Football vs Mississippi State Game Preview
AUBURN (1-0, 0-0) AT MISSISSIPPI ST. (1-0, 0-0)
WADE STADIUM (55,082) * STARKVILLE, MS
SEPTEMBER 11, 2004 * 11:30 A.M. CT * TV: JP
Game Notes
RADIO:
The Auburn Network provides radio coverage to over 60-plus 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 123 IN AUBURN WKKR-FM (97.7)
INTERNET:
Live audio: www.auburntigers.com
THE GAME
Auburn opens Southeastern Conference action at Mississippi State in the 90th all-time meeting between the two teams.
AUBURN HEADLINES
* Auburn is 38-27-5 in SEC openers, winning 11 straight openers dating back to 1993.
* In its last six SEC openers, Auburn has outscored its opponents, 215-77 (35.8-12.8 ppg).
* Tommy Tuberville is 5-4 in SEC conference openers, including a 5-0 mark at Auburn.
* Auburn is 3-1 all-time on September 11, having last played on this date in 1999 when the Tigers defeated Idaho, 30-23, at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
* Tigers' starting quarterback Jason Campbell's older brother, Larry, was a linebacker at Mississippi State from 1995-98.
* Auburn senior RB Carnell Williams etched his name in the record books in 2003 against the Mississippi State, rushing for a school-record six touchdowns in the Tigers' 45-13 win over the Bulldogs.
* Saturday's meeting between the two schools will mark the 59th consecutive year the two schools have played each other. Since 1943, Auburn owns a 37-19-2 advantage over the Bulldogs.
* The Auburn defense has held Mississippi State to an average of 95.8 rushing yards in the last five meetings.
* Auburn's football program is 21-8-1 all-time in the state of Mississippi, including an 8-4-1 mark in Starkville. The Tigers' last loss in the state was at Starkville in 2000 (17-10).
* Under Tommy Tuberville, Auburn is 22-0 when scoring 30 or more points in a game. Auburn has won 35 consecutive games when scoring 30 or more points in a game.
* Auburn has made 185 consecutive PAT kicks dating back to 1999, which is the second longest streak in Southeastern Conference history. Alabama holds the SEC record, converting on 199 straight from 1981-87.
* Auburn is 127-43-5 (.740) all-time in the month of September, including a 17-4 mark under Tommy Tuberville.
* Senior quarterback Jason Campbell is 19-9 (.679) in 28 career starts at Auburn. Since 1970, only Stan White (45), Phil Gargis (34) and Pat Sullivan (33) have made more starts under center.
AUBURN IN SEC OPENERS
Auburn is 38-27-5 in SEC openers, winning 11 straight openers dating back to 1993.
In its last six SEC openers, Auburn has outscored its opponents, 215-77. The Tigers defeated Ole Miss, 19-9, in 1997; 17-0, in 1998; 35-27, in 2000; and 27-21 in 2001. In 1999, Auburn defeated LSU, 41-7, and beat Vanderbilt 31-6 and 45-7 in 2002 and 2003.
TUBERVILLE IN SEC OPENERS
Tommy Tuberville is 5-4 in SEC conference openers, including a 5-0 mark at Auburn. Three of his five conference openers at Auburn have come on the road: 1999 at LSU (41-7), 2000 at Ole Miss (35-27) and in 2003 at Vanderbilt (45-7).
IN THE POLLS
For the second consecutive season, Auburn is ranked to begin the season. The Tigers are 17th in the Associated Press preseason poll and 18th in the ESPN/USA Today poll.
It is the first time under head coach Tommy Tuberville and first time since 1997 and '98 that Auburn has been ranked at the start of the season in back-to-back years.
AUBURN-MSU NOTES
Auburn leads the all-time series with Mississippi State, 53-22-2 ... Saturday's meeting between the two schools will mark the 59th consecutive year the two schools have played each other ... Since 1943, Auburn owns a 37-19-2 advantage over the Bulldogs ... The winner in seven of the last 11 games has scored 31 points or more ... Auburn and Mississippi State have been the SEC Western Division representatives at the SEC Championship in three of the last seven years ... Just 10 games in the last 34 years have been decided by seven points or less, including three consecutive from 1999-2001 ... The Auburn defense has held Mississippi State to an average of 95.8 rushing yards in the last five meetings.
MISSISSIPPI TIGERS
Auburn's roster includes five players that hail from the state of Mississippi. Senior QB Jason Campbell and sophomore OG Tim Duckworth each call Taylorsville home. Freshmen SS Steve Gandy and FB Mike McLaughlin are both from Waynesboro, while redshirt freshman DE Quentin Groves is from Greenville, Miss.
AU-MSU TIES
Tigers' starting quarterback Jason Campbell's older brother, Larry, was a linebacker at Mississippi State from 1995-98.
