Local Sports
AUBURN NOTEBOOK: Turnovers don’t phase Ben Tate
By Michael A. CummingsAUBURN — Everyone knew the stats.
For the host Auburn Tigers: Five fumbles, three lost. Two impressive drives stopped cold inside the Southern Miss red zone.
It's enough to make even the most confident running back question himself.
But after Auburn picked up a 27-13 win over the visiting Golden Eagles, Ben Tate wasn't going to get down on himself.
“Everybody fumbles, and you just have to come right back from it and get the job done,” said Tate, who finished with 71 yards on 15 carries. “I'm sure I'm going to hear about it tonight from my dad.”
Even though he lost the fumble — which ended Auburn's second drive at the Southern Miss 15 — Tate was a force to be reckoned with Saturday. Along with his 71 yards and one score on the ground, the junior running back also collected 51 receiving yards on three catches.
“We rushed for over 100 yards today, which is a necessity in this offense,” said head coach Tommy Tuberville. “Both Tate and Lester had a strong game.”
• Franklin says Burns was scheduled to play: Even with Chris Todd listed at the top of Auburn's quarterback depth chart, offensive coordinator Tony Franklin said he knew Kodi Burns was going to play at some point Saturday.
“I knew he was going to play,” said Franklin. “It wasn't a matter of if Chris stunk it up out there.”
Asked after the game whether Todd would remain his starting quarterback, Tuberville said yes.
“He played most of the game, and he did a pretty good job,” said Tuberville. “But we'll keep seeing what we need to do in each game.”
Tuberville added he was pleased with the overall offensive effort.
“It was much, much better this week,” he said. “That's what we need getting ready for SEC play.”
• Shutout ended: It had been a while since anyone had scored on Auburn's defense.
A long while.
When Southern Miss scored its first touchdown of the day with 3:23 left in the third quarter, it marked the first time Auburn's defense had given up points in almost nine months.
The last time the Tigers conceded was Dec. 31 in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl against Clemson.
And Paul Rhoads' unit knew it, too.
“It was real disappointing,” said junior linebacker Tray Blackmon. “But you can't do a thing about it. You've got to put it in the back of your mind and keep moving forward.
“It would have been nice to have a shutout, but those guys came up here to play.”
Both of Southern Miss' touchdowns came from senior tight end Shawn Nelson, who Auburn's coaches called one of the best receivers the Tigers will see this year.
“They have some of the best receivers that we'll see this year, period,” said Tuberville.
“Those guys came to play, but we also came to play,” added Blackmon. “That's how the game should be played.”
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