College Football
Gus Malzahn concerned about the ‘stress’ Nick Fitzgerald can put on Auburn’s defense
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Auburn had a get-right game last week on the road at Missouri but now faces a much tougher opponent on the Plains in Mississippi State. The Bulldogs may be coming off a tough loss but have plenty of talent to threaten Auburn and have actually won three of the last five in the annual series.
Tiger coach Gus Malzahn spoke about the matchup during the SEC’s weekly Coaches Teleconference Wednesday.
Here’s a summary of what the Auburn coach had to say on the call:
- “Looking forward to our home opener against Mississippi State. They had a dominant showing against LSU that caught our eye. One of the best rushing teams in the nation.”
- The challenge of facing Mississippi State QB Nick Fitzgerald? “Their offense is so good at running the football. Their QB is like a running back and that puts a lot of stress on the defense.”
- How does your defense get so many tackles for loss? “It starts up front. Our players are in the backfield often and our linebackers are stepping up and making plays.”
- Will Darius James be back at right tackle? “We’ll probably make a call by Thursday but he’s back and feeling good.”
- Kam Pettway’s status, has he practiced this week? “He did practice Tuesday and we expect him to play. We’ll see how much later in the week.”
- What does DC Kevin Steele bring to the defense? “Stability is a good way to put it. We wanted to become a Top 10 defense and he’s well on the way to doing that.”
A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Michael Wayne Bratton oversees the news coverage for Saturday Down South. Michael previously worked for FOX Sports and NFL.com
