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Auburn students Tice Wood (left) and Greyson Gerding (right) don robes passed down through family at a tailgate at Ag Heritage Park.
Quarterback Charles Thomas (12) gets set for the snap during Auburn’s game against Southern Miss on Nov. 8, 1980, in Jordan-Hare Stadium. Fans have been told to wear orange for Saturday’s game against Penn State for the “Orange Out” and the team has announced it will wear orange facemasks in the game, leading speculation that the team could take it a step further with orange jerseys.
While Auburn fans believe in Jordan-Hare magic, they do have questions. Maybe those questions should involve who's going to play quarterback when, or whether the secondary can stop the Nittany Lions' Sean Clifford.
But they don't. They're about a certain color.
By the way, kickoff's at 2:39 p.m. Saturday.
Orange! (Have you been living under a rock?) Naturally, that might present you with a sartorial challenge because the average person doesn't have a lot of orange in their closet. But downtown Auburn boutiques have been scrambling to stock enough orange outfits, including cute rompers. Yes, that's a thing.
For the record, most Auburn students think the team should don orange on Saturday. At the very least, we do know the Tigers will be wearing orange facemasks.
Harsin said the idea is "not that far-fetched." Helpful.
Funny, our own Justin Lee asked the same question, and then answered it here.
Last we checked, the No. 22 Nittany Lions are favored by a field goal.
And will Auburn fans like Penn State fans as much as Penn State fans liked the AU fans they met last year in Happy Valley?
We'll see. Last year after the big White Out, Nittany Lions fans were positively raving about Auburn fans and talking about how much they'd fallen in love with Tank Bigsby, etc. Even the director of the Happy Valley Adventure Bureau wrote a Letter to the Editor of the Opelika-Auburn News to share his appreciation. But two follow-up questions: How much would they have loved Auburn if they'd lost? And how much will they be loving Auburn around 8 p.m. on Saturday night? We shall see.
It was on New Year's Day 2003 in the Capital One Bowl, with No. 22 Auburn beating No. 10 Penn State 13-9 behind a stiff defense and the running of Ronnie Brown. Oh, and that was the last Auburn game called by Jim Fyffe, the legendary play-by-play man.
Meanwhile, Penn State beat Ohio (University, not State) by 36 points. But our man Justin Lee advises that it's never as good as it seems, and it's never as bad as it seems, either. And last week seemed bad.
Well, starter T.J. Finley helped turn the game around against San Jose State. Ashford showed us he's got some wheels, but his offensive coordinator expects him to do more than run. And Bryan Harsin says he's impressed with both quarterback's ability to throw interceptions and then not let it get them down. That help?
OK, how about center Nick Brahms, whose football career just ended with an injury, and how he's helping his replacement, Tate Johnson, take his place.
Last we checked, it's going to be sunny all day with zero chance of rain. Expect temperatures as high as 85 degrees. If that doesn't sound hot to you, remember that you'll be sitting in a concrete stadium, and depending on where your tickets are, some of you will be sitting much closer to the sun that others. Anyway, don't forget to stay hydrated.
As we watch all those fans from Pennsylvania driving from the Atlanta airport on I-85, we think this: TURN UP THE HEAT! Justin Lee explains this nuanced position.
Bring an empty water bottle and use it at one of the designated cooling & hydration station locations in the stadium. You're also allowed to bring in one unopened, factory-sealed bottle of water that's up to 1 liter in size.
We'll say yes, considering there were flyovers before the Mercer and San Jose State games, and if you haven't heard, Saturday's game with Penn State is a much bigger deal, which means you might see some faster and cooler-looking aircraft this week. For more about military flyovers and all that goes into planning one, click here.
Why, yes. Meet Todd Bennett, who credits an Auburn football game for saving his life and now tailgates with combat veterans and takes them to big games like this one for free.
Oh, and how about people who bring their RVs to Auburn. We've got a story about a local RV park where the tailgate party goes on forever because the campers never leave the lot.
8 a.m.: Parking lots open; live broadcast of "Marty & McGee" at Wellness Kichen Green Space on Auburn campus; the AU Team Shop opens at Neville Arena
9 a.m.: Live broadcast of "SEC Nation" at Wellness Kichen Green Space on Auburn campus
10:30 a.m.: Coca-Cola Tiger Fan Fest on Nichols Center Lawn; Home Plate Tailgate at Plainsman Park Parking Lot
11:30 a.m.: Auburn Sports Network begins with the Tiger Tailgate Show outside Gate 7 and broadcast on 93.9 FM
12:30 p.m.: Tiger Walk beginning at the intersection of Samford and Donahue drives; gates open to Jordan-Hare Stadium
1:10 p.m.: Spirit March at the corner of Heisman and Donahue drives
2:10 p.m.: Pre-game festivities on the field
Save yourself the headache of parking on campus or downtown by taking Tiger Transit from one of these locations; buses start rolling at 9:30 a.m. Saturday:
1. No. 1 Georgia at South Carolina, 11 a.m. on ESPN: The Bulldogs are heavy favorites on the road in Columbia, but remember that they looked invincible several seasons ago when they got tripped up by the Gamecocks.
