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Auburn vs. South Florida Preview by Auburn official site


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Auburn Vs. South Florida Preview

Tigers play a nationally-televised game for the second straight week.

Sept. 2, 2007

#18/14 AUBURN (1-0) VS. SOUTH FLORIDA (1-0)

JORDAN-HARE STADIUM (87,451) • AUBURN, AL

SEPTEMBER 8, 2007 • 8 PM CT • TV: ESPN2

GAME 2 QUICK FACTS

COACHES:

Tommy Tuberville (Southern Arkansas, 1976)

Auburn Record 72-29 (9th year)

vs. South Florida First meeting

Overall Record 97-49 (13th year)

vs. South Florida First meeting

Jim Leavitt (Missouri, 1978)

South Florida Record 71-43 (11th year)

Overall Record Same

SERIES:

First Meeting

RANKINGS:

Auburn 18th AP/14th USA Today

South Florida RV AP/RV USA Today

TELEVISION:

ESPN2 (Live)

RADIO:

The Auburn Network provides radio coverage to over 50 stations that cover the Southeast. Rod Bramblett (play-by-play), Stan White (color), Quentin Riggins (sideline), Paul Ellen (studio) and Andy Burcham (locker room) provide gameday analysis.

SATELITTE RADIO SIRIUS 153

LOCALLY WKKR-FM (97.7)

ESPN Radio (Live)

Play-by-play Dave Barnett

Analyst Rod Gilmore

Sidelines Joe Schad

INTERNET:

Live audio & stats www.auburntigers.com

THE GAME

Auburn plays its second straight nationally-televised game when the Tigers host South Florida Saturday night at 8 p.m. CT on ESPN2. It will mark the first meeting between the two schools, both of whom won their season openers last Saturday.

AUBURN HEADLINES

* Auburn has played just 15 games in its history against current members of the Big East Conference, and just two games during the Tommy Tuberville era (Syracuse in 2001-02).

* Auburn has 21 players on its roster from the state of Florida, while South Florida has just one player on its roster from Alabama.

* Auburn has posted a 34-5 record over the past four seasons, which is tied for the third-best record in the NCAA Bowl Subdivision during that span.

* Auburn is 12-1 in home night games since the 2000 season, including victories over four nationally-ranked teams.

* Auburn is currently ranked 14th in the USA Today Coaches' Preseason Poll and 18th in the Associated Press Preseason Poll. This is the fifth straight season that Auburn was nationally-ranked in the preseason polls.

* Auburn earned its first victory when trailing after three quarters in nearly three years by rallying from a 13-9 deficit to beat Kansas State 23-13 with two touchdowns in the final 2:01.

* DE Quentin Groves needs just one more sack to equal the Auburn career record of 26 held by Gerald Robinson (1982-85).

* Auburn's freshmen kickers had solid debuts, as Wes Byrum kicked three field goals and Ryan Shoemaker averaged 42.7 yards on six punts against Kansas State.

* Brandon Cox is the winningest quarterback in the SEC, with a 20-5 career record as a starting quarterback. Cox has started Auburn's last 22 games at quarterback and 25 of the last 26.

* Now in 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 256-62-7 (.798) at Jordan-Hare Stadium, including a 42-8 (.840) mark in the last eight years. Auburn has had two undefeated home seasons in the last seven years (7-0 in 2000 and 2004).

* Under Tommy Tuberville, Auburn is 41-0 when scoring 30 or more points in a game. Auburn has won 46 consecutive games when scoring 30 or more points in a game.

* Auburn is 139-44-5 (.754) all-time in the month of September, including a 29-5 mark under Tommy Tuberville. The Tigers have won nine straight games in the month of September.

* Tommy Tuberville needs just three more victories to become the fifth coach in the SEC with 100 career coaching victories.

