Hope & Question

auburn

No. 2 Tigers Down Bulls, 38-7

that's all for now...

posted by Loren @ 2:37 PM 3 comments

game 3

AUBURN, Ala. -- In a series that obsesses over assigning nicknames to its most epic clashes, how should this -- the meeting of LSU and Auburn in which their combined ranking had never been higher -- go into the annals of SEC history?
First, a contextual cram-session: They dubbed the 1996 LSU-Auburn game at Jordan-Hare Stadium "The Night the Barn Burned," when the tar roof of the nearby Sports Arena caught on fire during the contest. They labeled 1999 "The Cigar Game," after Tommy Tuberville and his boys sparked celebratory stogies. And the most famous Tigers-squared tilt of all, in 1988, is referred to as "The Earthquake Game," because LSU fans' celebration of a game-winning touchdown registered a spike on a campus seismograph.
So what to call this one? The stakes -- No. 3 vs No. 6, the SEC West lead and national-title contention -- were seismic, and yet, for 60 minutes, hardly anything was willing to budge. Not the scoreboard, which as the clock expired was reading, Auburn 7, LSU 3. Not the defenses, which put on a stunning display of physical, SEC-style football, holding both teams to less than two yards per carry, the home Tigers to 182 yards and one touchdown, and the road Tigers to just 311 yards and one measly field goal.
And so, when Auburn safety Eric Brock, who smothered LSU wideout Buster Davis at the 4-yard-line as the clock expired, was asked to coin the battle of 2006, he thought for a moment and delivered the goods:
"I'd have to call it," Brock said, "The Grudge Match."
It should stick. The Grudge Match. A black-and-blue affair -- of which Auburn wideout Courtney Taylor was willing to say, "It was ugly. Ugly. But we'll take it" -- in which the Plainsmen could surely find plenty of beauty. Such as the fact that they're not only in the SEC West driver's seat, but, thanks to Notre Dame's upset loss to Michigan, in a position to move up to No. 2 in both the AP poll (they're 3 now) and the coaches (they're 4). If the coaches have any sense, they'll leap Auburn over USC come Sunday. This is a Tigers team that looks every bit as good as its 2004 brethren who ran the table but were excluded from the Orange Bowl, and deserves a shot at the BCS title game should it stay undefeated.
Tuberville was disinterested in talking rankings ("Notre Dame lost?" he said in the press conference, toying with the reporter who posed the question. "No they didn't. Tell me they didn't.") and reminded everyone that the Tigers (now 3-0, 2-0) still "have a long ways to go."
But when the rest of that schedule includes two pushovers (Buffalo and Tulane) and nary a road game against an SEC juggernaut (they have South Carolina, Ole Miss and the Iron Bowl left) the Auburn-in-Arizona-come-January-8 discussion is now officially open. And very reasonable.
"We're one of the best teams in the nation," Taylor said. "We're playing with that swagger now."
For Taylor, who entered the game as one of the nation's star wideouts but left with just three catches for 22 yards, and the rest of the Auburn offense, it took a while on Saturday to find that swagger. LSU's D, which coming into Saturday ranked No. 3 in the nation in both yards and points allowed, had not given up a touchdown all season. It forced the Tigers to three-and-outs on three of their first four series, an interception on the other, and just 17 rushing yards and zero points in the first half.
Read the rest...

posted by Loren @ 3:43 PM 1 comments

more about tomorrow

On June 17, San Francisco's Legion of Honor will present 53 unforgettable paintings of Claude Monet in the special exhibition Monet in Normandy. Collectively, these paintings represent approx. 60 years of Monet's career, from the 1860s through the mid-1920s. His subjects were the people, villages and towns, countryside, beaches, and rivers of northern France. The museum notes: "Monet's central and enduring artistic relationship with Normandy has never before been the focus of a scholarly exhibition and Monet in Normandy marks the first comprehensive presentation of this essential aspect of his artistic career."1 The Legion of Honor is the first of only three venues in the United States chosen to host the exhibition. Monet in Normady will run until September 17, 2006

posted by Loren @ 8:44 AM 2 comments

this saturday

i'll be in san francisco enjoying the Monet exhibit, but here's what else is going to happen:

