AU program on solid ground

Posted by Phillip Marshall, The Huntsville Times September 19, 2007 11:43 AM

It's obvious where Auburn's football team is right now - plagued with all sorts of problems and seemingly headed for a disappointing season. Realistically, even having a winning record might be too much to ask.

But the most pressing issue isn't the state of Tommy Tuberville's ninth Auburn football team. It is the state of his program.

Anyone who looks with any degree of objectivity and knowledge knows that Auburn's program is solid. There's not a hint of scandal. Players go to class. Players graduate. For the most part, they stay out of trouble. Going into this season, Auburn was 35-5 in its last 40 games. It had won 21 of 24 SEC games and eight of nine from teams ranked in the top 10. It had the third best record in Division IA from 2004-2006.

If that's not good enough, then nothing any coach ever does at Auburn is going to be good enough.

Like it or not, the presence of Nick Saban on the other side of the state has changed the landscape. It's not easy to be Auburn and never has been, just like it's not easy to be Texas A&M, Michigan State, Georgia Tech, Oklahoma State and other similarly situated schools.

Saban arrived last January and sparked the dangdest media frenzy I've seen. It continues today, and it's not just in this state. I read just today where Tom Lemming, yet another self-proclaimed "expert," said it wasn't a matter of if but when Saban wins a national championship at Alabama. Maybe he's right. Maybe it's that certain. Saban, after all, won one at LSU in 2003.

But in 10 seasons at LSU and Michigan State, that was one of two times he lost fewer than three games. He lost five or more five times, half of his seasons as a college head coach. Tuberville doesn't have a national championship because his 2004 team didn't win the popularity contest, but Saban doesn't have a perfect season.

It's easy to overstate the importance of one game or one season. When Alabama and wildly popular coach Dennis Fanchione beat Auburn 31-7 at Jordan-Hare Stadium in 2001, it was widely viewed as a sign that Alabama was headed for great days and Auburn was headed downward.

Alabama hasn't beaten Auburn since.

The point is that, while Tuberville's job is hard, it's not impossible. Auburn has terrific talent in its lower classes. Every point this season has been scored by a freshman or a sophomore. Tuberville has shown he can recruit and has shown he can build a program. He has done it the right way. He cares deeply for the young men who come his way and they return that affection. His program is one of the nation's best.

A bad start doesn't change that. Neither would a bad season.


It's Great to be an AUBURN TIGER!