The Opening Drive: Auburn vs. ULM

AUBURN, Ala. – Coming off a bye week, there are just three games remaining in the regular season for Auburn. Three more opportunities to take the field. But ask any player on the team, and they will tell you there are four games left. 

“We’ve got to keep pushing our minds to be like, ‘We’re making that bowl game. We’re going to get there,'” senior punter Oscar Chapman said. “It’s like every week now is our Super Bowl. We’ve got to win every week from now on.”

“The key is just everybody staying together and finishing strong,” added running back Damari Alston. “Doing it for the player beside you. Doing it for you. Just digging deep. Coach (Derrick) Nix hit on it this week. He said we’ve got 20 days left to just go out and empty the tank. All the work that you put in this summer, offseason, winter, spring – just let it all out and go play. We’ve got nothing to lose.”

The Tigers are 3-6 headed into the final stretch, which means they have to win out against the likes of ULM, No. 15 Texas A&M and No. 9 Alabama to become bowl eligible. 

The latter two games, Texas A&M and Alabama, feature two of the better teams in the SEC this season, but you can’t win three games in a row if you don’t win the first one – which is why Saturday’s home matchup against ULM is the most important game on the schedule at this point in the season. 

“This is a good football team that plays really hard and has good schemes, good coaches, and enough players to scare you,” head coach Hugh Freeze said. “We can’t overlook them for sure.” 

For the second straight week, Auburn will kick off at 11:45 a.m. CT in front of a sold-out crowd at Jordan-Hare Stadium. The game will be televised on SEC Network with Taylor Zarzour, Matt Stinchcomb and Alyssa Lang on the call. You can also listen to Andy Burcham, Jason Campbell, Ronnie Brown and Will Herring who will have the radio call on 94.3 FM, online at AuburnTigers.com and on the Auburn app. 

Saturday’s game is also Auburn’s annual Military Appreciation Game. 

“It’s Veteran’s Day today, and our Military Appreciation game is this weekend,” Freeze said Monday. “It’s always an honor for us to be able to honor them. To have the lives we have here in America due to the sacrifice of many men and women on our behalf, we certainly want to join with many others in telling them thank you. This is a small way we can do it. We’re certainly excited about being able to honor them this week.”

THREE QUESTIONS WITH P OSCAR CHAPMAN

Q: Has it hit you yet that you have two more games left at Jordan-Hare Stadium?  

A: Yeah. Before the season, I reached out to Anders (Carlson) and asked, ‘What was something you did in your last season that helped you get through it.” He was like, ‘Just live in the moment. Just love it.’ So, every game this year, I’ve kind of just taken it all in. I haven’t really gotten in my head like ‘I need to do well,’ or ‘This is my last one ever.’ It’s more about running out of the tunnel, looking around, and you got all the stuff going on. It’s kind of just staying in that moment. I’m pretty excited for these last two at home.  

Q: What’s been the biggest highlight for you from this season?

A: It’s kind of random, but we scored a touchdown off one of my punts at Missouri. I didn’t even know you could do that. I was looking around waiting for someone to tell me what happened. Once I found out, I was celebrating. Everyone was pretty hyped. I started running off the field, but I had to go back and hold because we had to kick the extra point. I forgot about it. It was pretty funny. 

Q: Five years from now, what are you going to remember about Auburn? 

A: The people. The way everyone is so happy. They’re the nicest people you’ve ever met. Everyone just wants you to go to their house. They want to cook a meal for you. Everyone is just so happy, and I’ll always remember that.

INSIDE THE SERIES: ULM

Auburn and ULM will be meeting for the 12th time since the first matchup in 1994. All 11 previous games have been played in Jordan-Hare Stadium, and Auburn is 11-0 with an average score of 43.9-11.2 in the series. The closest game was a 31-28 overtime win in 2012, while Auburn’s 73-7 victory in 2003 is tied for the largest margin of victory in Jordan-Hare Stadium history. ULM has been shut out twice (2004 and 2008). 

Auburn holds a 41-5 all-time mark against current members of the Sun Belt Conference, with wins over Appalachian State (1-0), Arkansas State (4-0), Georgia Southern (2-0), Georgia State (1-0), Louisiana-Lafayette (4-0), ULM (11-0) and Southern Miss (18-5).

All but three of those games were played in Auburn. The Tigers were 2-1 facing Southern Miss in Montgomery from 1946-48.

BY THE NUMBERS

30: Eight different Auburn players caught a pass against Vanderbilt, including Robert Lewis who has now recorded at least one reception in 30 consecutive games. It’s a streak that began at Georgia State in what was the final game of the 2021 season.

62: With five receptions against Vanderbilt, Rivaldo Fairweather climbed into third among Auburn tight ends in career receptions with 62. Fairweather passed Robert Johnson (57 from 2000-02), Fred Baxter (57 from 1990-92), Walter Reeves (58 from 1986-89) and Philip Lutzenkirchen (59 from 2009-12). Next is Cooper Wallace (63 from 2002-05)

39.1: Auburn’s defense held Vanderbilt to a 39.1 percent completion rate its last time out. The Tigers have now held three straight opponents (Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Missouri) under 50 percent passing for the first time since 2018 – Alabama State (44.8), No. LSU (42.9) and Arkansas (40.6). 

45: Oscar Chapman had punts of 58 and 59 yards against Vanderbilt, giving him four punts of 50+ yards this season 45 for his career. Auburn currently ranks 14th nationally in net punting (42.27) this season.