Fever on the Plains

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http://www.al.com/auburnfootball/huntsvill....xml&coll=1

Fever on the Plains

Friday, September 01, 2006

By PHILLIP MARSHALL

Times Sports Staff pmarsh9485@msn.com

RVs' arrival means football's kickoff excitedly close

AUBURN - By Wednesday afternoon, the recreational vehicles were already starting to roll into town. Workers were putting the finishing touches on upgrades to Jordan-Hare Stadium even as players and coaches went through a dress re-hearsal on the field.

It's game week.

From the time players, still smarting from a 24-10 Capital One Bowl loss to Wisconsin, gathered for their first offseason workout in January, the current has been building toward the sound and fury of the first football Saturday.

The Tigers put their lofty No. 4 national ranking on the line Saturday night against Washington State. Kickoff is set for 6:45 on ESPN2.

For senior linebacker Will Herring, the feeling a familiar mixture of excitement and of pride in the program he, going into his fourth year as a starter, has helped lift to its place among the nation's elite, one that has won 22 of its last 25 overall and 17 of its last 18 against Southeastern Conference teams.

"It's an odd feeling," Herring said. "When the RVs start pulling into town and the atmosphere starts to pick up, that's when it starts to sink in."

As game day nears, Herring reflects on the price and he and his teammates have paid to run out of that tunnel to the cheers of 87,000. He thinks about those grueling sessions with strength and conditioning coach Kevin Yoxall, about spring training, about two-a-days.

"I think the harder you work, the harder it is to give up," Herring said. "That is going to carry us, hopefully, to the national championship."

Senior offensive guard Tim Duckworth can tell it's game week when sleep becomes difficult.

"I'm a little more pumped up," Duckworth said. "I'm licking my chops. Everything I've done, I have to take it out on somebody. I'm going to take it out on them." Tim even us fans are the same way...

And the anticipation grows.

Older Tigers remember the feeling of standing unbeaten at the end of the 2004 season. They remember the feeling of five losses in 2003, a season that started with anticipation that quickly faded in a 23-0 opening loss to USC. And they remember the disappointment of a year ago, when their 15-game winning streak died in a 23-14 loss to Georgia Tech on opening night at Jordan-Hare.

Fourth-year junior quarterback Brandon Cox was a redshirt in 2003 and a backup in 2004, and he won't forget. He won't forget what it was like to see all those hopes and dreams crumble on one awful night or what it was like to win every game. Most of all, he won't forget five interceptions against Georgia Tech in the first start of his career.

"I think the older guys who have experienced what has gone on the past few years have really stepped up and gotten it across to the younger guys," Cox said. "You can tell it in how we practice, how much faster the tempo is, how everybody acts in the locker room and off the field. Everybody really is focused."

For Tommy Tuberville, entering his eighth season at Auburn and 12th as a head coach, the anticipation is always mixed with concern. Preseason rankings, he says, are of no value when the lights go on and it's time to play.

"Each year the puzzle is different," Tuberville said. "You have different pieces that you have to put in different places. In 2004, I thought a lot of pieces of the puzzle weren't there. We ended up winning all of our games. You never know how it's going to work out.

"Predictions are great. They give everyone something to talk about the month of August, but that's all they are."

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Senior offensive guard Tim Duckworth can tell it's game week when sleep becomes difficult.

"I'm a little more pumped up," Duckworth said. "I'm licking my chops. Everything I've done, I have to take it out on somebody. I'm going to take it out on them."

All of the reading and hype in the last couple of months has me chomping at the bit as well. I'm lovin' it.

I. also, hope that when on of our Tigers put the leather on THEM, they feel it through the pads and know that they have been hit hard everytime. Whether it's blocking, running the ball, tackling or fighting off a block, I want them to feel every bit of it.