Keeping it down gets Tigers up

AUBURN — In the lexicon of motivational phrases, this one was unique because it tried to say something by saying nothing.

Auburn players tagged their wrists, sleeves or hands with "Shhhh!" for Saturday's game against Ole Miss. They broke the pre-game huddle with a giant, librarian-style shushing sound.

Who came up with the idea?

Do you really have to ask?

It was assistant head coach Trooper Taylor, and in the midst of a three-game losing streak he wanted players to emphasize actions rather than words.

"We were letting everyone know we're not going to talk about it, we're going to be about it and show our actions on the football field," said linebacker Josh Bynes.

Many players wrote the phrase on their wristbands, and glanced at it frequently as a reminder. Senior Walt McFadden said he wrote it on the inside of a gloved finger.

"We started out 5-0," Bynes said. "I don't know if we were cocky or arrogant. We were talking about it, but we weren't being about it. We took a deficit, three straight games. It's not that time anymore. It's late in the season. It's time to pick things back up by going out there and playing our behinds off. That's what we did throughout the whole game, and that's something we need to get back to in the final three games of the season."

Auburn's decisive victory against the Rebels may have been its biggest of the year. It broke Auburn out of its doldrums and reinvigorated the offense for the final two season-defining games against Georgia and Alabama.

There are encouraging signs on both sides of the ball.

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