SZVETITZ COLUMN: AU taken behind ‘woodshed’
Mike Szvetitz/Opelika-Auburn News
ATHENS, Ga. - They danced on the sideline. They danced on the field.
They danced in front of an official. They danced after the whistle.
They danced by the hedge. They danced on the edge.
They danced by the band. They danced in the stands.
They danced all around. An assistant coach could even be found … breaking it down.
No, it’s not green eggs and ham, Sam I Am. This was Georgia beating Auburn, again.
The Bulldogs took the Tigers to a place they hadn’t been since last year’s game, dancing all the way.
“When you give up 45 points, you’ve been taken to the woodshed pretty good,“ AU head coach Tommy Tuberville said.
That’s what happened Saturday night in a Blackout.
That, and the dancing. Oh, and the partying.
The Bulldogs partied. Hard.
Partied with fans that were more geeked up than a Revenge of the Nerds reunion party when Lamar’s rap comes over the speakers.
They partied on their home field – a place where they hadn’t beaten the Tigers since 2003.
That day, it was a Whiteout … the last time Auburn lost in its white jerseys.
Saturday, the Tigers got whited-out. Is that a word? Should be. That’s what happened.
For the first time, since, well last year’s Georgia game (Black-and-Blue Out?), Auburn was embarrassed.
“We didn’t coach or play very good tonight,“ Tuberville continued. “They’ve got our number pretty good. Everybody else, we’ve played pretty good. Tonight, they kept us confused.“
That’s what happens in a Blackout. You can’t see.
Ask Brandon Cox. Auburn’s senior quarterback, who has now thrown eight interceptions in his last two games against Georgia, was blindsided all night.
“Tonight was just one of those nights,“ he said. “They did everything we thought that they would, and their defense really got too much pressure on us.
“This is really tough for me personally …“ And for the rest of the Tigers.
And it should be.
Auburn had such high hopes about tonight … about the rest of its season: Win at Georgia, and go 3-1 with a road schedule tougher than Teflon? Win at Georgia, then come back to the Plains with a bye week and reeling Alabama left on the docket? Win at Georgia and stay alive for a BCS bowl?
Sounds good, right?
But that’s not what happened.
“We just got outplayed in the end,“ said senior tight end Cole Bennett, a Georgia native playing in this rivalry for the final time. “Two years in a row is really frustrating because we thought we were in a good place coming into this game, but we just couldn’t get it done.“
Georgia got it done, though.
Big play after big play. Long run after long run. Interception after interception.
Whew, that and the dancing is enough to take your breath away.
It took Auburn’s.
