Burns shows how bright future is for Tigers
One of college football's best December bowl games is a gridiron grudge match that used to be known as the Peach Bowl. But if corporate bowl names are the wave of the future, this much has to be said: how fitting that a spring chicken fill-in won this year's Chick-fil-A Bowl.
Kodi Burns, a feisty freshman quarterback who filled in on selected snaps for senior signal caller Brandon Cox, made the money plays that carried Auburn to a narrow win over Clemson in the Chick-fil-A Bowl.
The first-ever overtime game in the history of Atlanta's Peach of a pageant witnessed the future of Auburn football. The fact that the future produced a present-tense victory only made the occasion that much sweeter for Tommy Tuberville, who sighed with relief after beating a man named Bowden in this tussle of the two "Tommy Tigers."
The future of Auburn football was on display in this contest because the SEC version of the Tommy Tigers trotted out their spread offense under brand-new offensive coordinator Tony Franklin, hired from Troy University on Dec. 12 to replace the departed Al Borges. In less than a full week, a new playbook was installed for this bowl battle, and while Auburn didn't exactly run wild in the Georgia Dome, the Tommy Tigers from Alabama beat their ACC adversary because they displayed just enough variety to carry the day.
Burns has a lot to work on as a passer, but the fact remained that when his team really needed clutch plays, the youngster used his legs (and occasionally his arm) to deliver game-changing touchdowns, including the winner in overtime on a seven-yard scamper. The shiftiness and speed of a running quarterback gave Auburn an X-factor in a game with precious little "O."
While Clemson's offense struggled mightily in an inconsistent performance that was all too reminiscent of the painful loss to Boston College at the end of the regular season, Auburn hardly set the world on fire as well. Both of the Tommy Tigers tried hard but frequently floundered in a game that was fiercely fought but frightfully flawed.
With Aaron Kelly dropping still more passes for Clemson and Cox making more horrible throws for Auburn, fans of both Tiger teams had more than enough negative flashbacks on a New Year's Eve night that's supposed to be cause for a party. The difference in this punt-filled pigskin parade turned out to be none other than Kodi Burns, who ignited Auburn's offense precisely when the Tuberville Tigers were in trouble against Bowden's boys.
Burns brought Auburn back from 7-3 and 17-10 deficits, using his running ability to exploit Clemson's defense and overcome an interception thrown by Cox that enabled Clemson to take a touchdown lead in the fourth quarter.
Auburn didn't fool its opponent by any stretch of the imagination, but after showing the power running game with Brad Lester for much of the evening, Burns's running from the quarterback position gave Auburn the change of pace it needed to put together touchdown drives.
For most of this game, Cox directed the new-look Auburn offense in a move that was akin to rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. Having the same inconsistent quarterback leading an offensive system designed for a Pat White or Tim Tebow did nothing to add value to the Tuberville side of the ledger in this two-Tommy coaching collision. It was only when Burns — a player more suited to the spread look — received more snaps that things really began to turn around for Auburn.
To his great and everlasting credit, Cox — a hard worker, a quality kid, and a team player who represents the very best values in collegiate athletics — never sulked in his last collegiate game.
Despite playing poorly — and tossing the interception that nearly pushed his team into the loss colum — Cox scraped himself off the deck to make a few timely throws that put Burns in a position to work his magic. Had Cox not gained a first down on a fourth-and-inches play in overtime, Clemson — not Auburn — would have been the triumphant team of Tigers in this tense and teasing affair.
But at the end of a night that came at 11:25 p.m. ET, just 35 minutes before the departure of 2007 in Atlanta, it was Kodi Burns — the face of 2008 and beyond — who gave Auburn fans a delicious glimpse of the future.
The man who threw for one touchdown ran in the winning one, answering the call whenever his coach called his name. Clemson fans, meanwhile, were left with a familiar view of heartbreak, courtesy of another undeserved stomach-punch moment for one of America's most loyal and enthusiastic fan bases.
The future Burns brightly for Auburn, courtesy of some quarterbacking heroics in the city known for being burned in 1864. Tommy Tuberville knows how to light a fire under his team, but after this peachy victory in the Chick-fil-A Bowl, these SEC Tigers are hoping that Kodi Kodi Burns will light up some scoreboards in 2008.
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