2010 Auburn Football Game Notes SOUTH CAROLINA TIGERS Auburn has just one player on its roster from the state of South Carolina. True freshman offensive lineman Eric Mack is from St. Matthews and attended Calhoun County High School. ALABAMA TIGERS Clemson has eight players on its roster from the state of Alabama: S Desmond Brown (Centre), RB Demont Buice (Gadsden), WR Brandon Clear (Hoover), RB D.J. Howard (Lincoln), LB Brandon Maye (Mobile), OG Antoine McClain (Anniston), TE Darrell Smith (Gadsden) and TE Drew Taylor (Birmingham). AGAINST THE ACC Auburn has played 202 games against current members of the ACC over the years, and has played every member at least twice. Auburn owns a record of 119-75-8 (.609) against the ACC schools and has a winning record against seven schools (Clemson - 33-11-1; Florida State 13-4-1; Georgia Tech - 47-41-4; Maryland - 2-1; Miami - 7-4; Virginia Tech - 3-1-1; Wake Forest - 6-2), a .500 record against three schools (Duke - 3-3; NC State - 1-1; Virginia - 1-1) and a losing record against only two schools (Boston College - 1-2; North Carolina - 2-4). The Tigers have played six bowl games against current members of the ACC, holding a 4-2 all-time record. CHIZIK VS. THE ACC Saturday’s game will mark the first time Gene Chizik has coached a game against an ACC school as a head coach. During his previous stint at Auburn as defensive coordinator (2002-04), Chizik coached one game against an ACC school, as Auburn fell at Georgia Tech in 2003, 17-3. ON THIS DATE Auburn has played eight times on Sept. 18, owning a 6-2 record, including four straight victories. The Tigers last played on Sept. 18 in 2004, earning a memorable 10-9 victory over LSU on Courtney Taylor’s 16-yard touchdown reception with just 1:14 remaining. Auburn’s previous two Sept. 18 games were also against LSU, with Auburn winning in 1999 (41-7) and 1993 (3410), both in Baton Rouge. The last team to beat Auburn on Sept. 18 was Baylor, which escaped Jordan-Hare Stadium with a 15-14 victory in 1976. IN SEPTEMBER Auburn is 149-47-5 (.754) all-time in the month of September, and has won 25 of its last 29 September contests, 11 of its last 12 and six in a row. The Tigers have posted a winning record during the month of September in each of the previous six seasons, and 26 of the previous 28.
JORDAN-HARE STADIUM Now celebrating its 71st year as home to the Auburn football team, Jordan-Hare Stadium is the nation’s 10th-largest on-campus stadium, with a capacity of 87,451 fans. The Tigers, who have averaged more than 80,000 fans during each of the past 17 seasons, are 272-69-7 (.792) alltime at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Auburn has had 10 straight winning seasons at Jordan-Hare Stadium, posting a mark of 58-15 (.795) at home since the 2000 season. The Tigers were undefeated at home during two of those seasons, going 7-0 in both 2000 and 2004. UNDER THE LIGHTS AT JORDAN-HARE Auburn has been tough to beat in night games at Jordan-Hare Stadium, accumulating a record of 20-4 (.833) since the 2000 season in home games starting at 6 p.m. or later. That stretch includes a 4-1 record against ranked opponents, with wins over No. 1 Florida in 2001, No. 2 Florida in 2006, No. 7 Tennessee in 2003 and No. 14 Georgia in 2000. DEFENSE STEPS UP LATE Auburn’s defense keyed the Tigers’ 17-14 victory at Mississippi State. After the Bulldogs closed to 17-14 in the third quarter, Auburn held MSU on its last five drives, including three straight three-and-outs. The Tigers, who held Mississippi State on its last seven third-down attempts, rank 37th nationally in opponents’ third-down conversion percentage at 30.3, and in the fourth quarter, Auburn’s opponents are 0-for7 on third downs this year. STOPPING THE RUN Auburn’s defense has performed well against the run in its first two games, ranking third in the SEC and 17th nationally in rushing defense, allowing just 80 yards per game. Auburn’s success against the run dates back to the end of the 2009 season, as Auburn held three of its final four opponents last season to less than 100 yards rushing, including limiting Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram to just 30 yards and no scores on 16 carries - his lowest output of the season. FAIRLEY OBVIOUS Auburn’s Nick Fairley was clearly the defensive star of the game for Auburn against Mississippi State, totaling five tackles including 2.5 for losses and 1.5 sacks, an interception, a fumble recovery and three quarterback hurries. Fairley became the first Auburn player to collect an interception and fumble recovery in the same game since Sen’Derrick Marks against New Mexico State in 2007, and the first Tiger to do it in a conference game since Karibi Dede in 2005 at Georgia. He is now tied with Antoine Carter for the team lead in both sacks (3.0) and tackles for loss (4.0).
SEC SUCCESS Since the 2004 season, Auburn has won 32 of its 49 Southeastern Conference games and 33 of its 50 games against SEC schools, including the 2004 SEC Championship game victory over Tennessee. Auburn’s success against conference schools dates back beyond 2004, however, as since the start of the 2000 season, the Tigers have the fourth best record among the 12 league schools in regular season conference games. The following are the combined conference records of the 12 SEC schools from 2000-10. Florida LSU Georgia Auburn Tennessee Alabama South Carolina Arkansas Ole Miss Kentucky Mississippi State Vanderbilt
W-L 61-19 56-25 55-26 53-28 51-29 35-34 38-43 37-43 33-47 20-60 20-60 13-68
Pct. .763 .691 .679 .654 .638 .507 .469 .463 .413 .250 .250 .160
TIGERS SINCE 2000 Since the start of the 2000 season, Auburn has one of the best records in all of the Football Bowl Subdivision. The Tigers’ record of 90-39 (.698) ranks 14th among all 120 programs. The list of the top 20 programs since 2000 in terms of winning percentage follows: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20.
Boise State Texas Oklahoma Ohio State USC Florida TCU LSU Georgia Virginia Tech Miami (Fla.) Utah Oregon Auburn West Virginia Boston College Wisconsin Texas Tech Louisville Florida State Nebraska
W-L 113-17 112-19 112-24 104-25 104-26 102-30 97-29 101-31 99-32 99-34 92-34 88-36 89-38 90-39 88-39 90-40 88-43 87-43 83-42 86-44 86-44
Game 3 • Clemson at Auburn • Sept. 18, 2010 • 6 p.m. • Jordan-Hare Stadium • Auburn, Ala.
Pct. .869 .855 .823 .806 .800 .773 .770 .766 .756 .744 .730 .709 .700 .698 .693 .692 .672 .669 .664 .662 .662