Last and least of the wild blind dart-throwing predictions of Alabama SEC opponents is the eternal soap opera in Lee County.
GAME 12, NOV 30: AUBURN TIGERS
Coach: Hugh Freeze (6-7, 3-5 SEC after one season at Auburn; 45-32 (58.4%) as a Power-5 coach, 89-49 overall in FBS, 138-0 in shoulda wons) [SIDE NOTE: Bryan Harsin also went 6-7, 3-5 in his first season at AU.]
2023 record: 6-7 (3-5 in SEC, 5th in the West Division, lost the Music City Bowl)
Looking back: After three cupcake games to start the 2023 campaign, the Tigers dropped four straight to TAMU, UGA, LSU, and Ole Miss. This was followed by three wins in a row to the doormats of the league, MSU, Vandy, and Arky. Then, tragedy struck. The Auburn PlainsWarTigers were destroyed by New Mexico State at home, 31-10. Next was yet another chapter in the weird Iron Bowl series that ended in a Gravedigger W for the Tide. A sad listless loss to a Maryland playing without Lia Tagavailoa in the Music City Bowl ensured a losing season.
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Returning starters: 5 on offense, 4 on defense, punter, kicker.
Key losses: OC and DC thrown under the bus after one season, RB coach Cadillac Williams resigned, CB Nehemiah Pritchett (Round 5, Seahawks), S Jaylin Simpson (Round 5, Colts), CB DJ James (Round 6, Seahawks), DT Justin Rogers (Round 7, Cowboys), DT Marcus Harris (Round 7, Texans), WR Ja’Varrius Johnson (xfer to UCF), WR Jay Fair (to So Cal), S Zion Puckett (grad), LB Larry Nixon (grad).
Top returnees: RB Jarquez Hunter (909 yds, 7 TD), leading tackler LB Eugene Asante, leading receiver TE Rivaldo Fairweather (394 yds – NOT A TYPO!), KR Keionte Scott, PK Alex McPherson, QB Payton Thorne.
Top newcomers: first time OC Derrick Nix, scandal-ridden DC DJ Durkin, WR Robert Lewis (877 yds, 7 TD, from Georgia State), WR KeAndre Lambert-Smith (673-4, from Penn State), LT Percy Lewis (from Mississippi State), S Jerrin Thompson (from Texas), DT Isaiah Raikes (from TAMU), MLB Dorian Mausi (from Duke), DL Gage Keys (from Kansas), DL Trill Carter (from Texas), 5-star freshman WR Cam Coleman.
Strengths: Three of the top four running backs return led by preseason All-SEC Hunter (a fourth would’ve returned if not for getting shot in May)… Although many new faces, WRs should be better… Despite his checkered past, Durkin is an upgrade at DC… Punter and kicker are both back and are solid… Quite possibly the weakest non-conference schedule in all of FBS…
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Weaknesses: Auburn fans are excited about their freshmen, several of whom who could start or highly contribute. Their enthusiasm s not unfounded, but depending on 18 year olds to lead your team can be difficult when playing in the SEC… Don’t believe the hype. Thorne is medicore to sucky… OL could be an issue as they rebuild… The secondary lost a TON of talent (See Key losses above)… The defense has some good individuals, but overall not great. There will be depth issues… Season tickets did not sell out until a few weeks ago. Is fan support wilting?…
Outlook: These days, everyone gets a pass for Year 1. Freeze has been full of a lot of big talk, but now it’s time to back it up. Another 6 or 7 win season might have the Auburn fans rolling their eyes with “here we go again”. Hunter should have a big season. The defense is a little shaky. The Tigers likely beat someone they shouldn’t – like they always do – and conversely lose to someone they shouldn’t – like they always do. Who those two opponents will be is anyone’s guess.
Win Total Odds
Over 7.5 +120 (bet $100 to win $120) Under 7.5 -140 (bet $140 to win $100)
2024 AUBURN FOOTBALL SCHEDULE:
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My Lawd! What a godawful shamelessly easy non-conference schedule. The 8th place team from the SWAC, a so-called “Power” team that is 0-1 in bowl games over the last four season, and quite possibly the two worst FBS teams in the nation for 2024. AU misses Texas, LSU and Tennessee, but still has trips to Alabama, Georgia, and Mizzou to go with hosting TAMU and Okie.
