NEW ORLEANS, Jan. 2 -- Auburn Coach Tommy Tuberville sounded like a passionate man on Sunday, complete with the charm and drawl of a refined Southern politician and yet without the desperation of Texas Coach Mack Brown. With his No. 3 Tigers playing No. 9 Virginia Tech in Monday night's Sugar Bowl at the Louisiana Superdome, Tuberville was making one last plea for his football team.
Because Auburn (12-0) was left out of college football's national championship game -- No. 1 Southern California plays No. 2 Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl in Miami on Tuesday night -- Tuberville felt the need to once again state the Tigers' case: undefeated and untied, Southeastern Conference champions and winners of 14 games in a row.
Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville, right, hopes a Sugar Bowl win will give the Tigers a share of the national title.
(Rogelio Solis - AP)
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_____Virginia Tech vs. Auburn_____
Isn't That Special?
Virginia Tech, as usual, should have the edge in special teams. The Hokies blocked one punt and three field goals this season, giving them 105 blocks -- 53 punts, 31 field goals and 21 extra points -- in 213 games during Coach Frank Beamer's 18 seasons at his alma mater. Auburn has blocked two punts this season. Tech's Brandon Pace was 21 for 26 on field goal attempts this season, earning him all-ACC honors. Tigers place kicker John Vaughn made just four field goals of 30 yards or longer and he missed an extra point in a 38-20 victory over Arkansas, snapping the team's Southeastern Conference-record streak of 209. Auburn's Carnell "Cadillac" Williams is dangerous on punt and kickoff returns; the Tigers ranked second in the SEC in both categories.
Key Matchup
Virginia Tech freshmen Josh Hyman and Eddie Royal have enjoyed remarkable rookie seasons, combining for 47 receptions and eight touchdowns. But they'll probably have a tough time testing Auburn's secondary, with all-American defensive back Carlos Rogers playing center field. Rogers, a senior from Augusta, Ga., broke up 10 passes and had two interceptions this season, despite opponents' reluctance to throw to his side of the field. He helped the Tigers lead the nation in scoring defense (11.2 points per game) and the SEC in sacks (35).
The Last Time
The Tigers and Hokies have played five times, but not since 1978. Auburn won that game in Blacksburg, Va., after quarterback David Lamie was sacked and fumbled, and Tigers defensive lineman Charles Wood recovered in the end zone for a fourth-quarter touchdown in an 18-7 victory. It was the last time a Virginia Tech fumble was recovered in the end zone for a touchdown.
Imoh Revved Up
Hokies tailback Mike Imoh (Robinson High) is back at full speed after missing most of the last two regular season games against Virginia and Miami with a pulled left hamstring. After serving a three-game suspension at the beginning of the season, Imoh has rushed for 704 yards and leads the team with 1,027 all-purpose yards. Junior Cedric Humes probably will share the load at tailback; he ran for 110 yards on a career-high 27 carries in a 16-10 win at then-No. 9 Miami on Dec. 4. The Tigers allowed just four rushing touchdowns in 12 games -- Tennessee scored three in Auburn's 38-28 win in the SEC championship in Atlanta on Dec. 4. "There's no question I'm full speed," Imoh said. "I tested it out hard the first day we were down here [in New Orleans] and it felt great. I've felt fine since then, so I'm ready."
Returning to the Scene
Auburn Coach Tommy Tuberville met his wife, Suzanne, in New Orleans while he was an assistant coach at Miami. The Hurricanes were preparing to play Alabama for the national championship in the 1990 Sugar Bowl, and Tuberville met his wife in a bar on Bourbon Street. A photographer took a picture of the couple, along with a group of other Miami assistants and women. Tuberville married the former Suzanne Fette about two years later.
"I came across a picture of the same night with the four same guys with four different girls," she told the Huntsville (Ala.) Times. "They must have invited four other girls to come over. That other picture is no longer in existence."
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Teams that have played in bowl games in each of the past 12 seasons -- Florida, Florida State, Michigan, Tennessee and Virginia Tech. Kansas State and Nebraska had played in 11 consecutive bowls until their streaks ended this season.
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| No. 1 USC 55, No. 2 Oklahoma 19
• Southern Cal rockets past Oklahoma to ensure another national championship for Coach Pete Carroll and the Trojans.
• Michael Wilbon: USC's Leinart (above, right) is ready for the next level.
• Sooners' turnovers hamstring drive for title.
• The BCS will be a hot topic yet again. _____Audio_____
• USC quarterback Matt Leinart talks about a total team effort.
• USC running back LenDale White discusses the team's motivation.
• USC Coach Pete Carroll had a good feeling going into the game.
• Oklahoma Coach Bob Stoops credits the Trojans' preparation. _____Bowl Results_____
• Look back at the outcomes of 28 bowl games crammed into three weeks of college football.
