Sugar Bowl nightlife may be too sweet for players to resist

NEW ORLEANS — No. 3 Auburn doesn't have to worry about battling for a national championship or losing its head coach.

The biggest distraction the unbeaten Tigers have to contend with before the Sugar Bowl against Virginia Tech on Jan. 3 is the New Orleans nightlife.

"To be an 18-, 19- or 20-year-old and have a little money in your pocket and spend six or seven days three blocks from Bourbon Street — that's probably a dream come true for a lot of these guys," coach Tommy Tuberville said Tuesday evening following his team's arrival. "It's going to be a great time."

He reiterated that he intends to sign a new contract at Auburn — a seven-year, $16 million deal — after his name surfaced over the weekend as a potential candidate to replace Nick Saban at LSU. Tuberville, the AP coach of the year, has got other things on his mind this week.

Receiver Courtney Taylor first heard about the Tuberville-to-LSU rumors while reading a newspaper on the team bus Tuesday.

"That's not something we're worried about," Taylor said. "The thing that we're worried about is the Sugar Bowl. We feel like we've earned this opportunity, so we're not going to worry about all that other stuff. Coach Tuberville says he's an Auburn guy, so he's an Auburn guy."

Tuberville didn't even address the rumors in a brief team meeting Tuesday. He did promise his players last week he would return next season.

"I'm not concerned," senior quarterback Jason Campbell said. "That's good for the guys that are coming back next year to understand and know their coach is going to be back. They don't have to worry about the rumors."

Virginia Tech also arrived Tuesday, greeted by a traditional New Orleans brass band as it emerged from a charter plane. It is Tech's first trip to the Sugar Bowl since January 2000, when the Hokies lost the BCS title game to Florida State.

The Tigers (12-0) are playing for a perfect season to go along with their Southeastern Conference title, their first in 15 years. Their game will be largely a nonfactor in the national picture with No. 1 Southern California facing No. 2 Oklahoma for the title in the Orange Bowl the next day.