Here's a new video from Sunday's round of interviews. It has defensive coordinator Ted Roof, running backs Ben Tate and Mario Fannin and quarterback Chris Todd answering questions looking back at the Furman game and forward to the Georgia game. Enjoy.

I wrote a follow-up story to Auburn's win against Furman, looking ahead to the Georgia game. Here's how it starts:

AUBURN, Ala. — Auburn head coach Gene Chizik has spent a good chunk of time watching film of Georgia. He thinks reports of the Bulldogs’ demise are premature.

“They’re very, very talented,” he said. “That has not changed.”

Chizik expects another tough game Saturday when Auburn travels to play Georgia in the latest matchup of the Deep South’s oldest rivalry.

The Tigers (7-3, 3-3 SEC), fresh off an empty-the-bench 63-31 victory against Furman, a Football Championship Subdivision team, sneaked back into the USA Today coaches’ poll at No. 25 after a five-week absence.

The easy win helped Auburn continue to gain confidence just a few weeks removed from a three-game losing streak. The offense racked up 655 yards against the Paladins, their most since 1988. Defensively, the first-team unit allowed only 59 yards.

Most importantly, both groups got an extended break. The starters took the second half off in what served as a pseudo-bye for Tigers, who will play 11 straight games before a week off.

Read the full story here. And follow the blog on Twitter.

AUBURN, Ala. — In what has become a weekly ritual, Auburn coach Gene Chizik addressed his struggling punt return team again Sunday, a day after Philip Pierre-Louis had two returns for negative yardage and a third punt that he muffed, resulting in a turnover.

“We’ve got to get somebody back there that we can count on to do that,” Chizik said. “Obviously, we don’t have anybody at this point we feel like can (do it). So if it has to be somebody new, then that’s what we’ll do this week. But we’ll investigate more as the week goes on.”

Auburn has cycled through a series of returners this year who have struggled to catch the ball, from Mario Fannin to Demond Washington to Anthony Gulley to Pierre-Louis. A fifth, Quindarius Carr, was back for a few punts but never had a chance to return one.

Gulley said he and Washington worked as returners during Sunday’s practice.

“Mainly, (it’s) not looking down when the ball is coming at me,” Gulley said of what he worked on. “I had that problem against Ball State. I looked down right before I tried to catch the ball and that’s what caught me, it hit me on my shoulder pads and it bounced off. That’s my main problem.”

Chizik said it’s more complicated that simply sticking a receiver back there with reliable hands.

“Punts are different,” he said. “Because you can catch a ball that’s spiraling at you. If it’s being thrown in your hands, that doesn’t necessarily equate to being able to catch punts. It’s just a whole different animal. But the confidence of an older guy and the confidence of a guy is certainly not out of the question that we look at.”

Auburn is averaging 3.8 yards per punt return, ranking 114th out of 120 Football Bowl Subdivision teams.

The Tigers have six fumbles/muffs this year on punt returns and have turned the ball over three times.

Be sure to follow the blog on Twitter. And read these other notes from Sunday's interviews ...

• The number of Auburn cornerbacks are dwindling, but Chizik said the cupboard’s not completely bare. “There are very few options left,” he said, “but there are a couple.” The Tigers are down to three scholarship cornerbacks after Washington moved to safety — starters Walt McFadden and Neiko Thorpe and reserve D’Antoine Hood. Freshman wide receivers Gulley and Pierre-Louis were tried at cornerback Saturday against Furman. Coaches have already said they won’t continue to use Pierre-Louis back there in the future. Chizik wasn’t so sure what he’ll do with Gulley. “Obviously he’s a very good athlete, so he can do a couple of different things,” he said. “But you can’t just throw him out there at corner against the Georgias and Alabamas of the world and say, ‘Hey, good luck.’ I mean, it’s a little different deal. So we’re going to have to be smart about what we ultimately do about him.”

• For the moment, Hood, a Central-Phenix standout, is the No. 3 cornerback. Chizik said Auburn still has the option of moving Washington back to cornerback in a pinch, with Mike Slade or T’Sharvan Bell stepping in at safety.

• Linebacker Adam Herring didn’t dress against Furman because of an injury to his foot/ankle area. The sophomore had surgery on his heel last offseason. Chizik said he’s “tough-and-go” right now. As for Herring playing the last two weeks, “it’s up in the air.”

• That leaves true freshman Jonathan Evans as the next man in at linebacker behind starters Josh Bynes, Craig Stevens and Eltoro Freeman. Evans, who has spent most of his time on special teams this year, had his most active day yet against Furman, playing most of the second half and finishing with five unassisted tackles, second most on the team. “He’s improved a lot on his vision, things he needs to see,” Stevens said. “Early on, when he first got here, he was basically running around playing off instinct. Now he’s reading his keys and just doing simple things like that, that he wasn’t doing early on.”

• Stevens talked about gaining momentum with the last few wins. "I feel like that's a big part, just playing well one game and being able to carry it over to the next game," he said. "I feel like that plays a major part in the way you're playing. You've got to have momentum. I feel like if you play bad one week, it's always in the back of your mind like, 'Man, we played bad. I wonder what we're going to do this week.' I feel like once you play well that one time, you're able to keep working on it and you're able to get better."

• Defensive coordinator Ted Roof said 31 players got on the field defensively for Auburn against Furman. "Some guys that were wide receivers, some guys that were scout team offensive tackles, offensive guards, jumped out there and got some reps for us," he said. "We were doing some old-time country coaching. But that's good. That's fun. Those guys work hard and I'm glad they were able to have that opportunity. I'm just excited about that for those young men."

• Roof, on defending Georgia WR A.J. Green: "Certainly, you do a good job of moving him around to a bunch of different places, so it's not like you can say, 'He's going to be here, so you can call this.' They do a real good job with that. And he's a guy who is one of the best in the country. And sometimes you see where people have great coverage on him and he delivers the ball and makes great plays and when that happens, you just have to keep your head up and move on to the next one. Because he is a great player is going to make some great plays."

• Chizik had no substantive injury update on wide receiver Travante Stallworth, who left Saturday’s game in the first quarter with an apparent knee injury and didn’t return. He said running back Onterio McCalebb (ankle) remains “day-by-day.” McCalebb did not play for the second straight week last Saturday.

• Your early line for Saturday? Georgia by four.

• Gulley was thrown in at running back last week after not practicing there at all. He seemed to do well, with touchdown runs of 13 and 50 yards in the second half. "We might have drawn it up in the dirt beforehand," Chizik said. "He was good. He knew where to go."

• Gulley, apparently, knew the play. "(Neil Caudle) just had to tell me where to line up and that was it," he said.

• Gulley seemed to think the defensive back thing was just an emergency deal. He expects to be back on offense full-time in the spring.

• Chizik was asked if before the season he would have been pleased with seven wins at this point. Here's his response: "We expect to win every game. Our players do. We do as coaches. That's a little bit of a question that I probably don't feel comfortable answering. I expect to win every game. The ones we don't — we're very disappointed. Our team is playing well at this point in the season. We're happy to be where we are. We don't look back; we keep looking forward."