IN THE MAGNOLIA STATE
Auburn's football program is 21-8-1 all-time in the state of Mississippi, including an 8-4-1 mark in Starkville.
The Tigers have won three of their last four games in the Magnolia State with their last loss coming in 2000 (17-10) to the Bulldogs.
CADILLAC'S CAREER DAY VS. MSU
Auburn senior RB Carnell Williams etched his name in the record books in 2003 against the Bulldogs, rushing for a school-record six touchdowns in the Tigers' 45-13 win over MSU.
Williams ran for 161 yards on the day and had five of his scores in the first half. The Attalla, Ala., native broke Joe Cribbs' 25-year-old Auburn mark and he became just the third player in SEC history to score six TDs in a game.
ON THIS DATE
Auburn is 3-1 all-time on September 11, having last played on this date in 1999 when the Tigers defeated Idaho, 30-23, at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Auburn's other Sept. 11 games include a 35-7 win over Samford in 1993, a 28-10 win over Wake Forest in 1982 and a 31-19 loss at Arizona in 1976.
IN SEPTEMBER
Auburn is 127-43-5 (.740) all-time in the month of September, including a 17-4 mark under Tommy Tuberville.
OVER THE CENTURY MARK
Carnell Williams rushed for 103 yards in the Tigers' season-opening win over Louisiana-Monroe, marking the 12th 100-yard rushing game of his career.
Williams' 12 100-yard games is tied with Stephen Davis (1993-95) for fourth all-time at Auburn. Bo Jackson (1982-85) is the Auburn record holder with 21, followed by James Brooks (1977-80) with 15 and Joe Cribbs (1976-79) with 13.
Williams has rushed for 100+ yards in seven of his last 10 games (1,196).
BRANDON'S BEGINNING
Redshirt freshman quarterback Brandon Cox made his Auburn debut last weekend, completing 3-of-6 passes for 76 yards. Cox also rushed for a 14-yard touchdown in his first series and completed his first career pass attempt, a 39-yard completion to Courtney Taylor.
As a sophomore in high school, Cox was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis, a muscular disorder in which nerves and muscles react against each other.
The 2001 Alabama Mr. Football left the Auburn program shortly after his arrival and returned to the team in December 2002. Cox was redshirted for the 2003 season and overcame a bout of double-vision caused by the disease.
His climb to the No. 2 quarterback position emerged during the 2004 spring drills. Former back-up Josh Sullivan left the team prior to the first day of Spring Practice for the AU baseball team, and Cox passed former Tiger Kelcy Luke during the spring workouts, securing the back-up slot.
LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION
A total of 73 players received playing time in the 31-0 win over Louisiana-Monroe last weekend. Of the 73, 23 saw their first action in an Auburn uniform.
The 23 players (7 offensive, 14 defensive, 2 special teams) included: WR Maurice Anderson, FS Tony Bell, FS Eric Brock, DE Christopher Browder, NG Neil Brown, DS Pete Compton, C Joe Cope, QB Brandon Cox, DE Tez Doolittle, SS Steve Gandy, DB Zach Gilbert, DE Quentin Groves, OT Leon Hart, DT Todd Hughes, DB Patrick Lee, RB Brad Lester, DE Stanley McGlover, H Sam Rives, FS Blake Shrader, NG Pat Sims, RB Carl Stewart, NG Josh Thompson, RB Jerald Watson.
FIRST-TIME STARTS
Five players made their first career start in the season opener. The five included: soph. OG Ben Grubbs, senior C Jeremy Ingle, frosh. DE Stanley McGlover, soph. LB Kevin Sears, and senior LB Antarrious Williams.
14 FOR TAYLOR
Sophomore WR Courtney Taylor extended his consecutive games with a reception streak to 14 last weekend after catching a team-high three passes for 55 yards against Louisiana-Monroe.
Taylor's streak of 14 consecutive games with a reception is the longest by an Auburn player since TE Robert Johnson had a reception in 14 consecutive from 2001-02. Marcel Willis caught a pass in 19 straight games from 2000-01.
TUBERVILLE IN SIXTH SEASON
Tommy Tuberville is in his sixth season at Auburn and his 10th as a head coach in the Southeastern Conference. Tuberville has the second-longest tenure in the SEC behind Phillip Fulmer of Tennessee, who will coach his 12th season.
Tuberville has amassed a record of 39-24 in five-plus seasons at Auburn and an overall mark of 64-44. He has led the Tigers to four straight bowl appearances including two wins in the last two seasons over Wisconsin in the Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl presented by Bridgestone and Penn State in the Capital One Bowl.
THE DECADE CLUB
In his 10th year as a head coach, Tommy Tuberville has five assistant coaches who have been with him all 10 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.
