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<H1 ALIGN=CENTER><FONT COLOR="#000040"> NO PASSING FANCY </H1></FONT>
<H3 ALIGN=CENTER><FONT COLOR="#FF8000"><I>Auburn, Louisian Tech Both Like To Throw And Throw And Throw</I></FONT></H3>
<H3 ALIGN=CENTER> by Scott Stricklin</H3>
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<IMG SRC="pic/bowden08.jpg" WIDTH=228 HEIGHT=270 BORDER=1 ALT="Terry Bowden">
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<B><FONT SIZE=2>Auburn's Terry Bowden and Miss. St.'s Jackie Sherrill have two of the longest current coaching tenures in the SEC
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<FONT SIZE=6><B>S</B></FONT>omeone should send this in to ESPN's SportsCenter.
DID YOU KNOW? Among SEC coaches, Mississippi State's Jackie Sherrill has the second-longest tenure at his present school, while Auburn's Terry Bowden is tied for third.

<P>Come again?

<P>That's right, Jackie Sherrill, the guy who was just using Mississippi State as a stepping stone in his return to college coaching, and Terry Bowden, the small-college coach with the big-school name, are two of the veterans in today's world of SEC football.

<P>Knowing what we know today, this doesn't surprise us. But you could've gotten pretty good odds on both about seven short years ago.

<P>It was December 1990. Florida's Steve Spurrier and Alabama's Gene Stallings had just completed their first seasons in the SEC. They spent that first fall coaching their Saturdays against Auburn's Pat Dye, Ole Miss' Billy Brewer, LSU's Mike Archer and Vanderbilt's Watson Brown.

<P>Archer, Brown and Mississippi State's Rockey Felker were all let go following that 1990 season. Vanderbilt is on its third coach since then, LSU is on its third, but the guy MSU chose to replace Felker is walking the visitor's sideline today at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

<P>It was surprising to many, Mississippi State's hiring of Jackie Sherrill. An Alabama graduate, he had played for Bear Bryant and coached for Frank Broyles and Johnny Majors. Most importantly, Sherrill had won big at Pitt and Texas A&M before leaving College Station amid NCAA clouds in 1988.

<P>His time in Starkville has been a mixed bag of good and bad. But to fully appreciate what he has accomplished at State, you must first go to the history books. He took over a program that was in the midst of a 10-year bowl-less streak and promptly led it to back-to-back postseason appearances (1991 Liberty and 1992 Peach). After a down year in 1993, Sherrill had MSU back in the bowl business again in 1994, again in the Peach.

<P>That's three bowls in four years, something State had never before accomplished.

<P>The last two seasons have not brought the same kind of success, though the 1996 squad did beat both Alabama and Ole Miss, just the fourth time in school history that both rivals have been conquered in the same season.

<P>Sherrill enters today's game as the second-winningest coach in Bulldog history (TRIVIA: Name State's winningest coach), having posted a 39-32-2 regular-season record. In the 73 games MSU played prior to Sherrill's arrival, the Bulldogs were 28-45. Sherrill's SEC record of 22-28-1, though not outstanding, is a far cry from the 7-44 State was in the 51 SEC games before he got there.

<P>Bowden faced stiffer standards when he arrived in December 1992, but he has more than produced. No other Auburn coach has won more than Bowden through his first four-and-a-half seasons. And, of course, Bowden is the only coach in Division I-A history to win his first 20 games.

<P>There are many measures of success that Bowden can point to with pride. Auburn is tied with Tennessee for the nation's sixth-best winning percentage since 1993 (43-10-1), trailing only Nebraska, Florida State, Penn State, Florida and Ohio State. And after the Tigers were unranked through Bowden's first three games in 1993, Auburn has been in the Associated Press Top 25 for all but two of its last 51 games.

<P>This all goes back to the original point, which is not only that Bowden and Sherrill have been around for awhile, but that they've succeeded as much or more than any coach their respective school has had before them.

<P>In today's world of hire 'em and fire 'em, Bowden and Sherrill stand out. And next month when college coaching openings are discussed on SportsCenter, you'll know two who won't be mentioned.

<P><B>No TV For Auburn-MSU</B>

<P>For the first time in 17 games, an Auburn matchup against an SEC opponent will not be televised.

<P>Auburn's last non-televised SEC game occurred on Mississippi State's last visit to the Plains in 1995. However, that game was scheduled to be on ESPN before Hurricane Opal caused the contest to be moved from Thursday to Saturday.

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<IMG SRC="pic/holmes02.jpg" WIDTH=214 HEIGHT=276 ALT="Jaret Holmes">
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<FONT SIZE=2><B>All five of Jaret Holmes' punts at Arkansas mailed the Razorbacks inside their 20-yard line
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<P><B>Holmes Doing The Job</B>

<P>Auburn punter Jaret Holmes could rank in stature with Takeo Spikes, Jimmy Brumbaugh and the Tigers' other defensive stars.

<P>On the year, 27 of Holmes' 41 (66%) kickoffs have gone into the end zone, not to be returned.