• Of course, Auburn's players have vivid memories of the last time they made a trip to Athens. If you don't remember, it was the Soulja Boy game. "Last trip to Athens, I remember I was hurt for that game and Quentin Groves had to play my position," Stevens said. "I remember we were in the game for a lot of the game and then out of nowhere it got out of hand. They were dancing on the sidelines. I think that was the first game that they wore those black jerseys. That's always in the back of your minds after that game." (Also, does it not seem like that song came out 10 years ago. Really, two? That's it? It has not aged well.)

• Chris Todd didn't have much of a role in either of the Georgia and Alabama games last year, sidelined with a bum shoulder. "Growing up you want to play in big atmospheres like that," he said. "They’re not hard to get amped up for, and they’re going to be doing the same thing. They’re real exciting to watch, but being able to play in them is definitely something you look forward to."

• Todd and Darvin Adams hooked up for three touchdowns Saturday against Furman. "He’s been able to do a great job," Todd said. "He definitely has a great feel for doing that. Being able to catch balls across the middle is something not everybody can do…to have a comfort zone out there. Being able to catch a ball in traffic is something that is definitely important. You get a comfort level with them and you get confidence in them, knowing you can throw the ball and they can make a play for you. He’s definitely made some big plays for us."

• Auburn's bowl fate might rest on this game. Win, and the Cotton or Capital One bowls are a distinct possibility. Lose, and the Tigers are going to be in a scrum with a bunch of SEC teams (assuming a loss to Alabama, which I don't think is far-fetched at this point). "We think about it," running back Ben Tate said. "What if we win these next two? Or what if we win one and lose one. We think about it. Hopefully we can get to a good bowl game — the Cotton Bowl again, Capital One Bowl, Outback."

• Tate added: "I don't want to go back to the Chick-fil-A Bowl." We asked him why? "It's just that Atlanta is right there. You want to go somewhere that's a little different — or that you can't get to easily. We can get to Atlanta any time. It's only an hour away."

Gene Chizk is speaking with us beat reporters right now. Here's what he's had to say:

• "Obviously an exciting week for our players and fans. Playing Georgia is such a great rivalry."

• Chizik doesn't think anything in particular led to Chris Todd's resurgence. He said Auburn played some better competition during that stretch too. "We seem to be back on track as a group, not just Chris," he said.

• On RB Ben Tate: "I think he's got a comfort level in the offense. I think he's really found a niche in there. He's run for tough yards. He's run for some yardage that's out on the perimeter where you make some guys miss. I think he's made yards just about every way you can make them."

• On the Georgia rivalry: "One thing that stands out is we have a lot of people from the state of Georgia. So with our team there are built-in rivalries already."

• "It's kind of a different series. It seems like the team that wins is away from home for some reason."

• LB Adam Herring is touch-and-go with an injury right now. He has a heel injury.

• Chizik liked what freshman LB Jonathan Evans did yesterday. He thinks he's getting used to the speed of the college game.

• He still doesn't know exactly what he's going to do with Anthony Gulley. "You can't just throw him out there at corner against the Georgias and Alabamas of the world and say, 'Hey, good luck.'"

• D'Antoine Hood is the No. 3 cornerback right now. Demond Washington can swing back there. "There are very few options back there, but there are some."

• On the punt return foibles. "It's really disappointing. We have to have somebody back there we can count on. If we have to look at someone new this week, that's what we'll do."

• Chizik has given consideration to putting a veteran guy back there to catch them, but noted that catching punts are different than being a receiver.

• Onterio McCalebb was a gametime decision not to play. Still day-by-day.

• As for Travante Stallworth, Chizik doesn't know the details of where he's at with the ankle injury he suffered yesterday.

• Of the reserves, thought Neil Caudle threw the ball well, Eric Smith ran the ball well, Evans did well.

• Likes Mario Fannin in the tailback role. "The last two weeks, he's been productive. I think he's fit well in this offense."

• On Georgia: "They are very, very talented. That hasn't changed. Let's keep in perspective that three of their four losses are to top 10 teams."

• "I think they're going to do what they do and not panic. They've won a lot of football games doing exactly what they do now."

• On Smith: "He's been one of these steady guys for us." Chizik rattled off everything he does: blocks, catches passes, runs, covers kicks.

• On if he is satisfied being 7-3 at this point: "We expect to win every game. That's a question I don't feel comfortable answering because I expect to win every game."

Hey, everyone. Here's everything I wrote from Auburn's game yesterday against Furman. I'll be back this afternoon with an update from Gene Chizik's teleconference:

• Game story: Tigers' rout never in doubt
• Notebook: Defense work to replace Zac Etheridge
• Gameline: Superlatives from Saturday's game

Easy win for Auburn today. Here's how tomorrow's game story starts:

AUBURN, Ala. — There were no surprises in Auburn's homecoming win against Furman on Saturday, no drama, no crucial moments.

It's just the way the Tigers wanted it.

Auburn put Furman away 63-31 in business-like fashion at Jordan-Hare Stadium, a far cry from last year's sometimes-tense homecoming victory against Tennessee-Martin, the last time the Tigers played a team from the Football Championship Subdivision.

Auburn (7-3, 3-3 SEC) played its starters for one half, building a commanding 42-3 lead before sitting them out in the second, a much-needed break for a group that has played 10 straight weeks and still has games with Georgia and Alabama on the horizon.

"We were just trying to really survive the game and get out healthy while still giving everybody experience," Auburn coach Gene Chizik said.

Here are some other notes and quotes from Saturday's game ...

• The Tigers finished with 655 yards of total offense, the fourth-most since the school began keeping records in 1967 and the biggest yardage day since Auburn gained 680 against Kansas in 1988. The 63 points were Auburn's most since a 63-3 win against Ball State in 2005.

• Quarterback Chris Todd was sharp, throwing for 256 yards and four touchdowns before halftime. The senior completed his first 14 passes, finally throwing an incompletion with 2:59 left in the first half. Todd still finished 17-for-18 (94.4 percent), breaking Auburn's single-game completion percentage, a mark previously held by Jason Campbell. "The biggest thing is our line came out and did a really great job," said Todd, whose 17 touchdowns are tied for fourth most on Auburn's single-season list. "They really gave us some time to do some stuff."

• Backup quarterback Neil Caudle played the entire second half, going 10-for-12 for 117 yards. That means Auburn quarterbacks had three incompletions in 30 attempts. That set a team record for completion percentage (90.0) with at least 30 attempts, breaking the previous mark of 75.6 set against Georgia Tech in 1971.

• Receiver Darvin Adams finished with 115 receiving yards and three touchdowns. His nine touchdowns are tied for the third-most by an Auburn receiver in a season.

• Ben Tate ran for 75 yards on 12 carries and scored two touchdowns. And he made it look pretty easy.

• Mario Fannin and Eric Smith both looked good as tailbacks (Smith's fumble notwithstanding) and as pass catchers. Fannin ran for 60 yards and had two catches for 38 yards and a touchdown. Smith ran for 45 yards and his first career touchdown and caught four passes for 34 yards. Offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn seems to know how to use a big, versatile back in a number of ways.

• Quite a day for Anthony Gulley. Not only did he play on defense as a cornerback, he played tailback for the first time in his career and scored two touchdowns, one from 13 yards out and one from 50. “I did not play with the offense all week. I played with the defense," Gulley said. "Coach told me after the half that he was going to put me on offense, so I ran a little reverse and then he put me in the backfield. It was great to score a touchdown, especially since it was the first of my career.”

