An open letter from SGA President Jacob Watkins

Friends,

I heard a story yesterday that I felt is worth sharing with you all. In the heat of the battle against LSU on Saturday, Kodi Burns took a shot to the chin that cut open his lip and knocked out two of his teeth. Kodi came to the sidelines with the teeth in his hand. The trainers sewed his mouth up, wiped off the blood and Kodi went right back in the game and ran the ball as hard as ever. He never quit.

The game was a tough, tough loss, but none of our players ever quit. They scored their only touchdown of the night on the last play of the game.

One thing I noticed was that the LSU student section got there early, stayed late and made a lot of noise until the very end. They made the difference for their team.

We play Ole Miss on Saturday in a game that we need to win to become bowl-eligible. Between now and Saturday, you might see signs or stickers that simply say "11:21, be the difference." We had those signs and stickers made to remind all of you that kickoff is early on Saturday. It's at 11:21 a.m and you need to be there to "be the difference." We need to get there early, stay late and be loud to show our team we are behind them no matter what.

This season is not even close to being over. There are some big games left that we can win, but we need your help to give our team the home-field advantage that Jordan-Hare Stadium has always been known for!

11:21. Get there early. Stay late. Be loud. Be the difference.

War Eagle!

Jacob Watkins
Auburn University Student Government Association President

Patrick Trahan - Trash Talker

So this week Auburn plays the Ole Miss Rebels. Most years I expect to beat these guys, but as we've seen the Auburn season go from bad to worse, I may be in for another tough game against the Fightin Nutts.

I was reading an interesting article earlier previewing the game and explaining the situation of Linebacker Patrick Trahan, a former Auburn Tiger who is now at Ole Miss.

Trahan faced some academic issues after playing for Auburn in 2006, and transferred to community college the following year rather than face academic suspension. For a player that finished with a whopping 11 career tackles, he sure does think he's going to stick it to Auburn this weekend.

Trahan said, "I hope they boo me," Trahan said. "That'd be pretty cool. They should. After the game, they might boo me even more."

Wow Mr. Trahan, very bold. He went on to say he is glad the former staff is gone, but would've liked to beat them one more time.

"It felt good last year when they lost and the coaching staff was there," Trahan said. "It would have been better if they were still there, but it's kind of cool that they're not."

There's a couple things about his comments that strike me. First of all, the comment about Auburn fans booing him. Since he only played at Auburn one year and barely contributed, I don't think the Auburn faithful are going to be clamoring to get revenge on this former "superstar." In fact I'm pretty sure 90% of the current Auburn students have no idea who he is.

Secondly, I don't know why he is so vindictive toward Tommy Tuberville's staff. It was a staff that recruited him, gave him a scholarship, and eventually a chance to play. Now it is no one but Trahan's fault that he failed himself out of school and into this situation. For a guy that's not enough smart enough to attend classes, these comments strike me as just plain dumb. I was fortunate enough to have a class with the guy, and unless his notes were in his cell phone, I can guess he didn't do very well in that course.

So I urge the few of you that know who this guy is not to give him the satisfaction of being booed on Saturday. Don't acknowledge someone who insists on blaming a coaching staff and not himself for his problems. Save the cheering for the players that matter. The ones in orange and blue.

War Eagle

Navy Nightmare/Spookfest

Well it looks like Auburn-Ole Miss on Halloween will be an early game, with kickoff set for 11:21 a.m. Central time. Hopefully the Auburn players will not be too sleepy for the Navy Nightmare, but we'll see.

While getting up early pretty much sucks every time, this is good news for all you Spookfest fans. This early game will give you plenty of time to enjoy a spooky Halloween after the game is over, hopefully celebrating a win over the most disappointing team in the SEC. That's right Ole Miss. See above picture if you doubt that.

War Eagle!!

Seriously?

So I wasn't able to watch the Kentucky game on Saturday night, but I'm not really sure I missed much. Chalk it up to whatever you want, but losing to Kentucky for the first time since 1966 is a total embarrassment.

It doesn't matter if Kentucky has talent, everyone in the SEC has talent. It also doesn't matter that they're coming off three games against Florida, Alabama, and South Carolina, and were extremely hungry for a win.

Kentucky should never beat Auburn at home. Never. It's nothing against them, but if Auburn claims to be a football school, you simply don't lose in your own stadium to teams like that.

It's now been two straight years with two losses to traditionally bad SEC East teams. Just like last year, I'm sure Auburn had multiple chances to win the game, but failed.

