Column: Cox finds a way to get it done again

What is Brandon Cox made of?

Titanium?

Desire?

Steel?

Heart?

Or is it iron?

Fitting. He’s perfect in the Iron Bowl. The Auburn senior is 3-0 against Alabama. Jason Campbell’s the only other AU quarterback who can say that.

Together, they’ve beaten Alabama six times. Six. In a row. A record. Line ’em up.

Auburn did Saturday. And it was Cox who knocked them down.

Fitting, since it’s been Cox who has been on the receiving end of plenty of knockdowns lately. And not just physically. He’s been booed, benched and blasted. But he took it. On the chin. And got back up.

He persevered. Survived. Won.

“What can you say about Brandon Cox?“ Auburn head coach Tommy Tuberville asked rhetorically in his postgame press conference.

What?

“I can’t even tell you,“ offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Al Borges said. “Every time someone starts thinking he’s a lousy quarterback, he proves them wrong.

“And say what you want, he’s won a ton of games here. … I can’t tell you how valuable I think he is.“

Cox is the winningest active quarterback in the SEC. The senior has won 26 games and is now tied with Pat Sullivan for third on AU’s all-time list.

It’s not always pretty. But football isn’t supposed to be.

It’s about production. It’s about pushing through. It’s about standing tall.

And being tough.

Very tough.

Never, never, has someone gone down, looked to be hurt, badly, and popped back up like nothing’s wrong. At least not in real life.

Gasp if you’ve seen this before: Cox takes a sack … wait, I’m not finished … Cox takes a sack and gets bent in a way that would make a pretzel wince. Down and hurting, there’s no way he gets back up. None.

He’s down for the count.

Then you count. One … two … three … You don’t even get to eight before he’s standing again. How?

It’s just something he does.

Something he’s always done.

He’s a survivor. A winner.

Say what you want about Cox. Yes, he’s looked bad. Yes, he’s made some poor decisions and poor throws. But he gets back up.

Always gets back up.

“I’ve gone through a lot,“ Cox said. “A lot of positive, a lot of negatives. You just got to not let things effect you, either way.

“It’s made me a better person.“

Fitting. He’s made Auburn a better team.

And he still hasn’t lost to Alabama.

MIKE SZVETITZ is sports editor of the Opelika-Auburn News. He may be reached at or 737-2513.