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"There are two national championship games," Tuberville said during a news conference Sunday. "There's one here at the Sugar Bowl, and there's another one at the Orange Bowl. . . . Obviously, we feel like there's one more vote. We'll be auditioning."
Unfortunately for the Tigers, they'll be auditioning only for a backup role. The Orange Bowl is the only championship game recognized by the Bowl Championship Series, and the coaches' poll is contractually obligated to award its national title to the winner of the Southern California-Oklahoma game.
And despite Tuberville's pleas to reporters, it's unlikely the Tigers will jump ahead of the Orange Bowl winner in the final Associated Press top 25 poll on Wednesday. Last season, Southern California was left out of the BCS title game, but finished the season No. 1 in the AP poll to win half of the national championship. But the Trojans went into the Rose Bowl last season ranked No. 1 in both polls; LSU beat Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl to win the BCS title.
If the Tigers beat the Hokies (10-2), they'll become the first undefeated team from a major conference not to have won at least a share of a national title since Penn State in 1994. The Nittany Lions finished 12-0 that season, beating Oregon, 38-20, in the Rose Bowl, but finished behind undefeated Nebraska in both the AP and coaches' polls.
The Tigers, the first team to finish undefeated in the SEC since 1993, at least want to prove to pollsters that they belonged in the Orange Bowl. They would become the third team to finish undefeated this season, joining No. 5 Utah and the Oklahoma-Southern California winner.
"Just because we're not playing in the big show doesn't diminish the game," Auburn running back Carnell "Cadillac" Williams said. "We want to put more pressure on the BCS and prove we are the best team. We want to finish perfect."
For what it's worth, Virginia Tech Coach Frank Beamer believes the Tigers are one of the nation's top two teams. Beamer disclosed this past week that he and his coaching staff ranked Auburn No. 2 on their ballot in the most recent coaches' poll, behind Southern California and ahead of Oklahoma. Beamer said he believes that if Auburn had been ranked higher in the preseason, the Tigers would be playing in the Orange Bowl.
"This is a perfect example of how we need to wait until Oct. 1 or Oct. 15 before we do those polls, because it's just a fact that things change," Beamer said. "That's no slight to Oklahoma, but I had Southern Cal one, Auburn two and Oklahoma three."
The Hokies could have helped the Tigers get to the Orange Bowl by beating the Trojans in their season opener at FedEx Field on Aug. 28. Virginia Tech nearly upset the defending co-national champions before losing, 24-13. The Hokies lost two of their first four games before winning their last eight to win the ACC in their first season in the league.
"They probably should have beaten USC," Auburn center Jeremy Ingle said. "They'd probably be undefeated right now. Then, we'd all be talking about us, Virginia Tech and Oklahoma."
The Hokies could do the BCS a big favor by beating Auburn and ending the debate. Virginia Tech is returning to the scene of its greatest football moment -- led by all-American Michael Vick, the Hokies played for the national championship following the 1999 season, losing to Florida State, 46-29, in the Sugar Bowl. That was the last time the Hokies played on such a big stage -- they played in the Gator Bowl after the 2000 and 2001 seasons and less prestigious bowl games after each of the past two seasons.
"Nobody's really giving us a chance," Virginia Tech defensive end Noland Burchette said.
But the Hokies, who returned only nine starters from a year ago and lost ultra-talented juniors Kevin Jones and DeAngelo Hall to the NFL draft, showed remarkable poise during the last month of the season when they battled Florida State, Miami and Virginia for the ACC championship. Reversing its recent trend of late-season slides, Virginia Tech beat up Maryland and Virginia in Blacksburg, Va., and then won at Miami, 16-10, on Dec. 4 to clinch the ACC title and a BCS spot.
Led by senior quarterback Bryan Randall, the Hokies are nearly a mirror image of the Tigers. Both teams rely on prolific running backs, stingy defenses and opportunistic special teams and don't ask their veteran, athletic quarterbacks to do too much.
Both coaches, now among the highest paid in college football, nearly lost their jobs at their respective schools. Virginia Tech almost fired Beamer early in his 18-year tenure at his alma mater and contacted Tuberville, then an assistant at Miami, about replacing him. Tuberville was nearly fired last year and replaced by Louisville Coach Bobby Petrino after the Tigers finished 8-5 after they were ranked No. 1 by the Sporting News in the preseason.
"I'd say we're pretty much alike, except in salary," Beamer joked earlier this week, after Tuberville agreed to a contract extension that, including bonuses, is expected to pay him more than $2 million per season.
Even if Auburn isn't playing for a share of the national championship, the Tigers say they may have more to lose.
"If we lose this game, everyone will say, 'See, we told you. USC and Oklahoma were the best teams,' " Ingle said.
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