Nov. 19, 2017
By Greg Ostendorf
AuburnTigers.com
AUBURN, Ala. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃƒÆ'¢'¬" How soon did it take before Auburn players started to turn their focus to Alabama after Saturday's 42-14 win over Louisiana Monroe?
"Give me a few hours, and let me enjoy the rest of the day," safety Nick Ruffin said after the game. "I'll flip the switch [Sunday]."
It took even less time for the media to change the narrative. The major storyline following Saturday's game wasn't about the game itself. It was about the Iron Bowl the following week. But given that it's a winner-take-all scenario for the SEC West and a game with major College Football Playoff implications on the line, can you blame them?
And the players understand. They know who's next on the schedule.
"I mean it's Alabama," wide receiver Ryan Davis said. "You don't really have to say too much. It's a big game. They are a great team. Year in and year out, they are at the top of college football, and we just have to come with our A-game."
"I'm excited," added quarterback Jarrett Stidham. "This is why you play here at Auburn, for games like this against a team like Alabama. They are a very good team, and we are going to have to play our best ball to beat them. It's going to be fun."
When asked about his initial thoughts on the Iron Bowl, Auburn coach Gus Malzahn didn't give away much. He plans to watch a little more film this week, and then he'll go into more detail on the Crimson Tide at his weekly press conference Tuesday. But he's well aware of what's at stake when these two in-state teams do battle inside Jordan-Hare Stadium next Saturday.
"We're playing the No. 1 team in the country again, on our home field again," Malzahn said. "Our crowd is second to none. They're going to be ready. Our players are going to be ready. Our coaches are going to be ready. It's going to be a special game."
For what it's worth, the last two times that both Alabama and Auburn were ranked in the AP top 10 for the Iron Bowl, the Tigers came out victorious (2010, 2013).
For the record
Three years ago, Ryan Davis was a high-school quarterback. This coming Saturday, he has a chance to set the Auburn single-season record for receptions. The junior wide receiver needs just two to tie the mark (60) set by Darvin Adams in 2009 and three to break it.
"No, I haven't looked at the number recently," Davis said after Saturday's game. "I didn't know I was close. I never really even thought about it, honestly. I didn't know what the record was until this season, but that is pretty cool. Hopefully I can accomplish that."
At the beginning of the season, not many pegged Davis to be Auburn's go-to wide receiver. But here we are with one game left in the regular season, and he leads the team with 58 receptions, 564 yards receiving and five touchdowns. He's caught at least two passes in every game, and four of his five touchdowns have come against SEC opponents.
"Everything just started coming together," Davis said. "I'm figuring everything out. I'm not anywhere close to where I want to be, but I'm happy where I'm at right now."
Doing it the hard way
Typically, when a team is pinned back inside its own 10-yard line, it's very hard to score a field goal, let alone a touchdown. But Auburn has embraced that challenge this year.
Twice, the Tigers started drives inside their own 10-yard line Saturday. Both times, they went 90-plus yards and scored a touchdown. That gives them six scoring drives of 90-plus yards, tied for the most in a single season since 1996.
"Our guys have a lot of confidence right now," Malzahn said. "When they're backed up, they've got a confidence that we can take it. You can hear them in the huddle, 'Hey, we're going to go 94.' They've just got that mentality because they've done it numerous times."
Greg Ostendorf is a Senior Writer for AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @greg_ostendorf