Welcome to Bizarro World

Folks, it just keeps getting weirder...

In case you hadn't heard, Lee Corso, Chris Fowler, Desmond Howard, and everyone's favorite Ohio State fanboy Kirk Herbstreit will be coming to our cit-ay. I'm not sure what bearing this has on the thermostat in hell, but I can imagine things are probably pretty chilly for old Beelzebub. For at least one day Nashville, TN will be the epicenter of college football and all eyes will be watching as the #13 Auburn Tigers do battle with the #19 Vanderbilt Commodores. The Commodores are coming off a much needed bye week in which several players who had been banged up were given a chance to get healthy. Senior WR George Smith will also be available for the first time this season. This is a huge gain for Vandy as it injects a rather anemic pass offense with a big, physical and sure-handed wide out.

Auburn comes into the game after a hard fought battle on the plains against Tennessee. The Tigers' defense looked spectacular, but there were more than murmurs coming from the stands at Jordan-Hare concerning the full-blown quarterback controversey coach Tommy Tubberville has on his hands. Heir apparent Kodi Burns lost out to Junior College transfer Chris Todd for the starting spot in fall camp, sparking discontent from many Auburn fans already set on Burns taking the reigns from outgoing Senior Brandon Cox. Todd has been less than impressive for the most part, aside from throwing for 250 yards against a stout LSU defense. Todd's TD/INT ratio is 3/4, which does not bode well against an opportunistic and extremely talented Vanderbilt secondary.

This is going to be a very interesting game for a number of reasons. Neither team has been overly effective moving the ball this year, but Auburn has struggled mightily at times,including a 3-2 win over Mississippi State. Vanderbilt certainly hasn't looked like a world beater, but has scored at least 23 points in each of their first 4 games. Special teams also stand to be a significant factor in the game. Vanderbilt's Bryant Hahnfeldt has been a perfect 7/7 on field goal attempts and 14/14 on extra point attempts. Auburn's Wes Byrum isn't quite on pace with his prolific Freshman year in which he hit several huge field goals, including the game winner against Florida. The sophomore is 5/9 this year on field goal attempts and is also perfect on extra points. As we saw in the Swamp last Saturday and with Tennessee all season lapses in the kicking game will get you beat in this league.

This is certainly the most important game that Vanderbilt has played in my lifetime, and potentially ever. Vanderbilt has been given an opportunity to reverse decades of losing in front of a national audience and take command of the SEC East all in one fell swoop: Let's take advantage.

As Always,

Go 'Dores!

Beat Auburn!