Tag: Cadillac Williams

Auburn is a massive underdog in the Iron Bowl

Auburn will be looking to pull off an upset in Tuscaloosa.

To the surprise of no one, Auburn is a massive underdog in the Iron Bowl according to the opening odds released by BetMGM.

The Tigers (5-6, 2-5 SEC) opened as 21.5-point underdogs against the Alabama Crimson Tide, a game they have to win to become bowl eligible.

Auburn is currently riding a two-game winning streak and looks like a different team since [autotag]Cadillac Williams[/autotag] took over the program. The biggest change is in the ground game, both [autotag]Tank Bigsby[/autotag] and [autotag]Jarquez Hunter[/autotag] have rushed for over 100 yards in the last two games.

Alabama (9-2) has won the last two Iron Bowls, pulling off a last-minute touchdown drive to force overtime last year before winning 24-22 in overtime.

Here are the early betting lines for the game.

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Coaching search: How Auburn coaching prospects performed in week 12

Did your favorite candidate separate himself from the pack last weekend?

Another week is down in Auburn’s pursuit of its next head coach.

As the college football season reaches its final week of the regular season, this upcoming week becomes pivotal in the search, as many believe that Auburn will name its’ next head coach within the next seven days.

While winning recent games may not be the most important factor for Auburn when selecting the next leader of the football program, but this week will be the final week for those interested coaches to audition, and show why they would be the right fit for the Tigers.

How did your favorite candidate perform last week? Let’s take a look around.

In-house, [autotag]Cadillac Williams[/autotag] led Auburn to a 41-17 win over Western Kentucky on Saturday, his second as interim coach. Following the game, Williams took time to thank each senior that played their final game at Jordan-Hare Stadium. He also commented on his time as interim coach, and what his future has in store.

“I just thank this team, the coaching staff, for taking a chance on a guy opening their heart when I challenged them. We’re all in. I don’t know, I’m sure you guys are going to get the next coach, I don’t know, I really don’t care. My seat doesn’t dictate my service,” Williams said during his postgame press conference on Saturday. “Auburn is special, those kids are special, there’s a lot of people that took a chance on me and poured into my life.”

Outside of Auburn, the most popular name of the week has been Ole Miss head coach [autotag]Lane Kiffin[/autotag]. For the second week in a row, the Rebels dropped a contest. This time, it was the Arkansas Razorbacks that pulled off the upset.

Kiffin was asked about the rumors of being Auburn’s No. 1 target in its’ coaching search. He replied with his usual snark, “Maybe if they watched the first half I wouldn’t be No. 1 anymore then.”

He then followed up his response by saying that he is excited about the future at Ole Miss.

“Like I said, I love being here,” Kiffin said. “I mean, I don’t want to look to next year already with a regular season game (remaining), but this is not one of those years where you say we’re gonna lose all these guys. There’s a lot of people coming back and a lot of new guys offensively, especially. So, very excited about the future.”

There are plenty of candidates that remain on Auburn’s hot board heading into “rivalry week.” Here is how each potential candidate performed in week 12.

Hunter’s half back touchdown pass was no coincidence

Cadillac Williams and Jarquez Hunter break down the 2nd quarter touchdown pass in Saturday’s win that looked all too familiar to Auburn fans.

In the second quarter of Auburn’s 41-17 win over Western Kentucky on Saturday, interim offensive coordinator [autotag]Will Friend[/autotag] dialed up a trick play that would end in an Auburn touchdown.

Quarterback [autotag]Robby Ashford[/autotag] pitched the football right side to running back [autotag]Jarquez Hunter[/autotag], who then launched the football 20 yards to a wide-open [autotag]Koy Moore[/autotag] in the endzone. The touchdown pass would be the only one in the game and would extend Auburn’s lead to 17-3.

If the pass looked familiar to you, its’ because it was inspired by the new leading man of Auburn Football, [autotag]Cadillac Williams[/autotag].

Williams was involved in a similar play during the 2004 Georgia game at Jordan-Hare Stadium. He received a pitch from quarterback Jason Campbell and would throw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Mix that would extend Auburn’s lead over the Bulldogs, 14-0.

