Random thoughts

Tommy Tuberville learned his lesson last year: The beginning of the season cannot be overlooked.
Last September, the Tigers got off to a disastrous 1-2 start with losses to South Florida and Mississippi State. Yes, both teams turned out to qualify for bowl games, but they were two games a top-15 team should have won -- both at home.
It took a major upset at Florida for Auburn to right its season.
This year, Tuberville has taken a different approach.
On Tuesday, Tuberville explained why he seemed different this year:
"We obviously have had a lot of new things to work on, but the thing we wanted to do going into this first game, into this season, as looking back to last year where we got off to a very poor start, losing two of the first three and both of those being at home," he said. "We felt like we needed to go back and look at the little things that we were doing. And I think a lot of times you look at your inexperienced players and you work with them a lot and you look at some of the possible weaknesses you might have and you don't work enough on your strengths, because they can always get better. And that's really what we've done these last two weeks."

QB situation
While Auburn hasn't publicly named a starting quarterback, I think there's at least a decent chance both Chris Todd and Kodi Burns already know who will start.
As The Columbus Ledger-Enquirer's David Ching (who starts as the Athens Banner-Herald's new sports editor this week) pointed out, the two players' body language spoke volumes to reporters on Tuesday. Burns seemed more upbeat and confident while Todd seemed somewhat down. It should, however, be pointed out that Burns is a fairly upbeat person.
Don't be shocked if Burns takes the first snap. Still, Franklin might have said it best on Sunday: The most relevant situation is not which quarterback starts, but rather which one finishes a close game.
Look for coaches to try to make a decision on a regular QB by the Mississippi State game.
For more on the QB situation, read today's Anniston Star.

Gut feeling: RB/KR Tristan Davis (ankle) will not play Saturday. Yes, Tuberville continues to say Davis' health is improving. But teammates and fellow RBs Ben Tate and Brad Lester have both said he doesn't look right this week -- Davis' first week after missing several practices. I don't it's a slap at Louisiana-Monroe if Davis sits out. RB Eric Smith needs to be game-tested if he's going to play a significant role as a true freshman and Auburn coaches all seem excited for potential returnman Philip Pierre-Louis to get as many touches as possible as early as possible. Auburn will not likely need Davis this weekend. Why not hold him out for another week and allow him to get a little healthier?