The Works is rollin' John Caylor-style

Opportunity knocks. Hey, there's an Auburn men's basketball game tonight, and if Auburn wants to prove it's going to be something besides an afterthought in a conference currently the hoops equivalent of football's Big East, no time like the present.

But I'm not sure if I'd really recommend watching: after the Tigers' outstanding performance against the Tide it feels to me like some regression to the mean is due, and Auburn's not catching Kentucky at a good time at all. The Wildcats have righted the ship after the early-season pratfalls, and how: they've won 10 of 11, with the one loss a three-point decision away to sudden "hottest team in the nation" Louisville. They're 3-0 in the SEC with the three wins coming by an average of 17 points. Pomeory's predicting a 12-point win and an 89 percent chance of a Wildcat win.

Then again, stranger things have happened. Stranger things have happened in Rupp. Stranger things have even happened when Auburn has been in Rupp ...



Tay Waller, that's John Caylor on line one for you. Please pick up.

If you're interested ... A Sea of Blue (unsurprisingly) has an excellent preview of the game up. They say Kentucky by 10.

Well, it's better than coaching QBs at Smiths Station. Greg Knox, as you already know if you clicked through to the same link when it was posted in the recruiting round-up this morning, is now the running backs coach at Mississippi St. He becomes the first member of the so-called "Bunch That Enjoys to Barbecue" to land a college job ... though as he's not coaching the position he coached at Auburn and at a school a step down the SEC hierarchy, he still hasn't exactly blown up the conventional wisdom regarding the BTETBBQ. (It is time, regardless, for the Red Solo Cup to add another yellow line to their awesome "SEC Coaching Incest" map.)

Old news? Given that Orson already pointed it out, I'm sure you've noticed that Tyronne Green rather awesomely told Senior Bowl interviewers that if he were an animal, he'd be "a cat-dog." (One wonders if he's familiar with the cartoon of the same name.) Funny, but the larger point is that between Green, the Irons brothers, and Robert Dunn, Auburn's featured a number of really good quotes* the past couple of years. On behalf of Auburn to the Internet in general: you're welcome, bloggers.

Yeah, I'm not gonna lie, I enjoyed that. Meaning this little tidbit from the Sugar Bowl coinflip:



I stand by my "don't wallow too deeply in your schadenfreude" stance when it comes to embarrassing Tide losses, but I am an Auburn fan, and human: I had to post that. Besides, it also gives me an excuse to offer a tip of the hat the wickedly smart Dr. Saturday post where I found it, which looks at Utah's zone blitz schemes and not-so-coincidentally pokes all kinds of savage holes in the "Andre Smith would have made a difference" argument.

BlAUgosphere. The Auburner comes back from a bit of a layoff in their usual grand style:

The future of college football is with strong assistants and coordinators. Strong and awesome assistants with awesome goatees. If you don't think the goatee is the most important quality in a position coach – please enlighten yourself with the following chart:

And people wonder why I grew my beard out. Elsewhere, Luke Brietzke's worthwhile series of where Auburn's depth chart stands has continued with looks at the running backs and receivers. (ONE GUESS at which unit he feels like is in better shape.) Also, Fields of Donahue notes that Jeff Lebo made a cameo on ESPN's front page this week, and even if it's not Auburn-related I enjoyed this Lifetime of Defeats post on the "Mortal Kombat finishing move of Music Snobbery" and the bands you have to name drop to prove your music snob bona fides.

Outside the blAUgosphere, I'd recommend the season's final edition of the SEC Power Poll, Syracuse-covering radio stations want you to vote for Jim Boeheim in an Internet polls as a totally logical tribute to Martin Luther King, and somehow Holly getting chatty with Orson and Doug never gets old.

Just an observation ... but between the crowing over the recruiting army he's assembled, the willingness to just watch a five-star QB walk away in order to gain the favor of no one in particular, and today's reveal that the Vols are using their grad assistant's position to squeeze yet another highly-qualified coach into the Clown Car of Assistant Coaches to End All Assistant Coach Clown Cars, Lane Kiffin isn't exactly going about the business of introducing himself to the SEC quietly, is he? We're talking zero-to-brat in absolutely record time. But that's what happens in this league, somehow. Remember: even Les Miles used to be sane.

*Meaning "person who gives juicy quotes," in the journalistic sense.