Remember what your grade-school teachers used to say about questions?
There are no stupid ones. Remember?
I do. But I also remember something else they said ... You can ask too many.
Heading into tonight’s season opener against Kansas State, the Auburn football team has been questioned like it was a contestant on “Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader.“
They’ve been peppered with everything from “Can this young team compete?” to “Who is the No. 1 tailback?” to “Does Chris Slaughter really weigh 160 pounds?” to “What’s the temperature of the sun?”
And while these are all important questions (the sun burns at a scorching 15,000,000 degrees Kelvin, by the way), the Tigers are sick of answering them.
You can only talk so much about something you don’t know about for so long. Confused? Don’t be.
It’s a simple answer. The Tigers don’t want to talk anymore. They want to play.
They, more than any reporter, analyst or fan, know what kind of football team they have. Or think they have. They’ve talked about it for the last month.
Now it’s time to show it. To answer the questions with the only thing that matters — actions.
Right now, it’s just words. Just predictions. Just a bunch of hot air.
Tonight at 6:45, that’ll change.
Questions will be answered. Good or bad — pass or fail — the test will be
graded.
Here’s what I’ll be looking for:
Just how fast and physical is this Auburn defense? We’ve heard about it all preseason: this is going to be the fastest defense on the Plains in years. But how fast? Able to pace the offense?
Will the a young corps of wide receivers be able to make enough plays? Are they reliable? Are they talented enough?
And then, there’s the two biggies:
Can Brandon Cox stay healthy? If it were up to him, yes. He’s not “injury prone” like some other players. He’s not going down every other week with some twist, tweak or tear.
But, just like last year, Cox’s health isn’t up to him. It’s up to the five guys in front of him.
And that’s the biggest question mark. Not about who will play, but about how they’ll play. Can they protect Cox long enough for him to be effective?
Can they keep from the crutches, the ice tub, the training room, the Internet?
We know the starting five. We’ve known for about two weeks (not near enough time for them to become one cohesive unit, but enough time for the glue to start drying).
We know there’s going to be one returning starter from last year.
We know there’s going to be a center who has experience. We know there’s talent. We know there’s potential. We know there’s going to be a true freshmen.
But that’s about all we know.
For now.

MIKE SZVETITZ is sports editor of the Opelika-Auburn News. He may be reached at or 737-2513.