April 26, 2009

Auburn walks away from matchup with UCLA

Nice to see that the regime change at Auburn hasn't threatened the Tigers' reputation of frequently ducking big out-of-conference games.

The Tigers have made a sport of cancelling series. AU dropped Florida State, Clemson, Virginia Tech, and the list goes on. Auburn even dropped Villanova for 2006.

The Atlanta Sports Council approached Auburn this month to lock in a season-opening Chick-fil-A College Kickoff in the Georgia Dome, just as the Alabama Crimson Tide did last season and this fall. The opponent? UCLA. Auburn AD Jay Jacobs said thanks but no thanks.

The reasons? Oh, the Tigers have plenty. Their 2010 schedule is already complete. AU already has one non-conference game against a BCS opponent in 2010. Auburn wants eight home games in 2010.

BS. B freakin S.

Schedules can be changed - it happens all the time, especially for games that are 17 months out. Virginia Tech pulled the trigger on a schedule change in December - just nine months out - in order to participate in this year's game in Atlanta against the Crimson Tide.

As for having one non-con BCS opponent already... who cares?! You're AUBURN. Lace em up and play. But the Tigers consistently refuse the opportunity and -- until they do -- AU is not going to have the national respect of Tennessee or Alabama, schools that have shown they aren't afraid to line up with anyone.

Kevin Scarbinsky of the Birmingham News takes the Tigers to task for ignoring the intangibles of a nationally featured game against UCLA.

It would give the Auburn players extra motivation throughout the offseason. Ask the Alabama players what that edge did for them last year.

It would put Auburn in the spotlight, and let's face it. Auburn has to go the extra mile to earn national respect. It's not many miles to Atlanta, which offered a national stage in a home-away-from-home setting.

It would be one more counter to the flawed but persistent argument that a weak non-conference schedule kept the undefeated 2004 Auburn team out of the BCS championship game.

You would think Auburn would have learned its lesson about non-conference scheduling in 2004.

Or, maybe those "People's Champion" rings are good enough on the Plains. They had better be. If the Tigers aren't going to man up on their scheduling, there won't be any real championship rings to be had for years to come.

Comments:

Auburn walks away from matchup with UCLA
Nice to see that the regime change at Auburn hasn't threatened the Tigers' reputation of frequently ducking big out-of-conference games. The Tigers have made a sport of cancelling series. AU dropped Florida State, Clemson, Virginia Tech, and the list goes on. Auburn even dropped Villanova for 2006. The Atlanta Sports Council approached Auburn this month to lock in a season-opening Chick-fil-A College Kickoff in the Georgia Dome, just as the Alabama Crimson Tide did last season and this fall. The opponent? UCLA. Auburn AD Jay Jacobs said thanks but no thanks. The reasons? Oh, the Tigers have plenty. Their 2010 schedule is already complete. AU already has one non-conference game against a BCS opponent in 2010. Auburn wants eight home games in 2010. BS. B freakin S. Schedules can be changed - it happens all the time, especially for games that are 17 months out. Virginia Tech pulled the trigger on a schedule change in December - just nine months out - in order to participate in this year's game in Atlanta against the Crimson Tide. As for having one non-con BCS opponent already... who cares?! You're AUBURN. Lace em up and play. But the Tigers consistently refuse the opportunity and -- until they do -- AU is not going to have the national respect of Tennessee or Alabama, schools that have shown they aren't afraid to line up with anyone. Kevin Scarbinsky of the Birmingham News takes the Tigers to task for ignoring the intangibles of a nationally featured game against UCLA.
It would give the Auburn players extra motivation throughout the offseason. Ask the Alabama players what that edge did for them last year. It would put Auburn in the spotlight, and let's face it. Auburn has to go the extra mile to earn national respect. It's not many miles to Atlanta, which offered a national stage in a home-away-from-home setting. It would be one more counter to the flawed but persistent argument that a weak non-conference schedule kept the undefeated 2004 Auburn team out of the BCS championship game.
You would think Auburn would have learned its lesson about non-conference scheduling in 2004. Or, maybe those "People's Champion" rings are good enough on the Plains. They had better be. If the Tigers aren't going to man up on their scheduling, there won't be any real championship rings to be had for years to come.