Not only was Williams involved in the 2004 trick play, but Friend was on the opposing sidelines as well. Friend decided that, 18 years later, he wanted to set Hunter up to perform the same play in front of Williams.

“He did it so I had to do it, too,” Hunter said after the game. “But I had to make mine better.”

The plan began cooking on Monday during offensive meetings. Williams noticed that Friend was chatting with Hunter about installing a trick play that could be used during the Western Kentucky game. The winning selection? The halfback pass.

“I said, ‘Hold on, whoa,'” Williams said following the win. “‘You know who did that, right?”

To that, Friend responded with “Yeah Cadillac, I know — I was at Georgia in 2004 whenever y’all killed me with the halfback pass.”

Then, the time arrived to call the play. Williams said postgame that he told Hunter that the play would go for a touchdown.

“It’s going to work,” Williams said. “You have proof because your coach did it.”

Hunter ended the game with 129 all-purpose yards and two total touchdowns. He, along with [autotag]Tank Bigsby[/autotag], rushed for over 100 yards each for the second-straight game.

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Five takeaways from Auburn’s victory over Western Kentucky

Auburn’s two-headed rushing attack grows stronger and coach Williams proves his case in these five takeaways:

It’s another week and another win for the Auburn Tigers.

The Tigers closed out their season on home turf on Saturday against Western Kentucky in a 41-17 win, but the team will still head away from home for one last game against the Alabama Crimson Tide next week. While improbable, a win against the Tide would have Auburn bowl eligible when the prospect looked meek for Auburn just weeks prior. The team rode a strong rushing attack and more excellent coaching from Cadillac Williams to a victory on the Plains before the rivalry showdown.

Here are five takeaways from Auburn’s second consecutive victory:

Photo Gallery: Auburn earns big win over Western Kentucky

Here are the best images from Auburn’s 41-17 win over Western Kentucky on Saturday afternoon.

Auburn earns its second win of the [autotag]Cadillac Williams[/autotag] era, and its’ fifth of the season after defeating Western Kentucky, 41-17 on Saturday.

Auburn led 17-3 in the first half before surrendering the advantage to Western Kentucky, who would score 14 unanswered points over the final 4:35 seconds of the second quarter to tie Auburn, 17-17 at halftime.

Auburn came out with a victory on its mind, as the Tigers scored 24 second-half points to run away with the win. [autotag]Tank Bigsby[/autotag] and [autotag]Jarquez Hunter[/autotag] scored touchdowns in the second half, with [autotag]D.J. James[/autotag] recording a 27-yard pick-six to seal the game with 6:15 remaining in the 4th quarter.

It was a rewarding day for 24 seniors, as they get a win to close out their final home game at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Here is a look at the best images from Saturday’s game.

Photo Gallery: Auburn does last Tiger Walk of the season

Check out the top photos from Tiger Walk ahead of Auburn’s last home game of the season.

For the final time this season, the Auburn Tigers are set to play a game in Jordan-Hare Stadium.

The Tigers need a win to keep their bowl hopes alive and will take on the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers at 3 p.m. CT. Auburn is 2-0 all-time against the Hilltoppers with both wins coming in Auburn.

[autotag]Cadillac Williams[/autotag] has brought life back into the Auburn program and is looking for his second win as the head coach of his alma mater after the Tigers snapped a five-game losing streak with a 13-10 win over the Texas A&M Aggies last week.

Here are the top photos from Tiger Walk and pregame ahead of the game.

College Football expert Mike Farrell shares new top pick for Auburn job

“The Godfather of College Football recruiting” says that there is only one sure candidate for the vacant head coaching position on the Plains.

Earlier this month, College Football expert Mike Farrell released a list that exhibited his top-10 candidates for the open Auburn job. In the list, he placed Ole Miss head coach [autotag]Lane Kiffin[/autotag] at the top, one spot above Liberty head coach [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag].

This week, his tune has changed.

In a recent tweet, “the Godfather of College Football recruiting” shared that he thought the hire of Lane Kiffin would be “iffy.” He then went on to show support for Freeze, saying that Auburn should “go get that man.”

