AUBURN, Ala. – Sandwiched in between Georgia and Alabama, it would be easy to look past Liberty on Saturday. But the Flames have Auburn's full attention. And with it being Senior Day, this year's team wants nothing more than to send out the seniors with a solid win in their final home game.
"It's the last home game for our seniors that have done an outstanding job through the course of their career," Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn said Tuesday. "The high character, how successful this group will be once they get done with football, the leadership they've shown since they've been here and the way they represented us – that's what really stands out to me. We definitely want to send these guys out on a high note."
The game is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT and will be televised on the SEC Network Alternate channel. Here are some of the highlights from Malzahn's press conference Tuesday.
Senior class
"They're a class group. They've helped us win a lot of football games on the field, but the way they've handled themselves off the field and on the field – they're true Auburn men.
"When I think of this group, there's a lot of real classy young men with high character. They've done a good job with their leadership this year. Everything hasn't gone as well as planned, as you know, but they've really done a super job from the leadership standpoint. I really feel strong that we need to come out and play good football for those guys in their last home game being Senior Day."
Future is bright
"The youth that we have on offense – that's real exciting. Defensively, we've recruited well and I feel strong we're going to be really good on defense next year. Our special teams, that's the one area that's really greatly improved this year and we have our kicker back and obviously one of the best punters in college football. So there's a whole lot of positives once we get to next year. But obviously, we've got three games left and that's what I'm really focused on right now."
"No matter who our quarterback, we're going to be better on offense, and I'm very confident that we'll be really good on offense next year."
Liberty scouting report
"A very solid team, a team that beat a very good Troy team earlier in the year. Very dynamic on offense, and they do a very good job defensively. You can tell they're well coached. And, of course, Turner Gill is a very good coach with his staff. It'll be a challenge as far as that's concerned."
"(On defense), they put a lot of guys in the run support. They're used to putting their corners and DBs on islands. You can tell that's what they do. They know their answers. Really what stands out to me when you watch them is they're very well-coached. They don't do a whole lot of stuff, but what they do, they're very good at."
Injury report
"Nick Coe (wrist) will be out this week. I don't know anything past this week right now."
"Javaris Davis will be day to day this week and will practice today."
Greg Ostendorf is a Senior Writer for AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @greg_ostendorf