• Fellow freshmen receivers DeAngelo Benton and Emory Blake had the biggest days of their careers. Blake caught five balls for 32 yards. Benton, who didn't have a reception in Auburn's first nine games, had six catches for 88 yards Saturday. "When I caught the one I knew it was on then," Benton said. "I feel like can't nobody stop me now. I got my confidence all the way up now so ... you're all going to see a lot of me."

• Defensively, Auburn's starters played one of their best games. The Tigers held Furman (4-5) to 59 yards in the first half. The Paladins had zero rushing yards and were 0-for-7 on third downs. "We asked them to take care of business and they did," defensive coordinator Ted Roof said.

• Roof had a great quote about whether he considered putting newbie safety Demond Washington back in the game in the second half. "No. No. No. No. Absolutely not," he said with a laugh. "No." Think Ted is concerned about his depth back there?

• Washington, by the way, started and made three unassisted tackles, sniffing out a play-action pass in the flat on one play and flattening Furman's Adam Mims after a 1-yard gain. "It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, but it wasn't easy," Washington said. "I made that transition. I'm used to it now."

• Gulley and fellow wide receiver Philip Pierre-Louis both played cornerback Saturday, an emergency move by the Tigers, who have three scholarship cornerbacks on the roster (Walt McFadden, Neiko Thorpe and D'Antoine Hood). Roof said Gulley will be an emergency cornerback. Chizik said Pierre-Louis will not continue to play on defense.

• Three reserves led Auburn in tackles. Walk-on safety Ikeem Means made six stops. Freshman linebacker Jonathan Evans and senior walk-on cornerback Woody Parramore both had five.

• Walk-on linebacker Ashton Richardson finished with four tackles, 2½ tackles for a loss, one sack and two quarterback hurries.

• Auburn wore white arm bands with a navy number "4" on the side in honor of safety Zac Etheridge, who suffered a season-ending neck injury last week. "Our football team and coaching staff and players really felt like we needed to do something in recognition of the fact that Zac wasn't playing out there on the field with us today. This is what we came up with," Chizik said. "It meant a lot to our football team. He is a huge part of what we do and who we are. This is just a great way to recognize him."

• Safety Daren Bates took it a step further, writing the "ZAC" on his arm in silver marker to show support for his injured teammate. "I just wanted to show that I love him and I still want to be out there with him," Bates said.

• No word on how severe wide receiver Travante Stallworth's ankle injury was. The freshman was taken to the locker room in the first half and did not return. Chizik said he'll know more tomorrow.

• The rout was a confidence booster for Auburn, which begins Amen Corner next Saturday with a trip to Georgia before hosting Alabama in the Iron Bowl Nov. 27. "We got our swag back and it's good timing, too," defensive end Antonio Coleman said. "We've got some big games coming down the stretch."

It's a lovely day in Auburn, a great day for a homecoming football game. Although there were very sparse crowds tailgating on the way in. Early kickoffs will do that.

This will be the standard pre-game post. I'll start with some facts about the game you should know and continue to update it as the game gets closer with pertinent information, mindless musings, etc.

Let's start with the facts ...

• Auburn has won all three meetings in the series, the last coming in 1956. The Tigers have allowed only six points in all three of those games.

• The Tigers have won 17 straight homecoming games and is 31-2-1 in their last 43 homecoming contests.

• There is no line on the game. Vegas doesn't assign point spreads to games involving teams from the Football Championship Subdivision.

• Auburn is averaging 427.6 yards per game. If it keeps up that pace, it will break the school record for offense in a season with 5,559 yards.

• The Tigers have 11 scoring drives this season that have lasted less than a minute. Ten of those have results in touchdowns.

• Auburn has four non-offensive touchdowns this year (three defensive, one special teams).

• Three of Auburn's last five opponents have converted on fewer than 25 percent of their third downs. This was an Achilles' heel for the Tigers the first few weeks.

• Ben Tate is 11th nationally in rushing (118.6 ypg) and has six 100-yard games this year. He is fifth in school history in rushing (3,026 yards) and has 1,067 yards this season, tops in the SEC.

• Chris Todd has 13 of Auburn's 16 touchdown passes. The Tigers had seven all of last year.

• Darvin Adams and Terrell Zachery have combined for 54 catches for 949 yards and 10 touchdowns. Entering the year they have five catches for 42 yards.

• Antonio Coleman leads the team with 11 tackles for a loss and 5.5 sacks. He's fifth in school history with 20 career sacks, one behind current defensive line coach Tracy Rocker.

Enough about Auburn, what do we know about Furman? Glad you asked:

• The Paladins are 4-4 overall, 3-3 in the Southern Conference, which is good enough for a fourth-place tie.

• Auburn is the second Football Bowl Subdivision team Furman will play this year. The Paladins lost to Missouri 52-12 earlier this year.

• Furman is 5-19-1 all-time against FBS (formerly I-A) competition, its lone win coming in 1999 against North Carolina (28-3 in fact). But it's had some close losses recently. Here's a sampling:

• 2008: 24-7 to Virginia Tech (Hokies would later win the Orange Bowl)
• 2006: 45-42 to North Carolina
• 2004: 41-38 OT to Pittsburgh (Panthers, although bad, would play in the Fiesta Bowl)
• 2003: 28-17 to Clemson
• 2001: 20-14 to Wyoming

• Among Furman's most notable alums are John Watson, the "father of behavioral psychology," Charles Townes, the Nobel Prize-winning inventor of the later; and Keith Lockhart, conductor of the Boston Pops. Psychology, lasers and orchestras -- that's what Furman does.

• In its game notes, it says Furman will get $425,000 for playing this game. Auburn said $375,000 earlier this week. It's got to be somewhere in that range.

• I'd be disappointed in myself if I didn't put another link to backup Furman quarterback Chris Forcier's list of "facts" for transferring from UCLA. This is why the Internet exists. So things like this aren't ever forgotten.

• Furman's starting quarterback is pretty good. Jordan Sorrells is second on the Paladins' all-time total offense list with 5,666 career yards and 36 touchdowns accounted for. He trails only Ingle Martin (2004-05), who I think we all remember finished with 6,277 career yards. With three games left, I'd say Sorrells has a pretty good shot of breaking that record.

• Linebacker Kadarron Anderson has 74 (74!)tackles in the last four games. Think he might be around the ball today?

• Strange stat: Furman has 26 wins against SEC opponents. Twenty of those are against South Carolina, although that was before it was an SEC member. The last time those state rivals played was 1982.

• There are a couple of notable Alabamans on Furman's roster:

• True freshman RB Jerry Williams went to Prattville, where his teams went 43-1 and won three 6-A state championships. He has a 359 rushing yards this year with a touchdown, although he suffered a ankle sprain last week. We'll see how much he plays today.

• Junior receiver Adam Mims is from Birmingham's Spain Park. He has 55 catches for 613 yards and two touchdowns.

• Senior left guard Tyler Haynes is from Birmingham's Vestavia Hills. He's made 27 career starts.