In his list that was released on Nov. 8, Farrell said that he did not feel confident in Kiffin leaving his position at Ole Miss for Auburn despite placing Kiffin at No. 1. When it came to Freeze, who checked in at No. 2 in the initial list, Farrell said that he loved the fit that Auburn and Freeze would create.

Over the last week, Kiffin has been the most popular name in the coaching search. Although no offer has been made, there have been rumblings that Auburn and Kiffin’s agent, Jimmy Sexton, have had conversations.

Freeze’s name has faded in recent days, but he has mentioned on two occasions that he may be interested in the Auburn job, most recently hinting at his possible attraction to the opening following Liberty’s win at Arkansas on Nov. 15.

Others on Farrell’s initial list included Oregon‘s Dan Lanning, Jackson State’s Deion Sanders, and Auburn interim head coach [autotag]Cadillac Williams[/autotag].

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Auburn lands three-star QB commit out of Florida

Keyone Jenkins commits to the Tigers after de-committing from FIU.

The Tigers have a new commit for the 2023 class.

Quarterback Keyone Jenkins, who plays for Miami Central High School, committed to Auburn on Saturday ahead of the team’s game against Western Kentucky. Jenkins is a three-star quarterback according to 247Sports.

Interestingly enough, the Tigers are one of just three schools to offer Jenkins and the only Power 5 school to do so — FIU and Morehouse College also offered Jenkins. Jenkins was originally committed to FIU, but he flipped schools after unofficially visiting Auburn and receiving an offer from the SEC school on Nov. 12.

Jenkins is considered the 1812th-best player in the nation and the 110th-best quarterback for the 2023 class. Jenkins becomes the 11th hard commit for the Tigers and is so far the only quarterback to join the class. The Tigers 2023 class is currently sitting at 51st in the nation with the new addition and Jenkins is Auburn’s third three-star of the class.

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Auburn vs. Western Kentucky: Stream, injury report, broadcast info for Saturday’s game

Here is all of the key gameday information for Saturday’s game between the Tigers and Hilltoppers.

Auburn plays Western Kentucky on Saturday afternoon, and if you’re wondering how you can watch the action live, you’ve come to the right place.

The Auburn Tigers host Western Kentucky on Saturday for the home finale, kicking off at 3 p.m. CT at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Auburn looks to close out the home schedule with a win and to gain much-needed momentum heading into next Saturday’s game at Alabama.

Auburn snapped a five-game losing streak last Saturday by defeating Texas A&M, 13-10. The win was the first under interim head coach, [autotag]Cadillac Williams[/autotag]. As for Western Kentucky, they enter with a 7-4 record and are looking to pull off an upset.

Here is all of the important gameday information that you need to know for Saturday’s game between the Tigers and Hilltoppers at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Coaching search: How to watch Auburn head coaching candidates in week 12

Here’s a guide to watching your favorite head coaching candidate in week 12.

Auburn Football’s head coaching search is reaching the final stages of week three.

Last week was an interesting week in the world of Auburn head coaching candidates, as several of the most popular names for the opening suffered a loss with their respective teams. [autotag]Lane Kiffin[/autotag] and the Ole Miss Rebels fell to Alabama, Oregon and head coach [autotag]Dan Lanning[/autotag] took an upset loss at home to Washington, and the Liberty Flames, led by [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag], succumbed to a letdown loss to UConn.

One candidate, however, improved his stock. Auburn interim head coach [autotag]Cadillac Williams[/autotag] earned his first win last Saturday in front of the home crowd at Jordan-Hare Stadium, defeating Texas A&M. Auburn fans flocked to campus to see Williams’ home debut, and were treated to an electrifying win.

Lane Kiffin has been at the forefront of this week’s news cycle, as reports claim that he may be the front-runner for the open job. The mutual interest between Kiffin and Auburn appears to be growing. As a result, Ole Miss has reportedly offered Kiffin a substantial raise.

Another name was reported this week as a potential target, Alabama native and current Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney. The potential of Swinney leaving Clemson for Auburn seems to be a long shot, but the prospect of Swinney returning to his home state was entertained nonetheless.

As game day approaches, here is a guide to watching your favorite head coaching candidate this weekend.