Local Sports
MORE CHANGES?
By Michael A. CummingsAUBURN — Somehow, it just got worse for Kodi Burns and Chris Todd.
On the heels of a two-headed quarterback attack that gained just 137 yards against Arkansas, Auburn head coach Tommy Tuberville hinted that there could be a third quarterback in the mix in two weeks’ time against West Virginia.
After Saturday night’s game — a 25-22 loss to Arkansas that will knock Auburn (4-3, 2-3 SEC) out of the Top 25 for the first time this season — Tuberville was asked whether the Tigers would look at new options at the quarterback position during its bye week.
He didn’t say no.
“We’re going to have to really look at it hard,” said Tuberville, who fired offensive coordinator Tony Franklin on Wednesday, just six games into the 2008 season. “We’ve looked at a lot of different things this week, and with the open week next week, we’ll have a chance to you look at several different scenarios.”
Pressed further, Tuberville admitted that some of those different scenarios might include trying a new face under center.
"We’re not going to jump to any conclusions — it’s a little early — but we’ve got a couple of guys that we might would look at,” Tuberville said. “Again, it’s just what (Arkansas) they did to us on defense tonight, you’ve got to have somebody that can throw it downfield and someone that can catch it.”
Auburn quarterbacks finished with just 10 completions on 28 attempts on the night, with three interceptions. Burns, the starter went 7-for-18 for 119 yards and two interceptions; coming off the bench, Todd went 3-for-10 with 18 yards and another pick. He was also sacked three times.
“They forced us to throw the ball and we completed 10 passes all night,” said Tuberville. “You got to be able to take advantage of what they give you, and we weren’t able to do it.”
The poor numbers left Tuberville questioning whether playcalling was the problem. According to the 10th-year Auburn coach, a lack of execution was the biggest culprit.
“We’ve got to find a way to make plays, it’s pretty obvious,” he said. “You can run passing plays and you can run running plays and you can do all those things, but unless you execute and get it done. . .”
Tuberville didn’t finish his thought. Instead, he bemoaned the fact that running an offense is “not a mystery.” Which is something both Burns and Todd looked like they were trying to solve.
Asked whether Auburn’s quarterback carousel affected his play in a negative way, Burns had pointed words.
“That’s always difficult for a quarterback. Rhythm is the main thing, just getting in a groove and being out there, getting a feel for what the defense is doing,” he said. “But that’s not my decision, I’m not the head of this team and I don’t make those kind of decisions. So whenever they call my name I just got to be ready.”
Todd, who was booed sporadically by the Jordan-Hare crowd of 85,782, struggled with an attempt to explain what the Tigers’ offense is trying to do.
“We’re still doing a lot of the same stuff, we’re doing it a little different,” said Todd, who decided to transfer to Auburn when Franklin was hired late last year. “But we’re doing our thing, you just try to cut out of progressions that we were doing, make things simple.”
Speaking on Franklin’s dismissal, Todd tried to remain positive.
“It’s just something that happens,” he said. “You just try to find a way to win ball games.”
Auburn’s next chance to do that will be in Morgantown, West Virginia, where the Tigers will try to avoid their first three-game losing streak since the end of the 2001 season.
“We’re going to find out the character of our team,” said Tuberville. “We’re going to have to dig deep, we’re going to have to dig hard.”
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