​​Lyle's Corner

October 2019

Wednesday, October 30th, 2019

A string of recent rumors became reality today. Redshirt freshman quarterback Joey Gatewood has decided to leave the Auburn football team and transfer. Reportedly, Gatewood met with head coach Gus Malzahn before and after Tuesday's practice, which he did not attend. Despite this decision, Gatewood still intends to finish the semester in Auburn while exploring his transfer options.

The former four-star recruit from Bartram Trail High School in Jacksonville, Fla. pledged to the Tigers as a sophomore in high school and was endeared by the program because of his bond with former offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee and the school's connection with Cam Newton. 

After redshirting last year, which was difficult for him according to his personal quarterback trainer, Denny Thompson, Gatewood was edged out by Bo Nix for the starting quarterback job in August. Although he played in seven games this season, his action was limited. He left the team having registered 148 yards on 29 carries with three touchdowns. Through the air, he completed 5 of 7 passes for 54 yards and two scores. 

With Gatewood's departure, the backup quarterback role will now be taken by one of the oldest players on the roster, Cord Sandberg. Although listed as a redshirt freshman, the lefty from Bradenton, Fla. will turn 25 on January 2nd. Originally recruited by Auburn as a quarterback from Manatee High School, where he was Florida's Class 7A Player of the Year, Sandberg committed to Mississippi State, but later signed with the Philadelphia Phillies to play professional baseball. 

Meanwhile, walk-on Wil Appleton will be designated as the third-stringer. Hopefully, both of them will get a fair chance. As for Joey, all we can do now is wish him the best wherever he goes next. 

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

Saturday, October 26th, 2019

Auburn's futile streak in Baton Rouge continues. The visiting team's defense kept them in the thick of it all day long, but the offense couldn't click when it counted most, and Auburn fell to second-ranked LSU 23-20.

I'll start with the positives. The defense was outstanding, although it would be easy to think otherwise when you look at the stat sheet. Yes, Auburn surrendered 508 yards to LSU (321 passing, 187 rushing), but it also made two crucial goal-line stands in the third period. One came on Roger McCreary's interception at the Auburn 2-yard line. It was McCreary's first career pick, and Burrow's first INT this season. The other came when Auburn stuffed three straight LSU runs inside the 3-yard line. On fourth down, Jeremiah Dinson and Noah Igbinoghene teamed up to make the stop for no gain on a screen pass. 

Then we get to the offense. We started out strong early, but then just bogged down time after time. Auburn only generated 287 yards on the day (157 passing, 130 rushing). It also went a paltry 5-of-18 in third-down conversions. That spells trouble for your defense. Bo Nix was once again rattled in a hostile environment, going 15-of-35 for 157 yards with a TD and an interception. He was also sacked three times. Frankly, the only bright spot on this side of the ball was running back D.J. Williams, who amassed 130 yards on 13 carries. The vast majority of that came on draw plays late in the first half and early in the second. JaTarvious Whitlow returned, but he was ineffective with just 9 yards on three carries. 

Special teams was outstanding. Arryn Siposs was superb in punting, and Anders Carlson hit two field goals and two PATs. His kickoffs were excellent, as usual. The return game didn't break any long runs. One highlight, however, came in blocking an LSU extra point try. The biggest play came in the first half when Jamien Sherwood recovered a fumbled punt return by LSU inside the Bayou Bengals' 20-yard line, setting up a TD a few plays later to give Auburn a  10-7 lead. 

Another thing that killed Auburn was penalties. The visiting Tigers were flagged 15 times for a total of 98 yards. Some of them were careless. (If there's any consolation, LSU got 12 penalties for 118 yards.) I also feel that the offensive play calling was quite vanilla and predictable at times. The biggest question mark, however, came in the closing seconds of the half. With the score tied at 10-all, Auburn had just reached LSU territory on a big scamper by D.J. Williams. It still had one timeout left. I figured that we would keep it on the ground and line it up in the middle for Anders Carlson to try a go-ahead field goal at the buzzer to give Auburn a halftime lead. Instead, Gus decided to have Bo Nix go for broke by looking for Seth Williams near the goal line.  The pass was intercepted, thwarting a golden opportunity. Why would you do that? 

