​​Lyle's Corner

Thursday, November 29th, 2018

Eighth-ranked Auburn had little trouble in rolling over Saint Peter's 99-49 yesterday evening in Auburn Arena. The rout came a week after clinching two wins in the Maui Invitational. The Tigers are now 6-1 on the season. This marked the 16th-largest win in Auburn history and the second time an Auburn squad has won by 50 or more in the Bruce Pearl era. 

Pearl is proud that his team didn't experience any hangover. "It's been seven days since we've played and obviously, when you leave Maui, there's a tendency to get a little Polynesian paralysis," he said. "But our kids didn't play to the opponent. We tried to focus on ourselves. Defensively, to hold them to 27 percent (shooting) and turn them over 26 times, I thought we did a good job guarding. With 16 steals, you are trying to make plays defensively, So, that was really positive. I thought we executed on offense fairly well with 25 assists. A little sloppy at times but overall I though t it was a good workout for us." 

Anfernee McLemore and Bryce Brown led the Tiger offense with 19 points each. In McLemore's case, it tied his career high, and marked the second time this season that he's scored in double figures. In his 18 minutes of play, he also snatched five rebounds and blocked two shots. As for Brown, he was honored prior to the game for setting the school career record for 3-pointers in his last time out against Arizona. He didn't ease up this time around, canning three shots from long range. He finished 7-of-11 from the field and tallied five assists and four rebounds. This was the fifth straight match in which Brown scored at least 16 points. 

Austin Wiley (16), Malik Dunbar (14) and Chuma Okeke (12) complemented McLemore and Brown, giving Auburn five players in double figures for the night. 

But the real highlight in this one was the Auburn bench. Those players scored 41 points. The Tigers have now outscored their opponents in bench points in the last two games by a 74-7 margin. Wiley also yanked down a team-best nine rebounds, and Dunbar, who hit four treys, has played a major role for the offense, with 29 points off the bench in his last two contests. 

"Malik brings personality, intensity and he's always going to play hard and aggressive," McLemore stated. "He's a guy that we can feed off of when we need energy. We can always count on him to be there to pick us up." Elsewhere, Jared Harper didn't score in double figures for the second straight game, but led everybody with eight assists and three steals. In team stats, Auburn had the most assists (25) and steals (16) in the Bruce Pearl era and the most in Auburn Arena history. 

The Tigers shut Saint Peter's down in the early going. The opponents didn't make their first shot from the field until the 12:57 mark of the first half. They shot just 24 percent (7-of-29) from the field in the first 20 minutes. Auburn nailed eight 3-pointers alone in the first half, taking a commanding 51-23 advantage into halftime. The Tigers will return to action next Tuesday when they host UNC-Asheville at 7 p.m. CT. The game will be televised by the SEC Network. 

That's all for today. Until next time, God Bless, and WAR EAGLE! 

Sunday, November 25th, 2018

Auburn had Alabama on its heels at the conclusion of the first half yesterday at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa. The Tigers only trailed 17-14, and their upset bid was still very much alive. But in the second half, all such hopes were squashed. The Tide offense shredded the Auburn defense at every opportunity, cruising to a 52-21 win over its in-state rival.

Our offense started out strong, but collapsed in the final 30 minutes. We ended the day with 283 total yards (130 rushing, 153 passing). Jarrett Stidham showed spark at times, but seemed to flinch under pressure. The running game was decent, and had it not been for the holding penalty that wiped out Shaun Shivers' 75-yard TD run on Auburn's first series, it may have been a whole different ball game. Dropped passes were also a critical factor, especially in the early going. 

The defense kept us in striking distance in the first half, holding the Tide to season lows in passing yardage and total offense up to that point. But in the second half, QB Tua Tagovailoa gave the Tiger secondary fits, throwing four TD strikes that proved too much to overcome. Defensive coordinator Kevin Steele blamed himself for the outcome on that side of the ball, saying that the Tide won the man-to-man coverage battles. You may or may not agree with that view, but the bottom line is that the defense simply couldn't solve the puzzle of Alabama's potent offense. 

