Collision sends Etheridge to hospital

AUBURN - Zac Etheridge suffered a scary looking play during the first quarter Saturday against Ole Miss that left him on the ground for several minutes.

The junior safety's head collided with defensive end Antonio Coleman's shoulder, leaving Etheridge motionless on the ground and on top of Ole Miss tailback Rodney Scott.

Since the medical staff didn't want to move Etheridge, Scott was stuck on the ground until Etheridge was placed onto a backboard. Medical personnel immobilized Etheridge before carting him off on a stretcher.

Etheridge, who didn't move throughout the ordeal, gave a thumbs up to the crowd as trainers carted him off the field.

A report to the press box said Etheridge was taken to a local hospital for examinations on a potential neck injury. The report also said Etheridge had full movement in all extremities.

"We are just so proud of Zac and obviously we will know further tomorrow as to what his status is," Auburn coach Gene Chizik said. "He is one tough, tough guy. He will rebound."

Mike Slade replaced Etheridge. Both players recorded three

tackles.

Opening It Up

Terrell Zachery might have made the two biggest offensive plays for Auburn without ever setting foot in the end zone.

For the last few weeks, Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn talked about needing to keep defenses honest by completing some deep passes. Saturday, Zachery loosened up the Ole Miss defense by hauling in a pair of long passes that covered 42 and 41 yards.

Neither deep pass went for a touchdown but the Tigers scored on both possessions.

"Those are the plays that we have to be able to make," Chizik said. "Those are two big-time plays. I thought that really, really sparked us. That was the spark that we needed. That certainly is what we did earlier in the year. It was good to see us come back today and make a couple of those."

Zachery's first long reception came on a third-and-2 from the Auburn 18-yard line. Two plays later, the Tigers scored when quarterback Chris Todd hit a wide-open Darvin Adams for a 35-yard touchdown pass.

The next long passing play came at the start of Auburn's second drive of the second half. Todd dropped back and threw a ball into double coverage in the middle of the field, where Zachery jumped and came down with the pass.

Kodi Burns threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Tommy Trott two plays later.

Special Contributions

Auburn's special teams have struggled for a good portion of the season, but turned in a few big plays Saturday.

The group set the tone on the opening kickoff when Chris Humphries delivered a big hit that forced a fumble. Ole Miss recovered the loose ball, but started its initial drive from its own 6-yard line.

Auburn's next big special teams play came when Ole Miss scored on a 79-yard Dexter McCluster touchdown run. Coleman blocked the extra point and Demond Washington returned it for a defensive 2-point conversion.

The Tigers got another big special teams play from a surprising outlet - their offense. On a fourth-and-5 from the Ole Miss 35-yard line, Todd dropped into the shotgun and pooch punted.

Todd's punt dropped inside the 10 and bounced out of bounds at the Ole Miss 1.

It wasn't a flawless effort from Auburn's special teams. Auburn did allow Jesse Grandy to return a kickoff 82 yards for a touchdown. Still, for a unit that has been beaten up for most of the season, it marked a significant turnaround.

Tale Of The Tate

Senior running back Ben Tate went over 1,000 yards for the season in Auburn's victory over Ole Miss on Saturday, and his head coach couldn't have been more eager for some high-profile recruits to hear about it.

As soon as Gene Chizik got served the question, he hit it hard, right at five-star running back recruits like Lache Seastrunk, Marcus Lattimore and Michael Dyer.

"He (Tate) went for over a thousand yards today, and I think that's significant in what we're trying to establish here as far as building a foundation on what we want to do," Chizik said.

Message? Auburn runs a spread-offense, but it's based on the run, not the pass. There will be plenty of chances for running backs to make plays.

Chizik and offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn have tried to emphasize that message since Chizik hired Malzahn this past winter.

The message is getting across. Rivals.com reports that Dyer is close to committing to Auburn, and Auburn is in the hunt for Seastrunk and Lattimore.

Tate helped to get the message across Saturday with 144 yards, marking his sixth 100-yard game of the season.

He also became the fifth Auburn running back to surpass 3,000 yards for his career.

Tailback Onterio McCalebb sat out Saturday's game with an ankle injury, meaning Auburn turned more to Mario Fannin in the tailback role.

Fannin made the most of his extended playing time, rushing for 35 yards on six carries and catching three passes for 35 yards.

Malzahn said Fannin's performance was important, especially early in the game.

"Mario did a solid job, got us off to a good start early," Malzahn said. "We got the ball in his hands a couple different ways and he did a good job."