I haven't even mentioned that Kentucky was starting a new quarterback. Looks like the infamous back-up curse still lives. Let's just hope the Tigers don't knock Jordan Jefferson out of the game on Saturday night. If so, it could be a long game.

I think this loss was made even worse by the fact that Bama has once again started 7-0, and moved up to #1 in the AP poll. As much as I hate to say it, Alabama has the right mindset about games like Kentucky. It's simply unacceptable for them to lose those games, and they never expect to. It also takes a lot of talent to get there, and I know myself and all Auburn fans are excited about the players Coach Chizik and his staff are recruiting to the Plains.

Next week's game against LSU in Baton Rouge is a huge test. Come out and win the game, and Auburn could be right back on track, headed for a 8 or 9 win season. Lose the game, or get blown out, and Auburn is suddenly facing 2008 Part 2. I sincerely hope the Auburn fans will stay behind the team and help them try to get this thing fixed.

Auburn can and will play better. When, I don't know. But this season is not over. Chizik and co. are building what we can all hope will be a championship contender in the future. Stay faithful.

War Eagle!!

Kentucky Preview/Score Prediction

On Saturday in Auburn, two teams in desperate need of an SEC win will meet as Kentucky takes on Auburn. The Wildcats are looking to avoid an 0-4 start in conference play, while the Tigers are trying to rebound from their embarrassing 44-23 to the Arkansas Razorbacks last weekend.

Kentucky will be without regular starting quarterback Mike Hartline, who tore his MCL in a 28-26 loss to South Carolina last week. Except for a 41-7 loss to Florida, Kentucky has played decent in the SEC. They hung with Alabama for a half before going down 38-20, and of course took the Gamecocks to the wire last week.

In my opinion, Auburn should always have enough talent to beat Kentucky. That certainly doesn't mean that will happen this year, but I expect it to. Auburn is a team looking to regain its confidence, and I know Gene Chizik is preaching that to his players this week.

Kentucky has been mysterious about their starting QB this week, and will not name a starter until Saturday. Auburn will still need a good effort to stop the 'Cats offense, who has some playmakers. It's amazing that we're seven games and Auburn's defense has still not had a statement game. Look for that to come this week.

Also look for Gus Malzahn's offense to stay cranked up for 4 quarters after stumbling in the first half against Arkansas. The guy is too good to be slowed down for long, and I just don't think Kentucky has the bodies to keep up with Auburn's offensive firepower. It may take a little while, but Auburn should put up some points.

Despite Kentucky being hungry, I think Auburn is hungrier right now. They know they have to win this game to keep up with Alabama and LSU, and perhaps move back into the national rankings. With a trip to Baton Rouge looming, Auburn knows the significance of playing well in this game. They won't be looking ahead, not under Gene Chizik.

Auburn wins 34-17.

War Eagle!!

I'm Back...Kinda

Much like the Auburn football team, I decided to take last week off, which explains my lack of posts. The disaster that was a 44-23 loss to the Razorbacks taught us that Auburn's not quite as good as some of us may have thought. However, I don't think they're nearly as bad as they looked Saturday.

A combination of key turnovers, poor special teams play, and overall miscues led the Tigers down a terrible path that can happen quite a bit in SEC road games. Just ask Georgia.

Kentucky is this week, and Auburn will look to bounce back in a big way while preparing for LSU in Baton Rouge in two short weeks. I'm going to try to digest some Auburn stats, and I'll be back in a day or two with my Kentucky preview.

War Eagle!!

Auburn-Tennessee Score Prediction

I've been watching some pretty decent games today. Kentucky was hanging with the Crimson Tide until they busted off a 97-yard drive, swiftly followed by a fumble return for a TD and a 21-6 halftime lead. Don't be surprised to see UAT blow them out in the 2nd half.

Clemson is also losing to the mighty Terrapins of Maryland at halftime, 17-13. This makes me happy. Should Maryland hang on, their wins this year would be against James Madison and Clemson. The other Tigers better kick it in gear.

But now for more pressing matters, tonight's Auburn vs. Tennessee game in Knoxville. Much of the talk this week has been centered around the Gus Malzahn-Monte Kiffin chess match, and with good reason. This will likely decide the game, as I don't believe Tennessee is going to be able to catch Auburn if it turns into a shootout. Tune in to ESPN tonight at 7:45 to watch.

My prediction: Auburn - 28 Tennessee - 17

War Eagle!!