It’s a make or break month for Auburn
AUBURN, Ala. — The Auburn Tigers have a make or break month ahead of them.
The 16th-ranked Tigers have briefly cracked the Top 10, run away with several Southeastern Conference victories and also blown a 20-point lead. Now, tailback Kamryn Pettway is out for an extended period with a fractured shoulder bone with a string of big games coming up.
Auburn (6-2, 4-1) starts a big November on Saturday at Texas A&M (5-3, 3-2) with potentially even bigger games at home against chief rivals No. 2 Georgia and No. 1 Alabama looming.
The Tigers could return from College Station in control of their own fate in the SEC Western Division race, or in danger of a fourth straight season with eight wins or fewer.
“I think this time of year the games are so important,” Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said Tuesday.
They’re especially big because Malzahn and the Tigers have been swept by Georgia and Alabama three straight years.
First things first. Auburn faces a Texas A&M team coming off a 35-14 loss to No. 21 Mississippi State.
The Tigers are 15-point favorites, but they’ve flopped in a similar situation. They blew a 20-0 lead against LSU to end a one-week cameo ranked No. 10.
Auburn seasons can often be judged a success or failure based on what happens in November since the final two SEC opponents are the team’s biggest rivals. And right now the Crimson Tide and Bulldogs seem on a collision course to meet in Atlanta for the league championship.
The Tigers would likely have to win out to make the SEC title game.
Gamecocks face impact game
COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina linebacker T.J. Brunson believes the Gamecocks have their minds right in prepping for their most important Southeastern Conference game in four years.
The Gamecocks (6-2, 4-2) have won three straight league games for the first time since 2013 after defeating Vanderbilt 34-27. The Gamecocks face their most impactful game since then on Saturday when they take on powerhouse No. 2 Georgia (8-0, 5-0) with the SEC Eastern Division title still in play.
“We’ve worked hard and this would be a statement about who we are,” Brunson, the team’s top tackler, said Tuesday.
It would certainly be a shocker, too.
The Gamecocks have struggled the previous few years after being one of the East’s top teams from 2010 to 2013 under former coach Steve Spurrier. South Carolina reached its only the SEC title game in 2010.
Alabama player indicted
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The Beaumont Enterprise is reporting Alabama safety Deionte Thompson and three other men have been indicted on charges stemming from a spring break fight.
The 20-year-old Thompson faces a second-degree felony charge of aggravated assault, causing serious bodily injury, according to the newspaper.