SOUTH FLORIDA QUICK HITTERS

South Florida is playing just its 11th season of football ... The Bulls played their first four seasons as a Division I-AA independent, became a I-A independent team in 2001, joined Conference USA in 2003 and moved to the Big East in 2005 ... South Florida defeated East Carolina, 24-7, in the Papajohns.com Bowl to end the 2006 season ... South Florida was ranked 21st by The Sporting News in its 2007 preseason poll ... Freshman running back Mike Ford scored three touchdowns in his first game, leading the Bulls to a 28-13 victory over Elon last Saturday ... Sophomore George Selvie tied a USF single-game record with four sacks in the win vs. Elon ... Sophomore quarterback Matt Grothe was named the Big East Rookie of the Year in 2006 ... USF is 52-29 all-time in night games and 27-12 when the temperature is 80 degrees or higher at kickoff.

AGAINST THE BIG EAST

Auburn has played relatively few of the 16 teams that currently comprise the Big East Conference, playing just 15 games in its history, with seven of those coming against Villanova from 1936-42. In addition to going 4-1-2 against Villanova, Auburn is 2-0 against Cincinnati, 1-0 against Louisville, 1-0 against Rutgers, 1-1-1 against Syracuse and 0-1 against Marquette, for an overall record of 9-3-3.

The only Big East opponent Auburn has played during the Tommy Tuberville era is Syracuse. The Orangemen won 31-14 in 2001 at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, before the Tigers earned a 37-34 triple overtime victory in 2002 in Jordan-Hare Stadium.

FLORIDA TIGERS

Auburn's roster includes 21 players from the state of Florida. That list includes: Mike Blanc, Josh Bynes, Wes Byrum, Brett Carr, Antoine Carter, Rick Cherry, Kyle Coulahan, Lorenzo Ferguson, Oscar Gonzalez, Tyronne Green, Brandon Haley, Zach Kutch, Patrick Lee, Walter McFadden, Bryant Miller, Brantley Poe, Prechae Rodriguez, Darrell Roseman, Pat Sims, Mike Slade and Craig Stevens.

The only player on South Florida's roster who hails from Alabama is sophomore tight end Ben Busbee from Mobile.

ON THIS DATE

Auburn has only played two previous games on Sept. 8, winning both times. The first time Auburn played on Sept. 8 was in 1990, when the Tigers opened the season with a 38-17 victory over Cal St. Fullerton. Auburn also played on Sept. 8 in 2001, winning at home against Ole Miss, 19-9.

IN SEPTEMBER

Auburn is 139-44-5 (.753) all-time in the month of September, including a 29-5 mark under Tommy Tuberville. The Tigers have won 15 of their last 16 games played in September, and have won nine straight dating back to a 23-14 loss to Georgia Tech in the 2005 season opener.

JORDAN-HARE STADIUM

Now in 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 256-62-7 (.798) at Jordan-Hare Stadium, including a 42-8 (.840) mark over the past eight years. AU went 7-0 at home in both 2000 and 2004, and posted a 6-1 mark in 2005.

Auburn has won 13 of its last 15 games at home and 21 of its last 24 games at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

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 12-1 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' only loss since 2000 was a 23-14 defeat at the hands of Georgia Tech in the 2005 season opener. Auburn has won its last four home night games since that contest.

TUBERVILLE IN NINTH SEASON

Tommy Tuberville is in his ninth season at Auburn in 2007 and his 13th as a head coach in the Southeastern Conference. Tuberville has the third-longest tenure in the SEC (second-longest active streak) behind Phillip Fulmer of Tennessee and Steve Spurrier of South Carolina, who are both coaching in their 15th seasons in the league this year.

Tuberville has amassed a record of 72-29 during his tenure at Auburn and has led the Tigers to seven straight bowl appearances.

Tuberville is fourth all-time at Auburn in wins, and is the fifth-longest tenured coach in school history.

CENTURY MARK APPROACHES

Tommy Tuberville needs just three more wins to amass 100 victories during his career as a head coach. Tuberville currently owns a career record of 97-49 in 13 seasons as a head coach. He would become the fifth SEC coach to have 100 career victories, joining Steve Spurrier, Phillip Fulmer, Rich Brooks and Houston Nutt, and just the third to earn 100 victories while coaching at an SEC school (Spurrier and Fulmer).

