It isn’t often that the opposing sideline hosts a former Heisman Trophy winning quarterback as a head coach. It’s even more unique to have that former Heisman winner coaching against his alma mater. It happens every year with Steve Spurrier coaching in the same division as the Florida Gators, but this will be the first time for Auburn.
The 6-4 (4-3) No. 24 Auburn Tigers will host the FCS Samford Bulldogs for Homecoming week on the Plains. A few members of the Samford coaching staff will feel right at home on this visit to Auburn, as head coach Pat Sullivan is a former player and offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee served as a graduate assistant for the Tigers from 2009-10.
There is a bit of history to this game as well, as the Tigers and Samford have met 26 times, with the Tigers leading the series 25-0-1. There was a 9-9 tie that occurred in the 1929 season, but that is as close as the Bulldogs have come to a victory against the Tigers.
Auburn will look for their seventh victory of the season before they host 9-1 (6-1) No. 3 Alabama Crimson Tide on November 16. This is likely to be the last opportunity for Auburn to earn a victory in the regular season for 2011.
Looking ahead to this week’s Homecoming contest, here are some storylines that will keep the game interesting despite the final score.
Pat Sullivan Returns
Many Auburn faithful think of Pat Sullivan as the Heisman Trophy winning quarterback during the 1971 season instead of head coach of the Samford Bulldogs. During his time at Auburn, Pat Sullivan set numerous passing records and brought the first Heisman award to Auburn.
Sullivan to Beasley was a memorable radio call for Auburn fans during the early ‘70s. Sullivan was also the Auburn quarterbacks coach from 1986-91 before taking over as head coach at TCU from 1992-97. Sullivan took a small hiatus from coaching, only to return in 1999 as the offensive coordinator at UAB. In 2007, he became the 35th head football coach for Samford.
Sullivan led the Bulldogs to their first winning season since 2003 in his first year with the program but has struggled to return to the top tier of the Southern Conference since. There is a wealth of talented teams found in the Southern Conference, most notably the Appalachian State Mountaineers, who knocked off the then-No. 5 Michigan Wolverines in 2007.
This week Sullivan will be honored for his Heisman winning season in his return to Auburn, as 2011 marks the 40th anniversary of Sullivan’s award winning season. The recognition will occur at 11:35 a.m. CT, 25 minutes before kickoff.
Sneak Peak at Future Coordinator?
With the numerous coaching vacancies that have become open this season, speculation has begun to swirl involving the future of Gus Malzahn as Auburn’s offensive coordinator. Most believe that if given the chance at a number of the premier jobs available, Malzahn will go.
If Malzahn were to decide to leave for a head coaching position, Gene Chizik will have a huge gap left to fill on his staff. One name that is popular with some Auburn circles is Rhett Lashlee. Lashlee is the current offensive coordinator for the Samford Bulldogs.
Lashlee began his coaching career under Gus Malzahn at Springdale High School in 2004. He then followed Malzahn to Arkansas as a graduate assistant under Houston Nutt’s staff in 2006. Lashlee also played high school football for Malzahn at Shiloh Christian High School.
If Gene Chizik were to stick with the same offensive philosophy with the assumed departure of Malzahn in the future, Lashlee would be a good fit, as he would know the Malzahn system as good as anyone. It would be a huge leap from Samford to Auburn as a coordinator, but the move would likely be met with little resistance.
Auburn fans will get a good look at the Lashlee ran offense this weekend, and possibly the future for Auburn offensively.
Kiehl Frazier to earn more snaps?
One of the positives that will come this week is the ability to see multiple players earn some extended time on the playing field. One player who most would like to see earn some additional time is Kiehl Frazier.
With the quarterback carousel that has occurred this season for Auburn, more production and playing time was expected from the vaunted freshman. So far, he has only attempted 10 total passes, completing only five. Two of his throws have gone for interceptions.
Frazier has added some value to the Tigers offense in the rushing game, however, carrying the ball 48 times for 216 yards and one touchdown. Auburn is still looking for more.
The assumption would be that the Tigers would come out full steam ahead, with Clint Moseley running the offense to the fullest. The Tigers must assume that they will get ahead early enough that they will have the opportunity to toss in backups.
Even though the backups will play, is it a wise decision to remove Moseley from the game with as little experience as he has heading into the Iron Bowl? Or will snaps against a lower division school really carry that much weight in helping him become a more complete and experienced player?
Those questions are ones that are difficult to answer given the circumstance. Typically, it would be a no brainer to get the future of the position and backup as many snaps as possible, but with the limited snaps that Moseley has taken, it may be best to leave him in the game as long as possible.
Expect to see Frazier in the game more, however, with a lot more pass attempts in his future as well. To have burned the eligibility of a player as assumingly talented as Frazier was a surprise to me this season as is. What is even more surprising is the lack of impact that he has had, but also the lack of opportunity.
Game Outlook
There is a wealth of scenarios that could occur for the Tigers in this game. Auburn will undoubtedly like to get ahead early and take the game over so that they can rest the starters and allow for the backups to earn some playing time.
Auburn has struggled with offensive consistency this season, however, so no matter the level of competition there has to be a level of skepticism tied to the expectations of a blowout win for the Tigers. With the offense that Samford runs, they have the opportunity to score some points on Auburn’s defense.
Look for Auburn to battle early but take over the game towards the end of the second quarter. Expect to see a complete change of personnel by the end of the third. Although the game isn’t likely to be as pretty as most would like, Auburn will earn the win.
Auburn 45 Samford 17
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