<P>Holmes has helped keep the opposition bottled up. The average starting field position for Auburn's opponents after a kickoff is its own 23 yard line.

<P>His stellar defensive work continues as a punter, where 15 of his 37 punts have been nailed inside the opponent's 20 yard line, including all five of his efforts last Saturday at Arkansas.

<P><B>Brumbaugh Anchors AU's D-Line</B>

<P>Junior DL Jimmy Brumbaugh has anchored Auburn's defensive front this season, leading all down linemen with 65 tackles and having a team-high five sacks.

<P>Brumbaugh, a native of Keystone Heights, Fla., is also second on the team with nine quarterback pressures and third with four tackles for loss.

<P>Against Arkansas, Brumbaugh had nine stops, a tackle for loss, and a caused fumble.

<P>A two-year starter at noseguard, Brumbaugh has played mostly end this season in a move Auburn coaches have called "unselfish."

<P><B>Craig Passes Nix, Gets 5,000</B>

<P>Last week at Arkansas, QB Dameyune Craig became the third Auburn passer in history to throw for 5,000 career yards. In the process, he passed former Tiger Patrick Nix and moved into third place on Auburn's career passing yardage list.

<P>Craig's 5,050 career passing yards bettered Nix's 4,957 yards (1992-95). He trails only Stan White (8,016, 1990-93) and Pat Sullivan (6,284, 1969-71) on Auburn's career list. Craig also is just 285 yards shy of Pat Sullivan's single-season school record of 2,586 passing yards (1970). He is currently on pace to throw for 3,164 yards through 11 games.

<P><B>Trivia Answer:</B>

<P>Allyn McKeen went 65-19-3 at MSU from 1939-48 and led the Bulldogs to their only SEC Championship in 1941.

<P ALIGN=CENTER><A HREF="./" target="_top">TABLE OF CONTENTS</A> | <A HREF="../" target="_top">PROGRAM INDEX</A> | <A HREF="../../index.html" target="_top">HOME</A></P>

<P ALIGN=CENTER><I>&copy; 1997 Auburn Network, Inc.</I></P>

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</HTML>
	<HTML>

	<HEAD>

	<TITLE>Today in Jordan-Hare</TITLE>

	</HEAD>

	<BODY <body bgcolor="#FFFFFF">>

	<H1 ALIGN=CENTER><FONT COLOR="#000040"> NO PASSING FANCY </H1></FONT>
	<H3 ALIGN=CENTER><FONT COLOR="#FF8000"><I>Auburn, Louisian Tech Both Like To Throw And Throw And Throw</I></FONT></H3>
	<H3 ALIGN=CENTER> by Scott Stricklin</H3>
	<P>

	<TABLE WIDTH=228 BORDER=0 ALIGN=RIGHT>
	<TR>
	<TD>
	<IMG SRC="pic/bowden08.jpg" WIDTH=228 HEIGHT=270 BORDER=1 ALT="Terry Bowden">
	</TD>
	</TR>
	<TR>
	<TD>
	<B><FONT SIZE=2>Auburn's Terry Bowden and Miss. St.'s Jackie Sherrill have two of the longest current coaching tenures in the SEC
	</TD>
	</TR>
	</TABLE>

	<FONT SIZE=6><B>S</B></FONT>omeone should send this in to ESPN's SportsCenter.
	DID YOU KNOW? Among SEC coaches, Mississippi State's Jackie Sherrill has the second-longest tenure at his present school, while Auburn's Terry Bowden is tied for third.

	<P>Come again?

	<P>That's right, Jackie Sherrill, the guy who was just using Mississippi State as a stepping stone in his return to college coaching, and Terry Bowden, the small-college coach with the big-school name, are two of the veterans in today's world of SEC football.

	<P>Knowing what we know today, this doesn't surprise us. But you could've gotten pretty good odds on both about seven short years ago.

	<P>It was December 1990. Florida's Steve Spurrier and Alabama's Gene Stallings had just completed their first seasons in the SEC. They spent that first fall coaching their Saturdays against Auburn's Pat Dye, Ole Miss' Billy Brewer, LSU's Mike Archer and Vanderbilt's Watson Brown.

	<P>Archer, Brown and Mississippi State's Rockey Felker were all let go following that 1990 season. Vanderbilt is on its third coach since then, LSU is on its third, but the guy MSU chose to replace Felker is walking the visitor's sideline today at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

	<P>It was surprising to many, Mississippi State's hiring of Jackie Sherrill. An Alabama graduate, he had played for Bear Bryant and coached for Frank Broyles and Johnny Majors. Most importantly, Sherrill had won big at Pitt and Texas A&M before leaving College Station amid NCAA clouds in 1988.

	<P>His time in Starkville has been a mixed bag of good and bad. But to fully appreciate what he has accomplished at State, you must first go to the history books. He took over a program that was in the midst of a 10-year bowl-less streak and promptly led it to back-to-back postseason appearances (1991 Liberty and 1992 Peach). After a down year in 1993, Sherrill had MSU back in the bowl business again in 1994, again in the Peach.