• And of course, what list would be complete without junior All-Southern Conferenece rover Max Lerner, who will always be remembered as one of the stars of the MTV reality show "Two-A-Days," which featured Hoover High in Birmingham. Lerner, despite that bit of infamy, is a pretty good player. He has 49 tackles, two tackles for a loss and a team-best two interceptions this year. Greenville News sportswriter Willie Smith had this to say about Lerner in a Q&A I did with him before the season. "By the way, despite the 'Two-A-Days' stint, Lerner is a hard-nosed safety, who played even better than I believe the coaches expected. Watching the reaction to him on the road (mostly by coeds), however, is pretty funny. At a game against Western Carolina in 2007, the entire WCU dance squad waited outside the Furman locker room, then squealed when he came out."

10:42 update: I forgot to mention that injured safety Zac Etheridge was at the men's basketball game last night, according to a few reporters who were there. Auburn will wear white wristbands with the number "4" written on them for their teammate, who will miss the rest of the year with a neck injury. Not sure if Etheridge will be here today or not, although I figure he might if he was at the basketball game last night.

11:56 update: Your non-dressed list: DL Zach Clayton, S Drew Cole, DE Nosa Eguae, OL Vance Smith.

11:57 update: RB Onterio McCalebb is dressed. We'll see how much he plays.

12:00 update: Wide receivers Anthony Gulley and Philip Pierre-Louis are working with the defensive backs in pre-game warmups. Wonder if this is a safety net thing. The Tigers are pretty light at cornerback with Demond Washington moving to safety.

12:04 update: This was the backup group at secondary in warmups: Gulley and D'Antoine Hood at cornerback; T'Sharvan Bell and Mike Slade at safety.

Here's how my advance for today's Auburn-Furman game starts:

AUBURN, Ala. — Auburn got a lesson in overlooking a Football Championship Subdivision opponent last year, when the Tigers rested several starters and needed a second-half rally to pull away from pesky Tennessee-Martin.

They are determined not to make that mistake again today against Furman.

“We’re going to keep our same focus,” Auburn linebacker Josh Bynes said. “Of course, when people look at teams like this, you just let them go ahead and slide by. Last year, we struggled because of the simple fact that we started in practice playing lazy. We’re going to make sure that doesn’t (happen).”

The Tigers (6-3, 3-3 SEC) would like to rest some starters while giving valuable playing time to less-experienced players against the Paladins (4-4, 3-3 Southern Conference), but they vow that won’t come at the expense of winning.

“It’s a football game we’ve got to win,” Auburn defensive coordinator Ted Roof said. “To say that because it’s outside the league it’s less important, it’s a football game we’ve got to win. So that’s how we’re going to prepare.”

Read the rest here. And follow the blog on Twitter so you can get up-to-the-minute updates as the game gets closer to kickoff.

I'm off to cover the battle between LaGrange and Troup County tonight. You can throw out the records when those two teams square off. In the meantime, here's a sneak peek at tomorrow's Furman breakdown:

Furman (4-4, 3-3 SoCon) at Auburn (6-3, 3-3 SEC)

• Where: Auburn, Ala.
• When: 1:30 p.m. ET, Pay-Per-View TV
• Last meeting: Auburn 41, Furman 0, Oct. 6, 1956, in Auburn

Offense:

Furman: Quarterback Jordan Sorrells has 1,738 passing yards and 14 touchdowns this season. Running back Tersoo Uhaa has touchdowns in seven of the Paladins’ eight games. He ran for a career-high 104 yards last week against Appalachian State.

Auburn: The Tigers got back on track against a solid Ole Miss defense, gaining 401 total yards and scoring three offensive touchdowns. Running back Ben Tate leads the SEC in rushing yards (1,067) and figures to add to the six touchdowns he’s scored this year. Auburn has 11 scoring drives that have lasted less than a minute. Ten have resulted in touchdowns.

EDGE: Auburn

Defense:

Furman: Linebacker Kadarron Anderson has 74 tackles in the Paladins’ last four games, including 19 in Furman’s 7-5 victory against Samford three weeks ago. Safety Max Lerner, one of the stars of the MTV reality show “Two-A-Days” at Hoover High outside of Birmingham, has 49 tackles, two tackles for a loss and a team-high two interceptions.

Auburn: Defensive end Antonio Coleman had his finest outing of the year against Ole Miss, with four tackles for a loss, two sacks and four quarterback hurries. Junior college transfer Demond Washington will move from cornerback to safety to replace Zac Etheridge, who is out for the year after suffering a season-ending neck injury last week.

EDGE: Auburn

Special teams:

Furman: Kicker Matthew Cesari is 8-for-10 on field goals this year, earning SoCon Special Teams Player of the Week honors with four field goals in a win against Western Carolina on Sept. 26.

Auburn: The Tigers continue to struggle in the return game, ranking 114th nationally in punt returns (3.4 yard average). Auburn also got burned on a kickoff last week, giving up an 82-yard touchdown to Ole Miss’ Jesse Grandy. Kicker Wes Byrum remains a steady force, though, with 13 field goals in 14 attempts.

EDGE: Auburn

Prediction: This one won't be close. Auburn will get its reserves in early and roll to an easy victory. The only question is by how much. Auburn 52, Furman 10

Obviously the big news for Auburn is the commitment from top running back Michael Dyer, which you can read about in the post below. But the second biggest news is the return of the college football links, which took an unscheduled day off yesterday when I somehow slept through my alarm.

To the links!

• Furman coach Bobby Lamb could be on the outs if things don't turn around in a hurry, writes Bart Wright of the Greenville News. That's a tough crowd for a coach who has a .606 winning percentage and a 60-33 record with the Paladins.

• Jerry Hinnen of the War Eagle Reader has recaps of the Ole Miss game, starting with the first half and moving to the second.

• Chris Low has an SEC-style "Did You Know?" blog post. Here's Auburn fun fact:

• "Auburn has posted six games with at least 200 yards rushing this season. That total already equals the number of 200-yard rushing games that Auburn had in the two previous seasons combined. Auburn had four 200-yard rushing games in 2007 and just two in 2008."

• In case you didn't know, LSU and Alabama have a pretty big game this week, writes Ivan Maisel of ESPN.com.

• Quarterback play will be crucial in that game, writes John Zenor of the Associated Press.

• Kevin Scarbinsky of the Birmingham News writes that everyone should listen to Alabama running back Mark Ingram and vote for Tide linebacker Rolando McClain for Heisman.

• Alabama would like to get WR Julio Jones involved in the offense more, writes Low.

• Urban Meyer says he still hasn't been contacted by the SEC after being critical about the officials in Wednesday's SEC teleconference. Last week the league said it would levy fines and suspensions to coaches who do so publicly. Here's guessing they wimp out on this one.

• Meyer's not the one you thought would be testing this policy so soon, writes Ray Melick of the Birmingham News.

• Former walk-on defensive tackle Brandon Wheeling is living his dream at Georgia, writes Tyler Estep.

• Things are not looking good for Al Groh at Virginia, my old beat. If Groh's sub-par record doesn't do him in, the Cavaliers' dwindling attendance numbers will.

• The NCAA will not overturn its decision to suspend Oklahoma State wide receiver Dez Bryant, writes Brandon Chatmon of the Oklahoman. I guess talking to Deion Sanders is more of a problem that trying to blind someone on a football field in the NCAA's eyes.

• Stewart Mandel of Sports Illustrated endorses a plus-one model for determining college football's national champion in this mailbag.

• BCS bowls are keeping an eye on Notre Dame. That is a load of garbage. When is the NCAA going to step in and make the Irish go through the same process of making a BCS bowl as everyone else? I'm sure fans at Boise State and TCU just punched a wall after reading that story.

