Freshman Sullen to start at right guard

By Joe McAdory

True freshman right guard John Sullen will make his first-career start tonight against Ball State. Sullen, who prepped locally at Auburn High, replaces Byron Isom, who is out with an undisclosed injury.

Looks like my sidebar from tonight’s game has already been decided. It’s on Sullen, the local kid. Sounds like an easy assignment. Sullen’s good in my PS2 game, if that counts for anything.

Top 10 reasons Ball State brought few fans

By Joe McAdory

Ball State’s most famous alumnus is TV personality David Letterman. You know, the dude with that giant gap between his teeth. I think Wes Byrum could drill a field goal through that gap. Anyway, the Cardinals didn’t exactly sell its allotment of tickets for the game. Still, I’ve got to tip my hat to the Ball State fans at Jordan-Hare. Both of you.

In Letterman style, here are the Top 10 reasons only a few BSU fans made the trip:

10. Muncie, Ind., is simply too far.

9. Indiana was playing at Michigan Saturday afternoon. Fans in Muncie were really more interested in that.

8. Ball State is 0-3. Auburn is 3-0. Do the math.

7. The last time Ball State visited (2005), it left Jordan-Hare with a 66-3 defeat. Painful.

6. The last time before that (2001), Ball State lost here 30-0. That’s 120 minutes of football and no touchdowns in Greater Lee County, AL.

5. A weather guru in Indiana knew it would rain here. Well ... duh.

4. Others made the trip, but bought a keg of lemonade from Toomers and tailgated beneath the oaks and pines.

3. Our BBQ is too spicy for their yankee taste buds.

2. The economy. Now, that makes sense.

1. Because Playboy model Jami Ferrell, a Muncie native, wasn’t making the trip either. Miss Ferrell is a very nice lady

Who’ll be the leading rusher?

By Joe McAdory

Kickoff at Jordan-Hare is still more than an hour away, but I can’t help but wonder who tonight’s leading rusher will be.

The candidates:

* Ben Tate, Auburn—Needs only 119 yards to surpass Stacey Danley as the Tigers’ eight all-time leading rusher. Tate has 2,308 yards to date.

* Onterio McCalebb, Auburn—Has 282 yards in three games. But will slick turf slow the speedy freshman?

* Eric Smith, Auburn—Has only 8 rushing yards against 74 through the air. But if Auburn gets up big, he could see significant playing time.

* And the dark horse ... MiQuale Lewis, Ball State—Rushed for 1,736 yards last season but has just 141 this year. Is tonight his breakout game?

Did I miss someone? Kodi Burns? Mario Fannin? Anthony Gulley? Somebody else for Ball State that I’ve never heard of?

Kickoff moved back

By Joe McAdory

Kickoff for tonight’s game has been pushed back from 6 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. as poor weather conditions struck the area about an hour ago. I suppose the players need extra time to warm up. I can dig it.

Grab an umbrella ... or not

By Joe McAdory

It’s raining cats and dogs. Must be a football Saturday in Auburn. Today’s pregame downpour didn’t match last week’s before the West Virginia contest by immediate volume, but there’s a chance we could see the wet stuff for in moderate levels for the rest of the evening.

The heavy stuff lasted about 15 minutes as fans outside the stadium scurried into buildings opened by school officials. Ain’t that nice? There were a few cracks of lightning. Typical stormy day in the South.

Last week’s monsoon turned Pat Dye Field into a temporary lake, but it’s just sloppy wet for now. Footing could be a problem. That’s why I’d stick to a power running game. But hey, this ain’t the PlayStation and I ain’t calling plays.

It’s about an hour and a half from game time and something tells me Tiger Walk may have either got washed out or nobody showed up. Anyway, the only noise outside the stadium was thunder. A few AU players are walking around the field, but they aren’t doing anything. I haven’t seen a Ball State player yet.

One thing’s for sure, I don’t think Jordan-Hare Stadium will be the site of a terrorist attack tonight. The security crew working the press gate all but strip-searched us. Rubber gloves were not involved, but fear they could be next time. The lady working the gate asked me to open every single compartment of my laptop bag and examine the contents. That’s ok, but nothing of this magnitude has EVER happened here. I could have brought Uzis into the stadium the last two weeks. Naturally, she did not like my little umbrella and would not allow it inside. Just doing her job, I suppose. But, darn it, did she really think sports writers would open their umbrellas INSIDE THE PRESS BOX?

Hello?

Word has it, a number of media-owned umbrellas were banned at the door. I tossed mine in a nearby recycling receptacle. I’ve got to thank Kathy Harker of AU Media Relations for retrieving my umbrella.

Why bring an umbrella to the press box? Well, the walk back to the car is rather long and you never know if it’s going to rain or not. I wouldn’t want to mess up my pretty hair. It’s silky smooth and all. I highly recommend $1 shampoo from Dollar General.

I’ll be back after I chug some sweet tea and find something to eat. Looks like tater tots and hamburgers are the bill of fare. Tater tots? Looks like the economy is taking its toll on everyone.