Ahh, the Chick-fil-A Bowl, where 7-5 Auburn wore their home blue jerseys to meet an 8-4 Virginia team that wore some bad orange jersey-helmet combo. Where there was a shaker and a plush cow toy at every seat. Also, thousands of them were parachuting from the catwalk. It may have been the largest airborne insertion since Market Garden:
Oh, yes, the football game. Auburn won 43-24.
Auburn’s defense had trouble getting to Virginia’s quarterback and the Tigers started slow. Fortunately, when the QB was on target his receivers weren’t helping. And he missed a few receivers. Still, Virginia would finish with 312 yards passing.
Auburn’s starting quarterback Clint Moseley went out early with a bad ankle.
Kiehl Frazier, 10, scored two touchdowns and had 58 yards rushing. He had the team at the goal line to score again at the end of the game, but the Tigers killed the clock. After the game he said he doesn’t really like rushing. Read: he’d rather be a quarterback than a 3.4 yards per carry novelty act.
Perry Jones had 32 yards for the Cavs, who finished the game 123 yards on the ground.
With Auburn’s Mike Dyer suspended indefinitely from the team, the rushing duties fell to Onterio McCalebb, who finished with 180 yards and a score on 13 total touches and the MVP award and the young Tre Mason, pictured here, who had nine carries, 64 yards and this 22-yard touchdown out of the backfield.
Gabe Wright eats quarterbacks. The freshman’s sack, Auburn’s only one of the night, set up a blocked punt safety that helped turned the game in Auburn’s favor.
Auburn’s Barrett Trotter, who started the first half of the season but was pulled for Clint Moseley midway through the Florida game with injuries mounting and a stalling offense, came on in relief tonight. He finished with 175 yards and a touchdown passing, including a beautiful 50-yard bomb. He looked calm and collected, gaining 52 yards on the ground.
More important than his stats and steady leadership, he received a great compliment from his coach after the game. Gene Chizik told reporters that if his own son grew up to be like Barrett Trotter he would have done his job as a father.
And so the season ends, with players playing in their first bowl game — in the first half! — outnumbering the team’s entire complement of seniors. There were only five seniors who have been on the team since they signed out of high school. There are only about 15 seniors all told, including transfers and walk-ons given scholarships, wearing the orange and blue. The numbers were low because of the usual reasons: injuries, attrition, leaving school, coaching changes and so on.
The seniors have seen Auburn football at its lowest and its highest, coaching change turmoil and a national championship. In their last three years they’ve scratched out 30 wins, three bowl victories, an SEC championship, an Outland award winner, a Heisman and a national championship.