Sixth-ranked LSU will walk into Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday feeling disrespected. Espn

posted by Loren @ 1:22 PM 1 comments

game 2

No. 4 Auburn 34, Mississippi State 0
STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) - Mississippi State stymied Auburn star Kenny Irons. The rest of the Tigers had their way with the Bulldogs.
Brad Lester ran for two touchdowns, Brandon Cox threw two touchdown passes and No. 4 Auburn took advantage of Mississippi State's miscues in a 34-0 victory Saturday.
The Tigers (2-0, 1-0) won for the 18th time in the last 19 Southeastern Conference games, despite getting only 69 yards rushing in 21 carries from Irons. The SEC's leading returning rusher had a streak of seven consecutive 100-yard games snapped.
``We kept a close eye on him all day and I feel like we held him like we should,'' Mississippi State coach Sylvester Croom said.
``(But) Auburn constantly receives good field position throughout the game, which kills our defense. Poor field position puts our defense in a real bad spot.''
The Tigers are now an SEC-best 37-12 since 2000 and face No. 8 LSU next weekend in an early season Western Division showdown.
With the Bulldogs (0-2, 0-2) focusing on Irons, the fullback Lester took advantage with 40 yards on five carries. And Mississippi State's mistakes left the Bulldogs defense vulnerable to Auburn's other weapons.
``The first SEC road game is always difficult,'' Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville said. ``I was glad to see our offense kept getting stronger as the game went along.''
Poor special teams play set up the first scores of each half for the Tigers and turnovers also led to points.
Lester's first touchdown, a 2-yard run to the left corner, put Auburn up 14-0 with 11:35 remaining in the first half. The play was set up by Karibi Dede's fumble recovery after Auburn's Sen'Derrick Marks sacked and stripped the ball away from Mississippi State quarterback Tray Rutland at the Bulldogs' 1.
Rutland, making his first career start, was intercepted late in the quarter by David Irons, Kenny's brother, and it led to John Vaughn's career-best 55-yard field goal.
The fourth-longest field goal in school history gave Auburn a 17-0 at halftime.
A Mississippi State facemask penalty on the opening kickoff of the second half helped Auburn pile on the points as the Tigers took over from the Bulldogs 48.
Irons ripped off one of his few long runs, a 17-yarder. Three plays later, Lester broke three tackles against the tiring Bulldogs defense on his way to a 20-yard touchdown run that put Auburn up 24-0.
Croom said he felt his defense did enough to win the game.
``We had one play where we had real poor tackling,'' Croom said. ``But against that football team all day, hey, I can live with that. I really like the way our defense fought the whole game.''
Brandon Cox kept several Auburn drives alive with crucial completions on third down, usually to wide receiver Courtney Taylor, who had nine catches for 103 yards.
Cox began the scoring with a 6-yard touchdown pass to tight end Gabe McKenzie with 1:07 remaining in the first quarter and finished off his day with a 20-yard pass to Rodgeriqus Smth with 1:45 remaining in the third quarter to put the Tigers up 31-0.
He completed 18-of-27 for 249 yards with no interceptions.
For the second consecutive week, the Bulldogs were essentially held out of their opponents' territory.
Mississippi State has advanced beyond the 50 four times this season. Turnovers accounted for two of those possessions, which resulted in missed field goals. And twice the Bulldogs have had the ball at their opponents' 45, earning that field position once in each loss.
``It felt great,'' Auburn defensive end Quentin Groves said of the shutout. ``We had to be very physical on defense to pull it off. There are not too many times a defense can shut down an SEC-caliber team.''
Rutland, a redshirt freshman playing for injured starter Michael Henig, completed 12-of-25 passes for 82 yards.
The Tigers held the Bulldogs to 161 total yards and forced three turnovers. It was their sixth consecutive win over Mississippi State.
``The goal was to build the defense first,'' Croom said. ``That's what you have to do first because you've got no chance if you don't have a defense, absolutely none.''

posted by Loren @ 5:02 PM 6 comments

there you have it

'Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter--when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.' Isaiah 58:6-8

posted by Loren @ 8:15 AM 0 comments

game 1

No. 4 Auburn pulls away from Washington State

Kenny Irons routinely sidestepped defenders and the Auburn Tigers did the same with the opening day jitters that have plagued them in recent years. Irons rushed for 183 yards, including a 58-yard touchdown scamper to open the third quarter, and the fourth-ranked Tigers beat Washington State 40-14 on Saturday night. No season-opening pain on the Plains this time. Only celebration, optimism and enough big plays to overcome any deficiencies against the Pac-10 visitors.

posted by Loren @ 1:09 PM 0 comments