Auburn, Wisconsin square off today

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, December 30, 2003

The Auburn football team braved the weather for nearly two hours as it conducted its final practice of the season on Monday in Nashville, Tenn.

Dealing with constant rain, the Tigers practiced for the third straight day at the Vanderbilt practice facility as they prepare for Wednesday's Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl presented by Bridgestone.

"It was a good day for concentration," Auburn Head Coach Tommy Tuberville said. "It was pretty difficult, but when you have a wet day you have to concentrate a little more. It was a good practice and we have everything in for the game."

Auburn worked extensively on special teams to open the practice before breaking up into individual drills and team work.

"It looks like everybody is ready to go," Tuberville added. "The kicking game looked good and we got in everything that we needed to get in. Now we just need to go out and play and see what we've accomplished."

Tuberville was extremely pleased with his team's hour and a half workout on the Vanderbilt practice field Sunday, calling it "the best bowl practice we've had."

The Tigers continued working on the plan for Wednesday's game against Wisconsin in the Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl Presented by Bridgestone.

"We came out a little early today because some of the players wanted to go to the game this afternoon," said Tuberville. "We have our game plan in. Tomorrow we'll have a walk-through, but basically that's the practice time we'll have. Everybody looks like they're physically fit and ready to go. We haven't had any injuries.  This has been the best practice we've had of any of our bowl practices. We looked pretty sharp. Now, we have to get our legs back and get ready for Wednesday."

Approximately 10 players including Ronnie Brown, Karlos Dansby, Mark Pera, Dontarrious Thomas, Reggie Torbor, and Cooper Wallace attended the Tennessee Titans- Tampa Bay Buccaneers game after practice.

Tuberville attended the Grand Ole Opry on Saturday night and was invited on stage and asked to say a few words.

"I didn't sing, but I did hear a few 'War Eagles' from the crowd. We had a good time," said Tuberville.

Auburn's players and coaches will participated in the bowl Welcome Party held at the Country Music Hall of Fame Monday night.

The Tigers will use Tuesday for walk-through practices.