AUBURN | Three times in the last four games, Auburn has trailed by double digits only to comeback and win. The Tigers were down 19 at Ole Miss, 11 at Arkansas and 15 against LSU before thrilling turnarounds.
Auburn is clearly a team full of players with a lot of self belief and mental toughness, and they’ve probably got a couple more big comebacks in their future, but at some point they’re going to have put forth more consistent 40-minute efforts if they’re going to win the SEC Championship and make another run in the NCAA Tournament.
It would also be a relief for Charles Barkley, who called the last two wins fun but stressful on the Auburn Network’s postgame show.
Four of AU’s final eight regular season games are on the road including a rematch with Kentucky Feb. 29 in Lexington. Auburn’s opponents are going to improve and mature and play better over the next few week as we move closer to March Madness. The Tigers need to do the same starting with Wednesday night’s rematch against Alabama, which gave AU its first loss of the season 83-64 in Tuscaloosa.
There should be plenty of motivation for Auburn to come out of the gates strong against the Tide and perhaps give Barkley and Auburn fans another fun, but more relaxing viewing experience.
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Looking back at Signing Day, I think it’s a very good overall class and deserving of its top 10 ranking. I really like what Rodney Garner did, again, with his defensive line recruiting and winning a bunch of key out-of-state battles, what Travis Williams did reloading his group of linebackers, the talented and tall group of receivers signed by Kodi Burns, Carnell Williams’ nabbing a top running back and what Larry Porter did, with an assist from Chad Morris, landing two talented tight ends/H-backs.
I remain concerned over Auburn’s offensive line recruiting and especially the inability to sign a highly-rated high school offensive tackle. Another big issue is that even with a No. 10 finish in the Rivals.com rankings, the Tigers are still behind six other SEC teams including four they play on an annual basis. Clemson and Ohio State, of course, also finished with top five classes. If Auburn wants to make consistent and legitimate runs at a spot in the college football playoffs, the staff and especially Malzahn are still going to have to kick it up another notch on the recruiting trail.
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In today's musical journey, we go back 17 years to the release of one the top hip hop albums of the 2000s. Get Rich or Die Tryin’ was released on Feb. 6, 2003, becoming the best-selling album of 2003. It was nominated for a Grammy as Best Rap Album and won the Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Album at the 2003 American Music Awards. The debut studio album for 50 Cent included Dr. Dre and Eminem as executive producers and contains guest appearances from Eminem, Young Buck and Nate Dogg. The album contained several hits including In da Club, 21 Questions and P.I.M.P.
50 Cent was born as Curtis James Jackson III in Queens, N.Y. in 1975. His mother, a drug dealer, died in a fire when he was 8 and he was raised by his grandmother. He was involved in boxing as a youth and also sold drugs starting at the age of 12. He survived being shot nine times at the age of 24 by Mike Tyson’s former bodyguard, Darryl Baum, who was killed three weeks later. 50 Cent has gone on to sell over 30 million albums worldwide, won a Grammy and 13 Billboard Music Awards. He’s also had several acting credits including his semi-autobiographical Get Rich or Die Tryin’ in 2005, 2006’s Home of the Brave and 2008’s Righteous Kill. He is also an executive producer and star of the Stars T.V. show Power.
In da Club was 50 Cent’s first No. 1 hit and is listed by Rolling Stone No. 13 on the Best Songs of the Decade.
