AUBURNOh yeah, he thought about it.
Tommy Tuberville ventured down Auburn's sideline to check the yard markers. Fourth down and nearly a yard, the Tigers on their 19-yard line and protecting a 24-17 lead at Georgia. Auburn's coach had the urge.
"I walked down and even looked at it, but it was more than about a half a yard," he said. "I thought about several plays. I even thought about taking a safety. Mississippi State flashes."
That's how close Tuberville came to rolling the dice once again at Georgia. Hey, Auburn went for it on fourth down four times, once at the Tigers' 13.
Auburn made it thrice, and Tuberville proved that four-down territory is a field 100 yards long, 50 wide. At least for him.
Almost three full seasons of Tuberville's tenure have taught Auburn's fans, players and coaching staff to expect it. He did it at Ole Miss. He's done it at Auburn. He'll do it again, quite possibly against Alabama in Saturday's Iron Bowl renewal.
This season alone, Auburn and Vanderbilt each have converted 11 fourth downs, tops in the Southeastern Conference. Only Vandy's 21 attempts best Auburn's 18.
By contrast, Alabama is 1 for 6.
Tuberville warms to his rap as a "Riverboat Gambler," then backs it up from the sideline. Fans cringe at his risks, cheer when it works and rage on radio when it fails.
Neither failure nor criticism, it appears, will change Tuberville.
"It's one of those things," he explains. "You just have a feel for what's going on."
Famous failures and crucial successes have dotted Tuberville's time at Auburn.
His "Mississippi State flashes" stem from 1999, when he elected to have Duval take a snap and run out of the back of the end zone. Auburn was protecting a 16-10 lead.
The safety helped State rally for an 18-16 victory. That the two points awarded for a safety equaled State's victory margin only highlighted Tuberville's decision.
He nearly did it again at Georgia on Saturday. Only punter Damon Duval's worst game of the season - he had a touch of the flu - stopped it.
Tuberville had visions of a short free kick.
"If Damon had been real strong in his punting, I probably would have done it," Tuberville said. "We could have kicked it, probably got them down inside their 30, and then they have to go 70 yards."
As it was, Auburn punted. Georgia took over with 1:10 to play and a seven-point deficit, not the five-point hole that would have followed a safety. The Bulldogs came up one yard short of a touchdown as time expired.
So went the risk Tuberville didn't take.
With Auburn trailing 14-7 in the waning minutes of the first half, Daniel Cobb converted a quarterback sneak on fourth down and less than a yard - from Auburn's 13.
Later that drive, Duval faked a punt on fourth and eight from Auburn's 28. He swept around right end for a first down.
Had Auburn failed on either fourth-down play, Georgia would have ideal field position and time to put Auburn down two touchdowns at halftime. Instead, Georgia got the ball with 38 seconds left in the half and 80 yards of green between the Bulldogs and the goal line.
Yes, Duval ultimately punted.
Tuberville had more than the game clock in mind when he made his fourth-down calls. He loathed to give Georgia punt returner Damien Gary a chance near midfield.
"He beat Tennessee with a punt return, and had beaten several people doing it," Tuberville said. "You punt a ball 40 yards, and they run it back 20, you're still in bad field position when you're kicking from the 10-yard line.
"It wasn't as hard a call as what some people thought, once you get six, seven inches from a first down."
Other risks didn't work so well.
In 2000, a failed fake punt on the game's first series gave Florida the ball on Auburn's 21-yard line. Florida scored and launched into a 38-7 rout.
After Auburn's goal-line stand in the 1999 Iron Bowl, Tuberville called a pass from Auburn's 5. Alabama's Kindal Morehead sacked Ben Leard for a safety that brought Alabama within 14-8 in the third quarter. Alabama won in Jordan-Hare Stadium for the first time, 28-17.
Succeed or fail, Tuberville finds support from Auburn's players and coaches. Tight end Robert Johnson loudly urged him to go for it late in the Georgia game.
Senior guard Mike Pucillo digs Fourth Down Tommy, though it cost Pucillo embarrassment at Georgia. Pucillo had his back turned on the sideline and missed Duval's fake punt. Pucillo nearly missed returning to the field with the offense.
Still, he said, "I like it a lot. You've got to take chances. Going for one fourth down could be the difference in winning and losing a ballgame. Even if you don't score on that drive, you're going to eat up the clock."
Tuberville informs the team of potential fakes during the week. Special teams coach Eddie Gran has practice time blocked off to work on fake punts and field goals, onsides kicks, etc.
"Our kids look forward to it, and I look forward to it," said Gran, also Auburn's running backs coach. "We study the film and find the best way to attack them on a fake every week. We have two or three fakes in every week. Nothing surprises me."
Same for offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone, eight years a member of Tuberville's staff. When Tuberville opts to go for it on fourth down, "you just call the play and pray to God it works," he said, laughing. "That's all you can do."
He keeps a play at the ready.
"Usually, I'm asking the guys on second down, all right, what's our fourth-down play," Mazzone said. "... That way, it doesn't come as a surprise. You don't go, 'What!?'
"You just go, 'OK. Here we go. This is what we want.'"