I wrote a notebook for today's newspaper. Here's how the first item starts:

AUBURN, Ala. — In the waning minutes of the Ole Miss game, Auburn’s Travante Stallworth made a heady play, taking a handoff on a speed sweep but not running toward the sideline.

He got just enough for a first down before being tackled in bounds. It kept the clock moving and sealed the Tigers’ win, validating the coaches’ decision to give a freshman the ball at such a crucial point of the game.

“I think he is one of the younger guys that have really come on,” Auburn coach Gene Chizik said.

It was the biggest play to date for the freshman, a 5-foot-10, 186-pound converted quarterback from Leesville, La., who has seen his playing time increase the last few weeks.

Read the rest here. And follow the blog on Twitter.

Great turnout today, everyone. I thank all the folks that tuned in and asked some great questions. I'll be doing another chat next week, likely at the same time. I'll blog/tweet the starting time once it's finalized.

Because of early Election Day-deadlines on Tuesday, I wasn't able to get any quotes from Demond Washington and Daren Bates into the paper, so I wrote Thursday's newspaper story about Auburn's safety situation in the wake of Zac Etheridge's season-ending injury. Here's how it starts:

AUBURN, Ala. — Auburn’s Demond Washington fired off a list of positions he’s played in his career: cornerback, wide receiver, running back, quarterback, punt and kick returner.

Safety had never been one of them until Tuesday.

“First time ever,” he said.

Washington, a transfer from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, has been thrust into a starting role at safety, charged with the unenviable task of having to fill the shoes of Zac Etheridge, who is out for the season after suffering a neck injury against Ole Miss last Saturday.

He’ll be paired with true freshman Daren Bates, the unlikely veteran of the group with all of nine games experience.

“As you make your stretch run, you’d rather be putting in experienced (players),” defensive coordinator Ted Roof said. “But that’s where we are.”

Read the rest here. And follow the blog on Twitter.

AUBURN, Ala. — If everything stays the same, six Auburn freshmen will finish the season with their redshirts intact.

“I think we handled everything the only way we could and should have,” Auburn coach Gene Chizik said.

The six are quarterbacks Tyrik Rollison and Clint Moseley, running back Dontae Aycock, offensive lineman Andre Harris, defensive end Nosa Eguae and tight end Robert Cooper.

Chizik didn’t haven an ideal number heading into the season for how many players he wanted to redshirt from his 21-member 2009 class.

“It just changes, not only year to year, but it changes from person to person,” he said. “Some guys are just mature enough to be able to come in and do it and some don’t mature quite as fast.”

Of the group, only Eguae stood a chance to play this year, but he was sidelined by a foot injury.

“If it weren’t for that freak accident at the beginning of the season, he would play a lot of football for us,” Chizik said. “He was ready. As it turned out, everything happens for a reason. We’re really excited and really high on him.”

Offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn has been pleased with the progress of both Rollison and Moseley, who both figure to be in the quarterback race next spring.

Aycock and Harris have used the year to slim down. Running backs coach Curtis Luper said Aycock has dropped 10 pounds to 215.

Harris has lost 35 to 40 pounds since arriving at Auburn, offensive line coach Jeff Grimes said.

“He’s the guy that didn’t come in the best of shape,” Grimes said. “But he’s gotten himself in better shape; still has a ways to go there. He’s really raw but has really good feet. If a guy’s got size and he’s got really good feet, that’s something we can work with.”

I'm not sure yet if we'll be going through with a live chat tomorrow. If we do, it'll be the same time (3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT). I will blog and Twitter about it if it I plan on doing one.

Speaking of Twitter, it'd be neat if you followed the blog there.

And when you're done with that, read some more notes from Wednesday's round of interviews with assistant coaches ...

• Three other injured Auburn players will probably earn a redshirt year as well -- safety Mike McNeil (foot), linebacker Spencer Pybus (concussion) and safety Drew Cole (foot). McNeil and Pybus have not played this year. Cole played the first two games before being hurt and therefore would have to petition the NCAA for a medical hardship waiver to regain the year of eligibility.

• Running back Onterio McCalebb’s status for Saturday’s game remains unclear. The true freshman sat out last week’s game against Ole Miss to rest his bothersome ankle, a lingering injury that he’s had since the Ball State game. “We just have to let that ankle completely heal,” Luper said. “That’s his game. His speed is his game. That’s an element we’ve been missing from the offense with him gone.” Luper said it would be today or Friday before the team knows if McCalebb will play against Furman.

• Auburn’s players and coaches have discussed wearing some sort of commemorative patch or sticker as a tribute to Zac Etheridge, who is out for the season after suffering a neck injury that has put his football-playing future in doubt. “I’m going to talk to the seniors and see what we can do within the regulations and the rules of the NCAA,” Chizik said. “Certainly, it would be something that would be the right thing to do.”

• Chizik spoke with Ole Miss running back Rodney Scott earlier this week. He was the one who lay motionless underneath Etheridge immediately after the injury occurred, helping prevent further damage. "It was a really good conversation," Chizik said. "A great young man and he was just amazing. He said it was a God thing. He just knew that something was different. It was almost like he couldn't explain it, but he just knew it was different and he just, he laid there. And it was pretty amazing."

• Chizik said focus hasn't been a concern this week, despite FCS Furman as its upcoming opponent. "I mean you always worry about that, obviously," he said. 'But as a general rule for us and our team, I don't think so. They've been really focused, like I said earlier. They understand we have to get better every week and it doesn't matter who we're playing or what the circumstances are. We've just got to be better as a football team than we were last week."

• Luper said Aycock has been getting some good work in on the scout team. "He was Montario Hardesty one week," Luper said. 'He wasn’t the little quick scat back Ole Miss had. He wasn’t that cat. But he’s done really well. (Defensive coordinator Ted) Roof gives us a report daily on how Dontae is doing over there. We expect him to be ready to play in the spring when we go back at it." Luper said Aycock could have played this year and almost did. I'm sure Eric Smith's return was a big reason he didn't.

• Luper on Ben Tate: "He may be better than you guys expected. He’s faster than I thought he was. That’s what he is. No one in the SEC has caught him yet."

• Grimes on Tate: "He's made a lot of progress this year. If you look at how he ran the football last year versus how he's ran the football this year, I think coach Luper's done a tremendous job with him in teaching him how to play the position and how to go North and South and how to make those tough 3- and 4-yard gains sometimes. If you keep doing that and trusting your reads and doing things within the design of the offense, those big runs will come."

• Grimes said Harris has lost a lot of weight but still has some to go. He put it quite diplomatically, though. "We want him to reposition some of the weight he's down to right now," Grimes said.

• It's almost been a redshirt year for offensive lineman John Sullen, who started against Ball State but is back on the bench now that Byron Isom has returned. But Sullen has played a key role on special teams. "He's been in on the punt team, taken just about every snap I think, and he's taken every snap on every field goal and extra point we've had this year," Grimes said. "And really that's a very underappreciated role but he and Jorell Bostrom have done a tremendous job in our field goal protection. If you haven't ever done it, you can't have an appreciation for what it's like to play guard on the field goal team. In most situations, they're going to put their two or three most physical guys they have on defense and just try to run you smooth over. And you've got to have a guy that's big enough, stout enough and tough enough to hang in there and not get knocked back. At times, you've got to take one for the team. He's done a good job in that but he's got a ways to go to play offensive line at this level but, you know, he's a freshman, too, so we'll see this spring."

