Apparently Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville had a change of heart.Two days after giving a vote of confidence to Auburn’s spread offense, which ranks No. 104 of 119 Bowl Subdivision teams, the Associated Press reported Wednesday that Tuberville fired offensive coordinator Tony Franklin seven games into his Auburn career.”We’re still going to run the spread offense,” Tuberville said Monday. “It’s going to come. We’re all waiting for it to happen, and it needs to happen, like it does in practice. But sometimes we just haven’t carried it from the practice field to the game field on Saturday nights.”Auburn has experienced growing pains — 12 fumbles, 47 penalties and just 18 points per game — in its first year running the new spread offense.Tuberville fired offensive coordinator Al Borges after the Tigers averaged 335 yards of total offense per game and 24.2 points per game last season.Tuberville is expected to have more control over the offense for the remainder of the season.COMMODORES EYE A BOWL BERTHThe year was 1982.Ronald Reagan was the U.S. president, Cal Ripken, Jr. was 50 games into his record 2,632 consecutive games played streak, and Vanderbilt lost the Hall of Fame Bowl, 36-28, to Air Force.That was the last time the Commodores played a game after Christmas day.But with seven games remaining, the Commodores are one win away from being bowl eligible for the first time in 26 years. Their 5-0 start has moved them in the top 15 in the polls.”This is what coaches live for,” said Vanderbilt coach Bobby Johnson. “I live to walk in that dressing room at the end of the game and see how happy our players are.”The Commodores used timely offense and steady defense plays in their 14-13 win against Auburn last weekend.That formula, combined with the nation’s No. 1 turnover ratio, has the Commodores in first place in the Southeastern Conference through three conference games.Vanderbilt hopes to avoid a letdown this weekend when they meet SEC foes Mississippi State in Starkville, Miss.”They won a bowl game, so they have a lot of confidence on defense and have a lot of playmakers,” Johnson said. “They have steady, hard-nosed players, and it’s hard to complete drives and keep them going when they have such a solid defense.”EASTERN POWERS READY TO REBOUNDOnce the nation’s No. 1 team, Georgia is sitting at No. 10 in the polls after a home loss to Alabama.The Bulldogs hope to avenge that loss Saturday when they take on Tennessee.The Volunteers also had high hopes crushed, and the defending SEC Eastern Division champions have stumbled to a 2-3 start.Their troubles are thanks in part to a struggling offense that has averages 317 yards per game, including 225 last week in a 13-9 win against Northern Illinois.Georgia has been its own worst enemy on the season, ranking No. 2 in penalty yards and averaging more than 10 penalties per game.Georgia coach Mark Richt said the they are preparing for the Volunteers as though they would still be one of the nation’s top rated teams.”They very easily could be 4-1 and could be a top-15, top 10-team right now,” he said. “They are that good. They are that capable, and I just want to make sure everybody understands how good of a football team this is.”—-Contact Casey Gisclair at [email protected]