Special teams was very respectable, save for one kickoff that went out of bounds. Aside from that, Anders Carlson was excellent in that department, and Arryn Siposs continued to shine in the punting game, averaging 40.3 yards on seven punts, with his longest covering 50 yards. The return game was decent. However, the highlight was Smoke Monday's block of a Tide punt in the first half, giving the Tigers the ball at Bama's 23. On the next play, Ryan Davis tossed a scoring pass to Malik Miller on a trick play.. The blocked punt was Auburn's fourth such play this season. 

Overall, Auburn came out of the gate with a sense of urgency and determination, but completely regressed in the second half. Remember Pat Dye's famous reply when asked how long it would take him to beat Alabama? "Sixty minutes." So true. Playing inspired football for just 30 minutes simply won't get you a victory, especially against your ultimate rival. Now, the Tigers must sit back and await their postseason destination, which will be revealed a week from today. 

In other news...

- The basketball team returns to action on Wednesday when it hosts Saint Peter's in Auburn Arena at 7 p.m. CT. The game will be available online at SECN+. You can also listen on radio via the Auburn IMG Sports Network. 

That's all for now. Until next time, God Bless, and WAR EAGLE! 

 

Tuesday, November 20th, 2018

Auburn's top pass rusher will be in action in the Iron Bowl on Saturday. Head coach Gus Malzahn confirmed today that Nick Coe will be playing against Alabama after battling a wrist injury that he sustained in the Tigers' 27-10 loss to Georgia two weeks ago. Coe didn't play in the 53-0 win over Liberty this past Saturday. 

He leads Auburn in sacks with seven. Coe injured his right wrist early in the second half of the Georgia game on Nov. 10th. Big Kat Bryant has started in Coe's place, with T.D. Moultry playing more frequently than usual as the primary reserve at the hybrid defensive end/linebacker position. 

Obviously, Coe's presence could very well prove valuable against the top-ranked Tide's potent passing attack. 

In other news...

- Auburn basketball is facing Duke tonight in the second game of the Maui Invitational. As I write this, the Tigers are trailing 57-47 with under 12 minutes left to play. Keep fighting, Tigers! 

- Today is the late Auburn broadcaster Jim Fyffe's 73rd birthday. I know he's having a wonderful party in Heaven! We all love and miss you terribly, Jim! 

- On the other side of the coin, today also marks the 7th anniversary of the passing of one of my Earthly heroes: Longtime Georgia football broadcaster Larry Munson, the voice of the Dawgs from 1966-2008. In a nutshell, he was one of a kind, and will always be sorely missed. 

That's all for now. Until next time, God Bless, and WAR EAGLE! 



Monday, November 19th, 2018

Due to a rather busy day today, I'm going to be rather blunt on my takes on the football team's 53-0 win over Liberty last Saturday, as well as the basketball team's thrilling 88-79 win over Xavier today in the first game of the Maui Jim Maui Invitational. 

Regarding the football team, we were very effective on offense, with the only real issue being third-down conversions. We were 2-of-12 in that category. That must be rectified in time for the Iron Bowl this Saturday. The defense, meanwhile, was magnificent. After Liberty's opening drive, we largely held them in check the rest of the way. By the final buzzer, we had only allowed 134 total yards. Plus, we forced four turnovers. Can't complain about that.  

Special teams was solid as well. We made three of four field goals, and all extra points. The punting game was superb, and the kickoffs were equally impressive. Simply put, we took care of business against an inferior opponent. If we can correct the offensive issues, we'll have a realistic chance of pulling off the upset in the Iron Bowl. 

On the basketball front, our victory over Xavier today was even more satisfying considering the nip-and-tuck nature of the game that unfolded. It had me on the edge of my seat quite a bit. Jared Harper's dunk in OT was one for the record books. The Tigers will play Duke in the second game tomorrow night at 7 p.m. CT on ESPN. 

