No Voodoo From LSU... Auburn's Vaughn Ready For Bayou Bengals

Shhh! Don't look now but the hottest field goal kicker in the country resides on the Plains of Auburn and his name is John Vaughn. It's not often that one gets to confront his worst fears. Vaughn will get that chance on Saturday when LSU comes to town.

No one has to be reminded of last year. It was perhaps the single worst performance by a kicker in the history of SEC football. That's not a stretch. On the flip side, the recovery by Vaughn is one of the great story lines heading into the 2006 season.

How hot is John Vaughn? Since last year's LSU game, he's connected on 10 of 12 attempts. He kicked the winning field goal last season against Georgia. And on opening night, he carried the Tigers through the first half with four field goals.

Talk about fortitude. Vaughn knows all about it. "If you've ever seen a player have a bad game, they can take it for a career almost," says Auburn linebacker Karibi Dede. "To see him bounce back and rebuild his confidence the way he did and come into this season with his confidence as high as it is, it's great to see."

Vaughn has worked hard not just on his mind, but also on his body. He's kicking farther than ever as evidenced by last week's 55 yard field goal against Mississippi State, the fourth longest in school history. So far this season, Vaughn is 6 of 7 on kicks and hit 86% of his attempts during preseason practice.

John Vaughn looks forward to Saturday. That should make us all feel good. We'll probably need him... late in the game.