LATE COMEBACK OUT OF THE ORDINARY

Auburn rallied for a 13-9 deficit late in the game to beat Kansas State 23-13, giving Auburn its first victory when trailing after three quarters in nearly three years. The last time Auburn won when trailing after three quarters was Sept. 18, 2004, when the Tigers scored a touchdown on a 16-yard pass from Jason Campbell to Courtney Taylor with 1:14 left for a 10-9 victory over No. 5 LSU.

However, Auburn has not had many chances for comeback wins, as the Tigers have trailed after three periods in just six of their last 36 games.

COX LEADS ALL SEC QBs IN WINS

Brandon Cox earned his 20th career victory as a starting quarterback during Auburn's 23-13 victory over Kansas State. Cox, who is now 20-5 as a starter, leads all SEC quarterbacks in career victories. Tennessee's Erik Ainge is second with 17, followed by Kentucky's Andrew Woodson (12). Cox's .800 winning percentage is also tied for the best in the league among quarterbacks with at least five starts (Georgia's Matthew Stafford, 8-2).

SENIOR SIGNAL CALLER = SUCCESS

With senior Brandon Cox returning for his third season as Auburn's starting quarterback this fall, history would suggest that the Tigers are primed for a successful season. The last 10 seasons that Auburn has had a senior returning as the starter at quarterback, the Tigers have won at least eight games every year, averaging 9.7 wins per season during those campaigns. Auburn's combined record during those 10 seasons is 97-22-2, and the Tigers won SEC Championships in 1983, 1987, 1989 and 2004 and SEC Western Division Championships in 1997 and 2000.

Incidentally, Auburn went 10-0 against Georgia during those 10 seasons, and 8-2 against Alabama with seven straight wins.

Below are the last 10 seasons that Auburn has had a senior returning as the starter at quarterback:

Year  Quarterback      Record  Notes

1979  Charlie Trotman  8-3

1983  Randy Campbell    11-1    SEC Champs

1985  Pat Washington    8-4    Cotton Bowl

1987  Jeff Burger      9-1-2  SEC Champs

1989  Reggie Slack      10-2    SEC Champs

1993  Stan White        11-0    1st 11-win season

1995  Patrick Nix      8-4    Outback Bowl

1997  Dameyune Craig    10-3    SEC West Champs

2000  Ben Leard        9-4    SEC West Champs

2004  Jason Campbell    13-0    SEC Champs

ELDER STATESMAN

Senior quarterback Brandon Cox is not only the oldest player on the Auburn team, he's older than 18 quarterbacks currently on NFL rosters. Cox, who will turn 24 on Oct. 31, is nearly two full years older than the No. 1 pick in last year's NFL draft, JaMarcus Russell, who was born Aug. 9, 1985.

GROVES NEARING SACKS RECORD

Senior defensive end Quentin Groves had two sacks in the season-opening victory against Kansas State, pushing his career sacks total to 25. His second sack with just over a minute left and Auburn clinging to a 16-13 lead forced a fumble that was returned 34 yards for a touchdown by Antonio Coleman, sealing the victory. Groves, who has been named to preseason watch lists for the Lombardi Award, the Bednarik Award, the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and the Hendricks Award, needs just one more sack to tie the Auburn all-time record of 26 sacks held by Gerald Robinson (1982-85).

TERRIFIC TIGHT END TRIO

Sophomore tight end Gabe McKenzie was one of the heroes in the victory over Kansas State, catching the go-ahead touchdown pass from Brandon Cox with just 2:01 left in the game. McKenzie is just one of three tight ends that see significant playing time for Auburn, as the Tigers boast perhaps the best trio of tight ends in the game. Senior Cole Bennett, who returned for a second senior season after suffering an ankle injury in the third game of the 2006 season against LSU, was a Coaches' Preseason First-Team All-SEC selection in 2006 and has 18 career catches while also serving as the team's top blocking tight end.

