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Inside the Numbers: Auburn’s still-good offense overshadowed by poor defense
By Jordan Cox
Published:
No. 9 Auburn continues its grueling stretch with a trip to Athens to face No. 15 Georgia on Saturday night.
Let’s take a look inside the numbers of Auburn’s matchup this week.
The Good
582: The good news — and what seems to have gotten lost in the wake of the poor defensive play — is that Auburn’s offense continues to roll. The Tigers racked up 582 yards of total offense in the loss to Texas A&M, but now face a Georgia defense that is steadily improving week-to-week under first-year coordinator Jeremy Pruitt. But with the day its defense is playing, Auburn has to feel like it must score every time out.
221: The number of rushing yards totaled by Cameron Artis-Payne last week, a career high. Artis-Payne is a run of four games where he’s running the football at a high level, having drawn comparisons to Tre Mason from head coach Gus Malzahn.
1: The Tigers rank No. 1 in pass efficiency in the SEC, a testament to the improvement we’ve seen from senior quarterback Nick Marshall over the course of the season. After struggling some out of the gate, there were questions about whether or not sophomore Jeremy Johnson should get a shot as the starter. All Marshall has done, though, is get better from game-to-game, and now is playing the position at a very high level.
The Bad
3: Todd Gurley. Georgia’s junior standout returns this week from a four-game suspension with fresh legs and a readiness to show college football what we’ve missed. Prior to being suspended, Gurley led the league in rushing and was the Heisman frontrunner. He’s listed at the Bulldogs’ starting tailback. Looking for the ‘Dawgs to feed him early and often.
100: Georgia was eight for eight on third downs last week in its win over Kentucky. Auburn’s porous defense must get off the field on defense Saturday night and not give a Bulldog offense with a lot of weapons extra chances. This thing could get out of hand quickly, otherwise.
8: Penalties continue to haunt Auburn, especially defensively. The Tigers are committing boneheaded mistakes late in plays, giving opponents free yards. If Auburn hopes to compete this week and escape Athens with a win, it has to cut down on mental mistakes.
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.
