Saturday, October 27, 2007

Quarterback update

Blake Field was Auburn’s second-half captain, a mostly meaningless position that required him to walk to midfield and say “We’d like the ball,” since Auburn deferred in the first half. Still, it’s the first time he’s had that particular job, and it may be a hint that he’s playing in the third quarter (which, as I write this, is 2:20 away).

Brandon Cox is throwing with the other quarterbacks in warmups...a press-box announcement said Cox was “evaluated” during halftime, and “his status is unknown.” That’s not much of an evaluation, if you ask me…

I’ll have another post in like three minutes when the quarter starts and we actually know something for sure. But hey, blogs are great for meaningless speculation. Hooray!

The waiting game…

It’s going to be a suspenseful halftime, as fans and media alike wait for Auburn’s first snap of the second half. Will Brandon Cox have recovered from his shoulder injury? If not, who will replace him under center?

The rest of the game is also in doubt, of course, as Ole Miss moved the ball quite effectively against Auburn’s defense in its final drive of the half, thanks in part to some questionable officiating calls. Auburn has played very well in this game, but a 7-3 lead is hardly a comfortable halftime margin, even at home against the worst team in the SEC.

Brandon Cox injured

With 3:41 to play in the second quarter, Auburn’s medical staff is escorting Brandon Cox to the locker room. Cox appeared to injure his right shoulder on a third-down sack on Auburn’s previous offensive possession.

All three backup quarterbacks are throwing passes on the sideline, but—interestingly—it’s Blake Field, the third-teamer, taking snaps with center Jason Bosley. Keep checking back for updates.

Ah, the excitement

This is my first Auburn-Ole Miss blog entry, written with about 7 minutes to play in the second quarter. If you’ve been clicking refresh between now and the start of the game, you haven’t missed much. AU is in full boring-ball mode today, with justification.

There are big games remaining on the schedule, but this isn’t one of them. A vanilla gameplan is enough to beat Ole Miss, as long as Auburn continues to execute it with some enthusiasm. It’s working so far: AU has gained 148 yards of offense to Ole Miss’ 30 and is ahead 7-0. It could be 14-0 if not for a Rod Smith fumble in the first quarter.

So you can’t argue with the results. But it hasn’t exactly been a thrill to watch, and the crowd is proof: They’re not particularly noisy, and they haven’t been for most of the game.

One interesting note: Leon Hart is in the game at right guard, his first action since injuring his shoulder against Mississippi State. That means he’s no longer eligible for a medical redshirt. What it means for Chaz Ramsey is less clear...I’ll be addressing that in tomorrow’s O-A News.

At this moment, Auburn has bigger fish to fry: Brandon Cox left the field escorted by two members of the medical staff, who are now looking at his right (non-throwing) shoulder. More to come when I know more.

Saturday, October 20, 2007

A shakeup at wide receiver?

After several days of rampant speculation on the Internet, Auburn wide receiver Robert Dunn didn’t make the trip to Baton Rouge. Dunn, a junior, reportedly wasn’t at practice Thursday. Auburn officials are staying tight-lipped about Dunn’s exact status. As I said, Internet rumors are all over the place, but our burden of proof at My Five Cents is a little higher than that...at least for now.

All we know for sure at the moment is that Dunn won’t play tonight. He’s been listed as a starter all season, starting one game at “Z” receiver and the rest at the “W,” or slot position. He has 10 catches for 116 yards this season—tied for the fifth-best total on the team—but has had some high-profile drops. Auburn’s top reserves at W are redshirt freshman Tim Hawthorne and true freshman Chris Slaughter. Hawthorne has two catches for 16 yards; Slaughter has two for 13. Neither has shown much sign of life this season, but one or the other will get a big chance tonight.

Dunn is also Auburn’s No. 1 punt returner. As I write these words, Jerraud Powers and Chris Slaughter are catching punts in pre-game warmups. If I had to guess, I’d say Powers becomes the top punt returner. Auburn’s coaches would probably prefer to give Powers a rest—he plays a lot of snaps on defense as a starting cornerback and is also an emergency option at safety, plus lots of special-teams coverage duties. But if I know Tommy Tuberville and Eddie Gran, they’ll be very hesitant to debut a true freshman punt returner under the lights in Tiger Stadium. Something to keep an eye on as we draw ever closer to game time. (Now less than 52 minutes away!)

UPDATE (7:32 p.m. CDT): A spokesman for Auburn’s department athletics media relations issued a statement on Dunn. Here it is, in all it’s glory: “Robert Dunn did not travel with the team due to a violation of the practice policy.”

Not particularly helpful, but interesting phrasing. At least for now, Dunn is still officially with the team. More on this story as it develops, obviously, including in Sunday’s and Monday’s Opelika-Auburn News.