Six games into the season, all things are trending up as Auburn takes the weekend off following wins over Ole Miss and LSU.

A very thin line separates the Tigers from their 4-2 record and satisfaction at the break and the 2-4 record they’ve narrowly avoided. With 4 games remaining, and 2 against arguably the toughest teams they’ll face this season, Auburn is far from having a trouble-free home stretch.

There have been countless ups and downs from this team, but here’s how it has fared heading into next weekend’s game against Mississippi State.

Offense

Still very much a work in progress, Chad Morris’ Jekyll-and-Hyde offense is finally taking form 6 games into the season. The real question is whether Auburn can continue to build on the momentum of recent weeks, or if the 500 yards and the best game of quarterback Bo Nix’s career were merely a product of LSU’s lousy defense in last week’s 48-11 Auburn win.

The performance against South Carolina on Oct. 17, a 30-22 loss, remains the real aberration. Nix was asked to throw the ball a season-high 47 times, and he had that questionable decision to run on the game’s final play rather than throw it to the end zone.

The receiving corps, led by Seth Williams, has been consistent all season. Williams has justified the early NFL Draft grades with a pair of 100-yard performances, at least 3 catches in every game and the now-expected highlight-reel grab every week.


Anthony Schwartz has demonstrated that he’s more than just fast, although speed certainly helped in that 91-yard touchdown against LSU, and Eli Stove is one of the most underrated receivers in the SEC.

But the real strength of this team lies in the backfield …

Offensive MVP: Tank Bigsby

The true freshman was expected to be good, but Bigsby has blown preseason expectations out of the water and projects toward being a generational type back at Auburn. He has a perfect blend of speed and power and almost never seems to go down on the first contact. Among SEC backs with at least 40 carries, his 34 broken tackles and 3.26 yards per carry after contact rank 2nd.

Even when Nix struggles, which he likely will against Alabama or Texas A&M, Bigsby has enough talent to completely take over a game should Morris ever choose to let him do so.

Defense

Kevin Steele’s defense has not had nearly the roller-coaster season that Auburn’s offense has. But just like the offense, the defense is continuing to trend up, especially after that game against LSU.

Auburn held LSU to just 347 yards and 1 touchdown. Sure, it was against a freshman QB, but that very same offense shredded South Carolina the week before for 541 yards and 52 points. That followed a week in which the Tigers held one of the league’s best passing offenses to just 161 yards.

This isn’t the typical stalwart defense that Steele has had in seasons past, but the unit has performed admirably considering the amount of talent that departed in the offseason. The Tigers rank 4th in scoring defense and 6th in total yards allowed in the SEC.

There’s still plenty of work to do. Auburn’s 3rd-down defense ranks 121st of 130 teams, allowing opponents to convert on more than 52 percent of 3rd-down tries. And until picking up 4 sacks against LSU, Auburn’s pass rush had struggled, with just 8 sacks in their first 5 games to rank 11th in the SEC.

The good news is that Auburn has performed adequately without K.J. Britt, who should be back in time for at least the regular-season finale against Texas A&M, if not the Iron Bowl the prior week. His presence and leadership will only bolster the positive trend of the defense.

Defensive MVP: Roger McCreary

Zakoby McClain and Owen Pappoe deserve honorable mentions for the type of seasons they’ve had while Britt has missed time, but McCreary has quickly developed into a shutdown cornerback that the secondary can rely on to blanket a stud wide receiver that almost every team seems to have this season.

McCreary has registered 26 tackles, 2 interceptions, 3 pass breakups and a forced fumble alongside Nehemiah Pritchett and Marco Domio in a passing defense that ranks 4th in the SEC.

Special teams MVP: Bigsby

There hasn’t been too much to complain about on special teams. Anders Carlson has missed just 1 field goal this season and has connected on a try from 47. He has been good enough for the coaching staff to turn to late in games should the Tigers need a game-winning field goal.

Bigsby leads the league in kick return yardage, and he would have had a remarkable 100-yard return for a touchdown against Ole Miss had the play not been wiped out by a questionable penalty.

Punting hasn’t been the best in the league, as Auburn has equally rotated Aidan Marshall and Oscar Chapman, but it hasn’t really negatively influenced any games. Nix also isn’t afraid to help out in the battle for field position.