Auburn WR Ryan Davis broke records and broke Alabama’s heart in Iron Bowl
By Adam Spencer
Published:
Auburn pulled off the unprecedented: beating No. 1 Alabama on Saturday two weeks after beating No. 1 Georgia.
In the second half against the Tide, the Tigers completely controlled the game, outscoring their rivals 16-7 after the halftime break.
Auburn QB Jarrett Stidham played the best game of his young Auburn career, even though he didn’t throw for any touchdowns. However, he did pass for 237 yards while completing 21 of 28 passes. He also avoided throwing any interceptions (though he did lose a fumble).
Stidham scored once on a run, and RB Kerryon Johnson added a TD run and TD pass. Those two generated points and headlines. They usually do.
But they had help. And Stidham had a familiar, favorite target Saturday.
Ryan Davis flies under the radar in terms of SEC receivers, and not just because he’s 5-9, but he set a school record for catches in a season during Saturday’s game. (He has 69 and counting.) He finished with 11 catches for 139 yards, which accounted for more than half of Stidham’s total passing yards.
Why was the Stidham-to-Davis connection so successful on Saturday afternoon? Here are just a few reasons why the Tigers leaned so heavily on the junior receiver during the 26-14 home victory:
Moving the chains
Nine of Davis’ career-high 11 catches went for Auburn first downs. In a game against a defense like Alabama’s, that’s an incredible feat.
Davis does his best work as a possession receiver, but moving the chains isn’t easy. Davis had to fight for several of those first downs, showing great awareness of where the line to gain was.
How hard is it to be aware of the chains? Well, Alabama WR Robert Foster caught a pass in the first half and could have turned upfield for a first down, but was instead tackled short of the marker.
Davis, on the other hand, seems to have a knack for getting as many yards as he needs to in key situations, which will be a huge benefit for the Tigers next week and beyond.
Making defenders miss
A lot of the passes Davis caught were on short routes, meaning it was up to the junior to make the first defender miss in order to gain yardage.
In contrast to Darius Slayton, who is often targeted on deep passes, Davis does most of his work after the catch, which he did again Saturday afternoon.
Davis doesn’t make many catches 20 yards or more down the field, so he needs to work for his big plays in a different way.
The thing that makes Davis so dangerous to opponents is that he’s slippery. When the Tigers play Georgia next weekend, the Bulldogs will need to make sure the first defender to make contact with Davis hangs on and waits for help to arrive. He had 4 catches for 55 yards, including a 32-yard touchdown, in Round 1 against Georgia.
Safety valve
Every quarterback needs a receiver he can count on in clutch situations — a guy who he can complete a pass to blindfolded because he knows where he is going to be.
For Stidham, that guy is Davis, who is always where he’s supposed to be and often has at least a couple of inches of separation from his defender.
Stidham is making some great throws, too, to be fair, but Davis has developed quite the comfort level with his first-year quarterback. It didn’t take long for Davis to become comfortable with the Baylor transfer, and now that chemistry is paying off in a big way for the SEC title-bound Tigers.
The Georgia secondary will need to focus on stopping the Stidham-to-Davis connection next weekend if the Bulldogs are going to pull off the win against the red-hot Tigers. That, however, will be easier said than done.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
