Interesting Tidbits on the DSOR, Basketball, and Auburn Happenings
This weeks tidbits are mainly focusing on the big 2 – football and basketball. There are quite a few storylines surrounding each sport that deserve attention.
🏈 DEEP SOUTH’S OLDEST RIVALRY
Auburn heads to Athens Saturday to play Georgia at 2:30 CT. Auburn has lost nine straight to the Bulldogs and haven’t won in Athens since 2005. Auburn had an extra week to prepare, but it’s hard to imagine a tougher place to try to get things turned around offensively. Rebuilding takes time and this game isn’t likely the one to show signs of that progress. Some fun tidbits on the rivalry can be found here.
🏈 WHERE’S THE RUN GAME?
Auburn spent part of its bye week trying to figure out how to get the ground game going. Joel Gordon emphasized improving the rushing attack, which has struggled to find any consistency outside of Byrum Brown making plays with his legs. Auburn has some talented running backs but that doesn’t mean much if they can’t find room to run with the lackluster O line play. Georgia probably isn’t the ideal opponent to figure that out against.
🏈 ATKINS OUT
Auburn will be without one of its best defensive players Saturday after linebacker Xavier Atkins was suspended. Atkins is tied for the team lead in sacks and ranks second in tackles. Golesh said his status will be revisited next week. Not exactly the news you want, but also this is the foundation of accountability Golesh has preached. No single player is above the standard.
🏈 ROUGH ROAD AHEAD
As if playing Georgia in Athens wasn’t difficult enough, Auburn follows that up with LSU and Ole Miss. That’s quite the October stretch for Alex Golesh in his first season on the Plains. Auburn is going to have to find some answers offensively in a hurry or things could get ugly over the next few weeks. Expect some wrinkles in the run game we haven’t seen up to this point. Check out War Blogle’s podcast for some more information on what the bye week could bring for Auburn.
🏀 BASKETBALL IS BACK
Auburn basketball got its first taste of competition Wednesday night in Birmingham, falling 82-71 to Florida State in an exhibition. Tahaad Pettiford led the Tigers with 20 points, but Auburn was outrebounded 51-40 and shot just 13 of 42 from three. Obviously it’s just an exhibition, but there’s plenty for Steven Pearl to work on before the games start counting. There are a ton of new faces and it’ll take time to figure out the split of minutes.
🏀 ARCH RIVAL EXHIBITION? SIGN ME UP
Auburn’s next exhibition comes against Alabama on October 22. It’s another opportunity for Steven Pearl to evaluate his new roster before the regular season gets underway. Exhibition or not, Auburn faithful will want the W here.
🏀 CLEARED TO PLAY
Auburn basketball got some much needed good news last Thursday when 7 foot French center Narcisse Ngoy was officially cleared by the NCAA to play this season. Ngoy will have two years of eligibility after spending last season in France. The Clippers also selected him in this Summer’s NBA Draft. A pretty significant addition for Steven Pearl’s frontcourt.
🏀 SEE YOU IN COURT
Auburn basketball signee Mantas Rubstavicius is taking the NCAA to court in an attempt to play this season. The 24 year old Lithuanian filed a lawsuit Wednesday after being denied eligibility because of his professional experience overseas. Rubstavicius argues the NCAA changed its eligibility rules after he committed to Auburn. A hearing is scheduled for Friday morning. College sport roster building apparently requires a pretty good legal team these days.
🏀 ANOTHER ELIGIBILITY BREAK
Auburn guard (formerly with Utah State) Kolby King also got some good news Wednesday after an Ohio Supreme Court ruling cleared a path for him to play this season. King was among the players involved in a lawsuit challenging the NCAA’s new eligibility rules. Between King, Ngoy and Rubstavicius, Auburn’s eligibility situation has been a fun follow.
🥫 BEAT BAMA FOOD DRIVE
Auburn’s 33rd annual Beat Bama Food Drive is officially underway. The campaign kicked off October 1 and runs through November 19, collecting food and monetary donations for the Food Bank of East Alabama. It’s one of the better Auburn-Alabama rivalries, with both schools competing to help their local communities. This is one Iron Bowl where there is no loser.