Overall, the offense struggled. The defense held its ground, but it wasn't enough to pull off the upset. Auburn had its chances, but things didn't quite pan out so well. The good news, though, is that the Tigers will return home next week for the first time in a month to host Ole Miss. (To be more precise, the Tigers will spend the rest of the regular season on their own home turf.) The players and coaches need to somehow clean up the errors from today. Kickoff against Ole Miss is set for 6 p.m. CT next Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium on ESPN. 

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



Friday, October 25th, 2019

Auburn got some surprisingly happy news this evening. Jay Tate of AuburnSports.com reported that running back JaTarvious Whitlow traveled with the Tigers to Baton Rouge and has been cleared to play at LSU tomorrow. However, whether or not he will actually play will be a game-time decision.

Whitlow, Auburn's leading rusher, hurt his left knee at Florida Oct. 5th. Although initially expected to miss between four and six weeks, Tate reported that the sophomore "progressed much more quickly than expected." Knowing that Whitlow is the workhorse of Auburn's ground attack, his presence could boost his team's chances of an upset by helping them win the time of possession battle and keeping Joe Burrow and LSU's high-octane offense off the field as much as possible. 

In six games, Whitlow has amassed 110 carries for 544 yards and seven touchdowns. Even without him, Auburn still racked up 298 yards rushing on 51 carries in a 51-10 beatdown of Arkansas last week. Auburn and LSU are set to do battle at 2:30 p.m. CT tomorrow, with the game being televised by CBS.

On an off-topic note, some people seem to be concerned that the game will be affected by Tropical Depression 17 as it strengthens in the Gulf tonight. It would be named Tropical Storm Olga if it gains enough strength. Fortunately, the last update I saw for Baton Rouge was encouraging. The city is expected to get more rain tonight and tomorrow, but it should taper off by mid-morning Saturday. The game is not expected to be impacted by much rain and temperature at kickoff is expected to be around 64 degrees with a 10 MPH wind out of the west. 

Back to the primary topic. I'm glad we're getting Whitlow back, as you can imagine. The only question is this: If he plays, will his return be validated based on the condition of his knee?

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



Tuesday, October 22nd, 2019

When Auburn hosts Ole Miss in Jordan-Hare Stadium on Nov. 2nd (the Tigers' first home game in a month, no less), it will do so in the evening. The SEC announced yesterday that the game has been set for 6 p.m. CT on ESPN. 

Ole Miss (3-5, 2-3 SEC) is coming off a second straight conference loss, having fallen to Texas A&M 24-17 in Oxford last Saturday. But the Rebels have an open date this week, so they will have two weeks to prepare for the Tigers. 

On the whole, Auburn has dominated the series. Ole Miss has not had an edge in  a single decade since the 1960s, when the teams met only once in the 1965 Liberty Bowl. The Rebels won 13-7 when a final-second march into Ole Miss territory by Auburn came up short. 

Gus Malzahn is 5-1 against the Rebels in his stint as Auburn's head coach, the only blemish a 27-19 defeat at Jordan-Hare Stadium in 2015. The Tigers still hold a 32-11 lead in the series, which began Oct. 20th, 1928. Auburn has won the last three contests by an average of 16 points. 

The Tigers are approaching the end of a three-game SEC road trip. Auburn (6-1, 3-1 SEC) travels to Baton Rouge on Saturday for a match with second-ranked LSU (7-0, 3-0) set for 2:30 p.m. CT in Tiger Stadium on CBS. Auburn hasn't won there since 1999. Gus Malzahn's troops haven't played a home game since Sept. 28th, when they buried Mississippi State 56-23.

Auburn closes out the regular season with four straight home games: Ole Miss, Georgia, Samford and Alabama.

