[Tuck4Bama]

AUBURN - Brandon Cox is back as the starting quarterback and Tray Blackmon says he'll be back to play linebacker against Florida.

A 55-20 win over New Mexico State over the weekend brought some normalcy to the Auburn football team, but there's still tons of true freshmen playing and much work to do before the Tigers visit No.4 Florida on Saturday night.

Auburn is still short on linebackers, so much so that safety Eric Brock had to play the position against New Mexico State, and probably will have to do it against the Gators. Blackmon's return would help, but the impact linebacker hasn't played in three games and his injured ankle comes with no guarantee that he'll be able to play Saturday, though he says he's "90-95" healthy.

Fellow starting linebacker Merrill Johnson is still weeks away from returning because of a bad shoulder. Auburn cooked the books to get past New Mexico State by playing lots of defensive backs, a smart move against the Aggies' chuck-and-dump passing game. Florida won't be doing much of that.

The Gators will simply turn their bull of a quarterback, Tim Tebow, into the forceful runner he is. Auburn will need linebackers for that.

But the Tigers won't need much encouragement. They gave themselves that in the win over New Mexico State, inspired, in part, by the return of Cox and the enthused play of three true freshmen in the offensive line.

Those facts help Auburn head to Florida with a 2-2 record. The Gators are 4-0.

Offensive line coach Hugh Nall said Lee Ziemba, Ryan Pugh and Chaz Ramsey didn't always know who to block, but they never stopped running or trying to knock somebody over. Pugh and Ramsey, playing in their first college game, protected Cox, who officially reclaimed his job as the starter Sunday, and they helped spring both Ben Tate and Mario Fannin to 100-yard rushing games.

Tigers feeling pinch for more linebackers as Florida duel nears- al.com