FanHouse JohnVaughn

In their loss to George Mason on Tuesday night, Virginia Commonwealth turned in an uncharacteristically weak defensive performance. The Patriots took over in the second half and cruised to a 12-point win that kept the CAA a two-team race. Rams coach Anthony Grant couldn't have been happy with that performance and must have done something about it in practice this week. Yesterday VCU was impenetrable during their 65-42 win against Towson.

Only one Tiger had more than six points and they made fewer shots than the Rams had steals. Towson was 14-of-55 from the floor while VCU stole the ball 17 times, including seven by Joey Rodriguez. Larry Sanders had seven blocks, which makes you wonder if the Tigers might have been better off just taking shot clock violations every time down the floor. The Commonwealth offense never took off, they shot just 36.8%, which is why the specter of Mason's win wasn't completely erased.

The Patriots turned in a defensive effort almost as impressive in their 72-46 win against James Madison and complemented it with an offensive showing that's beyond the Rams. Folarin Campbell had 20 points and John Vaughn scored 19 in a 53% showing from the floor. Their early season struggles look well behind them after a strong week.

GMU's offensive depth is unrivaled within the league, as is VCU's defensive prowess. When the CAA tournament final comes, it will be a shock and disappointment if we don't get a rematch between the league's best offense and its best defense.

It won't be a game that shows up on ESPN Classic anytime soon, but Auburn fans are all smiles tonight after a 17-14 win over Nebraska. Auburn shook off some first half rust and overcame the worst officiating of the bowl season to squeak out a win on a cold day at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.

The win gives the Tigers their second 11+ win season in the last three years and all but guarantees a finish in the top 10. "That was typical Auburn, win and win ugly," said Auburn head coach Tommy Tuberville. "That's how this team has done it all year. They scrap and claw."

Call it what you will coach, but it was mighty satisfying. How fitting that the game was won on big plays made by Auburn seniors. Karibi Dede's interception in the first half was the game changer. And how about Cotton Bowl Offensive MVP Courtney Taylor? Needing four catches to become Auburn's career receiving leader, Taylor finished the game with 6 catches for 70 yards. He ends his career with 153 catches, two more than previous record holder Karsten Bailey.

Here's a story that will make you smile. Auburn senior kicker John Vaughn has been named a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award given annually to the top place kicker in the country. Vaughn is one of my favorites. He battled through one of the worst nights in college football history when he missed five field goals against LSU last year.

Since that night, there has been no one in college football who's been better. He is currently ranked second in the country in field goals with 17 and his field goal percentage of 85 percent is second best in the land among those who have made 20 or more attempts.

Vaughn currently leads the SEC in scoring, averaging 8.6 points a game. Twice this season he has kicked four field goals in a game - against Washington State and Florida. Vaughn is Auburn's all-time leading scorer with 295 career points, that's 14th most in SEC history. You'd have to say that's pretty impressive stuff. Nothing would make me happier then to see Vaughn grab the award.

The three finalist will be announced on November 20th and the presentation will be made on December 7th.

Shhh! Don't look now but the hottest field goal kicker in the country resides on the Plains of Auburn and his name is John Vaughn. It's not often that one gets to confront his worst fears. Vaughn will get that chance on Saturday when LSU comes to town.

No one has to be reminded of last year. It was perhaps the single worst performance by a kicker in the history of SEC football. That's not a stretch. On the flip side, the recovery by Vaughn is one of the great story lines heading into the 2006 season.

How hot is John Vaughn? Since last year's LSU game, he's connected on 10 of 12 attempts. He kicked the winning field goal last season against Georgia. And on opening night, he carried the Tigers through the first half with four field goals.

Talk about fortitude. Vaughn knows all about it. "If you've ever seen a player have a bad game, they can take it for a career almost," says Auburn linebacker Karibi Dede. "To see him bounce back and rebuild his confidence the way he did and come into this season with his confidence as high as it is, it's great to see."

Vaughn has worked hard not just on his mind, but also on his body. He's kicking farther than ever as evidenced by last week's 55 yard field goal against Mississippi State, the fourth longest in school history. So far this season, Vaughn is 6 of 7 on kicks and hit 86% of his attempts during preseason practice.

John Vaughn looks forward to Saturday. That should make us all feel good. We'll probably need him... late in the game.

Auburn's game Saturday at Mississippi State made you feel good all over. Bradon Cox overcame a somewhat slow start against Washington State last week to post a solid performance over the Bulldogs. Throwing for 249 yards, it was his third best outing as a Tiger. John Vaughn got into the right mindset for LSU by connecting on a 55 yard field goal. And Courtney Taylor looked like he did in 2004, having the best day of his career statistically.

Heading into Saturday night, it felt great to be an Auburn Tiger.

Then, I turned on the LSU-Arizona game and got a reality check. Wow. LSU looked every bit as good as Auburn. It manhandled a supposedly good Arizona team 45-3. The Bayou Bengals have outscored their last three opponents 130-9. And they haven't given up a touchdown in 14 quarters. That's pretty heady stuff.

Everyone was thinking it. Could Auburn live up to the expectations? Could they handle the season opening jitters? Not since 1990 had an Auburn team been ranked so high coming into a season.

As fans tailgated around Jordan-Hare Stadium yesteday, the subject always managed to come up. "Hey man, how have you been? Are these your kids? Really? Wow they've grown since I last saw them. Do you want a beer? Well what do you think? Can we handle it tonight? Can we get it done this time?"

That conversation took place thousands of times around campus Saturday afternoon.

The Auburn defense answered that question quickly, setting the tone with three sacks in Washington State's first three pass attempts. It looked like Stanley McClover and T.J. Jackson were still playing against the Tide. From there, Kenny Irons and John Vaughn took over, leading Auburn to a convincing 40-14 season opening win against Washingtion State.