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

Monday, October 21st, 2019

Auburn football's Class of 2020 has one less linebacker. Late last night, reports surfaced that five-star linebacker Trenton Simpson, who had been the highest-rated member of said class, backed out of his pledge. Simpson, who hailed from Charlotte (N.C.) Mallard Creek, announced his de-commitment via Twitter. 

"This was not an easy decision to make," he tweeted. "However, with God and my family, I have made the decision to de-commit from Auburn University." The 6-foot-3, 224-pound Simpson ranks as the No. 2 outside linebacker and the No. 13 overall recruit in the 247Sports rankings. He committed to the Tigers on June 14th. 

His de-commitment leaves Auburn with two linebackers in the Class of '20 - Wesley Steiner and Cameron Riley, both 4-stars. Reportedly, the team to watch for Simpson is now North Carolina, which he recently visited. It's unclear if Simpson will continue to consider Auburn. The Tigers could continue pursuing him or shift their attention to four-star Desmond Tisdol of Georgia. 

Auburn plans to sign three linebackers in the Class of '20. The Tigers currently have 18 pledges, and can have up to 25 this cycle. With Simpson off the cards, four-star running back Tank Bigsby is now the highest-ranked member of Auburn's commit list. He's the No. 31 recruit nationally in the 247Sports Composite. 

Simpson's decision likely won't hurt the Tigers very much at the linebacker spot. Auburn has plenty of young talent there, and Steiner is a top-100 recruit while Riley is having an incredible senior season. 

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

Saturday, October 19th, 2019

It's not common for me to write my post-game posts on Saturdays, but there's a first time for everything. Auburn clearly showed that it was refreshed and rested from its bye week today with a 51-10 obliteration of Arkansas in Fayetteville. 

The offense, save for an inept second quarter (13 total yards and one first down), was clicking like crazy today, making life miserable for Arkansas' defense. The Tigers rolled up 491 total yards (298 rushing, 193 passing). Auburn showed it can run the ball effectively with or without JaTarvious Whitlow. Bo Nix was solid again, going 12-of-17 for 173 yards and three scores. He did have one fumble, and a couple of miscommunications in which he and Seth Williams weren't on the same page. But those things can be rectified. Joey Gatewood also threw a TD strike to Jay Jay Wilson. 

On defense, Kevin Steele's bunch once again had a great day, holding the Razorbacks to just 234 total yards (52 rushing, 182 passing). The key, however, was forcing four turnovers. That's something to be proud of, especially when you're the road team. 

The special teams unit had ups and downs. Anders Carlson nailed one field goal and six of seven PATs. His one miss broke a streak of 304 straight makes for Auburn dating back to a 2013 match at Tennessee. The aforementioned mark is still a new NCAA record, eclipsing the previous mark set by Florida State from 2012-16. Arryn Siposs only punted twice on the day, but those were also impressive, as he averaged 47.0 yards per boot. The return game didn't have any big moments, but did total 48 yards on three returns. 

Overall, Auburn recorded an impressive win on the road, erasing the memory of the disaster in The Swamp two weeks ago. Gus Malzahn had a pleasant trip back to his home state, and improved to 9-0 in games played after open dates. Now, his team must turn the page tomorrow and prepare for a more-than-likely top-10 showdown at LSU next week. Auburn hasn't won in the Bayou since 1999, and another tall task awaits them, particularly in LSU's pass-heavy offense led by QB Joe Burrow. Sure, it may seem daunting, but stranger things have happened. Former ESPN commentator Ron Franklin summed it up perfectly: When Auburn and LSU face off, something unusual always happens. God only knows what will happen next week. 

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



Friday, October 18th, 2019

A newcomer to Auburn's men's basketball team will have to wait a bit longer to start his Tiger tenure. Devan Cambridge, a guard who signed with Auburn this year, recently suffered a stress fracture in preseason practices. He is expected to miss 4-6 weeks. Unsurprisingly, head coach Bruce Pearl noted that Cambridge will likely have catching up to do once he's healthy again.