IRON MEN
Of Auburn's 18 seniors, 10 have seen time in 30 or more games in their careers. Junior Rosegreen and Donnay Young lead the list, playing in all 39 of the Tigers' games during the last three-plus seasons. They are followed by Ronnie Brown (38), Carlos Rogers (38), Jason Campbell (37), Derrick Graves (36), Mayo Sowell (35), Silas Daniels (34), Jay Ratliff (34), and Danny Lindsey (33).
Campbell, Lindsey and Rosegreen are tied for the most starts with 28.
STARTS STREAK
Five Tigers currently own starting streaks of 10 or more games, including two with 20+ consecutive starts.
Leading the way is DB Junior Rosegreen and OL Danny Lindsey who have started in 28 and 27 consecutive games, respectively. QB Jason Campbell has started in 20 straight, while OL Troy Reddick has started in 14 consecutive. DB Will Herring has started in 12 straight contests.
BIG CLASS
Head Coach Tommy Tuberville has his largest senior class at Auburn in 2004. The Tigers' roster includes 18 seniors, which eclipses Tuberville's other senior classes: 13 in 2003, 15 in 2002, 10 in 2001, 14 in 2000 and 14 in 1999.
The 2004 seniors include: RB Ronnie Brown, QB Jason Campbell, WR Silas Daniels, DE Bret Eddins, LB Derrick Graves, S Bret Holliman, C Jeremy Ingle, DE Doug Langenfeld, OG Danny Lindsey, DT Jay Ratliff, WR Sam Rives, DB Carlos Rogers, SS Junior Rosegreen, LB Mayo Sowell, OT Rich Trucks, RB Carnell Williams, K Philip Yost and SS Donnay Young.
TIGERS GRADS
Auburn begins the season with seven graduates on the roster, which is tied for eighth best among all Division 1-A football teams. It is also tops among SEC schools.
The Tiger graduates include: RB Ronnie Brown (Communication), QB Jason Campbell, DE Bret Eddins (Business), C Jeremy Ingle (Political Science), OT Rich Trucks (Marketing/Business Administration), DB Donnay Young (Public Administration), PK Philip Yost.
Listed is the top 12 programs of players who have completed their bachelor's degrees. The list does not included December 2004 graduates.
1. Louisiana Tech 12
2. Virginia Tech 10
3. Boston College 9
Southern Miss 9
5. Cincinnati 8
Miami, Fla. 8
West Virginia 8
6. Auburn 7
Illinois 7
8. Alabama 6
Kentucky 6
Notre Dame 6
Texas Tech 6
Virginia 6
15. Vanderbilt 5
CAMPBELL IS ON TARGET
Jason Campbell, who was the Most Valuable Player of the Music City Bowl, holds the Auburn record for career completion percentage with a .623 mark. Campbell is ranked in the Auburn top 10 in several other career records including passing yardage (4,709-5th), pass attempts (602-5th), pass completions (375-5th) and touchdown passes (27-6th).
UNDER CENTER
Quarterback Jason Campbell has started 20 consecutive games under center, which is the longest streak by a Tigers' signal caller since Dameyune Craig started 24 straight from 1996-97.
Campbell's string is the fourth longest by an AU quarterback since 1990. Stan White started 44 consecutive games from 1990-93 and Patrick Nix received the starting nod at QB in 22 straight from 1993-94.
185 AND COUNTING
Auburn has made 185 consecutive PAT kicks dating back to 1999, which is the second longest streak in Southeastern Conference history. Alabama holds the SEC record, converting on 199 straight from 1981-87.
The Tigers' last PAT miss was by Rob Bironas against Idaho in 1999. Contributing to the 181 consecutive PATs include: Bironas (1), Damon Duval (130), Philip Yost (24) and John Vaughn (30).
The NCAA Division I-A record is 262 held by Syracuse (1978-89).
JORDAN-HARE STADIUM
In its 65th year as home to the Auburn football team, Jordan-Hare Stadium is the nation's seventh-largest on-campus stadium, with a capacity of 87,451 fans. The Tigers are 237-59-7 (.794) at Jordan-Hare Stadium, including a 23-5 (.821) mark in the last four years.
Jordan-Hare underwent renovations in the off-season which included the addition of more than 1,000 seats and 12 suites. Two sections were added to the stadium's East upperdeck. This season, Jordan-Hare's capacity will be 87,451.
AUBURN BY THE NUMBERS
The Tigers return 47 lettermen from last season, including 21 on offense, 23 on defense and three specialists. Auburn returns seven starters on offense and five on defense.
Auburn's roster of 105 players includes 18 seniors, 22 juniors, 24 sophomores, 15 redshirt freshmen and 26 freshmen. The underclassmen (65) represent 61.3 percent of the Tigers' roster.
A number of walk-ons joined the program after the first day of classes on August 18.
