Auburn Knows How Big LSU Game Will Be

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Auburn knows how big LSU game will be

By Glenn Guilbeau

Louisiana Gannett News

BATON ROUGE Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville did not want to put any added pressure on his team, but he basically told his players after practice Sunday how important Saturday's game against LSU will be.

"Coach Tubs was just saying out there after practice that six days from now we're going to play a game that everybody will remember for the rest of their lives," Auburn quarterback Brandon Cox said Sunday. "This is why you come here. This is what you train for all summer these type games. It's definitely one of these type games."

In other words, don't throw an interception, which Cox has not thrown yet this season.

At Auburn this week and in many past weeks, the subject has been No. 6 LSU, which No. 3 Auburn hosts at 2:30 p.m. Saturday on CBS. But coaches and players have been sounding a lot like they were preparing to play Alabama, which is usually reserved for "rest of their lives" comments.

"We've got to be focused, because we know this can make or break our season here," Cox said.

As far as national and Southeastern Conference significance, the LSU-Auburn game has surpassed the Alabama-Auburn game. In five of the last six seasons, Alabama was either on probation or not ranked going into the Auburn game. LSU, meanwhile, will bring a top 10 ranking into the Auburn game for the fifth straight year and a top 25 ranking for the sixth straight year. (Wow. That's impressive) This is the fourth straight Auburn-LSU pairing in which both are ranked.

Auburn has also beaten Alabama four straight times, including three by a touchdown or more, and in five of the last six meetings. Neither Auburn nor LSU has beaten the other twice in a row this decade. Either Auburn or LSU has won the last three SEC West titles and five of the last six. Alabama has won the West once in the last nine years.

Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville has often called the LSU game Auburn's biggest of the year, which may be a shot at Alabama, but he's talking about the SEC championship game in Atlanta. By the time Auburn and Alabama play to end the season, it's just about finishing touches. LSU and Auburn are about to set the West pace.

"I think this game can decide LSU's future or our future," said Auburn cornerback Jonathan Wilhite of Ouachita Parish High School.

"Usually the team that wins this game has the best opportunity to go to Atlanta," Tuberville said. "If you fall behind two games after this game — which is basically what you do if you lose — it makes it pretty difficult. And both teams have had good teams for the last few years. We've been the two best teams in the West. Whether it's that way this year or not we'll have to wait and see, but in the past, that's what it's been. One will be chasing the other for the rest of the year is what it's going to do."

In the past before Alabama games, Tuberville said the secret to preparing for such a game was to be mentally sharp because the physical part will be there because of the opponent. He used that line two months early this season.

"To me that's how you coach a big game," he said Tuesday. "I learned that from some guys I coached with in the past, Jimmy Johnson being one of those. You've mentally just got to prepare your team to play a game like this. They're going to play — the effort and the physical ability are going to be there. But you've got to make sure that they play within their limits and handle each play mentally as well as what they do with their legs and arms and their feet. There's a lot of thinking that goes on in these games."

This game will also have a dash of that blood-feud emotion that defines the Alabama-Auburn game, also known as the Iron Bowl. Wilhite has some healthy hate for LSU.

"For me, it's a dream because I'm from Louisiana, and I wanted to go to LSU out of high school and didn't get a chance to do that," said Wilhite, who went to Butler County Junior College in Kansas. "I would love to go out and beat them. That's my goal now to go out and show I was worth it."

Wilhite said he was still being recruited by LSU when he finished junior college, but LSU had lots of depth in the secondary and was not after him hard. He decided to follow fellow Butler cornerback David Irons to Auburn instead.

Eight members of Wilhite's family will travel to Auburn for the game Saturday — all in orange and blue.

"Yeah, they hate LSU," he said. "My brother called last night and told me how some LSU fans were bragging at work how we were going to lose. I just told him it would be better at work Monday."

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[autiger518 1]

Alabama has won the West once in the last nine years

Wow after this year it will be their 10th Anniversary of not winning the West...How Special!!!

[AUwingsfan 1]

good article..... I am so glad that I don't have to actually play, because I'd have so much trouble containing my emotions before the game actually kicked off. I like how Coach Tubberville stresses that he doesn't want the players to spend all their energy and emotion before the game....he's seemed to have done a good job of that the past few years.....one of the last times I remember us being totally flat against a conference team was a few years ago when we got trounced in Baton Rouge.....I still think part of that had to do with the stupid lightning delay, that and the fact that LSU was a national championship winner.

War Eagle!!!

BTW....I loved what wilhite said about work on Monday, let's hope it's true!!

[autigeremt 6,645]

Nice piece. Like it!

[AWK 0]

"My brother called last night and told me how some LSU fans were bragging at work how we were going to lose. I just told him it would be better at work Monday."