"I'm glad we caught it early because had this not been detected it could've been a much more serious injury down the road," Pearl said yesterday. "Devan is disappointed. We're disappointed beause he had broken through as one of the freshmen that could have an impact on our team. He still can, but this is obviously going to put him behind some." 

Cambridge is a freshman from Nashville, Tenn., who played last season at a high school in Arizona. The 6-feet-6, 190-pounder came on strong following an auspicious summer on the AAU circuit. Whenever he returns from injury, he's expected to challenge for playing time at the shooting guard spot behind Samir Doughty. Until then, his absence should allow true freshman Allen Flanigan to be even more active in the rotation early in the season. Freshman Tyrell Jones could also see time at the two-guard spot. 

Pearl and his troops took part last night in an exhibition at Toomer's Corner featuring a dunk contest, three-point shooting contest and more. The Tigers, who went 30-10 last year, will play an exhibition game on Friday, Nov. 1st against Eckerd. The regular season behgins Nov. 5th with a home game against Georgia Southern in Auburn Arena. Last season, the Tigers won the 2019 SEC Tournament championship and advanced to the Final Four, losing to Virginia. 

In other news...

- Word came out today as to who will call Auburn football's game at Arkansas tomorrow on the SEC Network. Taylor Zarzour will provide the play-by-play, with Matt Stinchcomb presenting the color commentary. Alyssa Lang will serve as the sideline reporter. 

Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. CT on said channel. I must warn you: Arkansas may be 2-4, but they have really come on strong in the past couple of weeks, playing inspired football against Texas A&M and Kentucky despite losing both of those contests. Watch out, Tigers! Stay grounded, or it will get nasty in a hurry. 

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



Thursday, October 17th, 2019

The Auburn family is mourning the loss of a former Tiger today. Kenny Pollard, a wide receiver for Auburn from 1985-88, passed away last Saturday, October 15th, at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Columbus, Mississippi, according to his obituary at Dowdle Funeral Home. He was 52. The cause of death was not disclosed. 

Pollard was born in Memphis, Tenn., in 1967. He won two straight state championships in high school in Millport, Alabama, before pledging to play for Pat Dye's squad. Pollard won consecutive SEC crowns during his junior and senior campaigns with the Tigers in 1987 and 1988.

At Pollard's funeral tomorrow in Millport, all attendees were asked to wear orange and blue for "his Auburn Tigers," according to the obituary. After closing out his Auburn career, he was inducted into the Millport Hall of Fame and the Lamar County Hall of Fame. 

Pollard met his wife of 27 years, Tina Guy Pollard, through their local softball league following his time on the Plains, according to the obituary. He is survived by his wife; two daughters; one son; three grandchildren - who called him "Pop," according to the obituary - one sister; one brother; and "multiple" nephews, nieces and in-laws. 

God Bless You, Kenny. May you rest in eternal peace. 

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



Monday, October 14th, 2019

Auburn's match at LSU will commence in the afternoon at Tiger Stadium. It was reported today that the game will kick off at 2:30 p.m. CT on CBS on Oct. 26th. Auburn has not beaten LSU in Baton Rouge since 1999. 

This will mark Auburn's third appearance on CBS this season. The Tigers have previously defeated Texas A&M 28-20 in College Station, Texas, and lost to Florida 24-13 in Gainesville, Fla., on CBS this season. Second-ranked LSU is coming off a 42-28 win over top-10 Florida. This week, LSU will travel to Mississippi State before hosting Auburn. No. 11 Auburn (5-1, 2-1 SEC) was off last weekend after losing at Florida. 

In its last visit to Tiger Stadium two years ago, Auburn let a 20-0 lead slip away in a heartbreaking 27-23 loss. But they fought back to win the SEC West with consecutive upsets of top-ranked teams over Georgia and Alabama in Jordan-Hare Stadium. LSU leads the overall series 30-22-1, having won three of the last four. Head coach Ed Orgeron is 2-0 against Auburn (Just for the record, on the flip side, he never beat Auburn in three tries at Ole Miss from 2005-07).