Bennett's injury last season opened the door for McKenzie and Tommy Trott to blossom. McKenzie, who caught four balls for 42 yards against Kansas State, tied for fourth on the team last year with 13 catches for 137 yards and a score, while Trott, also just a sophomore, had 10 catches for 94 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

KICKING DEBUTS SUCCESSFUL

Auburn was forced to replace perhaps the nation's top kicking trio after all three kickers from last season graduated, but early indications are the newcomers will do just fine. True freshman Wes Byrum made three field goals while replacing John Vaughn, a finalist for the Lou Groza Award last season and Auburn's all-time leading scorer with 312 career points. Redshirt freshman Ryan Shoemaker, who averaged 42.7 yards per punt with two inside the 20 and three fair catches against Kansas State, is replacing Kody Bliss, another four-year starter who ranked third in the nation in punting last season (45.7).

The one area in which Auburn didn't have as much success was on kickoffs, where the Tigers are looking to replace Matt Clark, who led the nation last season with 51 touchbacks on 66 kickoffs (77 percent). However, with kickoffs being pushed back five yards to the 30-yardline this season, it was expected that there would be a sharp drop in the number of touchbacks.

FIRST TIMERS

Eight players made their first career starts in the season opener against Kansas State, and 11 players played in their first collegiate games. Starting for the first time were OG Mike Berry, SS Zac Etheridge, OG Tyronne Green, CB Jerraud Powers, WR Prechae Rodriguez, DT Pat Sims, RB Ben Tate and OT Lee Ziemba. Berry, Etheridge and Ziemba played in their first collegiate games, as did K Wes Byrum, DE Antoine Carter, LB Bo Harris, WR Tim Hawthorne, K Morgan Hull, FS Mike McNeil, P Ryan Shoemaker and TE Bailey Woods.

AIR ASSAULT

Kansas State attempted 58 passes in the season opener, completing 33. Those numbers are the most for an Auburn opponent since Louisiana Tech's Luke McCown completed 47-of-65 passes for four touchdowns with two interceptions during a 38-28 Auburn victory Oct. 21, 2000. Auburn threw only 18 passes in that game, but Rudi Johnson rushed 33 times for 249 yards and four scores.

REVERSAL OF FORTUNE

Last season, Auburn opponents were the least penalized in the SEC, as the Tigers' opposition was flagged for just 36.3 yards of penalties per game. In the season opener against Kansas State, the Wildcats amassed 16 penalties for 141 yards. That's twice as many penalties as any team committed against Auburn last season, and 91 more yards than LSU's season-most 50 yards of penalties against Auburn last year.

MORE SEASON OPENER NOTES

Auburn improved to 88-25-2 all-time in season-opening games with a 23-13 victory over Kansas State, including a 6-3 mark under Tommy Tuberville ... Since 1977, Auburn is now 21-5 in season openers against non-conference opponents ... Auburn's 88 season-opening victories is tied for second best in the SEC, just one behind Alabama.

NEAR THE TOP SINCE 2004

Auburn has posted a record of 34-5 (.868) since the 2004 season, tying the Tigers for the third-best record in the NCAA during that period. Only USC (37-3, .925) and Texas (35-4, .897) have better winning percentages than Auburn during that span, while Boise State has an identical 34-5 mark.

IN THE POLLS

For the fifth consecutive year, Auburn is nationally ranked to begin the season. The Tigers are 18th in the Associated Press preseason poll, and 14th in the preseason USA Today coaches poll. It is the first time since the 1994-98 seasons that Auburn has been ranked at the start of five consecutive seasons.

A TOUGH ROAD AHEAD

Auburn may have the toughest road schedule of any team in the country this year, as the Tigers' four road opponents are all ranked in the Associated Press Top 25, including two in the top six. Auburn opens its road schedule at No. 3 Florida Sept. 29, plays at No. 20 Arkansas and No. 2 LSU in back-to-back weeks Oct. 13 and 20 and finishes the road schedule at No. 13 Georgia. Only two other teams (South Carolina and Oklahoma State) plays four road games against nationally-ranked teams, and the combined rankings of Auburn's four opponents is the lowest of the three teams.

