No. 10 Auburn (10-2) will have to stop No. 22 Nebraska's rushing attack if it's going to capture its fourth bowl win in five years. Don't be fooled by the Cornhuskers' use of the West Coast offense, ...installed by third-year head coach Bill Callahan in place of Nebraska's traditional option attack. He's right. In three of Nebraska's four losses, the ground game got stuck in neutral. No churning out ridiculous numbers as it did against Troy, when it gained 316 rushing yards.
A year ago, then-coordinator David Gibbs learned the existing Auburn terminology and implemented his techniques within it. Not so for Muschamp, who has changed much of the terminology the defense ...uses. That means players are having to work extra hard this spring. Karibi Dede said it was as though the coach had consumed a gallon of coffee before practice. Dede said he appreciated the way Muschamp conducted the practice and liked the sense of urgency he portrayed. Players like Herring, Dede, Kevin Sears, Tristan Davis and others have had perhaps a tougher transition since Muschamp is their third coordinator in three years.
Quentin Groves exchanged words with Chris Leak at one point, but said Leak wasn't overly talkative and called for the referee. Groves patted Leak on the head and scampered off, hoping not to draw a ...flag, he said. Groves rejuvenated a stagnant Auburn defense in the second half which kept Leak on the run and lifted the Tigers to a surprising 27- 17 upset over the Gators. Groves finished with four tackles, including three sacks. That doubled his total for the season. This year has been different for Groves, who has played with a different skill set as defensive coordinator Will Muschamp has tried to take advantage of his talent. He's played "on two feet," as Groves calls it, meaning he's stood up and played almost as an extra linebacker at times. He did it a lot against South Carolina and finished with six tackles and a sack.
He's not the only player trying to get back. Auburn head coach Tommy Tuberville said center Joe Cope will be out four to six weeks with a sprained right knee, but Cope said he liked to look at it as ...three to six weeks. Karibi Dede pointed out Mitch Mustain's experience running Gus Malzahn's offense, but said the biggest difference is the speed of the SEC. Quentin Groves sprained his left wrist, but said it hasn't stopped him from practicing and he will play Saturday. Auburn cornerback Jonathan Wilhite said he knew when trying to cover Courtney Taylor last week that he wasn't at full strength. Wilhite sat out the South Carolina game, but will return this week against Arkansas.
"I was joking (Monday) in the meetings, I think that's his first sack. It might be his first sack ever," Don Dunn said. "It was good for him to get that early." Maybe it's because he's not nursing an ...ankle injury as he did a season ago, but Josh Thompson -- a stout 6-foot, 300 pounds -- looked several steps quicker than he has in the past. Then there were the linebackers, where Karibi Dede and Herring combined for 11 tackles and an interception. Merrill Johnson added four tackles. "I think I played a par game," Herring said. "I made some good plays, and I made some mistakes. I wouldn't say I picked it up with where I need to be by any stretch at this moment." Dede and Herring, though, both stood out against Washington State. James Willis said it's their intellect as much as anything else that keeps them doing the right things.
Mar. 13--AUBURN -- For the first time in 26 years, Joe Whitt won't be in Auburn's game-day press box coaching the linebackers. Instead, one of his students, James Willis, will take his spot on the ...Tigers' football staff. This much is clear to Willis, however:He says the story isn't about him. "Every day for me is for the kids," Willis said a few days after spring football began in the small college town in East-central Alabama. "I've taken myself away from the situation from day one. As for now, my whole goal is to get these kids better and let them know I'm here for them." But to "get these kids better," Willis is part of the story. His background, as much as anything else, is what drives this tale. He played linebacker for Auburn during 1990-92, served as a student assistant for the Tigers during 2001-02 and was a graduate assistant during 2003. While it's not so much native son coming home, it's close.
The Yugoslavia war crimes tribunal yesterday found two Bosnian Muslims and a Bosnian Croat guilty of rape, torture and murder at an infamous prison camp, but unexpectedly acquitted a Bosnian Muslim ...army commander. Fellow Bosnian Muslims Hazim Delic and Esad Landzo are to serve 20 years and 15 years respectively for their roles in perpetuating a regime of terror at the Celebici camp in central Bosnia in 1992. Delic, a 34-year-old deputy commander at the camp, was acquitted of command responsibility on the grounds he had not held superior authority. But the court found him guilty of personal involvement in two murders, torture and rape.