There was not much of anything on Gene Chizik's SEC teleconference today (not surprising, since it's Furman week). He's pleased with Chris Todd's decision-making, Darvin Adams' improvement as a blocker and Ben Tate's overall progress. Here was the one decent quote from the whole thing on Tate:

"I think Ben's grown up a lot. He's done what we've asked him to do in every way, shape and form. I think he's seeing the things he's doing on and off the field are paying off."

Thrilling stuff, huh?

To make up for it, I put together a new video from Tuesday's round of interviews. It features linebacker Josh Bynes, running back Ben Tate, cornerback Walt McFadden and defensive end Antonio Coleman answering questions leading in to the Furman game.

Enjoy. I'll be back tonight with an update after practice.

It's Get-Over-the-Hump Day. Hopefully these links will help you accomplish that:

• Some Furman players from Alabama are looking forward to a return trip to their home state, writes Mandrallius Robinson of the Greenville News.

• Robinson has plenty more about the Paladins in this notebook.

• ESPN blogger Chris Low takes a stab at the SEC's bowl outlook. He has Auburn in the Cotton Bowl. I have to say, I wouldn't mind going to Jerryworld.

• Jerry Hinnen of the War Eagle Reader writes that he's come to understand just what defensive coordinator Ted Roof has been trying to do all year.

• Alabama's trying to find some kind of consistency with its offense, writes Michael Casagrande of the Decatur Daily.

• Ask Heisman candidate Mark Ingram who should win the award and the Crimson Tide running back would say his teammate, linebacker Rolando McClain should get it, writes Sports Illustrated's Andy Staples.

• Georgia WR A.J. Green will miss this week's game against Tennessee Tech with a bruised lung, writes David Hale of the Macon Telegraph, although the Bulldogs expect him to be back for the Auburn game Nov. 14.

• An unlikely person came to Florida linebacker Brandon Spikes' defense after his eye-gouging antics last week: that would be the Georgia running back who had his eyes gouged, Washaun Ealey.

• LSU's offense gets a second chance against top-notch defense when it takes on Alabama this weekend, writes Low.

• Kevin Scarbinsky of the Birmingham News writes that Les Miles has out-done Nick Saban at LSU.

• Pat Forde weighs in on the rash of alternate uniforms in his weekly Forde Yard Dash. He notes that even some of the most classic schools like Tennessee and Georgia are changing things up. Wonder if Auburn will ever try? I know everyone clamors for orange jerseys. I think an all blue ensemble would be sharp.

• Tommy Bowden is living large with a $3.5 million buyout and not much to do on Saturdays, writes Ed McGranahan of the Greenville News.

• You've got to love covers for the New York Post, especially when it involves the Yankees somehow.

• The Onion gives its unique take on SEC officiating.

• And finally, BroBible has the 15 best man caves in the world. I won't spoil the ending, but No. 1 on the list looks like it is justifiably ranked.

We had a bunch of interviews with players late tonight. I'll just get straight to the bullet points.

• I know the picture has nothing to do with the headline, but I thought it was a good shot. Kudos to Ledger-Enquirer photographer Robin Trimarchi for the photo.

• Demond Washington seemed eager to move to safety, one of the few positions he's never played in his life. He said he got up at 5:30 a.m. today to start watching film and learn the position. "It's a lot different because like at corner, you're basically receiving the call, but at safety you're giving the call," he said. "You got to read the defense and know what you're going to do."

• Daren Bates, now the seasoned veteran of the safeties with all of nine games of experience under his belt, said it will be tough not have Zac Etheridge back there to help him out. "It’s gonna be hard," he said. "It was hard being without him that first play, knowing I didn’t have that No. 4 beside me for the rest of the game. As a person and a player I knew I had to step up and play. I know that’s what he’d want me to do."

• Bates has an increased leadership role now, a pretty tall task for a true freshman. "It’s tough," he said. "I’m not used to something like this. I’m not used to telling the older guys what to do or going out in that type of environment. Usually I’m waiting to see what Zac is going to do or asking him something but now I got to go out and point my finger and tell people this and that and have them look up to me."

• Many Auburn players had the word “Shhhh” written on their wrists Saturday. It was the team’s latest motivational ploy, the brainchild of wide receivers coach Trooper Taylor. “Basically just be quiet and let our actions speak louder than our words,” linebacker Josh Bynes said. “When you think about it, we started 5-0 and I don’t know (if) we were cocky or arrogant. We were talking about it, but we weren’t being about it.”

• The players loved it when Etheridge surprised them by walking into the meeting room today. "Man, it was a blessing," defensive end Antonio Coleman said. "When it happened, I texted him that night, I texted him the next morning, we've been texting back and forth ever since. It's just a blessing to see him walk in with a smile on his face and just telling us to go out and play football, continue on. I know he wants to be with us, but he's going through a tough time right now. But I think he's holding on real well."

• Cornerback Walt McFadden took the shtick a step further, writing “Shhhh” on his finger on the inside of his glove, although that just caused confusion. “I wasn’t even saying the ‘Shhhh’ part because I was trying to get people to read it,” he said, mimicking the situation by holding his finger up to his mouth. “And they were like, ‘Why won’t you say, “Shhhh?”’ So I kind of felt (ridiculous) doing it.”

• Auburn's been pretty bad on third-and-short situations. Don't think that's lost on offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn. "There's a lot of different things," he said. "The bottom line is we've got to be better in that situation. We do have a solid line and a solid back so we need to find a way to get that done. Of course fourth down also, that was a big play. Anytime your head coach allows you to go on fourth down, you've got to make the most of it and we didn't do that. And we'll be working extremely hard and that will be a point of emphasis in practice this week."

• Malzahn went through the list of quarterbacks who haven't seen the field this year and what they're up to. Here's the roll call:

• On Tyrik Rollison: "Well, I think any competitor at first when they're not playing and they're used to playing, they have a little bit of a lull. But probably in the last three or four weeks he's really come on and you can tell he's mentally into it and starting to develop and starting to do the things he needs to do to get better. So I've been very encouraged with that."

• On Barrett Trotter: "He's just now getting released and just now starting to do individual and all that. He's coming along and it's probably been really good for him to be on the sideline from a coach's standpoint. I really feel like that will help him in the future understand the offense and what's going on the sidelines and what we're thinking on the plays and all that."

• On Clint Moseley: "Of course, he's on the scout team and the defensive coaches rant and rave about him. He's a big, physical guy that's going to be a very solid guy here at Auburn."

• Auburn doesn't know if RB Onterio McCalebb (ankle) will play this week, but the coaches do want to get him healthy. "I think any time you get rest, you're going to get better," Malzahn said. "That was kind of the plan last week and we'll see how it goes this week. When he's 100 percent, he's a big weapon. There's no doubt and he proved that in the early part of the year. When he's not -- he's a speed guy. And when you're a speed guy you need to be 100 percent."

• RB Ben Tate on his long touchdown run Saturday, when he thought he was going to get caught from behind: "I kind of hurt my hamstring at the end of the run. I kind of slowed down, so that's why I thought I was going to get caught, but once I got to the 5, I thought if somebody's going to jump on me now, they're going to take this ride into the end zone."