LSU is 6-3 against Auburn this decade, including victories in six of the last eight contests. Auburn's last win came in 2016 in a thrilling 18-13 upset. The Bayou Bengals appeared to have won the game on a last-play TD pass from Danny Etling to D.J. Chark. However, video review determined that the visiting Tigers failed to snap the ball before the clock expired. Auburn did not socre a touchdown in the win, as kicker Daniel Carlson accounted for all the scoring with six field goals. (In fact, the game's only TD came courtesy of LSU on a 3-yard scoring pass from Etling to Foster Moreau.)

Les Miles was fired the next night after 12 seasons as LSU's head coach. 

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



Wednesday, October 9th, 2019

Bad news befell Auburn football last night, as word came out that running back JaTarvious Whitlow will miss at least four to six weeks after undergoing a surgical procedure on his left knee yesterday. Head coach Gus Malzahn confirmed this. 

Whitlow, a sophomore, is Auburn's starting running back, and leads the team in rushing with 554 yards and seven TDs on 110 carries. He had his knee inspected and did not tear a ligament. "Obviously, he's an impact player on offense," Malzahn stated. "The good thing for that is we do have a deep group at running back." 

The 12th-ranked Tigers (5-1, 2-1 SEC) are off this weekend before traveling to Arkansas on Oct. 19th. A road trip to No. 5 LSU follows on Oct. 26th and then a home tilt with Ole Miss. Auburn will have another bye on Nov. 9th before hosting Georgia on Nov. 16th. 

"We'll have a plan for Arkansas, and we'll continue to do that until we get him back," Malzahn said. "We do feel like he'll have a pretty good chance before the end of the season." Kam Martin (5.1 yards per carry) is Whitlow's backup, but the Tigers are also expected to get true freshman D.J. Williams into the mix, as well as redshirt freshman Harold Joiner. 

Martin, in particular, sympathized with Whitlow's situation. "It sucks," he said. "Boobee is one of our guys. He led the league in rushing and stuff, so it sucks. Just gotta step up." Shaun Shivers is the Tigers' third-string tailback, but he didn't touch the ball in the team's 24-13 loss at No. 10 Florida last week. 

Martin, a senior, is the most experienced of the healthy running backs. Although he carried the ball 13 times in the last three weeks, he did not record a carry in Auburn's 28-20 win at Texas A&M during that span. "I'm ready for the challenge," Martin said. "I did it before. I'm just ready to step up, man. No pressure. I'm just ready to step up."

Williams has played in only one contest this season after undergoing shoulder surgery in the offseason and a hip flexor in September. He carried the ball seven times for 32 yards in the fourth quarter of Auburn's 56-23 shellacking of Mississippi State. "D.J. is a baller," Martin said. "He's ready to step up. ...All those guys in the room can lead." 

Whitlow has battled through several injuries in his Auburn career. He suffered a shoulder injury in the second half of last season, which hindered his availability and effectiveness on the field. He fell shy of 1,000 yards rushing, marking the first time in a decade the Tigers had not had a rusher reach that mark. Whitlow also served as Auburn's Wildcat quarterback, a formation that was not used against the Gators last week.  

Over the past four seasons, injuries have decimated Auburn's running backs and limited their production or kept them out of games - Kamryn Pettway (2016), Kerryon Johnson (2017), and Whitlow the last two seasons. Given the current situation, it would be easy for fans to be alarmed about the Auburn offense's production in the next few eeks, but let's try to be optimistic and give the aforementioned running backs a fair chance to make the Tigers click. 

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



Monday, October 7th, 2019

Auburn's next football game may be 12 days away, but its kickoff time and TV network have already been set today - and the former will not bode well for many Tiger fans, if any. Auburn and Arkansas will kick off at 11 a.m. CT on Oct. 19th on the SEC Network. The Tigers (5-1, 2-1 SEC) lost at Florida 24-13 last Saturday and are off this week. 

