Chattanooga @ Auburn preview
Jordan-Hare Stadium
Auburn has its sights on a BCS title game. UT-Chattanooga is holding out hope for a winning season in the Football Championship Subdivision.
It's a good week for Auburn (9-0, No. 2 BCS) to rest the weary and peek ahead to Georgia. UTC (5-3) wants a good showing to redeem itself after Saturday's 49-35 loss to Elon.
Auburn beat Ole Miss 51-31 last Saturday as Heisman contender Cam Newton compiled a relatively modest 274 yards total offense and three touchdowns (two passing and his first of the year as a receiver).
For the season, the 6-foot-6, 250-pound junior quarterback has passed for 1,573 yards, 15 touchdowns and five interceptions; rushed for an SEC-leading 1,122 yards on 168 carries (a 6.7-yard average) and 14 touchdowns; and caught two passes for 42 yards and one touchdown. Newton has 399 more rushing yards than anyone else in the SEC, which hasn't seen a quarterback rushing champion since Auburn's Jimmy Sidle in 1963.
Auburn's No. 2 rusher, freshman Michael Dyer, has 723 yards and four touchdowns on 120 carries. In the win over Ole Miss, Dyer ran for 180 yards and senior cornerback Demond Washington returned five kickoffs for 176 yards, including a 95-yard touchdown; he also made six tackles and intercepted a pass.
Auburn is ranked fourth nationally in rushing offense (307.7), sixth in total offense (496.2) and 10th in scoring offense (40.0).
Auburn's Nick Fairley leads the SEC and is tied for third nationally in tackles for loss with 18.0, and also has 7.5 sacks. Senior linebacker Josh Bynes leads Auburn in tackles for the second straight year with 55.
UTC, primarily a passing team, averages 32.6 points and 440 yards of offense a game. The Mocs have held opponents to 27.8 points per game and are 4-2 in the Southern Conference.
Last week's wild loss to Elon snapped a five-game winning streak and dropped UTC from No. 20 out of the FCS top 25. The Mocs committed a season-high six turnovers, but also recovered four fumbles. UTC gained 504 yards of offense to Elon's 490.
Junior B.J. Coleman threw for five touchdowns and five interceptions, going 33 of 63 for 386 yards. Junior Joel Bradford made 11 catches for 152 yards and leads the nation with 128.4 receiving yards a game. Coleman is fifth in the FCS, averaging 282.1 yards per game and is on a hot streak, having thrown for 818 yards in the last two games.
UTC linebacker Ryan Consiglio had a game-high 16 tackles against Elon and has 91 for the season. UTC's Kadeem Wise has six interceptions, which is tied for second nationally.
Auburn leads the all-time series 20-0.