• Tate thinks the offense is very running back friendly. "I think this tells the running backs that they're recruiting that they're going to run the ball and this offense is suited for a guy my size, a bigger type back," he said. "It doesn't have to be a little guy."

• Tate said a whole bunch of the older players on the team knew that Terrell Zachery was going to have a breakout year. "We've been knowing that T-Zach can do things, but when you're just a player you can't voice your opinion, your opinion doesn't matter," he said. "It's up to the coaches. I bet you you can ask a handful of guys, a bunch of guys on the team that have been here since T-Zach has been here, we all know he can play. We asked him, 'Were you doing something wrong? Were you doing this or that?' But you can't really get into that because you're not supposed to and it really isn't any of your business, but we all knew he could play. He's just getting his opportunity."

• For those who are curious. here are Auburn's payouts to non-conference teams that played at Jordan-Hare Stadium this year (Auburn typically generates $3 to $4 million in revenue per home game, athletics director Jay Jacobs said this summer):

• Louisiana Tech: $750,000
• Ball State: $800,000
• West Virginia: $350,000
• Furman: $375,000

• Linebacker Josh Bynes thinks the four down linemen have been the key to getting to the quarterback, especially Coleman, who disregarded Bynes' advice on one play. "There was a play I was telling them to watch the screen and A.C. looked back and said, ‘Forget the screen, I’m gonna go get this quarterback,'" Bynes said. "The next play he got the sack. ... When you got a guy like that who can come off the edge and make plays I trust in him and believe anything he tells me he can do.

• Coleman corroborated the story. "I was like, 'I'm not watching the screen. You watch the screen and I'm going to hit No. 4.' I guess he thought I was joking or something, but when I told him that, the same play I went and sacked the quarterback. So at least I'm a man of my word."

• With all the hubbub going on about Florida linebacker Brandon Spikes' eye-gouging incident, we asked Bynes if any extracurricular activities go on underneath the pile. "Actually, I haven’t ran across anything like that since I’ve been playing college football," he said. "Of course, that’s something that shouldn’t occur and I think that’s real childish and out of hand. That’s something that the NCAA, they’ve got to handle that. I’m not worried about it. That’s something that’s uncalled for, especially when you’re playing a game. We’re out there having fun. At the same time you want to win. I think all the other stuff is uncalled for. Whatever he did, put his hands in the facemask, that’s really uncalled for and unnecessary. That’s not a football play."

Auburn coach Gene Chizik is at the podium at 11:30 a.m. CT. Here's what he's had to say:

• "Obviously we're excited to have won a big game against Ole Miss, but we're moving on."

• "We've got to get back to work, get some things corrected that weren't as good as we felt like they needed to be."

• As we know, Zac Ehteridge is out of the season. He's out of the hospital and expects to make a full recovery. Chizik said he's in great spirits. Some teammates have visited with him.

• On whether he'll play football again: "We can't really go in that direction because we don't know one way or another. We're going to take things one day at a time."

• He's walking and has full use of his arms and legs.

• Chizik said there's some special teams issues to work on this week. He didn't like the big plays the defense gave up. And he wants to see some better third-down work by the offense.

• "We'd like to go into this game and see a lot of improvement."

• Demond Washington will work at safety in place of Etheridge. He's been a nickel cornerback all season. Mike Slade and T'Sharvan Bell remain options. "Our goal is to put the four best on the field that we've got," Chizik said.

• Auburn will try to keep the nickel package the same with a different safety in the game, since Washington knows the position well already. "We're going to try to do this with as little disruption as possible," Chizik said.

• On D'Antoine Hood, who will see an increased responsibility: "I think health-wise he feels much better. D'Antoine, he needs to step up the plate. There's no question about it."

• More on Etheridge: "We see this as a family. We always say, 'Never leave a fallen teammate.'"

• On Terrell Zachery: "He is a guy who has really come on. He's gone up and has made some tough catches. Those are the catches that spark the football team."
  

It's November, but the links keep a-rolling on. It's going to be a tough week. It's not exactly a media horde that covers Furman. But the blog will trudge on. Here the links:

• Furman had a tough time stopping Appalachian State quarterback Armanti Edwards last week. So has everyone, writes Mandrallius Robinson on the Greenville News.

• Jerry Hinnen of the War Eagle Reader says he was wrong about Auburn in his knee-jerk reaction post.

• He also gives a good breakdown of Auburn's bowl outlook.

• Yes, that's right. Auburn's bowl eligible, writes Ray Melick of the Birmingham News.

• ESPN's Mark Schlabach and Bruce Feldman both pick Auburn to go to the Outback Bowl. Both pick the Tigers to play Wisconsin. Let me speak on behalf of the beat writers and say that the idea of a trip to Florida and presumably a ton of Outback Steakhouse to eat is OK by us.

• Auburn is starting to get some looks in the Associated Press poll again.

• Auburn continues to yo-yo in ESPN blogger Chris Low's SEC power rankings, moving back up to sixth this week:

• "6. Auburn: The Tigers (6-3, 3-3) stopped the bleeding with a much-needed 33-20 win over Ole Miss. Suddenly, winning eight games seems like a real possibility again. The most encouraging news about the win over the Rebels was the way the defense played. Chris Todd also returned to the form that made him one of the league’s most productive quarterbacks in September."

• He also calls Ole Miss a fraud in his weekly "What We Learned" post. I don't know if I agree with this. I thought the Rebels flashed signs of being a pretty decent team last week. Maybe not No. 4 in the country or whatever they got up to, but pretty good.

• "4. Ole Miss was a fraud:Some people have a hard time admitting they were wrong. I’m not one of those people. I was wrong, dead wrong, about Ole Miss ever being a legitimate player to win the Western Division title. In fact, at this rate, the Rebels will be fortunate to land in a New Year’s Day bowl after losing 33-20 at Auburn on Saturday. Other than FCS foe Northern Arizona next week, it’s hard to find another definite win on the Rebels’ schedule. Tennessee and LSU both come to Oxford, and Ole Miss closes the season by traveling to Mississippi State. The Rebels (5-3, 2-3) will have to beat either the Vols, Tigers or Bulldogs to gain bowl eligibility. The win over Northern Arizona won’t count, because the Rebels already have one win over an FCS opponent (Southeastern Louisiana). It’s obvious all that offseason hype was just that – hype."

• Sports Illustrated's Stewart Mandel writes his weekly "College Football Overtime" wrap-up. He makes quick mention on the second page that reports of Auburn's demise were premature, although that's about all he says.

• Texas moved past an idle Alabama in the latest BCS rankings, writes Ralph D. Russo of the Associated Press. Again, none of this matters to Florida and Alabama if they continue to win. One will make the title game if they're both undefeated heading into the SEC championship game.

• Mark Richt says Georgia remains united, despite its recent loss to Florida and a 4-4 record, writes David Hale of the Macon Telegraph.

• David Ching of the Athens Banner-Herald writes that things are not going to get better anytime soon in Athens.

• Dave Climer of the Knoxville News-Sentinel writes that Tennessee is back after a win against South Carolina. Pardon me if I withhold judgment a little bit longer. There's something about the Vols (oh right, their quarterback) that makes me skeptical that they'll continue this brief success. They are .500, after all.
  

• Florida LB Brandon Spikes got caught on camera intentionally sticking his fingers in a Georgia player's eye in Jacksonville on Saturday. For the video, click here.