That's all for today. Until next time, God Bless, and WAR EAGLE! 



Thursday, November 15th, 2018

Ninth-ranked Auburn had little trouble in defeating Division-II Mississippi College 103-52 in Auburn Arena last night. The Tigers are now 3-0 as they enter the Maui Invitational next week. This was the second time in three games that Auburn broke the century mark. 

Horace Spencer registered his first career double-double with career-highs in points (14) and rebounds (17). Also, Austin Wiley led six Tigers in double figures with 18 points while claiming seven rebounds in 16 minutes of play. He went 5-of-7 from the floor and 8-of-10 from the foul line. "Give Mississippi College credit, they played hard and played a bunch of guys," head coach Bruce Pearl stated. "A lot of those kids got experience playing in a Division I atmosphere, and it was fun for them.

"Obviously, they were outmanned, but it gave us an opportunity to get it inside a little bit. Horace Spencer and Austin Wiley both took advantage inside. We had an arena record 66 rebounds and that was a positive for us." Elsewhere, Bryce Brown tallied 16 points, and Samir Doughty scored 13. Jared Harper registered 12, while Malik Dunbar added 10. Chuma Okeke, who garnered SEC Player of the Week honors last week, canned the Tigers' first basket of the second half, a 3-pointer. He and Anfernee McLemore each snatched seven rebounds.  

Auburn mounted a 58-point cushion down the stretch, thanks in large part to a 35-0 run in which it held the Choctaws scoreless for more than 11 minutes. J'Von McCormick's dunk with 3:33 left enabled the Tigers to reach 100 on the scoreboard. Auburn scored the game's first 16 points and led 48-29 at intermission. Wiley scored 11 in the first 20 minutes, including a jump hook from the baseline that put the Tigers up 23-2. 

Auburn will face Xavier next Monday at 1:30 p.m. CT in the first game of the Maui Invitational. It will be televised by ESPN2. It will mark the first of three games in as many days for the Tigers. All three will be carried on the Auburn Sports Network and the ESPN family of networks. 

That's all for now. Until next time, God Bless, and WAR EAGLE! 



Tuesday, November 13th, 2018

Auburn got some unfortunate news in the injury department today, as head coach Gus Malzahn confirmed that Nick Coe, Auburn's best pass rusher, will not be able to play against Liberty this Saturday. Additionally, his status for the Iron Bowl against Alabama is uncertain. 

Coe, who leads the Tigers in sacks with seven, injured his right wrist early in the second against Georgia last Saturday, a game the Tigers lost by a score of 27-10. "I don't know anything past this week," Malzahn stated. 

Auburn was down to its third-string Buck pass rusher after Big Kat Bryant was ejected for targeting in the first half, followed by Coe's injury. T.D. Moultry replaced the two at the position for most of the second half. 

Aside from those players, defensive back Javaris Davis is "day to day", according to Malzahn, but is expected to practice today after missing the Goergia game with an injured ankle. Auburn and Liberty will face off at 3 p.m. CT this Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium. The game will be televised on the SEC Network's Alternate channel. 

In other news...

- The men's basketball team will host Mississippi College tomorrow night at 7 p.m. CT in Auburn Arena. The game will be available online at SECN+. You can also listen via radio on the Auburn Sports Network. 

That's all for today. Until next time, God Bless, and WAR EAGLE! 

Sunday, November 11th, 2018

Auburn came out steaming last night, but the flame died down and the Tigers left Athens a 27-10 loser to No. 5 Georgia. Auburn has now lost six straight contests in the Peach State dating back to 2009. The Tigers slipped to 6-4 overall, 3-4 in SEC play. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs improved to 9-1 overall, 7-1 in the league. 

