11/07 at 01:08 AM

One game at a time.

Day by day.

Can’t look past anybody.

Pick your “We can’t look past Furman” line, and someone inside the Auburn Athletic Complex has said it since the Tigers beat Ole
Miss, stealing one of the few storylines that might have lingered for today’s game by making Auburn bowl-eligible.

Because today’s game promises to be mostly boring with a chance of dull, Gene Chizik has been forced to pull out the “blinders” for his team — the same kind he brought out for September’s game against Ball State.

Those blinders apparently weren’t as effective when the Tigers earned a ranking for the first time this season, but they more than served their purpose before Auburn’s 54-30 not-as-close-as-it-seems romp over the Cardinals.

“It doesn’t matter who it is,” Chizik said. “It doesn’t matter where we are playing. We have got to prepare the way we always have and if we do that, we have a chance to win.”

Yes, that chance is safer than padded walls today, but Auburn has plenty else to accomplish before it’s between the hedges one week from today against Georgia.

“It is late in the season and you’ve got to find new wrinkles but still kind of do what you do well, and this week will be no different,” offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn said. “We’re approaching it like any other game. We’re going to have all the stuff we normally carry into games and try to score points.”

Auburn’s offense had some well-documented struggles scoring points during its three-game losing streak, seemingly getting worse by the week. Last Saturday’s revival against Ole Miss, though, displayed strengths that weren’t even visible during the Tigers’ 5-0 start to the season.

Quarterback Chris Todd’s ability to take chances downfield against the Rebels opened up big holes for tailback Ben Tate, who is on pace for one of the better seasons for a tailback at Running Back U. Those risk-taking heaves certainly weren’t around during the three-game losing streak, and it’s debatable how often they occurred at the start of the season.

So, in an offense that thrives on big plays and momentum, what benefit would Auburn get from not building off last week’s success heading into Amen Corner?

“Anytime we do that, our team kind of turns into a different mindset,” Malzahn said. “And we’re able to pace people and play a little faster and make some plays.”

The Auburn defense will also be looking to build off some previously unseen things it accomplished at the expense of Ole Miss.

Auburn’s front four, particularly defensive ends Antoine Carter and Antonio Coleman, established a menacing pass rush that not only made the defensive line look good, but everyone else behind it, as well. All of a sudden the Tigers’ linebackers weren’t exposed in the open field by speedy running backs and Auburn’s corners and safeties had the opportunity to jump on a few routes, resulting
in two interceptions and a number of other potential picks that were dropped.

Defensive coordinator Ted Roof had a tough time explaining where it came from, saying simply that “they were getting there a little bit quicker.”

Again, it’d certainly be nice for the Tigers to have that ready with two games’ worth of results in their back pockets before the Bulldogs.

“Pressure busts pipes,” linebacker Josh Bynes said. “That’s what they were trying to do and our front four handled their job.”

Auburn’s special teams, now down another man with safety Zac Etheridge out for the season, can’t get much worse than it has, so today will prove as another test run in all areas for Jay Boulware’s crew.

Of course, though, in games like today’s, it all comes back to getting players off the field.

A number of Auburn players, specifically on the offensive line and at linebacker, have played every meaningful snap this season.
Injuries like the one suffered by Etheridge last week serve as an example that anyone’s season — or career — can end because of one funny angle on a tackle attempt or a wayward juke-step.

Limiting those chances to get hurt, obviously, will be priority No. 1 whenever the Tigers put this game away.

Getting to that point, though, requires a heavy-handed dose of clichés followed by a strong first-half performance.

“I’d like that to be the hope every Saturday,” Chizik said. “But I don’t really think in terms of that. If that situation presents itself and we’re able to do that then that would be great. And we would if the situation arose.

“But we’ve got to go win the game this week like all the other games. We’ve got to go in to battle to win it.”

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