Emptying out the notebook on a fantastic Friday

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After a one-week hiatus, the emptied-out notebook is back in full effect.

Get some.

****Auburn had some issues on short third- and fourth-down situations against Ole Miss, letting a number go to waster. Neither Gene Chizik nor Gus Malzahn could put a finger on the problems.

Chizik: “When there are some blitzes on and we get penetration and that’s usually what stops any third- and fourth-and-one. But we just have to block it better and we’ve got to execute better. That hasn’t been happening as much as we would like it to happen recently. So we certainly need to improve in that category. That’s obvious.“

Malzahn: “There’s a lot of different things. 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.“

****Meanwhile, Auburn’s defense was thriving on third downs, limiting the Rebels to just three conversions all game. Obviously, Ted Roof was pretty happy about that. “I was pleased with that. We’ve done a better job here lately on third down. We had the West Virginia game where they did good job on third down but we’ve been playing better on third down. Getting off the field is critical. When you have opportunities to get off the field, you’ve got to get off and we were able to do that.“

****Chris Todd showed that his arm isn’t the only valuable body part he possesses, landing a pooch punt inside the 1-yard line against Ole Miss. His thoughts: “It had a nice roll to it and it ended up pretty well.“

****Walt McFadden, who was recently named SEC Defensive Player of the Week, was asked if this was his best season to date. He had a somewhat surprising answer. “I don’t know think this is my best year. I learned a lot of things with (Will) Muschamp. I understood that style very well. I understand this defense, too, but that defensive scheme was a pretty sight. Anybody could make a play. These last two years, the defense I played in was surrounded by other players. But when the ball is in the air, you have to make a play, so it really doesn’t matter.“

****Linebacker Josh Bynes spilled the beans on Auburn’s new “Shhh…“ campaign, which is promoting silence as opposed to boasting about the surprisingly strong performances Auburn has been able to muster. Here are the details. “Basically just be quiet and let our actions speak louder than our words. That’s what we broke down to prior to the Ole Miss game, just breaking down to ‘Shhhh!‘, letting everyone know we’re not finna talk about it, we’re going to be out there and be about it and show our actions on the football field.“

****Bynes kind of contradicted himself, though, when he talked about getting in Ole Miss quarterback Jevan Snead’s head. “He was getting frustrated. He was getting tired of me because I was talking to him the whole game. It was all in the game. We were having fun out there. We were out there handling our business and at the same time having fun with it. There was a lot of laughter on the sideline and during the game but at the same time we knew everyone was on the same page and taking care of their business.“

****Bynes was full of great quotes this week. He had this gem when talking about Florida linebacker Brandon Spikes, who is serving a self-imposed, one-game suspension for attempting to gouge the eyes of Georgia’s Washaun Ealey. “I haven’t ran across anything like that since I’ve been playing college football. 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.“

****Antonio Coleman has some experience with scary-looking injuries. He thinks Zac Etheridge will definitely be able to rebound. “When I was injured I was just ready to get back on the field and play football. When I’m on the field, my body, I just let it go. So it might be tough on him and it might not. He’s a baller and he’s going to come back and play no matter what.“

****Malzahn said one of the most key components to his offense is the man in motion. “We’re a misdirection offense. When we get things going quick and our pace going, a lot of times it gets defense’s keys a little bit off and they get to look in the backfield, so that’s very important as far as our motion goes, our reverses and our play-action off that.“

****Ben Tate had some pretty lofty expectations thrown his way when he signed with Auburn four years ago. This year’s proven to be his biggest. He talked about that.

“I think a lot of people have kind of been waiting for this as well, and I’ve been waiting for it too. But it’s just first getting here and then sophomore, getting an opportunity for a while, and then last year not really getting the type of opportunity. There are lots of guys who have had years like me where they have a down year, things like that, teams have down years, but to put up numbers like I am this year, you also have to have opportunities. Coach Malzahn and coach Chizik have definitely given me the opportunity to showcase what I can do, so with the talent you also need to be able to showcase it.“

****Jeff Grimes gave his thoughts on freshman Andre Harris, who has lost 40 pounds since arriving this summer. He has yet to play but Grimes is hoping he’ll be ready one of these years. “I think he has a future here. He’s got good feet. He’s the guy that didn’t come in the best of shape. But he’s lost a lot of weight. 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.“

(Photo credit: Cliff Williams)