Offensively, Auburn started as though it meant business, engineering two effective scoring drives to take a 10-6 lead midway through the first half. Sadly, Anders Carlson's 27-yard field goal in the second quarter was our last score of the night. From that point on, the offense sputtered miserably. However, there were a couple of positives on that side of the ball. First off, John Samuel Shenker got his third career reception and his first career TD on a 9-yard pass from JaTarvious Whitlow out of the Wildcat. Also, on that same drive, Ryan Davis made his 154th career catch, becoming the program's all-time leader in receptions, surpassing Courtney Taylor. Davis set a new career-high with 13 catches in the game and had 72 yards receiving. He has now caught a ball in 24 games in a row, the most by a Tiger since Ricardo Louis accomplished that feat from 2013-15. As if that weren't enough, Davis and QB Jarrett Stidham made history together, becoming the most productive passing combination in Auburn history with 141 completions, eclipsing Pat Sullivan and Terry Beasley (1969-71). Unfortunately, those accomplishments weren't enough to erase the fact that the Tigers only generated 274 total yards (102 rushing, 172 passing). 

As for the defense, there was some spark, but not enough. Auburn gave up 516 total yards to Georgia (303 rushing, 213 passing). The Tigers held down deep in the early going, only allowing two field goals. But once the Dawgs got their running game in gear, it proved too great a challenge for Kevin Steele's bunch. Elijah Holyfield and D'Andre Swift torched the Tigers, and Swift's 77-yard TD run in the fourth quarter was the final nail in our coffin. Performances like that simply won't get you a victory on the road. 

Special teams was solid enough. Anders Carlson made a 27-yard field goal and was again excellent on his kickoffs. He also nailed his only extra point try. Punter Arryn Siposs averaged 40.3 yards on six kicks, with his longest being a 44-yarder. Two of his boots went inside the 20. The coverage unit gave up one big return to Georgia, but no real complaints aside from that. 

Overall, we had our chances to pull off the upset, but we just couldn't get it done. The Tigers will really have to step it up if they want to avoid a stunning upset at home next week against Liberty. That game will kick off at 3 p.m. CT on the SEC Network's Alternate channel. 

That's all for now. Until next time, God Bless, and WAR EAGLE!  

Saturday, November 10th, 2018

Auburn basketball jumped out to an early 14-2 lead and never eased up, cruising to an 88-66 blowout of Washington in Auburn Arena last night. It was the Tigers' third-largest victory over a ranked opponent in program history. The Tigersw are now 2-0 on the season. 

"When Jared Harper and Bryce Brown shoot 6-for-22, and you still beat a Top-25 team by 20, that is a really good sign," Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl stated after the game. "Great balance overall. I thought Chuma Okeke and Samir Doughty both had terrific games, and it's a really good team effort. Chuma scored inside and out, was solid defensively and did a great job on the boards with 10 rebounds. Samir showed his knowledge of the game and his ability to score inside and out, getting the rhythm defensively and being good at rebounding. I am just pleased of where we are right now." 

Okeke led Auburn with 19 points and 10 rebounds, recording his second double-double of this season and the fourth of his career. He started the night with a trey followed by an impressive put-back dunk. The Tigers shone brightly from beyond the arc in this one, nailing eight 3-pointers in the first half alone to jump out to a commanding 48-30 halftime lead. They finished the evening with 12 makes from long range. 

Doughty, a VCU transfer, got back-to-back treys midway through the first 20 minutes, but did a little bit of everything for his team. In just his second game as a Tiger, he amassed 18 points, four rebounds, four assists and four steals. "My teammates just did a good job of getting me the ball and in the right places," Doughty said. "In the second half, Coach (Pearl) was on me about pressuring the ball more and making them feel uncomfortable. I just tried to make that my focus point, just pressuring the ball and getting off to a good start. We didn't get off to a good start (in the second half) last game, so we were really harping on that tonight." 