Auburn              South Carolina      Oklahoma State

@ No. 2 LSU        @ No. 2 LSU          @ No. 8 Oklahoma

@ No. 6 Florida    @ No. 13 Georgia    @ No. 13 Georgia

@ No. 13 Georgia    @ No. 15 Tennessee  @ No. 20 Nebraska

@ No. 21 Arkansas  @ No. 21 Arkansas    @ No. 25 Texas A&

Avg. = 10.5        Avg. = 12.8          Avg. = 16.5

OL THIN ON EXPERIENCE

One concern entering the 2007 season for Auburn is a lack of experience on the offensive line. The Tigers lost four senior starters from last year's team, including first-round NFL draft pick Ben Grubbs. Senior tackle King Dunlap is the only returning starter, and his 14 career starts entering the season accounted for 70 percent of the just 20 career starts made by Auburn's entire offensive line unit prior to 2007. Junior Jason Bosley started four games at center last season, while Leon Hart had made the other two starts. By comparison, Auburn's starting offensive line during the 2007 AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic vs. Nebraska had combined for 110 career starts (Grubbs - 38; Tim Duckworth - 22; Joe Cope - 20; Jonathan Palmer - 16; Dunlap - 14).

GONE ON D

Defensively in 2006, Auburn must replace four starters from last year's squad that ranked seventh in the nation in scoring defense (13.9), including the two leading tacklers on last year's team. Linebackers Will Herring and Karibi Dede, defensive end Marquis Gunn and cornerback David Irons combined for 208 tackles including 23 for losses and 6.5 sacks, five interceptions and 15 pass break-ups.

Herring led the squad with 72 tackles, while Dede was second with 59. Irons had a team-best 12 pass break-ups and tied with Herring and Eric Brock with a team-high two interceptions. Gunn ranked second on the team with four sacks and was third with 8.5 tackles for losses.

In addition to ranking seventh in the nation in scoring defense, the 2006 Auburn defense finished 19th nationally in total defense, allowing 292.3 yards per game.

AUBURN BY THE NUMBERS

The Tigers return 49 lettermen from last season, including 21 on offense, 26 on defense and two specialists. Auburn returns five starters on offense and seven on defense.

Auburn's roster of 120 players includes 17 seniors, 23 juniors, 23 sophomores, 23 redshirt freshmen and 34 freshmen. The underclassmen (80) represent 66.7 percent of the Tigers' roster.

A number of walk-ons joined the program after the first day of classes on August 16.

13 AND COUNTING

In his 13th year as a head coach, Tommy Tuberville has five assistant coaches who have been with him all 13 years. That group includes: defensive tackles/ noseguard coach Don Dunn, running backs/special teams coach Eddie Gran, wide receivers coach Greg Knox, offensive line coach Hugh Nall and defensive ends coach Terry Price.

THE SENIOR CLASS

Head Coach Tommy Tuberville has a senior class that includes 17 players this season. The Tigers' group of 17 seniors is the third most during the Tuberville era, falling behind the group of 21 from last season and the 2004 group that had 18. During Tuberville's tenure, Auburn's other senior classes have consisted of: 15 in 2005, 13 in 2003, 15 in 2002, 10 in 2001, 14 in 2000 and 14 in 1999.

The 2007 seniors include: TE Cole Bennett, SS Eric Brock, QB Brandon Cox, OT King Dunlap, DT Tez Doolittle, DB Zach Gilbert, DE Quentin Groves, DE Brandon Haley, OL Leon Hart, DB Josh Hebert, CB Patrick Lee, H Matthew Motley, RB Danny Perry, WR Prechae Rodriguez, RB Carl Stewart, DT Josh Thompson and CB Jonathan Wilhite.

