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For Auburn offense, big play opportunities abound vs. Wisconsin defense
By Jordan Cox
Published:
Entering the Big Ten Championship Game against Ohio State, Wisconsin ranked second nationally in total defense.
The 59 points and 558 yards of total offense the Buckeyes put up sent the Badgers plummeting down the FBS defense rankings. Or at least you would’ve thought.
Even after that disastrous early-December night in Indianapolis, Dave Aranda’s Wisconsin defense still ranks third in the nation in total defense, No. 16 in rushing defense, No. 15 in scoring defense and fifth in passing yards allowed.
While the Badgers are out to prove the 59-0 loss was an aberration, Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn is preaching caution to his team.
“Obviously there were some big plays in the passing game, a couple of big plays in the run game, but if you look at their whole body of work, they’re very good at what they do,” Malzahn told AL.com during the Tigers’ bowl preparations. “Their fits are very good. They remind me some of Kansas State, about how disciplined they are. I think they’re very good tacklers and they’ve got some good cover guys on the outside.”
The Kansas State comparison will catch Auburn fans off-guard; the Wildcats held Auburn to 20 points and one of its worst offensive outputs of the season.
But that game took place in mid-September and Auburn is a different offensive unit now. The Tigers are coming off a historic Iron Bowl outing, after all.
Auburn scored 44 points on Kirby Smart’s Alabama defense, and Nick Marshall broke single-game passing and total yards records with 456 yards passing and 505 yards of total offense. Add in career nights from Sammie Coates and Duke Williams, and the Tigers are beaming with confidence on offense.
Though Wisconsin is statistically one of the top defenses in the country, Auburn sees opportunity.
“They play a lot of man, so as a receiver and quarterback, once we get an opportunity, we just have to make plays down the field,” senior wideout Quan Bray said. “We’ve been working on it all year long, and we’re just going to try to do that in the game.”
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.
