Tag: Tre Mason

Kickoff time, TV channel announced for Auburn’s game with New Mexico State

The Tigers host New Mexico State for one final tune-up on Saturday, Nov. 18 at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

A week before hosting Alabama for the Iron Bowl, Auburn will welcome New Mexico State to Jordan-Hare Stadium for one final tune-up.

The Southeastern Conference announced Monday that the game will kick off at 3 p.m. CT, and will be televised by SEC Network on Saturday, Nov. 18.

The meeting between Auburn and New Mexico State will be the fourth all-time between the two, with the previous three meetings also taking place at Jordan-Hare Stadium. The Tigers defeated the Aggies, 42-7, in their last meeting which took place on Nov. 3, 2012. Auburn running back [autotag]Tre Mason[/autotag] rushed for 152 yards and a touchdown in the win, while [autotag]Jay Prosch[/autotag] and [autotag]Onterrio McCalebb[/autotag] also recorded scores.

New Mexico State will bring a strong attack into Auburn, as they currently hold a 7-3 record. The Aggies will travel to Western Kentucky this week before making the trip to the Plains on Nov. 18.

The week 12 slate features three SEC vs. SEC matchups, with the remaining seven games on the docket being games against nonconference foes. The headlining game of the day will be Georgia‘s trip to Tennessee, which will kick off at 2:30 p.m. CT on CBS. Florida at Missouri and Kentucky at South Carolina will begin at 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPN and SEC Network respectively.

Take a look at the Nov. 18 schedule below:

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Brian’s column: Auburn needs to find its identity in week one

Auburn Wire’s Brian Hauch says that Auburn should discover themselves under Hugh Freeze.

Auburn football has been in a tenuous place for the last few years. The [autotag]Bryan Harsin[/autotag] era was full of controversies, flip-flopping recruits, and downright bad football.

The last few years have caused the Auburn Tigers to have the main thing every successful football team has, a true, strong, identity. The 2010 Tigers were Hollywood rockstars, feeding off the swagger of their best player, and one of the best Auburn football players of all time, [autotag]Cam Newton[/autotag].

The 2013 team was defined by their offensive explosiveness, with playmakers like [autotag]Nick Marshall[/autotag], [autotag]Tre Mason[/autotag], [autotag]Sammy Coates[/autotag], and [autotag]Cameron Artis-Payne[/autotag] making sure Auburn was never out of a game.

In 2017, the Tigers ran, ran, and ran some more. Defined by grit and toughness off the back of SEC player of the year [autotag]Karryon Johnson[/autotag] and head Coach [autotag]Gus Malzahn[/autotag]’s approach.

Auburn teams of late have lacked these true defining characteristics, often times looking uninspired on the field. With a new head coach and an overhauled team, the time is now for Auburn to find an identity again.

So what can that identity be? On the offensive side of the ball, the team needs to be quick and elusive, but also mean and gritty.

Head coach [autotag]Hugh Freeze [/autotag] has been known for his air-raid offense in the past, and Auburn has the personnel to implement it.

[autotag]Payton Thorne[/autotag] needs to be quick, calm, and poised in the pocket in week one. Coach Freeze’s system is designed for quick reads and accurate balls. Here’s an example of what kind of throws Thorne will be asked to make in the Hugh Freeze offense.

In this clip, Liberty quarterback Malik Willis reads man gets the snap, and fires a dot to his receiver running the go. The play was simple, smooth, and effective. Payton Thorne has already hinted that Auburn’s offense will look similar to [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag]’s fast-paced, one read and go, Liberty offense. 

Now he has to execute it, which may be a tougher task than assumed against a UMass secondary that had a great deal of luck confusing New Mexico State quarterback Diego Pavia with their man coverage in week one.

While Thorne needs to be quick in his reads, bad decisions will be detrimental against a UMass team that is going to try to bait him into as many as possible. Auburn’s quarterback needs to trust the system and get the ball in the hands of [autotag]Jarquez Hunter[/autotag], [autotag]Jyaire Shorter[/autotag], [autotag]Shane Hooks[/autotag], and [autotag]Jay Fair[/autotag] quickly and often. If he can do that, the Tigers are going to be a quick, energetic, fun offense.

The next step comes from the offensive line. The boys up front need to be feasting, supplying more pancakes than the waffle house on West Glenn on a Sunday Morning. [autotag]Kam Stutts[/autotag], [autotag]Avery Jones[/autotag], [autotag]Gunner Britton[/autotag] and Co. have to establish themselves as the gritty, nasty, yin to the skill positions fast and energetic yang.

That is how you build a strong offense. Auburn should be able to punch their opponent in the gut for 3 quarters then take the top off the defense before they know what hit ’em. Physicality paired with elusiveness creates winning football, and more importantly, it can build an identity.

