Unlike '04 team, Auburn escaping, not dominating

AUBURN, Ala. - This Auburn team has plenty in common with the unbeaten 2004 version: A productive tailback tandem, an experienced quarterback, a defense that yields few points.<br> <br> The differences are striking, too, even beyond the fact that the sixth-ranked Tigers already have a loss. Namely, that team blew out the teams it was supposed to, and some it wasn&#39;t.<br> <br> Receivers coach Greg Knox was pointing those differences out to his players in the aftermath of another escape, a shaky 23-17 win Saturday at Mississippi.<br> <br> ``He said the difference between the &#39;04 team and this team is that the &#39;04 team handled business against teams that they were supposed to put away,&#39;&#39; receiver Courtney Taylor said. ``They didn&#39;t wait around or anything.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> The Tigers (8-1) have just managed to hold on against South Carolina and the Rebels in games where they were solid favorites. They&#39;ve also eked out wins against tougher opponents like Florida and LSU.<br> <br> And the &#39;04 team? Sure, they only beat No. 5 LSU by a point. Then the Tigers proceeded to win their final eight regular-season games by an average of 24.5 points en route to a 13-0 season and the Southeastern Conference title.<br> <br> And those wins weren&#39;t all over pushovers. Auburn routed then-No. 10 Tennessee 34-10 on the road and put the clamps on No. 8 Georgia, 24-6.<br> <br> Ho hum. These Tigers are far less likely to give their fans a stress-free second half, though they&#39;re hoping Saturday&#39;s game against heavy underdog Arkansas State (5-3) will be an exception.<br> <br> ``We&#39;re not a big-play team so it&#39;s hard to knock a team out like some of these teams we&#39;ve played, because we&#39;re not a knockout team,&#39;&#39; coach Tommy Tuberville said. ``We&#39;ve just got to go out and do our business and try to have more than they do.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> The comparisons to the &#39;04 team might not be entirely fair. That group included tailbacks Carnell Williams and Ronnie Brown, quarterback Jason Campbell and cornerback Carlos Rogers all seniors who would become first-round NFL draft picks.<br> <br> This group&#39;s biggest star is senior tailback Kenny Irons. He is still the league&#39;s No. 2 rusher but has missed two games with a nagging ankle injury and has posted only three 100-yard efforts.<br> <br> Brad Lester has run for 354 yards and seven touchdowns, and his role has increased in recent weeks when not limited by a groin injury.<br> <br> Junior quarterback Brandon Cox has improved lately as leg injuries healed. He has thrown for 200 yards in each of the past two games, after reaching that number only once in the first seven.<br> <br> The Tigers&#39; young defense is yielding the ninth-fewest points in the nation, but is 15 spots lower in total yards allowed. The &#39;04 version led the nation in scoring defense.<br> <br> ``I&#39;m not saying we&#39;re not any better than the &#39;04 team, because we&#39;re talented and we can compete just like the &#39;04 team did,&#39;&#39; Taylor said. ``But we&#39;re just a different team. We&#39;ve got a different style.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Against the Rebels, the game was tied at halftime and was 17-all early in the fourth quarter before John Vaughn kicked two field goals. At least, the Tigers are used to that situation by now.<br> <br> ``I never felt uncomfortable about that game because our players never felt uncomfortable,&#39;&#39; Tuberville said. ``Seeing them at halftime, nobody was panicking. Everybody understood what was going wrong, what you had to do. We&#39;re a blue-collar team. We&#39;re not a team that&#39;s going to go out there and score a lot of points. It doesn&#39;t make any difference who&#39;s over there.<br> <br> ``We just take our opportunities and try to get the most out of them and go from there.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> The Tigers have their version of ``Amen Corner&#39;&#39; coming up after Arkansas State, with Georgia visiting before a trip to Alabama for the Iron Bowl.<br> <br> If that trend of close victories continues, that&#39;s fine with Taylor.<br> <br> ``I&#39;m a &#39;W&#39; type guy. I want to win,&#39;&#39; he said. ``It doesn&#39;t matter how we win.&#39;&#39;