Aubie at home is always dangerous. Aubie on the road is a different animal. Alabama 48-24.
Sat, Aug 31 Alabama A&M – W Sat, Sep 7 Cal – W Sat, Sep 14 New Mexico – W – UNM just lost at home to Montana State. Sat, Sep 21 Arkansas – W Sat, Sep 28 Oklahoma – L – this one could get weird. Sat, Oct 5 at Georgia – L Sat, Oct 19 at Missouri – L Sat, Oct 26 at Kentucky – W – This could be a toss up. Sat, Nov 2 Vanderbilt – W Sat, Nov 16 Louisiana-Monroe – W – projected 2.5 wins. Sat, Nov 23 Texas A&M – L – this one could go the other way. Sat, Nov 30 at Alabama – L
Poll
Regular season wins for Aubie in 2024:
ALABAMA SCHEDULE PREVIEWS:
Sat, Aug 31 vs Western Kentucky Sat, Sep 7 vs South Florida Sat, Sep 14 @ Wisconsin Sat, Sep 28 vs Georgia Sat, Oct 5 @ Vanderbilt Sat, Oct 12 vs South Carolina Sat, Oct 19 @ Tennessee Sat, Oct 26 vs Missouri Sat, Nov 9 @ LSU Sat, Nov 16 vs Mercer Sat, Nov 23 @ Oklahoma Sat, Nov 30 vs Auburn
The Alabama teen charged in a heinous knife attack on his parents in their sleepy private community hissed that he was “gonna kill” his dad as he allegedly stabbed him — as new photos show the blood-soaked front porch where his butchered mom died.
The grisly scene unfolded on home surveillance footage Sunday night along Augustine Drive in the handsome Belforest complex — which captured the 17-year-old threatening his father, while allegedly knifing him.
“You can hear both of them coming out of the house, and there’s like one scream from the mom,” neighbor Shawn Scurry, 51, told The Post Wednesday.
“Then the dad is arguing with the [son] — and when I say arguing, I mean like, ‘Why are you doing this?’
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“He’s basically saying, ‘I don’t want to die. Please stop. No.’ And then he’s repeating, ‘Somebody help me, please, help me’ very loudly,” Scurry said of the clip.
Samantha Baker (left) was allegedly stabbed to death by her 17-year-old son — as her husband, Lance Baker (right), begged the boy to stop the sickening attack. Facebook/Lance Samantha Baker
At one point, the audio captures the son “telling [the dad] he was gonna kill him.”
“Those words are in the video,” she said.
Meanwhile, a large pool of blood stained the front entrance of a neighbor’s home where cops say 37-year-old Samantha Baker was butchered around 9 p.m. Sunday.
Another haunting image exclusively obtained by The Post shows blood splattered and smeared across a glass window overlooking the spot where Samantha was found dead.
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The bloodbath began after Samantha and her 46-year-old husband Lance Baker got into a heated argument with their 17-year-old son over a disciplinary issue inside their family home, Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office Captain Justin Correa told The Post Wednesday.
That’s when the boy — whose name is being withheld by police — turned a kitchen knife on his parents, allegedly stabbing them both “multiple times,” according to Correa.
A large pool of blood stained the front entrance of the Belforest community home in Baldwin County, where cops say Samantha Baker was found dead from multiple stab wounds Sunday night. Obtained by NY PostAnother haunting video clip exclusively obtained by The Post shows blood splattered and smeared across a glass window overlooking the spot where Samantha was found dead. Obtained by NY Post
The parents fled outside in a desperate bid to escape — but the attack continued.
Lance’s spine-chilling screams could be heard as he ran door to door down the block, leaving bloodied handprints on neighbors’ front doors while seeking help — with his son right on his tail, according to the traumatized neighbor.
“It was like fighting off a bee that keeps stinging you,” Scurry said, and claimed that another neighbor’s surveillance camera captured the teen repeatedly stabbing his father outside another nearby home.
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Correa confirmed that doorbell camera footage of the assault had been handed over to police, and said at least “a few” of the neighbors were not home when Lance was looking for help.
Lance only “went to doors where people were on vacation — that’s why they didn’t answer, and that’s why he was becoming helpless,” Scurry claimed.