1,000 YARD RUSHERS RETURN
Auburn returns two 1,000-yard rushers in 2004 in Carnell Williams and Ronnie Brown. Williams ran for the fifth-most yards in Auburn single-season history with 1,307 in 2003 and tied the school record with 17 rushing touchdowns.
Brown rushed for 1,008 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2002.
Williams (2,666 yards) and Brown (1,794 yards) are ranked sixth and 14th respectively in the Auburn career rushing records. Williams is third with 33 career TDs while Brown ranks eighth with 20 rushing scores.
POSITION CHANGES
Several players entered 2004 at a different position from where they played last season. On offense, Danny Lindsey moved from center to guard. Lindsey started all 13 games at center in 2003, but started 11 games at guard in 2002.
On defense, Jay Ratliff moved from defensive end to defensive tackle. A senior from Valdosta, Ga., Ratliff played in 21 games, including nine starts, in his career at defensive end.
Karibi Dede moved to linebacker after playing in all 13 games at safety last season.
GONE ON D
Defensively in 2004, Auburn must replace five of its front seven on defense from a year ago. Karlos Dansby, Dontarrious Thomas, DeMarco McNeil, Reggie Torbor and Spencer Johnson accounted for 71 percent of Auburn's tackles and 78 percent of the sacks in 2003.
Dansby led the Tigers with 84 tackles, followed by Thomas with 75. McNeil was fourth with 67 stops while Torbor finished with a season-high 16 sacks.
The 2003 Auburn defense finished fifth nationally in total defense, allowing 281.6 yards per game.
OFFENSE BY THE NUMBERS
Auburn returns seven starters on offense that finished 29th nationally in rushing offense. Listed is the Tigers' offensive production that returns from 2003.
Category Returning 2003 Percent
Rushing Yards 1,904 2,392 80%
Receptions 148 202 73%
Scoring 300 342 88%
Touchdowns 37 44 84%
Total Offense 4,190 4,891 86%
All-Purpose Yards 4,807 6,087 79%
THE HERBIES
ESPN College Football analyst Kirk Herbstreit recognized several Auburn players recently in his fourth annual "Herbie Awards", announced on ESPN.com.
Herbstreit named Carnell Williams the nation's best running back, recognized DE Stanley McGlover as the No. 5 impact freshman/JUCO, and lists S Junior Rosegreen on his Best Dressed Team.
WHEN SCORING 20+ POINTS
Under Tommy Tuberville, Auburn is 33-4 when scoring 20 or more points in a game, including a 33-3 mark in the regular season. Dating back to 1995, Auburn is 55-11 when scoring 20 or more points in a game.
30+ POINTS EQUALS VICTORY
Under Tommy Tuberville, Auburn is 22-0 when scoring 30 or more points in a game. Auburn has won 35 consecutive games when scoring 30 or more points in a game.
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 21 years, Auburn is 97-2 when scoring 30 points.
UNDER CENTER
Senior quarterback Jason Campbell is 19-9 (.679) in 28 career starts at Auburn.
Since 1970, only Stan White (45), Phil Gargis (34) and Pat Sullivan (33) have made more starts under center. Campbell's 19 wins as a starter is fourth at Auburn in the last 34 years, only behind Stan White (29), Pat Sullivan (26), Reggie Slack (22) and Randy Campbell (20).
FOUR-FOR-FOUR
Carnell Williams became the fourth Auburn player in the last four years to be named to the Playboy preseason All-America team. LB Karlos Dansby (2003), K/P Damon Duval (2002), and OT Kendall Simmons were the previous three Tigers' named to the Playboy team.
TIGERS ON CSS
Comcast Sports Southeast/Charter Sports Southeast (CSS) will broadcast encore presentations of Auburn football every Sunday at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT. CSS will also air the Auburn Football Review every Sunday at 5:30 p.m. CT and the Auburn Football Preview every Friday at 4 p.m. CT.
CSS is a 24-hour regional sports network serving approximately four million cable subscribers across 11 Southeastern states.
DID YOU KNOW?
Auburn has five players with the last name Williams: Antarrious, Carnell, Craig, Gerald and Travis ... Cole Bennett started his freshman year at Auburn already having accumulated 27 credit hours * Kody Bliss is one of five boys in his family, all of whom have names that start with "K" * Silas Daniels can write and throw with both hands * Derrick Graves served as a mascot for his high school, Holt (Holt, Ala.), an Ironman * Will Herring is a self-professed "Chess Geek" * Tommy Jackson is listed at 6-foot-1, 304 pounds and can do a back flips * Stanley McClover has 13 tattoos * Marcus McNeill owns a pitbull, Bankhead, and collects throwback jerseys * Ben Obomanu wears a size 14 shoe * Junior Rosegreen's dream job is a college football coach * John Vaughn has broken his left wrist three times and his right wrist once, broken left ankle twice, knocked teeth out and had to have stitches six times * Philip Yost owns more than 20,000 baseball cards.