IRON MEN

Of Auburn's 17 seniors, 10 have seen time in more than 30 games during their careers. Quentin Groves leads the group with 41 career games played, and is the only member of the team to have played in every game over the past four seasons. Groves is followed closely by Cole Bennett and Eric Brock with 40 games each, while King Dunlap has seen action in 39 games. Leon Hart is next with 38 games played, followed by Josh Thompson (37), Patrick Lee (37), Zach Gilbert (36), Carl Stewart (35) and Brandon Cox (32).

STARTS STREAK

Brandon Cox is the lone member of the team to have a starts streak that dates back to the 2005 season. Cox has started 22 consecutive games at quarterback, missing only the fourth game (Western Kentucky) from 2005 over the past three seasons.

Five other players on this year's team started all 13 games last year. Seniors King Dunlap, Quentin Groves and Josh Thompson, junior Rodgeriqus Smith and sophomore Sen'Derrick Marks all started every game last season.

FRESH FACES

Freshmen will play a key role in determining Auburn's level of success this year, as 21 redshirt and true freshmen are listed on the depth chart, including six starters.

The depth chart lists 12 redshirt freshmen, including OG Mike Berry, DT Mike Blanc, DS Rick Cherry, DT Zach Clayton, SS Zac Etheridge, TB Mario Fannin, DE Michael Goggans, WR Tim Hawthorne, OG Byron Isom, P Ryan Shoemaker, LB Craig Stevens and WR Terrell Zachery.

Nine true freshman are listed on the depth chart, including K Wes Byrum, LB Bo Harris, S Mike McNeil, C Ryan Pugh, OG Chaz Ramsey, WR Chris Slaughter, K Graham Sutter, P Patrick Tatum and OT Lee Ziemba.

POSITION CHANGES

A number of players have changed positions from last year entering the 2007 season.

Sen'Derrick Marks, who started all 13 games at defensive tackle last season, has moved outside to a defensive end position.

Tristan Davis, who saw time at running back in 2005 before moving to safety last year, is once again a running back for the Tigers.

Also, Bart Eddins has moved from the defensive line back to the offensive line, while Michael Goggans has moved from tight end to defensive end.

NO SHUTOUTS ALLOWED

Auburn has scored in 51 consecutive games, which is the fourth-longest streak in school history. The Tigers have not been shut out since a 23-0 loss to USC to open the 2003 season. The third-longest streak without being shut out is 54 games and the second-longest is 58, but it would be quite a while before Auburn could challenge the school record. The Tigers scored in 149 straight games from Oct. 4, 1980 through Nov. 14, 1992.

EXTRA POINTS

Kicker John Vaughn, who finished his career last season as Auburn's all-time leading scorer with 312 points, made his final 107 consecutive PATs dating back to the 2004 season, and was 162-of-163 for his career. Wes Byrum made his first two extra point attempts against Kansas State, pushing Auburn's streak of consecutive PATs to 109. Prior to Vaughn's only miss, Auburn had made an SEC record 209 consecutive PATs from 1999-2004. Auburn has made 318 of its last 319 PATs.

50-YEAR ANNIVERSARY

The 2007 season marks the 50-year anniversary of Auburn's 1957 National Championship team. The '57 Tigers finished with a perfect 10-0 record, including a 7-0 mark in the SEC, and was selected as the national champion following the season by the Associated Press. Auburn outscored its opponents that season by a combined score of 207-28, posting six shutouts and ending the season with a 40-0 whitewashing of Alabama.

WINNING THE CLOSE ONES

Auburn has had a knack for winning close ball games since Tommy Tuberville arrived as the Tigers' head coach. In his previous eight seasons at the helm, Auburn is 24-10 in games decided by seven points or less and has won 12 of its last 14, including all five games last season.

SENIORS GO FOR NEW MARK

Each of Auburn's last two senior classes have established new school records for victories in a four-year period, and this year's class has a chance to extend that streak. The 2005 senior class tied the old mark of 39 wins in four years, before last year's class finished with a new record of 41 victories in the last four years. With 33 of those wins coming in the last three seasons, this year's class needs eight wins to tie that record and nine to become the winningest senior class in Auburn history.

