Auburn holds final practice before Ball State game

AUBURN - The Auburn football team held its final practice prior to their contest against Ball State, practicing for about an hour and a half at the practice fields behind the Athletics Complex.

Thursday’s workout gave Auburn a chance to go over final preparations for Saturday’s game, as the Tigers conducted a situational practice in shorts and helmets with no contact. The squad went through every aspect of special teams and did more scout team preparation.

The Tigers will go through a short walk-through on Friday before hosting Ball State on Saturday .

Ball State is 0-3 this season with home losses to North Texas and FCS member New Hampshire, and a road loss last weekend at Army. The game is the third meeting between the Tigers and the Cardinals with Auburn holding a 2-0 lead. The last meeting came on Sept. 17, 2005 with the Tigers taking the 63-3 win.

“We are playing a football team that has not won a game and the turnovers tell the tale, but they are a good football team,” said Auburn head coach Gene Chizik. “Coach Parrish is very good. He was a great offensive coordinator for them last year when they racked up a lot of yards and they still have those capabilities so we have to get refocused.

“We have to worry about Auburn and getting better. We have our work cut out for us against Ball State, so we are going to try and get in a good week of practice this week and get ready.“

The Cardinals are led by senior halfback MiQuale Lewis, who set the school single-season rushing record last season with 1,736 yards. So far this season, he has been limited to 141 yards on 41 attempts.

Sophomore quarterback Kelly Page has run the Cardinal offense, connecting on 42 of his 92 pass attempts while throwing five interceptions compared to only two touchdowns this season. On the receiving end of one of those touchdown passes was sophomore Torieal Gibson, who leads the team with 109 yards on six catches. The other touchdown went to freshman Seth White, who is third on the team with 93 yards on eight catches.

On defense, the Cardinals are led by junior Davyd Jones with 22 tackles, two of which went for a loss, and a fumble recovery. Senior Robert Eddins is fourth on the team with 20 tackles, but leads in sacks with three of the team’s five.

Auburn (3-0, 1-0 SEC) and Ball State (0-3, 0-0 MAC) kickoff at 6 p.m.
CT from Jordan-Hare Stadium. Saturday’s game will be televised live by FOX Sports South, FOX Sports Southwest, FOX Sports Midwest, FOX Sports Houston and Sun Sports, and on a tape delayed basis on FOX Sports Arizona and FOX Sports West.
(courtesy: Auburn Sports Information)