Scurry, who was home at the time, only became slightly aware of the horror unfolding when she spotted the Bakers’ dog wandering around her front door.
“I walked with the dog back to their house, rang their doorbell. Nobody answered, and I went around to the garage,” she recalled.
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That’s when she heard cries in the distance.
“I heard … ‘Help me.’ I couldn’t find where it was coming from,” Scurry said, adding that she went back into her home after that.
The bloodbath began after Samantha and Lance got into a heated argument with the knife-wielding son over a disciplinary issue, according to authorities. Facebook/Lance Samantha Baker
The teen eventually retreated to his family’s home and called 911, said authorities, who described the attack as an isolated domestic matter.
Cops arrested him at the home without incident, according to Correa, who pushed back on reports that the alleged killer barricaded himself inside the house.
As emergency crews flooded their typically quiet street, Scurry said she stepped outside again and saw Samantha’s body before the coroner arrived.
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“I saw her face down with stab wounds all over her back,” the shaken neighbor said.
Samantha, a realtor, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Lance, a US Army Reserve Battalion Commander with the 1184th Deployment and Distribution Support Battalion in Mobile, was flown to a local hospital in critical condition, according to cops.
Nest camera footage from a neighboring home allegedly captured chilling audio of Samantha’s final moments — along with Lance’s frantic pleas for the teen to drop the knife. Obtained by NY Post
As of Wednesday, the father of two was still in the hospital, where his condition had become stable, Correa said.
The teen, who will be tried as an adult, is facing charges of murder and attempted murder. He is being held in jail on a $1 million bond after his arraignment on Monday.
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The family’s younger teen son was not at the home at the time of the attack, police said.
Jan 8, 2018; Atlanta, GA, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide defensive back Tony Brown (2) against the Georgia Bulldogs in the 2018 CFP national championship college football game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Mac Jones joined “Bussin With The Boys” and was asked who his craziest teammate ever was, and he went back to his Alabama days to highlight Tony Brown.
Brown is a former Alabama cornerback.
“There’s this guy, Tony Brown,” Jones said. “I don’t know if you guys know him. Look him up on there. His name’s Crazy Tony, but he was a stud at Alabama. He played on that defense with like Daron Payne, like all those guys, Minka (Fitzpatrick), everybody. He played in the league for a little bit. He was the man, like scout team, me and him. Every day, like going at it, like pretty much fighting. He was just crazy, dude. I’d throw a dig route over the middle, and he would just crush our scout team receiver. Like, Mac Hereford… he would go over the middle and Crazy Tony would just crush him. Saban would just look the other way. I’m like, dude, he just got smoked. Like, what are we doing? It’s like same thing, fighting at practice and stuff. But he was a great teammate. He just had his thing on the field where it was like he just blacked out. It wasn’t because he was a bad guy or anything. That’s what he does. He goes and knocks people out.”
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Brown played for Alabama from 2014 to 2017, and he was a part of two National Championship teams. He finished his career at Alabama with 89 total tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and three interceptions before moving on to the NFL.
Justin Smith is the Managing Editor and Lead Writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine with over 10 years of writing experience & expertise. Smith has consistently delivered high quality, extensively researched information on the University of Alabama’s Crimson Tide football team that fans can trust. Smith is official credentialed media with the University of Alabama under Touchdown Alabama Magazine. He is also the Director of Recruiting for Touchdown Enterprises, specializing in scouting and analyzing high school recruits around the nation, specifically focusing on recruits within the state of Alabama.
The Alabama Crimson Tide have landed a commitment from Ryquan Butler, he announced Tuesday on social media.
An in-state prospect, Butler is Alabama’s fourth commitment of the 2028 cycle.
At the moment, Butler is currently unranked as a recruit, per the 247Sports Composite rankings, but that is likely to change in the near future ahead of his upcoming junior season at Alabama’s Loachapoka High School. There, Butler plays a number of different roles, but likely projects as a linebacker at the next level.
Following the commitment of Butler, Alabama’s 2028 class now ranks No. 2 nationally, per 247Sports. Butler is also now Alabama’s second 2028 linebacker commitment where he joins Dustin Henry out of St. Frances Academy in Maryland, as well as the Crimson Tide’s first from in-state.
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