked fifth in this week’s Sheridan Broadcasting Network Black College Football Poll and 16th in the AFCA Division II Coaches Poll.

Slater also has Tuskegee in line to win its fourth consecutive SIAC title and 25th conference crown overall. The Golden Tigers put themselves in that position when they rallied in the final minute to beat previously unbeaten Albany State 21-19 last week on the road. Tailback Tony Forney scored the winning touchdown on a 4-yard sweep around left end with 25 seconds remaining to cap an 85-yard drive. The outcome left both teams with 6-1 conference records, but Tuskegee holds the tie-breaker edge.

"This is by far the biggest win for me as head coach for a lot of reasons,'' said Slater, now 38-5. “It means we still have a chance to win the conference. It showed the kids we can come from behind. It has a lot of stuff with it. We've had to go through some things. We've gone through some growing pains. It showed we have grown; we have to keep it going.''

Tuskegee rallied while having to play backup quarterback Joshua Harris for most of the fourth quarter. Harris alternated with redshirt freshman starter Jeremy Williams early in the game, but took over when Williams went to the sidelines with a bruised shoulder early in the final quarter. During the winning drive, Harris completed four of six passes for 70 yards and ran 15 yards on a scramble.

If the Golden Tigers win their remaining conference games at Lane and against Stillman – the bottom two teams in the SIAC – they will win their fourth consecutive SIAC crown.

Tuskegee is Slater’s first head-coaching job. The Coffeeville, Ala., native has been an assistant throughout the state at Troy, West Alabama, North Alabama and Jacksonville State. He also spent two years as an assistant at Temple before coming to Tuskegee. Seventeen of his 30 years in coaching have been as an offensive coordinator.

He is surprised by the success at he has had at Tuskegee. “I’d be lying if I said I knew we’d win as much as have with this being my first head-coaching job,” Slater said. “I knew I could coach, but being a head coach is totally different. In the past, I could pass things on to the head coach, but now it stops with me.

“I didn’t know for sure we’d be this successful, but I was determined to do best I could. The key to all of it is lining up good help. We’ve been fortunate that we have had some good players and some good coaches.”

Legendary Hall of Fame coach Billy Joe, in his second season at Miles, likes the way Slater runs Tuskegee’s program. Before the schools played earlier this season, Joe said, “They play championship type of football every time they step on the field. They are fundamentally sound and they rarely make mistakes to hurt themselves. We’re still trying to get to that championship level.”

Slater, a former quarterback at West Alabama (then Livingston University), said there’s nothing special he’s doing. “My basic philosophy is to get young men to play hard and have good fundamentals,” Slater said. “If you can do that, you’ll have a chance to win.”

Going four-for-four as SIAC champions would mean a great deal to Slater, especially since the Golden Tigers do not compete in the NCAA Division II playoffs.

“We forfeit our eligibility for the playoffs because we play Alabama State on Thanksgiving Day and that’s the first weekend of the playoffs,” Slater said referring to the traditional Turkey Day Classic in Montgomery. “I’d love to compete for the Division II national championship, but the circumstances don’t allow us.

“It would be great to win the SIAC title again. That’s what we try to do. We try to win every game we play and be the best in conference, and the best in the country.”

Slater chuckled when I compared what he has done at Tuskegee to what Saban is doing at Alabama. For the record, Saban is 27-8 with the Tide, including 8-0 this year and ranked No. 2 in nation.

“That’s a different league,” Slater said. “I wouldn’t mind being at that level. When I was at Temple, we played some of those schools, Miami, West Virginia, Virginia Tech and Navy when Paul Johnson was there. I think some of same stuff we’re doing works against those teams. I wouldn’t mind having the opportunity to do something against them.”

Who knows, if Slater continues to work his magic at Tuskegee, perhaps one day he’ll get an opportunity as a head coach at the Football Bowl Subdivision level.

(Photos by Mark Almond/Birmingham News)