As for the defensive side of things, the Tigers have to become big-time playmakers. Last year Auburn had a negative 0.7 turnover margin. The year before that they were negative 0.1.

On the surface, it is easy to blame the inept play of the offense, but in reality, both units were equally bad. In 2022, Auburn’s offense turned the ball over 22 times, good for 107th most of out FBS teams. They also only gained 13, which was 112th most among teams in the FBS. 

[autotag]DJ James[/autotag], [autotag]Nehemiah Pritchett[/autotag], and the rest of the secondary’s focus should be creating chaos.

The high-tempo [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] offense surely is going to wear down opposing defenses. The more you can change the field and get the opponent’s unit back on it the more successful Auburn will be.

If the offense is going to transition into a high-energy unit, the defense needs to follow suit. That happens by creating turnovers.

 

Auburn not only has to beat UMass, but they have to show the rest of the SEC what kind of team they will be under [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag]. If they are going to be successful this season and beyond,  that team needs be flying around the field, out-conditioning their opponents while also beating them down physically. We need to see who this team is going to be moving forward. It’s time for Auburn Football to re-establish itself.

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Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on  X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Brian on Twitter @TheRealBHauch

Missing the cut: NCAA Football 15

In honor of the NCAA Football franchise returning next year, here’s a look at Auburn players who missed out on being a cover athlete, staring with NCAA 2015.

Many sports video game fans across the country (including myself) were excited to learn that the NCAA Football franchise is on track to return to our lives in the summer of 2024, which will be re-named “EA Sports College Football.”

Plans for the game were threatened to be delayed due to a lawsuit from The Brandr Group, citing that the franchise’s $500 million pool, which would give each athlete represented in the game $500, was considered to be “far below market value.”

Despite the setback, EA Sports remains on schedule to release the game next summer.

“We’re incredibly excited to bring back an authentic college football experience for fans and athletes that have shown such passion for the franchise, and we’re looking forward to delivering it in Summer 2024,” an EA spokesperson tells On3’s Pete Nakos.

It has been ten years since the release of the last game, NCAA Football 14. It has us at Auburn Wire thinking… which Auburn athletes missed out on being a cover athlete for the famous video game franchise?

In the first edition of this new series titled “Missing the Cut”, we take a look back at which Auburn players had the best chance of being the cover athlete for NCAA 15.

The 2013 season was a magical time for Auburn Football, as they bounced back from a 3-9 season in 2012 by winning the SEC Championship in [autotag]Gus Malzahn[/autotag]’s first season as head coach. There were plenty of athletes to choose from for this season, but I think Auburn’s top representative is a no-brainer.

Chris Davis led the team in tackles with 74 in 2013 and tied Jonathon Mincy for the team lead in pass deflections with 14. However, it was the role he played in the Iron Bowl that separated him from the pack. With one second remaining in the game, Alabama attempted a 57-yard field goal to win the game. The kick was short and fell into the hands of Davis. Davis would then return the missed kick for a touchdown to give the Tigers the 34-28 win. Not only did Auburn defeat its’ main rival that day, but it also locked up the SEC Western Division crown for the Tigers.

I can only picture it in my mind, but the cover of NCAA Football 2015 would be amazing with Davis’ return gracing it. I can see many local restaurants framing the cover and placing them on their walls as decoration.

Outside of Davis, quarterback [autotag]Nick Marshall[/autotag], running back [autotag]Tre Mason[/autotag], and star [autotag]Robenson Therezie[/autotag] were also strong candidates that I considered for the cover.

Here are some of the best images from each cover candidate from Auburn for the hypothetical “NCAA Football 2015” video game.

Throwback Thursday: Auburn defeats Missouri in 2013 SEC title game

On a ‘Throwback Thursday’, Auburn Wire takes a journey back to 2013.

The Auburn Tigers will face the Missouri Tigers on Saturday morning for just the 4th time in history, and for the first time ever at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

In honor of Auburn’s SEC opener, Auburn Wire travels back in time to an important game in the short series between these two programs with our “Throwback Thursday” feature.

Today’s rewind takes us back to the 2013 season when Auburn defeated Missouri, 59-42, in a battle of unlikely representatives in the SEC Championship Game at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

The matchup was surprising, as Missouri represented the East division despite only being in the SEC for just two seasons. Auburn rebounded from a 3-9 season one year prior to represent the SEC West in Gus Malzahn’s first season on the Plains.

Both teams nearly matched each other, as neither team held a lead of over eight points through three quarters of play, with Auburn holding onto a 45-42 lead heading into the final stanza.

Auburn, who had pulled off miraculous plays against Georgia and Alabama just a few weeks prior, had more magic in their pocket.

