SI Scouting Reports 1. Oklahoma 2. Miami 3. Tennessee 4. Texas 5. Florida State 6. Colorado 7. Washington State 8. Florida 9. Oregon 10. Georgia 11. Washington 12. Ohio State 13. LSU 14. Nebraska 15. Virginia Tech 16. Maryland 17. Marshall 18. South Carolina 19. Louisville 20. Michigan 21. USC 22. Texas A&M 23. Auburn 24. Illinois 25. Penn State ----------------- The Top 25 All the Rest: 26-117 Lower Division Rankings

23. Auburn

With their powerful sophomore back finally repaired, the Tigers look to ride Cadillac to the top of the SEC West

By Pete McEntegart

The Tigers were 7-2 last season before Williams went down with a broken clavicle; they then lost three straight. Danny Johnston/AP Enemy Lines An opposing coach's view of the TIgers "If they get the quarterback squared away, they'll be really good. Jason Campbell was just young last year, and young is scary with the speed and athleticism in this league.... Tailback Carnell Williams is a difference maker. They'll give it to him 35 times and control the game.... Tight end Lorenzo Diamond is athletic and strong and tough.... They've got a good defense. Tackle DeMarco McNeil is quick for a big man and plays hard.... In Damon Duval they have the best kicker in the league. He'll win three games by himself."

Carnell (Cadillac) Williams was rolling. The Auburn tailback entered last year's Iron Bowl battle with Alabama having rushed for 344 yards in the previous two games. The Tigers were 7-2 and needed a single win in their final two games to clinch the SEC West title. Cadillac, then a freshman, tore off 25 yards on the game's first play with a breathtaking run in which he reversed field after getting bottled up. But after his fifth carry of the drive Williams dragged himself to the sideline, his left clavicle broken. Thus ended the season for both Williams and Auburn, which was rolled by the Tide 31-7 and finished 7-5. "When Carnell got hurt you could just tell that everybody else lost their confidence," says Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville.

With Cadillac -- the 5'11", 193-pounder got the nickname for his smooth running style while at Etowah (Ala.) High -- in the shop for the rest of the season, the focus was on the quarterback duel between sophomore Jason Campbell and senior Daniel Cobb, who split duties last year. That proved the undoing of offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone, who was replaced in January with Bob Petrino, the offensive coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars. The battle between Campbell and Cobb, who received a sixth year of eligibility from the NCAA for 2002 but has seen just eight games' worth of action, will continue into two-a-days.

The defense, which has a new coordinator of its own in Gene Chizik, should be strong. Seven starters are back, including junior outside linebacker Dontarrious Thomas (a team-best 122 tackles in '01), who heads a deep and talented linebacking group. Senior placekicker Damon Duval was a finalist for the 2001 Lou Groza Award.

Still, when Tuberville sits down at Byron's barbecue joint for his weekly lunch with the Auburn faithful, much of the talk will be about how well Cadillac is running. His teammates, who are tired of trying to tackle the now-healthy Williams in practice, are eager to see him set loose on opponents again. "When he got hurt, it made us a little flat," says junior linebacker Karlos Dansby. "But now he's patched up and ready to ride."

Issue date: August 12, 2002