Through the smoke, out of the tunnel came the Auburn Tigers. Senior quarterback Brandon Cox came out looking to fire all over the Kansas State defensive backs. Throughout the first quarter, both QB's, Cox and young Josh Freeman on the opposite sideline, seemed to be playing well. Auburn's Junior receiver Rodriques Smith looked to be Cox's main target early on and the duo had a nice pitch and catch that went for 55 yards. Auburn's Sophomore running back Ben Tate also looked solid, trying to pound his way through the K-State defense. Eventually, however, the very underrated Wildcat defense started to stiffen, as did Auburn's. The defensive lines of both teams started to play inspired and were particularly impressive. Both Cox and Freeman went from looking comfortable in the pocket to constantly being pressured to move outside of it. The Tiger duo of Carl Stewart and Ben Tate kept on trying to bang away at the Wildcat defense to see if they could wear them down, but it just wasn't happening. Both offenses looked to be struggling going into halftime and the first half turned out to be a battle of the trenches with just three field goals in total.

Halftime score: Auburn - 6, Kansas State - 3

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2^nd half

Defensive leader and Kansas State safety Marcus Watts out of Hays, Kansas stepped up immediately in the second half by intercepting a Brandon Cox pass on the very first drive of the second half. The Wildcats would eventually cash in on a touchdown via a trick play which involved a pass from wide receiver Jordy Nelson to running back Leon Patton in the deep corner of the end zone. Kansas State then converted a field goal on their following drive. Late in the third quarter, Auburn receiver Robert Dunn came up with a clutch return taking the ball all the way down to around the Kansas State 15-yard line. However, Auburn could not take advantage of the field position and the drive resulted in a missed field goal. Finally, down 13-9, Auburn quarterback Brandon Cox came up with a huge drive for the Tigers with just about 5 minutes to go in the fourth quarter. One had to wonder at this point why the play-calling had been so conservative up to this drive. It was clear that Cox needed to be throwing this way all game long. Cox marched the Tigers downfield with a 6 play, 57-yard drive, eventually hooking up with a wide open Gabe McKenzie for the score.

Auburn - 16, Kansas State - 13

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On the very next K-State drive, the Auburn defensive line came up huge just as it had been virtually all game long. Quentin Groves tears off of the end and absolutely bull-rushes mammoth quarterback Josh Freeman, hitting him squarely in the back and forcing the fumble and resulting in a touchdown return for fellow defensive end Antonio Coleman, sealing the Auburn victory as tight as a Ziploc baggie.

Other notes on the game:

- I was very impressed with Auburns defensive backs in the game. Especially considering the fact that three of the guys who played significant time were either Freshmen or Sophomores.....Jerraud Powers, Aairon Savage, and Zac Etheridge, all of whom made significant contributions on the night.

- I was even more impressed with Kansas State's defense. Linebackers Reggie Walker and Justin Roland came up with some big plays and were stout all game long, as was the defensive line.

- Both teams threw 2 interceptions.

- Despite throwing 0 TD's and 2 INT's, K-State's young QB Freeman was impressive, completing 32 of 57 passes for 268 yards.

- Ben Tate showed what he can do for Auburn's ground attack, recording 87 yards on the ground along with 23 yards receiving.

- Auburn held Kansas State to just 27 yards on the ground.

- Kansas State Time of Possession - 32:16, Auburn - 27:44

Game Balls:

Kansas State: S, Marcus Watts - Watts got his team off to a flying start in the second half, intercepting a pass on the opening drive resulting in a key turning point in the game and eventually pulling Kansas State to a 13-6 lead. He also recorded 7 tackles and a pass breakup.

Auburn: DE, Quentin Groves - Groves came through in the clutch as superstars always seem to do. His sack and forced fumble late in the fourth quarter on a monstrous hit to the back of Freeman officially sealed the fate of the Wildcats. Groves did a little bit of everything and finished the game with 5 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, a forced fumble, 2 sacks, and 3 quarterback hurries.

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Lloyds Apple said:

	I've got USF over Auburn!
	report abuse vote down vote up

September 06, 2007
Votes: +0

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