No. 12 Auburn is 16-11-1 all-time against the Razorbacks, with all but one match occurring since Arkansas joined the SEC in 1992. Interestingly enough, Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn actually dressed out as a receiver for Arkansas in a 21-15 loss to the Tigers in the 1984 Liberty Bowl. 

This year's contest will pit two close friends against each other. Malzahn and Arkansas head coach Chad Morris first met as high school coaches in Arkansas and Texas, respectively, when Morris sought guidance from Malzahn on instituting his hurry-up, no-huddle offense in the early 2000s. Morris went on to win state championships in Texas and entered the college coaching ranks after Malzahn did the same in the mid-2000s. Morris and Malzahn first coached against each other as the offensive coordinators for Clemson and Auburn in 2011 (a 38-24 Clemson win). Morris is now in his second season as Arkansas' head coach after getting his first head coaching gig at SMU. 

Malzahn is 5-1 against Arkansas, his home state team, as Auburn's head coach. His lone setback was a 54-46 four-overtime loss on the road in 2015. He was previously the offensive coordinator for the Razorbacks in 2006, guiding them to the SEC Championship Game that season (which they lost 38-28 to eventual national champion Florida). 

This Saturday, Arkansas (2-3, 0-2 SEC) travels to Kentucky (2-3, 0-3 SEC) for a match between two teams winless in league play. Regardless of the kickoff time between Auburn and the Razorbacks, one thing's for sure: The Tigers had better be careful, or they'll hit another stumbling block. 

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



Saturday, October 5th, 2019

Was it just one of those days? Were the Tigers unable to handle a hostile environment in The Swamp in Gainesville? Was the outcome simply an aberration in an otherwise auspicious first half of the season? Whatever the case, Auburn's 24-13 loss in its first trip to Florida Field in 12 years was far from pleasant. 

The key to today's outcome, as I'm sure you will agree, was poor execution by the offense. The Tigers only amassed 269 total yards (145 passing, 124 rushing). Bo Nix was scrambling for his life most of the day, and threw three interceptions.  JaTarvious Whitlow got the running game going, but a bit too late. Auburn's lone red zone trip ended with an interception in the end zone when they were trailing 17-13. A golden chance to take the lead was wasted. The Tigers committed four turnovers. More often than not, that will simply not get you a victory, especially on the road. Another key stat: 2-for-14 on 3rd-down conversions.

On the other side of the coin, the defense played its heart out, forcing four Florida turnovers. Derrick Brown was the star on that side, recovering two fumbles, one of which he returned for 42 yards (although it could have been a TD, which would have shifted the momentum considering the way the game was going). The back-breaker, however, came when Florida's Lamical Perine sped 88 yards for a score late in the final quarter. I read an article tonight stating that Gus Malzahn claimed that Perine was too slow for the SEC. Assuming that's true, man, did that come back to bite him.

The special teams unit was solid enough. Anders Carlson nailed two field goals and a PAT. Plus, his kickoffs were outstanding. Arryn Siposs was excellent in punting. Coverage was respectable, but the return game didn't break any long runs. 

Overall, the offense was limp and ineffective - by far its worst performance thus far this season. The defense did enough to keep the Tigers in the game, but it wasn't enough to make up for the offensive struggles. It takes all phases of the game to pull off a victory. There is a bright spot in all of this, however. The Tigers will now have two weeks to rectify their problems and regroup. Coach Malzahn said tonight that he has to do a better job of getting the players ready. Let's hope he can live up to his word, as the Tigers have a trip to Arkansas up next on the agenda. If you watched the end of the Texas A&M/Arkansas game last week, then you know that the Hogs pushed the Aggies to their limits, despite coming up on the short end of the stick. That alone tells me that Arkansas is a determined bunch of troops. 

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