The Works, Yes We Can!-style

Yes, Auburn CAN defeat these mimics from UT-Martin! What did you think I was talking about?

Of course, it's not exactly a done deal. Jay Tate's defensive injury list from Sunday:

* DT Sen'Derrick Marks: ankle (day to day)
* DT Tez Doolittle: groin (day to day)
* DE Michael Goggans: ankle (day to day)
* DE Antonio Coleman: both ankles (day to day)
* DT Mike Blanc: left hand (to be determined)
* SLB Craig Stevens: left hamstring, turf toe (playing through it)
* MLB Tray Blackmon: broken right wrist (out for season)
* MLB Josh Bynes: "deep thigh bruise" (day to day(
* WLB Merrill Johnson: hamstring (day to day)
* CB Aairon Savage: right knee (out for season)
* CB Walt McFadden: left knee and ankle (day to day)
* CB Jerraud Powers: hamstring (out for at least one more week)
* CB Neiko Thorpe: ankle (out for at least one more week)

Not to mention that Marks and Carter have both had ankle issues as well. All told, I'd say about 14 or 15 of Auburn's top 17 or 18 defensive players have dealt with (or are dealing with) some sort of injury. 2008, I HATE YOU. On the plus side, Auburn should manage against Martin even without the MASH unit, so there's some benefit here to saving one cuppycake for the late-season as opposed to the Big 12's method of gobbling them all up at once.

Oh yeah. Tubby reminds us--fairly, I think--that he's not the only one who hears the "Tubby out" talk:

The family of Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer is feeling strain from his perch on the hot seat. After the Volunteers' 27-6 loss to South Carolina Saturday, Fulmer's college-aged daughter was in tears as several supporters tried to comfort her.

Tuberville, whose future is also in question, said his family has gotten used to the pressure.

"They're fine," he said. "They hear talk like everybody else, but they know the business. They know how tough it is."

Tuberville's sons are 14 and 12, five years older than when he was nearly fired after the 2003 season.

"It's a good lesson for them. You just kind of persevere and take it one week at a time," Tuberville said. "They can understand what's going on."

It's good Tubby's not making them out to be victims or whining about the situation, which changes the need to discuss his job security none, but still ... 9,000 square feet can probably house an awful lot of anxiety.

Well, there was that. Ensign, set course for the first silver lining you can find. Engage!

Burns' second mistake was critical.

With Auburn trailing 10-7, Burns tried to hit Montez Billings on a third-and-12 play deep in Ole Miss territory. The Rebels anticipated Burns' decision, and cornerback Marshay Green made an easy interception. Ole Miss then drove to a touchdown to move ahead by 10.

Burns immediately sensed the gravity of his mistake. Coach Tommy Tuberville said the quarterback was emotional along the sideline, which prompted several teammates to offer support ...

Center Jason Bosley said the quarterback responded well after chatting with teammates. Burns returned to the huddle with renewed focus and resumed work as if nothing detrimental had occurred.

That gave Bosley pause.

"I thought he had good leadership out there," Bosley said. "I told him at halftime, I was like, 'Hey man, you're the quarterback. You've got to be the leader of this offense.' I thought he did a great job responding in the second half."

Yes, a great job. Right up until the point where he threw his third disastrous pick of the half.

It's true that Burns wasn't awful and he deserves a good deal of benefit of the doubt given the difficulties he faces in the coaching turnover (and, uh, potentially he general quality of said coaching) and lack of reliable receivers. But he quarterbacked his offense to a total of 7 points against one of the weaker defenses in the SEC. Unless expectations in the Season of DEATH have slipped even further into the gutter than I think they have, it's not a performance to celebrate.

Fun. I'll write more about this later this week, but in a nutshell, this is why I remain at least a little concerned about the roof caving in against UT-Martin Saturday:

The Tigers enter Saturday's homecoming game against Tennessee-Martin with the second fewest offensive touchdowns in major college football. The Tigers have scored just 14 in nine games. Only Central Florida, Washington State and Wyoming have fewer, with 13 each.

Thanks to the defense and special teams, Auburn is better than Central Florida, Washington State, and Wyoming. But teams with Central Florida, Washington State, and Wyoming offenses are going to play close games, games where a couple of flukes that go the wrong way can decide the whole thing, because, hey, it's not like your Central Florida, Washington State, or Wyoming offense can just snap its fingers and make up for them. And Auburn has one of those offenses. It's not playing an SEC team, but it's not a week off, either.

As for the rest of the link above, it's just more "Franklin didn't teach us how to block right and never ran the ball, that's why we suck" scapegoating from coaches and players alike, and I'm frankly sick of it. Man up and take some responsibility, fellas.

No surprise there. So, Tubby, how exactly are you going to hold onto the recruiting class you've built?

Tuberville said he has a thick stack of rsums [Internet sic] on his desk from prospective offensive coordinators. That's the topic that most interests recruits - just what exactly will become of Auburn's offense.

Here's to hoping one of those "rsums" belongs to a curiously disaffected Chip Kelly. And that Patrick Nix's has already received a polite reply.

The way of the dodo. Orspencerson Shwallindle on the aftermath of the Fulmer firing:

Not a single one of the current non-fired coaches in the Sexy Excellent Cash conference is an alum of the program, or even coached at the university prior to taking the job as head coach at the school. To the cynical eye, they are a collection of classic mercenaries riding the tide of cash washing through the conference, free agents without any homegrown loyalty for the school.

That is one way of looking at it, sure. Another is to say that more modern hiring practices have been forced on the schools by the competitive pressures within the league, and that SEC football teams now hire CEOs the same way Fortune 500 companies do: without concern for their prior affiliations, lack of attachment to the company, and with massive salaries.

Bittersweet? Yes. Accurate? Oh hell yes. What's interesting, from the Auburn perspective, is how Tubby embraces both sides of this divide: his offensive staff seems to be retained on more of the "family" basis as Shwallindle calls it, while his coordinator hires--always from outside his staff and from a pool without connections to Auburn--seem more CEO-like. Maybe, just maybe, this divide has something to do with why so many of them haven't worked out.

Etc. Tommy Trott is a Colbert fan, so he's got that going for him ... Still no clue who's actually kicking field goals for this team ... Seeing as Auburn scored the first touchdown of the second half and then proceeded to drive to Ole Miss's 17-yard line down three points, it's flat unfair to say Auburn was never in the game in the second half, but Mike Svetitz says that anyway, earning this week's I'm a Columnist Who Doesn't Believe What I'm Writing, But I'm Writing It Anyway LOOK AT ME Award.