Beyond Buckeye Lines: Is it an Auburn Tiger or an Eagle?
Mike Meals via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
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This week, ‘Beyond Buckeye Lines’ makes its triumphant return after a technical mishap. I still don’t know exactly what happened, but I am still Brian Kelly mad that I wasn’t able to bring you my interview with an LSU fan.
Instead, I went a little further east, to the Plains of the state of Alabama, and found someone who is either a War Damn Eagle or a Tiger, and I don’t know how to differentiate the two. Joining me today is a good friend of mine, Houston Native and Auburn die-hard fan Dez, who’s sense of humor and fandom can be found on twitter at
@MX5Monroe. As a warning, I know my twitter game is not rated PG, and Ms. Monroe and I get along really well, take that as you will.
As an example, when asked “Who are you,” she replies with Marylin.
As I mentioned before, our guest this week is a Houston native who has found her way right into the heart of SEC country and currently resides in the ATL. When asked about her background and how she became an Auburn fan, Dez tells me “I’d been a moderate NFL fan growing up in Houston during the Oilers era. When I began dating my husband Kelly and he shared his insanity for college football, specifically Auburn and the SEC, I was hooked. I witnessed him shed tears when Auburn battled against LSU in 2005.When that fifth and final missed field goal hit the upright that’s when I knew.
“This is really why I married him.”
Ahh, isn’t college football great? Bringing together people over their shared anguish and heartbreak to better our nation.
How is football life on the Plains?
STARKVILLE, MS – OCTOBER 8: Quarterback Sean White #13 of the Auburn Tigers signals a touchdown as the Auburn Tigers score against the Mississippi State Bulldogs during the first half of an NCAA college football game on October 8, 2016 in Starkville, Mississippi. (Photo by Butch Dill/Getty Images)
Last week, Auburn did something that nearly no one was predicting possible this year during fall camp. They managed to not only beat an SEC team on the road, but they found their way back into the AP Top 25 poll. The Tigers managed to knock off Mississippi State in Starkville 38-14, and was rewarded for sliding into their current #23 ranking in the AP Poll. And, they did it while getting to enjoy the lovely serenade of the Cowbells at MSU. This week, Auburn has the daunting task of beating up on Auburn, a game they should be able to handle (read: Auburn has a bye week).
I asked Dez about the game last week, and she gives a simple answer. “Last week we won comfortably. We played a lot better than anyone expected us to.”
What a relief that must be, what with our Buckeyes not being able to make the exact same claims. The Tiger faithful have their minds set on their upcoming matchup with every Buckeye’s favorite former B1G coach, Coach Bert of the Fighting Arkansas Karmas.
When pressed for a prediction, Dez tells me “My prediction is that our Offense will continue to get better and our Defense has been rock solid. I say we win by two touchdowns. I see us scoring +30 points again.”
Personally, I don’t think any of our readers here at The Buckeye Battle Cry would be saddened to see Bert get beat down in Auburn. (on the field of course, not with tree poison — the Crimson Tide status quo.)
Thoughts on Ohio State and the B1G
“I don’t really think about them,” is the answer given to me when asked for her thoughts on Ohio State. What I can say though, through the years, Dez has actually been one of the coolest Auburn fans, being more than willing to send congratulations to her Buckeye friends after big moments. So I think she is just falling behind her SEC fandom here, but I will let it slide. Although she did share a common sentiment on what she thinks most Auburn fans think of OSU.
“We think more often than not that they’re overrated.”
I did get a bit of a laugh though when asked about the Big Ten as a whole.
“You have one or two teams in the conference that are decent/good,” she tells me. “It’s really not exciting until they play each other.”
I had to laugh at this, because this seems to be true of every Power 5 conference, especially this season.
In regards to topics close to the heart of Buckeye Nation, Dez thinks Michigan wins the Big Ten this year, but in typical southern belle style, she did apologize to her Buckeye friends. She also thinks J.T. Barrett’s stats are over-inflated, because in her mind, “…he really hasn’t had any tough competition yet. I think he’ll remain in the Heisman talk but stay in 4th or 5th place until the end of the year when they play Michigan. There just aren’t enough signature games on the schedule where he’s tested.”
When asked about her view on Urban Meyer, a simple “Once an enemy, always an enemy” was given, based on his time beating the snot out of Auburn at Florida. However, I did want to point out that the Auburn fans should be grateful to Urban, for he delivered them Cam Newton.
For the first time this season, I had a guest tell me they would rather play Michigan over Ohio State, not because it would be an easier win, but because they thought it would be a great game. Personally, after watching a little of Auburn this year, I think she’s right, and I think Auburn could slow down the Wolverines. Although when asked if she would rather play Ohio State in the CFP or in the regular season, Dez says she would rather face the Buckeyes in the playoffs.
“…I don’t think they win the big games,” she added. “In 2013, Michigan State upset OSU in the B1G Championship, allowing Auburn to play in the National Championship game.”
Thanks for reminding us of that.
TUSCALOOSA, AL – NOVEMBER 29: The Auburn Tigers lines up against the Alabama Crimson Tide during the second half of the Iron Bowl at Bryant-Denny Stadium on November 29, 2014 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Predictions for the rest of the season
I love the eternal optimism of College Football fans. I asked for a prediction for the rest of the year, and was told “We’re only going to lose 2 more games because this is my dream and I’m dreaming it!”. The sad part is when looking at the remainder of Auburn’s season, that’s actually a good prediction. They play Alabama, of course. And then either Georgia or Ole Miss could easily be that second team. If the Tigers get past Arkansas next week, I think she may be on to something here.
When asked about this week’s visit to Camp Randall, Dez tells me “I predict Ohio State loses to Wisconsin in a close game at Wisconsin. I could be wrong and if I am, I take back what I said about Ohio State being overrated.” Unfortunately, this won’t be a correct prediction, and she will have to take it all back. But as we all know, no recent trip to Madison has been easy for OSU.
As for the eventual SEC Champion, we have the chalk answer of Alabama. But I know that went against her religion to even admit it. I also asked for the 4 college football playoff teams, and like any SEC Child, we have “Alabama, Michigan, Clemson, and somehow… some way… another SEC school”. I’m not sure if that 4th team is supposed to be A&M, Florida, or Tennessee, but clearly there is still something in the moonshine water being passed around Atlanta.
That may also be what contributed to her selection of Deshaun Watson to win the Heisman.
Dez went a step further in her predictions for the end of the year, saying there will be two things we should all look forward to. First, Washington will be pissed at the end of the year’s final vote, with them not making the playoff. And second, that, “Tennessee makes it to the SEC Championship against Alabama, gets down by 40 points in the first half to come all the way back and still lose by one from a missed extra point.”
As someone who generally despises Tennessee fans, I couldn’t think of a better ending to their season than that.
Wrapping it up
I still, even after all these years and through all the interaction I have had with Auburn fans, have no idea why they are both the Tigers and War Eagles. I think it is kind of cool though. It’s definitely one of those things that may not be exclusive to Auburn, but it makes them very unique. I also have yet to fully understand calling Auburn fans Barners, but they come from a state where Roll Tide is as common as hello, so who knows. I asked Dez if she had anything in college football that she wants to address, and her biggest complaint is “No one knows what targeting is!”. And that is something we can all agree on…or disagree, I don’t know.
I think I just got a 15-yard penalty for it too. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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Beyond Buckeye Lines: Is it an Auburn Tiger or an Eagle? appeared first on
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