Cox back in charge at Auburn
LITTLE ROCK--By getting back on track and in front of Kodi Burns, Auburn quarterback Brandon Cox did Houston Nutt a favor of sorts.
Cox was supposed to be a strength of the Tigers, a highly efficient passer and a proven winner who was good in spring practice and even better in the preseason. In losses to South Florida and Mississippi State, his numbers were a source of consternation. A 59 percent passer for his career, he was 16-of-35 vs. USF and 4-of-10 vs. MSU with two interceptions per outing. His first throw vs. the Bulldogs bounced off a senior tight end and was returned for a touchdown; on the next possession, he threw into triple coverage.
Difficult to rattle, this is an older-than-most who had won at Arkansas, Kentucky, Georgia, MSU, South Carolina, Ole Miss and Alabama in 2005-06. Alabama's Mr. Football, Cox suffered a concussion in a car accident just prior to fall practice in 2002 that aggravated a neuromuscular condition. He missed the fall semester, re-enrolled in January, went through spring practice and then redshirted for the 2003 season.
Mark Murphy, publisher of Inside the Auburn Tigers, has been around Cox since he arrived on campus and had never seen him upset until the day after the Mississippi State loss. Barely a month from his 24th birthday, Cox had been demoted to No. 2 behind Kodi Burns.
Whether Nutt was aware of that development or not, Kodi Burns' promotion was a potential land mine for a coach already criticized on many fronts. As most Arkansas fans know, Kodi Burns played his high school football in Fort Smith, an hour from Fayetteville. There was a theory that Kodi Burns headed to Auburn because he didn't want to compete with Mitch Mustain, the former Springdale standout who was a year ahead of him, but has since transferred to USC.
Someone broached that to Kodi Burns, Murphy said, and "that was the only time I ever heard his dander get up about anything." Kodi Burns made it clear that he had no qualms about competing against Mustain, Murphy said.
His take was that Kodi Burns sees himself as a passer and that he wasn't crazy about the Arkansas offense.
Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville has called Kodi Burns the Tigers' quarterback of the future. The irony is that, more than once, he has said that Kodi Burns' athletic ability will enable Auburn to expand its offense. In other words, run more bootlegs and such.
Although Kodi Burns started against New Mexico State, Cox regained his job by completing 13-of-19 for 135 yards. The following week, he was 17-of-26 for 227 yards in a 20-17 victory over then-No. 4 Florida in Gainesville. With things well in hand, he gave way to Kodi Burns after completing 14-of-17 against Vanderbilt last week.
Murphy talked to offensive coordinator Al Borges after the Florida victory and Borges said, "I told them all along, this is not rocket science. Don't turn the ball over, play smart, play efficiently and we're going to win a lot of games, especially the way we play defense."
After suffering a total of 10 turnovers against South Florida and MSU, Auburn was No. 117 in the country in turnover margin. The Tigers lost one fumble against Florida and suffered one interception against Vanderbilt. The Tigers were No. 74 last week; Arkansas was No. 87.
Kodi Burns scored the first touchdown against Florida on a 6-yard run and will play some against Arkansas. In fact, he could be in the game at the same time as Cox.
One freshman from Arkansas who will start is Lee Ziemba. His status won't get as much attention because he's an offensive lineman and both his parents attended Auburn. Auburn coaches thought he might play some this fall, but five guys got a shot at the right tackle spot and by the end of fall practice, Ziemba was clearly the best.
Squarely in the Western Division race at 2-1, Auburn needs a victory to set up next week's game against LSU. At 0-2 in the SEC, Arkansas is up against it and must-win has been mentioned.
Only two of Nutt's first nine teams have started 0-3 in conference play. The 2001 team followed with six straight victories and finished 4-4 in the SEC; the 2005 team swept the Mississippi schools for a 2-6 league record.
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