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Fortunately for LSU, Brandon Harris’ first start of the 2015 season did not come against Auburn.
Of course, no one is forgetting how that went last year. Harris’ first career start came against then-No. 5 Auburn, marking a game to forget for the Tigers of Baton Rouge.
The true freshman completed three of his 14 pass attempts for 58 yards. Harris led LSU on one scoring drive in nine attempts, seven of which resulted in LSU punts, and was eventually pulled from the game late in the third quarter.
Auburn’s 41-7 smashing of LSU is something both fan bases will be hard-pressed to forget entering Saturday’s showdown in Death Valley. But consider this year’s edition of the rivalry one with a twist.
Harris, coming off an impressive performance in his 2015 debut against No. 25 Mississippi State, is a quarterback with renewed confidence. And he’ll be facing an Auburn defense, led by Will Muschamp, that has allowed 44 points in the last two games, including 20 in a near-colossal upset against FCS foe Jacksonville State.
Muschamp will have his hands full trying to come up with ways to contain Heisman Trophy hopeful Leonard Fournette, who a week ago put up career numbers against Mississippi State. The sophomore running back piled up 159 yards and three touchdowns on 28 carries, and could force Muschamp to remain sleepless at night leading up to Saturday afternoon’s game.
The LSU run game should be the top priority for Auburn’s defense, but that alone gives Harris an edge in his second go-round against the Tigers.
Last year, LSU ran the ball only 36 times and averaged a pedestrian 3.8 yards per carry. In fact, LSU’s lone scoring drive under the direction of Harris in the 2014 matchup between these two teams is when Les Miles remained true to his running game, which set up Harris’ 52-yard completion to Malachi Dupre and eventually a Kenny Hilliard touchdown run.
An argument could be made that with Fournette getting into midseason form, LSU’s rushing attack is even better than it was a year ago. And Harris proved last Saturday in Starkville, Miss., that he’s capable of being the right type of game manager to keep defenses honest.
As Harris and LSU attempt to move to 2-0, Auburn quarterback Jeremy Johnson must shake off two eyebrow-raising performances before he prepares for his biggest game of the season to date.
Johnson was 21-of-32 for 236 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions last week against Jacksonville State, pushing his interception total to five on the season, the most ever for an SEC quarterback making his first two starts of the season since 2009, according to the SEC Network.
Against Mississippi State, Kevin Steele’s defense held Dak Prescott to 32-of-54 (59 percent) for 335 yards and only one touchdown pass. He finished with a Total QBR of 50.2 and minus-19 rushing yards.
The Bulldogs were held to a field goal in the first half and scored their first touchdown thanks to a defensive holding penalty against LSU.
In contrast, Prescott totaled 373 yards of offense and three touchdowns against LSU’s defense a year earlier, but there was a distinctly different feel in the 2015 meeting. Now Steele and Co. get to challenge an Auburn quarterback preparing for his third start who struggled — at times heavily — against both Louisville and Jacksonville State.
AUBURN TIGERS CLOSER LOOK
Top player, offense: Peyton Barber, So., RB: The catalyst on the Auburn offense, Barber has been a sparkplug for the Tigers in each of the team’s two wins this season. Barber piled up a career-high 115 yards rushing in the season opener against Louisville, then broke his own mark with 128 yards against Jacksonville State, including the game-winning touchdown run in overtime. With an erratic quarterback behind center, expect Auburn to turn to its 5-foot-11, 225-pound back early and often.
Top player, defense: Jonathan Jones, Sr., CB: Jones led Auburn with six interceptions in 2014, which ranked 13th nationally in interceptions on a per-game basis. The 5-foot-10, 181-pound senior has 11 total tackles through two games this season, including six a week ago against Jacksonville State. Jones will be charged with slowing down the LSU receivers that combined for 71 yards on nine receptions a week ago against Mississippi State.
Top player, special teams: Daniel Carlson, So., PK: Carlson opened the season in a big way, kicking a 56-yard field goal through the uprights against Louisville, which marked the longest kick of the college football season at the time. That was a career-long field goal for the sophomore, whose previous high was 51 yards against Wisconsin in 2014.
Sam Spiegelman is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers SEC football, LSU and Texas A&M.
