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Auburn fans may be wondering what to expect this weekend against San Jose State. The Tigers are a 31-point favorite and have never played the Spartans.
So what do Tiger fans need to see?
Head coach Gus Malzahn has said repeatedly that his staff and team is approaching this game like they would any conference game.
“We’re approaching it exactly like we did last year,” Malzahn said earlier this week during his media availability. “We are concerned about us getting better and improving each week. It doesn’t make any different who we’re playing.”
The matchup against the Spartans provides Auburn with a chance to focus on itself, improve and fix the mistakes it made against Arkansas.
Such as the defensive front seven. The Razorbacks gashed Auburn in that area last week with their potent run game. The Tigers were not able to get a pass rush and recorded just one sack. Defensive line coach Rodney Garner rotated often to keep guys fresh on the defensive front.
There are pass rushers in that eight man rotation who can get to the quarterback such as Gabe Wright, Elijah Daniel and LaDarius Owens. After their rather intrepid performance during which they tallied just two tackles for loss, expect defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson to draw up blitz packages and stunts to free up the Tigers on the defensive front in hopes to create pressure.
Malzahn conceded earlier this week that the Tigers needed to improve on their pass rush. It will be interesting to see how the Tigers approach San Jose State’s spread offense that has scored 156 points in their last three games, dating back to last season.
Their week 1 opponent was an FCS team, not Auburn, so Johnson and the Tiger defense will see some wrinkles that weren’t on film.
“They look a little different than last year, but you can get fooled on the first game,” Johnson said. “They played a 1-AA team in the first game. Were they holding a little bit of their package or is this what they are?”
After living in Birmingham, Ala., Jordan left the ground zero of SEC Nation to head south to Florida to tell the unique stories of the renowned tradition of SEC football. In his free time, his mission is to find the best locales around.