Although they were undersized at most of the positions, the Tigers outrebounded the Huskies 41-24, including 19 on the offensive side. Okeke led Auburn with six in that department. On top of that, the Tiger defense forced Washington (1-1) into 18 turnovers. Perhaps the biggest high, though, came when Austin Wiley checked in for Auburn for the first time with 16:56 to go in the first half. He hadn't set foot on the court since the SEC Tournament in March 2017. The 6-feet-11, 260-pound Wiley made his first shot before getting two quick fouls. He tallied five points in 13 minutes of action in his season debut. 

"I am so proud of our fans and our students," Pearl commended. "They are just wonderful. I know (Austin) Wiley was just grateful at the response our fans gave him, which was a standing ovation." The Tigers will return to action next Wednesday, November 14th, when they host Mississippi College. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. CT. The game will be available online at SECN+. 

Now, I can turn my attention to the football team's showdown with Georgia at Sanford Stadium in Athens. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. CT on ESPN. Call me what you will, but I have a strange feeling that the comeback victory over Texas A&M last week will give us some momentum and confidence. This could be a tight one, folks! Hang on to your socks! 


That's all for now. Until next time, God Bless, and WAR EAGLE! 



Saturday, November 3rd, 2018

With 5:14 remaining, Auburn trailed visiting Texas A&M 24-14. It looked like the road team winning streak between the two would extend to seven straight. Tiger fans headed for the exits of Jordan-Hare Stadium disgusted and disappointed. Auburn's season seemed to have another chapter of disappointment written down.

Hold it right there! Could it be? Yes! Auburn scored two touchdowns with the clock dwindling down to stun the Aggies 28-24 and clinch bowl eligibility. NO doubt, though: It was far from pretty. A&M outplayed us in every facet of this one. Our offense sputtered for most of the day (including just 19 rushing yards), but rose up when it counted. Still, 278 total yards won't cut it. Plenty of room for improvement there. 

The defense was porous for most of the day, but came to life when the game was on the line. Believe it or not, we sacked A&M quarterback Kellen Mond five times! Still, we gave up 421 total yards. Mond and running back Trayveon Williams gave us fits. Missed tackles continue to be an issue. That needs to be rectified. But we also forced three critical turnovers, one of which came on an ill-advised pass in the final quarter when A&M was clinging to its lead. 

Special teams fared pretty well. Anders Carlson nailed all of his PATs, and was equally superb on kickoffs. Punter Arryn Siposs was also very solid. We also got a couple of big returns. Overall, it was a shaky game that could have been a major downer. However, the Tigers never quit and kept on scrapping and clawing and found a way to win! That's what matters! 

With this game said and done, I must inform you all that I will be leaving tomorrow for a four-day vacation to Orlando, Fla. with my family. In particular, we'll be going to Walt Disney World. This will be our sixth trip to Orlando in my lifetime, and my second to WDW. Plus, this is my second trip to the city in a year. Natrually, I won't be writing again until after I return next Thursday. We're planning on having a wonderful time. I would appreciate your prayers for us to have safe travels to and from our destination. 

That's all for now. Until next time, God Bless, and WAR EAGLE! 

Friday, November 2nd, 2018

With Auburn's home match with Texas A&M just less than 14 hours away as of this writing, we now know who will be calling the game on ESPN tomorrow. Bob Wischusen will provide the play-by-play, while Brock Huard will serve as the color commentator, and Allison Williams will be the sideline reporter. The only member of this trip with whom I'm not familiar is Bob. However, thanks to Wikipedia, I've learned that he's been with ESPN since 2006 calling college football and basketball, and is also the voice of the NFL New York Jets. 

Still, this is the first game I've ever seen or heard him call. But I'm hopeful that he'll do a fine job. That said, my main concern is Auburn's performance. Did they put the bye week to good use? Will Gus stay undefeated after such weeks? Will the Tigers break the streak of six straight victories by the visiting team between these two?  If we do enough things right, this one could be a real dandy.

That's all for now. Until next time, God Bless, and WAR EAGLE!  

November 2018