	<P>That's three bowls in four years, something State had never before accomplished.

	<P>The last two seasons have not brought the same kind of success, though the 1996 squad did beat both Alabama and Ole Miss, just the fourth time in school history that both rivals have been conquered in the same season.

	<P>Sherrill enters today's game as the second-winningest coach in Bulldog history (TRIVIA: Name State's winningest coach), having posted a 39-32-2 regular-season record. In the 73 games MSU played prior to Sherrill's arrival, the Bulldogs were 28-45. Sherrill's SEC record of 22-28-1, though not outstanding, is a far cry from the 7-44 State was in the 51 SEC games before he got there.

	<P>Bowden faced stiffer standards when he arrived in December 1992, but he has more than produced. No other Auburn coach has won more than Bowden through his first four-and-a-half seasons. And, of course, Bowden is the only coach in Division I-A history to win his first 20 games.

	<P>There are many measures of success that Bowden can point to with pride. Auburn is tied with Tennessee for the nation's sixth-best winning percentage since 1993 (43-10-1), trailing only Nebraska, Florida State, Penn State, Florida and Ohio State. And after the Tigers were unranked through Bowden's first three games in 1993, Auburn has been in the Associated Press Top 25 for all but two of its last 51 games.

	<P>This all goes back to the original point, which is not only that Bowden and Sherrill have been around for awhile, but that they've succeeded as much or more than any coach their respective school has had before them.

	<P>In today's world of hire 'em and fire 'em, Bowden and Sherrill stand out. And next month when college coaching openings are discussed on SportsCenter, you'll know two who won't be mentioned.

	<P><B>No TV For Auburn-MSU</B>

	<P>For the first time in 17 games, an Auburn matchup against an SEC opponent will not be televised.

	<P>Auburn's last non-televised SEC game occurred on Mississippi State's last visit to the Plains in 1995. However, that game was scheduled to be on ESPN before Hurricane Opal caused the contest to be moved from Thursday to Saturday.

	<TABLE ALIGN=LEFT WIDTH=214 BORDER=0>
	<TR>
	<TD>
	<IMG SRC="pic/holmes02.jpg" WIDTH=214 HEIGHT=276 ALT="Jaret Holmes">
	</TD>
	</TR>
	<TR>
	<TD>
	<FONT SIZE=2><B>All five of Jaret Holmes' punts at Arkansas mailed the Razorbacks inside their 20-yard line
	</TD>
	</TR>
	</TABLE>


	<P><B>Holmes Doing The Job</B>

	<P>Auburn punter Jaret Holmes could rank in stature with Takeo Spikes, Jimmy Brumbaugh and the Tigers' other defensive stars.

	<P>On the year, 27 of Holmes' 41 (66%) kickoffs have gone into the end zone, not to be returned.

	<P>Holmes has helped keep the opposition bottled up. The average starting field position for Auburn's opponents after a kickoff is its own 23 yard line.

	<P>His stellar defensive work continues as a punter, where 15 of his 37 punts have been nailed inside the opponent's 20 yard line, including all five of his efforts last Saturday at Arkansas.

	<P><B>Brumbaugh Anchors AU's D-Line</B>

	<P>Junior DL Jimmy Brumbaugh has anchored Auburn's defensive front this season, leading all down linemen with 65 tackles and having a team-high five sacks.

	<P>Brumbaugh, a native of Keystone Heights, Fla., is also second on the team with nine quarterback pressures and third with four tackles for loss.

	<P>Against Arkansas, Brumbaugh had nine stops, a tackle for loss, and a caused fumble.

	<P>A two-year starter at noseguard, Brumbaugh has played mostly end this season in a move Auburn coaches have called "unselfish."

	<P><B>Craig Passes Nix, Gets 5,000</B>

	<P>Last week at Arkansas, QB Dameyune Craig became the third Auburn passer in history to throw for 5,000 career yards. In the process, he passed former Tiger Patrick Nix and moved into third place on Auburn's career passing yardage list.

	<P>Craig's 5,050 career passing yards bettered Nix's 4,957 yards (1992-95). He trails only Stan White (8,016, 1990-93) and Pat Sullivan (6,284, 1969-71) on Auburn's career list. Craig also is just 285 yards shy of Pat Sullivan's single-season school record of 2,586 passing yards (1970). He is currently on pace to throw for 3,164 yards through 11 games.

	<P><B>Trivia Answer:</B>

	<P>Allyn McKeen went 65-19-3 at MSU from 1939-48 and led the Bulldogs to their only SEC Championship in 1941.

	<P ALIGN=CENTER><A HREF="./" target="_top">TABLE OF CONTENTS</A> \| <A HREF="../" target="_top">PROGRAM INDEX</A> \| <A HREF="../../index.html" target="_top">HOME</A></P>

	<P ALIGN=CENTER><I>© 1997 Auburn Network, Inc.</I></P>

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