Larry Brown Sports

Thanks to the infamous tree poisoner who played one of the cruelest pranks in college sports rivalry history, Auburn fans had to bid farewell to their 130-year old Toomer’s Corner oak trees on Saturday.

According to AL.com, a record 83,401 fans packed into Jordan-Hare Stadium to watch the Tigers’ annual spring game. Before, during and after the game, fans stopped by Toomer’s Corner to roll the oak trees for the last time before their removal on Tuesday. As expected, the toilet paper was at an all-time high. Check out some of these photos that were posted on Reddit over the weekend.

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Mike McNeil, a safety on Auburn’s 2010 national championship football team, has accused the program of academic fraud, paying players, violating recruiting rules, and targeting players based on looks for random drug testing, according to a report by Roopstigo.

McNeil is one of four former Auburn football players who were kicked off the team after being charged with armed robbery in 2011. One of the players, Antonio Goodwin, was found guilty last year and sentenced to 15 years in prison. McNeil refuses to take a plea deal because he insists his innocence. He is scheduled to go to trial on April 8.

In an excellent investigative report by Selena Roberts, formerly of Sports Illustrated and The New York Times, McNeil levies numerous accusations against Auburn’s football program. He says the program and school disassociated themselves from the players after the charges. His mother also accuses Auburn and the local police of trying to keep the armed robbery story from the media.

According to Roberts, academic fraud in the form of grade changing was common at Auburn. Three Auburn players say they were told as many as nine of their teammates would be ineligible to play in the BCS National Championship Game on Jan. 10, 2011, but somehow all of them were cleared. McNeil says he had a grade changed from an F to a C after going through the athletic department (he had no luck having the grade changed when he approached the teacher and the teacher’s boss).

Roberts documents instances of Auburn paying players. Former wide receiver Darvin Adams, who led the team with 52 catches and 963 yards during the 2010 season, says coaches offered to pay him thousands to keep him from entering the NFL Draft. He left school and went undrafted. A scout reportedly says Auburn coaches gave negative reports to NFL teams about him.

McNeil says former Auburn defensive coordinator Will Muschamp, now the head coach at Florida, gave him $400 in cash after a practice. McNeil indicates there was no real motivation for the payment. He also says coaches gave players much more than the $50 maximum allowable daily amount for students hosting recruits for visits. He says the amount would be as much as $500 when they were hosting a top recruit, such as Dre Kilpatrick, who eventually signed with Alabama and became a first-round pick in the NFL Draft.

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There was once a time when five-star linebacker recruit Reuben Foster was so certain he would be playing college ball at Auburn that he got a tattoo to prove it. Then, the Tigers struggled through a 3-9 season and fired Gene Chizik. According to Al.com, Foster has decommitted from Auburn and is now considering Georgia, Alabama, LSU, Washington and Miami. So, about that tattoo…

After the news began circulating that he had decommitted from Auburn on Tuesday, Foster posted the following message on Twitter:

Not getting rid of the tattoo supporting my big cuz Ladarius Phillip R.I.P#keepingit

— Reuben Foster (@reubenfoster_FG) December 7, 2012

Former Auburn player Ladarious Phillips (Foster should probably learn how to spell his cousin’s name) was killed in a shooting that took place near the Auburn campus last summer. I’m sure whatever school Foster decides to commit to will respect his tattoo tribute, but I can’t imagine there have ever been many Auburn tattoos in the Alabama locker room. Remember, we’re talking about fan bases that poison each other’s trees.

It’s no surprise that Foster no longer wants to play at Auburn after they fired Chizik and dismissed all of their assistant coaches. However, his story should serve as a lesson to college recruits across the country. Don’t use ink to make your announcements — haircuts get the message across just fine.

If you’re thinking about becoming an Auburn fan, now’s the time to load up on some gear. As Twitter user Graham Reaves noted with the photo seen above, Auburn merchandise is on sale in light of the team’s horrid 1-6 start to the season.

The 1-6 Tigers are going through an unprecedentedly bad run. They have become the first team in the AP Poll era to start 1-6 within two years of winning a national championship.

If Auburn fans have their way, coach Gene Chizik will be joining the T-shirts in the clearance section.

Laugh it up while you can, Bama fans, because one day this will be your fate.

via Darren Rovell

Last Saturday’s game between Mississippi State and Auburn was never really close. Through a scoreless quarter of play it looked like we could be in for a defensive struggle between two tough SEC teams, but the Bulldogs soon began to pull away and never looked back. Auburn was unable to get anything going on offense, and starting quarterback Kiehl Frazier completed only 13-of-22 passes for 125 yards, no touchdowns and three interceptions in the 28-10 loss. It was almost as if Mississippi State knew the plays.

According to senior defensive back Corey Broomfield, the Bulldogs did know the plays.

“We do a great job of preparing and we knew what the play was before they ever ran them,” Broomfield told The Dispatch. “That’s not a joke. We knew what they were doing, where the ball was going and who was getting it before the ball was snapped.”

“It makes our job as coaches so much easier when (linebacker) Cam Lawrence is signaling over his head every time they were calling a pass,” Mississippi State linebackers coach Geoff Collins added.

Lawrence said he and his teammates were able to “get into (Frazier’s) head” and could tell he was confused when they called out the plays he had signaled. As Dr. Saturday pointed out, Auburn has closed practices this week to everyone except players, coaches and team staff. Tigers head coach Gene Chizik called it a problem that the team can rectify, but obviously it’s something that they are taking seriously and are at least mildly concerned over.

ESPN Films aired its special on the Auburn-Alabama college football rivalry Tuesday. The film, titled Roll Tide War Eagle, discussed the hate between the two schools and its fan bases. It specifically covered the past two college football seasons, one won by each of the schools.

During the documentary, Auburn coach Gene Chizik explains how he was able to land eventual Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton.

“In our recruitment of Cam Newton, we sold our offense. We sold Auburn,” Chizik said. “And we told him that ‘If you’ll just follow this plan, we feel like we can make all your dreams come true.’ And he went with it.”

Chizik’s explanation is comical for two reasons, both of which should be apparent.

First off, Chizik’s word choice was curious. If anyone was being sold between Cam Newton and Auburn, it was Cam, by his father, for the alleged price of $180,000. Secondly, do we really believe that Cam chose Auburn because he believed in their offensive system? Or is it because he went to the highest bidder, as was alleged?

Interesting and ironic choice of words for Chizik. Why bring up bad memories and old controversies if you don’t have to?

Those of who you who are familiar with the Cam Newton pay-for-play scandal know exactly why Mississippi State fans hate Auburn now even more than they used to.  In fact, it is believed that Mississippi State head coach Dan Mullen is the one who leaked the Newton information to begin with.  Needless to say, fans still have not gotten over the Newton situation.

As the Bulldogs prepare to take on Auburn this weekend, restaurants and local establishments in Starkville are doing their part to pump up the community.  Check out this Starkville coffeehouse Auburn sign, courtesy of Twitter user @stuartreese:

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