FATHERS AND SONS

Auburn tight ends coach Steve Ensminger is the father of Auburn redshirt freshman quarterback Steven Ensminger, while senior fullback Danny Perry is the son of Director of Football Operations Jimmy Perry. The younger Ensminger is the first Tiger to have his father on the coaching staff since Joe Whitt, Jr., played wide receiver from 1998-99 while Joe Whitt, Sr., who coached at Auburn from 1981-2005, was a linebackers coach.

Previously, Gene Lorendo, an assistant coach from 1951-75, saw his son, Mac, letter at offensive tackle from 1970-72, earning All-SEC honors as a senior, and Paul Davis, an assistant coach from 1967-80 and 1987-90, watched his son, Rhett, letter at split end from 1972-73.

In addition, Auburn freshman linebacker Adam Herring is the son of Arkansas defensive coordinator Reggie Herring.

TIGER GRADS

Auburn begins the season with nine graduates on the roster, which is tied for the third most of any Football Bowl Subdivision team.

The Tiger graduates include: TE Cole Bennett (business administration), SS Eric Brock (public administration), QB Brandon Cox (business administration), DT Tez Doolittle (criminology), DB Zach Gilbert (public administration), DE Quentin Groves (criminology), CB Patrick Lee (criminology), RB Carl Stewart (political science) and NG Josh Thompson (physical education).

Listed are the top 10 programs in terms of number of players who have completed their bachelor's degrees prior to the start of the 2007 season.

1.  Boston College  17

2.  Washington      11

3.  Auburn          9

    Notre Dame      9

5.  Arizona State  8

    Pittsburgh      8

7.  Ole Miss        5

    USC            5

    Virginia        5

10. Memphis        4

    TCU            4

TIGERS GO HIGH DEFINITION

The most notable change to Jordan-Hare Stadium for the 2007 season is a new high definition video board above the south end zone. The $2.9 million board is the first true HD video display in the SEC and makes Auburn just the second NCAA member institution to invest in true high definition LED video capabilities. The display measure approximately 30 feet high by 74 feet wide, and exceeds 2,200 square feet. It has the capability to show a single, wide screen image, and can also be split into multiple windows to show lineups, game statistics, out-of-town game information and much more.

TIGER PROS

Auburn has demonstrated a proficiency for placing players in the National Football League. As of Aug. 21, 38 former Auburn Tigers were listed on NFL rosters. The Seattle Seahawks have the most former Tigers, with five former Auburn players on the roster, while the Washington Redskins and Atlanta Falcons have four each.

WHEN SCORING 20+ POINTS

Under Tommy Tuberville, Auburn is 63-4 when scoring 20 or more points in a game, including a 61-3 mark in the regular season. Dating back to 1995, Auburn is 84-11 when scoring 20 or more points in a game.

30+ POINTS EQUALS VICTORY

Under Tommy Tuberville, Auburn is 41-0 when scoring 30 or more points in a game. Auburn has won 46 consecutive games when scoring 30 or more points.

The last time the Tigers lost when registering at least 30 points was a 56-49, four overtime loss to Georgia in 1996.

In the last 22 years, Auburn is 115-2 when scoring 30 points.

TIGERS 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.

DID YOU KNOW?

Cole Bennett started his freshman year at Auburn already having accumulated 27 credit hours ... Bennett was also married during the summer of 2007, joining Quentin Groves as married players on the Tigers' squad ... Oscar Gonzalez is originally from Cuba and is bilingual ... Linebacker Courtney Harden and defensive tackle Jake Ricks are brothers ... Brad Lester was a high school teammate of the Atlanta Braves' Jeff Francoeur ... Carl Stewart plays the violin.

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Very impressive during night games at home since 2000.  We need to play smart football to win.  No dumb penalties and no turnovers, is the only way we can hang with this team.

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