AUBURN, Ala. (AP) -Cornerback Jerraud Powers and Auburn would take their chances with the play again if they had a do-over. Powers was defending – and in good position – on LSU’s risky, go-for-broke touchdown pass last season.
Matt Flynn’s 22-yard pass ended up in receiver Demetrius Byrd’s hands as the final seconds ticked down for a 30-24 LSU win. Like any good cornerback, Powers has both the confidence and a short enough memory not to get rattled by the play.
There’s always next time, which comes when No. 10 Auburn hosts No. 6 LSU on Saturday night.
“I knew that question was going to be brought up a lot from last year’s game,” Powers said. “I haven’t been sitting, worrying about it, thinking about that play. I haven’t put it on my wall and said, ‘I can’t wait to go against these guys again,’ because I knew this chance was going to come.”
Besides, Powers had pretty good coverage. Flynn just threw a near-perfect ball and Byrd came up with it.
covered. I’ve heard the receiver say, ‘I never really saw the ball. I just stuck my hands up,’ and the ball went into his hands. It was very unusual.”
Powers said he has not watched the replay since last year. He insists he doesn’t even remember it all that well, though for many Auburn fans the memory is crystal clear.
“You know, he made a play and I didn’t,” Powers said. “That’s all it came down to. I was in good coverage to make a play, but he came down with the ball. That’s all I remember from last year.”
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NO TAKEAWAYS: Arkansas has takeaways going into the Southeastern Conference season against No. 9 Alabama.
Coach Bobby Petrino started talking about turnovers immediately after Arkansas edged Louisiana-Monroe two weekends ago, and he’s still a bit anxious for his team’s luck to change.
“We’ve got to start getting some turnovers coming our way, get some short fields, score on defense, score on special teams,” Petrino said. “It’ll take all those things to win this game.”
Arkansas beat Western Illinois in its opener but dropped multiple interception chances in that game. The Leathernecks also fumbled four times, but Arkansas didn’t recover any of them. The following weekend, Louisiana-Monroe fumbled twice and didn’t lose either one.
ll. We need to catch the ball better. We’ve dropped four opportunities for interceptions. And the ball has been on the ground. We just haven’t been quick enough or close enough, or maybe it bounced the wrong way.”
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MAGNOLIA STATE INJURIES: Mississippi State tailback Anthony Dixon’s status for Saturday’s game at Georgia Tech is unclear.
The bullish junior isn’t expected to miss the game, but was held out of practice Tuesday with a bruised hip.
Dixon left last weekend’s 3-2 loss to Auburn early with a deep hip bruise that has exacerbated existing injuries.
Coach Sylvester Croom said Dixon’s condition is day-to-day as the Bulldogs prepare for the important nonconference game. The Bulldogs are off to a 1-2 start and need a win to keep most of their team goals alive after last year’s breakthrough 8-5 season.
Dixon rushed for 5 yards on seven carries against Auburn before leaving the game early in the first half and was missed as the Bulldogs offense struggled.
Backup Christian Ducre rushed for 49 yards in his place, but there isn’t much to Mississippi State’s power-running game without the 6-foot-1, 238-pound Dixon.
The junior rushed for 1,734 yards and 23 touchdowns in his first two seasons, including 1,066 last season.
n the league opener Saturday against Vanderbilt in Oxford.
Hardy had a screw put in a small bone in his right foot to aid in healing a stress fracture. Coach Houston Nutt said the junior was sore after his first workout in full pads Tuesday, but appeared on track.
“You can tell it’s a little tender, but I’m glad to see him out there,” Nutt said.
The 6-foot-4, 265-pound Millington, Tenn., native led the SEC with 10 sacks in 10 games last season and was second with 18.5 tackles for loss. He is expected to give a boost to an Ole Miss defense that has improved from its last-place finish in 2007, but has been lacking some punch because of injuries.
With the return of Hardy, and defensive tackles Peria Jerry and Ted Laurent earlier this month, the Rebels now have every expected starter in the lineup.
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BALL PLAYS: Guess which coach is calling most of South Carolina’s plays?
Steve Spurrier said several times this offseason he’d let son, Steve Jr., the team’s receivers coach, coordinate playcalling and handle getting them in the quarterbacks. Of course, the elder Spurrier said he’d still get to put his stamp on the process when he saw fit. Turns out, against Georgia, that was about three-quarters of the time.
ll try to do attempt to do here, has to be involved with the play-calling.
“But that hasn’t been our problem,” Spurrier continued. “Blocking, and throwing and catching have been our biggest problems.”
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AP Sports Writers Chris Talbott in Jackson, Miss., Pete Iacobelli in Columbia, S.C., and Noah Trister in Little Rock, Ark., contributed to this report.
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