Auburn running back [autotag]Tre Mason[/autotag] rushed for two scores in the 4th quarter to lift Auburn over Missouri to claim their 8th SEC Championship.

Mason rushed for four touchdowns in the game and recorded 304 total rushing yards in the game. Quarterback [autotag]Nick Marshall[/autotag] rushed for an additional 101 yards and completed 9-of-11 passes for 132 yards. Most of Marshall’s passes went to [autotag]Sammie Coates[/autotag], who caught six passes for 94 yards.

Here is a look back at one of the most important wins in the series against Missouri, the 2013 SEC Championship Game:

Auburn football: Top 10 rushing yards in a single game by a Tiger

Auburn has had some great running backs throughout its history but only these guys have had the best single-game performances for the Tigers

Auburn has a legacy for having amazing running backs. Just look at the names: Bo Jackson, Stephen Davis, Joe Cribbs and so many more.

Saying that, it takes an extremely special game for a running back in a Tigers uniform to get into the top 10 of most rushing yards in a single game in the program’s history. In fact, only seven players can stake their claim to a spot in that exclusive group as one star — I will give you one guess who — has four of the top nine rushing performances of all time.

Yet it might surprise you who is at the top of the list. Here are the top 10 most rushing yards in a single game by an Auburn running back.

Auburn football: Top 10 passing yards in a single game by a Tiger

All-Auburn Offensive Team during Gus Malzahn era

Taking a look at the elite of the elite for Auburn on offense during the eight years of the Gus Malzahn era on the Plains.

The Gus Malzahn era at Auburn started out with a bang on the offensive side of the ball has Nick Marshall, Tre Mason and company lit the scoreboard on fire on their way to a SEC title and spot in the BCS National Championship Game.

While the Tigers’ offense would never reach those heights again under Malzahn during his eight years in charge, there were still plenty of great offensive players to come to the Plains during that time.

But who is the top of the top and the elite of the elite? We name our All-Auburn Offensive Team from the Malzahn era along with who would serve as second string.

(Note: When it comes to offensive linemen, we did not choose someone for each position but the top five guys that made the biggest impact.)

Shea’s Favorite Auburn Games- No. 8 Auburn vs Texas A&M 2013

The Tigers went into College Station and took Johnny Manziel and the Aggies down.

Can you believe that Auburn football returns in eight days!? I sure can’t, but to keep this countdown train going we’re reminiscing on my eighth favorite Auburn game!

Number 8: Auburn vs Texas A&M 2013

After losing to LSU in a deluge during the early part of the 2013 season, Auburn was getting no love by any of the college football talking heads when they had to travel to College Station to take on Johnny Manziel and a top-ten Texas A&M team.

Manziel gashed the Tigers in 2012, as a freshman I went to that game and witnessed the first half of that massacre. I left at halftime because number one, it was freezing and number two, Texas A&M was beating Auburn 42-7. My only regret in leaving that game was that we’d left to go to a restaurant where I found a suspicious hair in my pasta. Texas A&M put up nearly 700 yards of total offense against the Tigers, and Manziel went on to win the Heisman that year.

The 2013 Auburn team was a totally different animal from what Manziel had faced in the year before, and boy did he figure that lesson out the hard way.

The Aggies struck first with a 26-yard touchdown catch by Mike Evans. Then Nick Marshall and our boys went to work. The Tigers capitalized off of two interceptions thrown by Manziel in the first quarter and the game turned into an old-fashioned shoot-out.

I traveled back home to Huntsville for the weekend to watch the game with my dad. That day Auburn couldn’t stop the Manziel-Evans connection and that just gave us both fits.

You know I’m 100% his daughter because we both have the same coping mechanism strategy during stressful Auburn games. Pacing. He’d pace in front of our living room television, while I’d walk circles around our kitchen island. Finally my mom told us we both needed to sit down because we were driving our dogs crazy, and the pacing wasn’t helping anybody.

It had seemed as though every time we started pacing that Texas A&M would start to make a run, but then I discovered that as soon as I started to pet my dog Gracie that Auburn would start having better luck.

“I’m not superstitious, but I am a little ‘sticious”-Michael Scott.

That nasty Sammie Coates stiff arm? Every major run by Tre Mason? The heroic fourth down sack made by Dee Ford to end the game? They all happened while I was petting my dog.

That 2013 team never went down without a fight, and neither did my dog Gracie. We lost Gracie to lymphoma in 2017 after she put up one heck of a good fight. I miss that team and I miss my dog.

War Eagle forever.

(Editor’s note: This is also the game when, excited about the outcome, I jumped headfirst into what I thought was the deep end of the pool. It was not. Will spare you the infamous ambulance selfie.)