2. No. 6 Oklahoma at Nebraska, 11 a.m. on FOX: If you thought a certain resident of the Plains was sitting in the hottest seat in college coaching, think again. The Cornhuskers showed Scott Frost the door this week, and the Sooners are only an 11-point favorite on the road, so this one should be interesting, if only like dumpster fires are interesting.
3. Purdue at Syracuse, 11 a.m. on ESPN2: The Boilermakers scared the daylights out of Penn State in the season opener before losing in the final seconds. They're favored by a point over the Orangemen, so this could be a good one.
4. Western Kentucky at Indiana, 11 a.m. on BTN: The high-scoring Hilltoppers are one of the better teams in the Group of Five, and the Hoosiers, who are favored by less than a touchdown at home, are not one of the better teams in the Power Five. So at least this should be competitive.
The game will be televised on ESPN at 11 a.m.
Andy Burcham and Stan White will have the radio call with Ronnie Brown on the Auburn Sports Network. The broadcast can be heard locally on 93.9 FM.
Here is a list of Auburn Sports Network radio affiliates.
Yes, they are. And they’re in honor of three great AU coaches: Jordan, Hare and Dye. Read about the unveiling last year.
Restaurants around the area are bracing for a big-business gameday weekend.
Lucy's is a popular brunch spot. Read more here.
Byron's Smokehouse is a good source for tailgate barbecue, and it offers a hearty, reasonably priced breakfast. Read more here.
Local favorite Niffer's has been a staple in the area for more than three decades. Read more here.
There's also Amsterdam Cafe, an alumni favorite and a very short stroll from campus. Read more here.
And if you're looking to pick up barbecue by the pound and sides by the quart for your tailgate, there are plenty of places to choose from.
Looking for a restaurant while you’re in town? Here are some that come highly recommended. But we’ve missed some gems, so stop somebody on the street and ask them. And don’t forget Opelika, especially if you're tired of fighting crowds and looking for parking spaces. Lots of folks like to grab dinner in Opelika on Friday night and then spend all day Saturday in Auburn.
At noon Friday, the Auburn women's basketball team tips off against Charleston Southern in Auburn Arena. Tickets are $6-$8.
At 2 p.m. Friday, "The Paul Finebaum Show" will be broadcasting live at the Wellness Kitchen Green Space.
At 4 p.m. Friday, check out "Football, Fans and Feathers, the raptor show at the Southeastern Raptor Center's amphitheater, at 1350 Pratt-Carden Drive off Shug Jordan Parkway. This week's show features the recently retired Spirit and other bald eagles. $8/ticket.
Or at 4:30 Friday, you could check out "AUsome Amphibians and Reptiles" at the Kreher Preserve and Nature Center, 2222 N. College St. It's billed as a fun, hands-on event for the whole family, if putting your hands on reptiles sounds like fun.
Also from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Friday, you can tour the Tigers’ locker room – ready for game day. Just enter Jordan-Hare Stadium Gate 10 between 4:30 to 6 p.m. Admission is free.
Then head to downtown Auburn for "Come Home to the Corner," which runs from 5-9 p.m. Friday and features live music, extended shopping hours and lots of people-watching.
Or if you want to take a brief break from the crowds, head over to downtown Opelika for Food Truck Friday, on North Railroad Avenue. It's also from 5-9 p.m. Friday.
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More than 20 minutes after the end of the game against Penn State on Saturday, the Auburn University Marching Band stayed and played in a standoff with Penn State’s band to keep the visitors from taking over the stadium for themselves.
It’s the same bad offense as the bowl game. It isn’t so much the fact that Auburn lost Saturday. It’s how Auburn lost.
“Some strong voices have already all but called for the bell, including the two most influential commentators covering Auburn football.”
Calzada has yet to see live action for Auburn since he transferred from Texas A&M in January.
"When we do it, we're gonna do we're gonna do it right," Bruce Pearl said Monday. "But we've got some other things to take care of before we take care of the practice facility."
Auburn fans headed to Broadway can go ahead and plan their trip, as the date for Auburn’s visit to Vanderbilt in Nashville next year has been …
On Monday, Barkley joked that Auburn "can't afford me" if he were to be considered for the department's athletics director position.
Auburn transfer quarterback Zach Calzada will not be suiting up in 2022, according to a report Thursday.
Finley left last week's game against Penn State holding his shoulder, though Bryan Harsin said Finley's second-half absence wasn't health-related.
Grading Auburn football’s performance against Penn State:
Auburn students Tice Wood (left) and Greyson Gerding (right) don robes passed down through family at a tailgate at Ag Heritage Park.
Quarterback Charles Thomas (12) gets set for the snap during Auburn’s game against Southern Miss on Nov. 8, 1980, in Jordan-Hare Stadium. Fans have been told to wear orange for Saturday’s game against Penn State for the “Orange Out” and the team has announced it will wear orange facemasks in the game, leading speculation that the team could take it a step further with orange jerseys.
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