AJC > Sports > Blog > Archives > 2007 > November > 29
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Will Auburn get deal done with Tuberville?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Five burning questions as we head into the last weekend of the regular season:
1. Is Auburn going to get a deal done with Tuberville? After beating Alabama for the sixth straight year and with an opening for a head coach at Arkansas and perhaps another one at LSU, you could say that Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville is dealing from a position of strength. But negotiations haven’t gone all that smoothly. Tuberville wants more money for his assistants, who are underpaid compared to those at Alabama. He also wants an indoor practice facility, which is something Alabama has as well. If he is expected to compete with Alabama, Tuberville needs to be close to an equal footing with the Crimson Tide in these areas. Auburn’s new proposal is supposed to come by Saturday. Tuberville will have until Dec. 31 to accept it.
2. Can a two-loss team get to the BCS championship? Probably not but the argument would sure be fun to watch. The only way to open that door would be for both No. 1 Missouri and No. 2 West Virginia to lose on Saturday. Missouri might lose to Oklahoma in the Big 12 championship game, but West Virginia is a 28-point favorite over Pittsburgh at home. But if it happens, and everybody else who plays on Saturday wins, you will see the mother of all PR campaigns late Saturday night among Georgia, Virginia Tech, LSU, Southern Cal, and Oklahoma. And what about 11-1 Kansas?
3. How bad is Matt Flynn’s shoulder? The LSU quarterback reportedly took some snaps in Wednesday’s practice but I hear that backup Ryan Perrilloux is getting a lot of work because, even if Flynn can go, he may not last long against the Tennessee defense on the artificial turf of the Georgia Dome. Perrilloux is an incredible talent but for every great play he makes, he usually makes at least one that will put the LSU defense in bad field position.
4. When does Arkansas play Ole Miss in 2008? Glad you asked. The game will be on Oct. 25 in Fayetteville, where I’m sure new Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt will be welcomed with open arms. It will be as much fun as the first time Auburn’s Tommy Tuberville went back to Ole Miss. He won, by the way.
5. Does Hawaii still get a BCS bid if it loses? The No. 12 Warriors (11-0) won’t be done with Washington (11:30 p.m. start) until the wee hours of Sunday morning. If Hawaii wins, it’s a no-brainer. It will go to the Sugar Bowl. But if the Warriors lose will one of the BCS bowls take them just to keep peace with the non-BCS conferences?
