Let’s go ... 5-0

Posted 10/03 at 11:26 PM (0) Comments

Well, there you have it. Auburn 26, Tennessee 22.

5-0.

Don’t believe me? Ask Josh Bynes.

Told ya.

And, in honor of Gene Chizik first road win as a head coach, we’ll give you the entire Lazy Boy column for Sunday’s Opelika-Auburn News.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The score didn’t match.
Auburn won by more than 4 points.
Yes, the scoreboard said 26-22. But Auburn’s victory was much greater than that.
Much bigger.
And we’re not just talking about on the field.
Sure, Auburn beat Tennessee in rushing yards, total yards and time of possession.
The Tigers also won the noise battle, keeping the 102,941 fans on their seats for most of the game, and the UT band on its hands.
They also won over some doubters. Nationally. Regionally. Statewide.
Auburn’s undefeated … five games into the season. No, that’s not a misprint.
Who’d a thunk?
Saturday on Rocky Top, Auburn has reached as high as it could possibly have dreamed up to this point.
If you would have told me the Tigers would be perfect – and actually look that way for a majority of its five wins – I would have asked for your keys before you tried to drive home.
Now, everyone’s jumping on the bus.
Fayetteville, here we come.
And it wasn’t just a big win for Auburn, the program. It was a huge win for its head coach.
Gene Chizik won his first ever game on the road. That’s right.
Five-and-19?
Not anymore.
How about 5-0?
For Chizik, it’s all about working the plan. But nobody could have planned this.
Not even Mr. Undefeated.
Repeatedly throughout the first month of the season, Chizik said he didn’t know what kind of team he had, and that he couldn’t wait to find out from week to week.
Every game a bigger test than the previous one.
Every game another rung of a very high ladder to climb.
Every game a learning experience. A measuring stick.
Saturday’s was the biggest: A young team, on the road in front of more people than the Opelika Walmart on a Saturday afternoon, trying to fight off the crowd, the inexperience and the ghost of a season past.
And they passed with flying colors.
“We’ve come through a lot of things,” Chizik said. “We have had a lot of adversity. We’re finding different ways to win as a team. Everybody is finding a different way to contribute.”
From Chris Todd, who’s game management as the starting quarterback is getting better with every snap … to the running tandem of Ben Tate and Onterio McCalebb, who hit defenses with the right combination of power and speed … to a defense that gets tough when its time to get going.
Hey, one more win and the Tigers are bowl eligible.
Forget Shreveport. January, here we come.
OK, back to reality for a second.
Auburn’s still got a long way to go. Three more very tough road games at Arkansas, LSU and Georgia. There’s also Ole Miss at home. Oh, and then the Iron Bowl.
A lot can – and will – happen between now and bowl season.
But two things are for sure: Auburn’s a long way from being 13-0, but they’re even further from being 5-7.