• Tony Barnhart of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution says if Florida doesn't suspend Spikes, Florida should.

• Texas Tech coach Mike Leach defended his "fat little girlfriends" remark from earlier this season, writes Adam Zuvanich.

• Oregon has a natural ceiling above in the polls in Boise State, the team that thumped them in the season opener (although the Ducks thumped them in the post-game handshake). George Schroeder of the Oregon Register-Guard says the Ducks should be ahead of the Broncos in the polls nonetheless.

• Mike Hlas of The Gazette in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, writes that Iowa is imperfectly perfect.

AUBURN, Ala. — Zac Etheridge’s season-ending neck injury puts Auburn in a bind at safety.

“It’s rather slim, but we will get creative to put the best guys out there that give us the best chance to win,” Tigers coach Gene Chizik said. “We obviously have to work through some things in the next couple days to figure out what that is. We’ll explore all the options.”

Sophomore Mike Slade and redshirt freshman T’Sharvan Bell are the primary candidates to take Etheridge’s place as a starter alongside freshman Daren Bates.

Slade replaced Etheridge in the base defense Saturday and finished with three tackles, although Chizik said he performed “adequately.”

Bell, who moved from corner to safety in August, hasn’t gotten much playing time this year.

“He’s an intelligent football player who hasn’t played a whole lot, so there’s some uncertainty there as far as the experience factor,” defensive coordinator Ted Roof said. “As you make your stretch run, you’d rather be putting in experienced (players), but that’s where we are.”

Auburn has been hit hard in the secondary since the spring. Projected starter Mike McNeil broke his leg during an April scrimmage and hasn’t played this year. Chizik said he is not an option at this point.

Sophomore Christian Thompson was kicked off the team for disciplinary reasons during the summer. Senior Aairon Savage tore his Achilles’ heel in July and sophomore Drew Cole has missed the last seven games since suffering an ankle injury against Mississippi State.

Sophomore D’Antoine Hood, a former Central-Phenix standout, worked some at safety in August but will remain at corner for now.

Roof didn’t rule out trying Demond Washington at safety, even though the junior college transfer has made strides as the Tigers’ third cornerback.

“We’ll talk about a lot of things,” Roof said. “It’s our responsibly as coaches to get our best players on the field.”

Follow the blog on Twitter. Then read these other notes

• Running back Onterio McCalebb (ankle) didn’t play against Ole Miss last Saturday and there’s no guarantee he’ll play next week. Chizik said he gave the freshman a chance to rest a nagging right ankle injury that’s bothered him since the Ball State game Sept. 26. “We’ve got to get him healthy, 100 percent,” Chizik said. “And obviously he’s got a different speed than a lot of guys, and he’s not the same guy without that speed, without being able to make those cuts.”

• Mario Fannin replaced McCalebb as the backup tailback, getting six carries for 35 yards. Freshman receiver Travante Stallworth took McCalebb’s spot as the speed sweep option in the Wildcat formation, carrying it twice for 22 yards. Chizik didn’t say whether or not McCalebb would sit out this week against Furman. “I don’t know what we’ll do,” he said. “We’ll play that day-by-day. But that’s sort of a possibility.”

• Stallworth has been working as McCalebb's backup as the sweep option in the Wildcat ever since Anthony Gulley got injured against Tennessee. "In high school I used to run quarterback and we ran the ball a lot," he said. "So that's pretty natural for me."

• Asked why Auburn received a delay of game penalty in the third quarter for snapping the ball before the officials had put it in play, Chizik steered clear of saying anything. “I’m not going to comment on any of the officiating,” he said. The SEC took a hard stance after a series of complaints from Tennessee’s Lane Kiffin, Mississippi State’s Dan Mullen and Arkansas’ Bobby Petrino following controversial calls the past few weeks. The league office tightened up its policy, threatening coaches with suspensions and fines if they criticize officials publicly. Chizik merely confirmed that it was a delay of game call Sunday. When asked if he got an explanation for the penalty, he offered little else. “It was a delay of the game call,” he repeated.

• Quarterback Chris Todd on the delay penalty: "It's an unfortunate deal. There are a couple guys you're looking at. There's a guy over the ball and the referee behind you. It's something where they're wanting for us to wait until they blow the whistle, so it's just, you have to have good communication with those guys and what they're expecting us to do. And obviously we want to get up there and get it snapped pretty quick and we need to get that worked out. And we did after that, but it's just an unfortunate situation in the game. Some people call it a little bit differently from game to game."

• And running back Ben Tate had a funny comment about it after the game that I didn't see in the transcriptions until today: "He was backing up away from the ball. Normally when he's backs away from the ball, we can snap. He did that. He said he didn't blow the whistle. I told him: 'Then you shouldn't have walked away from the ball.'"

• Todd said he's gaining confidence in wide receiver Terrell Zachery, who went up to make two catches on long pass plays Saturday. "Anytime a guy can step up and make big plays in a game that’s obviously crucial," Todd said. "Not only my confidence in that person being able to throw to them, but them looking for somebody. You know the coaches are looking for people who are able to make plays in a game. When it gets to crunch time they’re looking for who I can get the ball to to make a play for us and he’s been able to do that. Some other guys have made some really nice plays as well but, in particular, he’s done a really nice job and called some plays for him and he’s made some big ones."

• Todd's not the fastest player on the field, but he showed some moves Saturday. On one play he scrambled for a 10-yard gain. "I think that anytime you can add a little wrinkle and be able to keep defenses honest in some certain areas, I think that's important," he said. "And we've been able to add different wrinkles throughout the season and I think that's just another thing that we can add to help out with some certain things."

• Todd said teammates don't hesitate to rag on him about his running skills when they're watching film. "It's actually a wide variety of things," he said, laughing. "Some people are excited that I'm running. Some people think I look goofy. Some people ... it's really depending on the day and what it looks like, what they're going to say. But I think for the most part when you're doing different things in the game to help out the team people are excited about that."

• LB Eltoro Freeman had a big gaffe early in the game on a pass to a running back out of the backfield, but he didn't let it eat him up. "I think that's a big deal and I think that was a major major step for him yesterday because in the past when he would make a mistake he'd really get down on himself," Roof said. "Part of it is growing up and understanding that we're all going to make mistakes, but it's not if you make them, it's how you handle them. And being able to learn from it and put it behind you, I think he took a major step yesterday in that process and I was real pleased and really proud with him."

• Roof had a funny comment when somebody asked which play it was, mentioning the pass to the running back on the first drive specifically. "I really don't like to get into specifics on mistakes, but ..." Roof said, before pausing and sitting stone-faced for a few seconds, telling us that that was indeed the play. "We like to accentuate the positives and the response, not the mistake."

• Five-star running back Marcus Lattimore visited the Plains this weekend, according to Auburn’s three major recruiting Web sites. The 6-foot, 210-pound running back from Byrnes High in Duncan, S.C., is ranked the No. 1 running back in the nation by Scout.com and No. 2 by Rivals. He has future visits scheduled with Penn State and Oregon, according to AuburnSports.com, but said he probably won’t make his decision known until Signing Day.

• Roof, on playing Furman: "It's a football game we've got to win. To say that because it's outside the league it's less important, it's a football game we've got to win. So that's how we're going to prepare."