Auburn football notes for Saturday's game against Tennessee-Martin
Thursday, November 06, 2008
TENNESSEE-MARTIN (7-2) at AUBURN (4-5) 1:30 p.m. Saturday Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn -- LINE: None
-- SERIES: First meeting
-- GAME WITHIN THE GAME: The best-case scenario for Auburn's starters on Saturday is to get in and get out. That may be wishful thinking for a team that has lost four in a row, but Auburn coaches would love to rest some of the weary and injury-riddled first-team players for season-finishing games against Georgia and Alabama. At some positions, there might not be much of a choice. Auburn's defensive line is battered, with injuries to Sen'Derrick Marks, Antonio Coleman, Mike Blanc and others forcing coaches to consider (however briefly) using a true freshman. This has been an atypical season, but getting a typical blowout against a lower-division opponent is just what Auburn needs on Saturday.
-- STAT OF THE WEEK: Auburn's offensive performance in the red zone is tied for the worst in the nation. The Tigers have scored on 18 of their 29 possessions inside the opponents' 20-yard line, a 62 percent rate that is tied with Tulane for 118th in the country.
-- GAME NOTES: Auburn will seek to extend its homecoming winning streak to 17 games. ... Auburn has a 68-8-5 homecoming record. ... An upset loss by Auburn would saddle the Tigers with their second five-game losing streak in the past 55 years. ... Tennessee-Martin is ranked No. 20 in the Football Championship Subdivision coaches poll. ... Tennessee-Martin leads the Ohio Valley Conference with a 5-1 record. ... Tennessee-Martin's losses this season came against South Florida and in overtime to Tennessee State. ... The largest crowd ever to see Tennessee-Martin play is 48,058 when the Skyhawks visited South Florida. ... Tennessee-Martin ranks second in the FCS in scoring at 40.7 points per game, with a high of 87 against Concordia — the most points scored in an NCAA game this season. ... Tennessee-Martin leads the OVC in rushing offense, total offense and scoring offense. ... Tennessee-Martin WR Roren Thomas leads the OVC in all-purpose yards. ... Auburn ranks 14th nationally in total defense, the only team in the top 24 with a losing record. ...Auburn ranks 10th nationally in pass defense. ... Auburn has not allowed a first-quarter TD this season. ... Auburn WR Chris Slaughter caught eight passes against Ole Miss last week after catching eight passes in the previous 17 games of his career. ... QB Kodi Burns' 319 passing yards against Ole Miss last week were 10 more than he had in the entrie season and marked Auburn's first 300-yard passing performance in 45 games. ... DE Antonio Coleman needs one sack to tie Stanley McClover for 10th place on Auburn's career list. ... Auburn is 6-7-1 on Nov. 8.
-- QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "I feel like if we could put our finger on what was not working, we'd be able to correct it. It's not the same thing. Every play it looks like it's something different. Whether it's a missed block here by one person or a misalignment or dozens of different things, it's causing us not to click as an offense."
— Auburn tight end Tommy Trott
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