Daily photo by Gary Cosby Jr. Auburn quarterback Kodi Burns led two touchdown drives, but that wasn't enough in a 19-14 loss to Mississippi State.

MARK EDWARDS

Tuberville too quick with trigger on Cox

Auburn's Brandon Cox isn't the best quarterback in the Southeastern Conference, but he isn't the worst, either.

He did manage to finish fifth in the league in passing efficiency last year, and more importantly, he entered this season with a 19-5 record as a starter.

He also has appeared to have the complete confidence of his coaches all along, even after struggling at times during Auburn's season-opening win over Kansas State and the surprising loss to South Florida.

All of this makes it a tad puzzling that Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville agreed to yank Cox so quickly in Saturday's 19-14 loss to Mississippi State. Two series, two interceptions, and Cox was gone in favor of freshman Kodi Burns.

Perhaps the only reason Cox returned for the Tigers' final offensive series was that Burns likely had no clue how to run the hurry-up offense. In fact, judging from Auburn's attack while Burns played, he probably doesn't know a great deal of the Tigers' offense yet.

Inserting an under-prepared Burns into the game looked like a panic move by Tuberville and his offensive coaches, and that's odd because Tuberville has panicked so rarely since arriving at Auburn before the 1999 season.

Burns may turn into a great quarterback. In fact, I'd bet on it, and at some point down the road, Auburn likely will thrive with him behind center.

He runs well and appears to have a live arm, too. As a high school senior in Fort Smith, Ark., he threw for 23 touchdowns and ran for 13.

Unlike in the NFL, college teams with good quarterbacks who run and pass equally well seem to win an awful lot.

Of the Associated Press' top five teams, three have running quarterbacks. No. 3 Florida's Tim Tebow and No. 5 West Virginia's Pat White run a lot, while No. 2 LSU's Matt Flynn runs just enough to call him a running quarterback.

Also, remember the national championship game in 2005 when Texas beat Southern California. The Longhorns' Vince Young made the difference with his running as well as passing.

But for now, this move could have repercussions beyond this one loss.

Was it wise to throw Burns out there before he was ready? Would Auburn eventually have settled down under Cox and scored enough points to beat MSU, which had a world of offensive problems, too?

Maybe or maybe not, but now Auburn has a senior quarterback in Cox who undoubtedly is questioning himself and a freshman in Burns who apparently isn't getting much of a grace period before putting the team on his shoulders.

If Cox starts Saturday against New Mexico State, will he return to the sideline after every possession wondering if he's coming out for good? When Auburn plays at Florida the following week, will Tuberville shuffle Cox and Burns in and out — whenever one makes a mistake, the other one will replace him?

Before the season, Tuberville appeared full of confidence in Cox.

At SEC media days, he said, "We've got our quarterback back in Brandon Cox. I think he's going to be a good player for us. He needs to play healthy. He's gotten stronger. He's a little quicker. He couldn't have got any slower (smiling).

"But he's got a chance to be a heck of a quarterback for us. He knows the offense. He's a coach on the field. He spins the ball as good as anybody I've ever seen. He never throws a wobbly pass. He's very accurate."

As for whether Cox or Burns will start against New Mexico State, Tuberville said Sunday, "Brandon's still going to play. He might be our starter. We haven't made up our mind on that."

Then again, answering tough questions accurately never has been Tuberville's strong suit, so who knows who's going to start and how much that person will play.

Whatever Tuberville decides, he should pick one quarterback and stick with him, for better or worse.